The Doctrine of Limited Atonement: A pearl of great value

December 2, 2011 by Christina

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46)

We live in a culture that demands immediacy. We like things quick and easy and when we don’t get what we want when we want it, we grow impatient. One sociologist, has coined the term “The McDonaldization of society” which describes a culture that takes on the characteristics of a fast food restaurant. Sadly, we see this influence in the evangelical church where short, entertaining messages have replaced biblical and doctrinal preaching. For those who are convinced that Christ is all, there is no sacrifice too great for the immeasurable prize of knowing Christ. That is the message of Jesus in the above parable. When we pick up our Bible’s and we diligently search and examine the doctrines of our faith, when we labor and pore over the word of God, sacrificing time and precious energy, God promises that we will find a pearl of great value.

The doctrine of limited atonement is said to be the most controversial of the doctrines of grace. Of course, I find nothing controversial about it; it is after all, biblical. Yet, there can be no denying that for me, it has been the most costly in terms of time and intellectual energy. At the same time, studying this doctrine has yielded a great reward and that is the absolute and endless treasure of Christ himself.

Tomorrow morning I will be leading a discussion on limited atonement at our church’s women’s Bible study. Below are some highlights from my notes. I stress the word highlights because it may not flow so nicely. It’s VERY choppy but I’ve got 21 pages of notes that I’m already trying to pare down! Anyway, this a blog post and not a book! (I have some friends who will appreciate that! Wink, wink!)

Sometimes called Particular Redemption or Definite Atonement, the doctrine of Limited Atonement teaches that the redeeming work of Christ on Calvary was for the elect only. The substitutionary death of Christ was not for everyone in the world but rather for a particular people. Not only does Jesus make atonement for our sins, he secures everything necessary for our salvation — including our faith.

In order to understand what limited atonement means it is necessary to understand what the word “atonement” means. It can be defined just as it sounds: “to make one”. In our case, Jesus atoned for our sins in order to make us one with God.

The Scriptures, in Hebrews 13:20, speak of something called an Eternal Covenant. This covenant was made in eternity past and it involved the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and a redeemed humanity. James Montgomery Boice, in his commentary on Romans, gives us a glimpse into this decision made by the Godhead to send a Redeemer. You can read it here. In this covenant, God the Father expresses His love for the God the Son and promises to give him a Redeemed humanity. This Redeemed people would be from every tribe, tongue and nation and would praise and worship him for ever and ever.

Regarding this covenant, AW Pink says this:

The grand fact is that Christ’s death was the completion of His agreement with the Father which guarantees the salvation of all who were named in that agreement, not one for whom He died can possibly miss heaven.

The question then on this topic of limited atonement is this: Who did that agreement include? Who did God have in mind when He sent Jesus to the cross to redeem a people for Himself?

Did Jesus die for Judas of whom it is written “not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction” (John 17:12)? Did Jesus die for Pharaoh of whom it is written, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you” (Romans 9:17)? Did Jesus die for Esau of whom it is written, “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13)?

Theologian Louis Berkhoff asks the question well:

Did the Father in sending Christ, and did Christ in coming into the world, to make atonement for sin, do this with the design of for the purpose of saving only the elect or all men? That is the questions and that only is the question

There are generally 3 different schools of thought to consider when answering this question.

The Universalist will say that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and therefore justification for all was completed at Christ’s death. Since the Scriptures plainly speak of hell this position holds no weight for the Arminian or the Calvinist.

The Arminian will say that Jesus died for the sins of everyone and therefore salvation is made possible to all. However, a man or woman is not actually justified until they accept the free offer of salvation. It is faith in Jesus Christ that “activates” that salvation.

The Calvinist will say that Jesus died for the sins of the elect and therefore justification is limited to those elected to salvation. Jesus’s substitutionary atonement on the cross is limited to those who are predestined.

Key to this doctrine is understanding the priesthood of Jesus Christ. From the beginning God made it crystal clear that He would not tolerate sin. Sin, no matter how small, never escapes God. He is 100% holy and will not tolerate anything less than that. So, in order to deal with sin, God had to establish, in the Old Testament, a temporary system to deal with sin until the fullness of time when Jesus would come and redeem His people. The book of Leviticus details a very complex ritual and sacrificial system whereby the sins of the children of Israel are dealt with. The plan was for the children of Israel ONLY and did not include any of Israel’s neighbors. In this system, the High Priests would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people and also make intercession for them. Day in and day out, year in and year out animals were killed, blood was sprinkled, and flesh was burned. But the system was imperfect and it was designed to be so. These things, as the author of Hebrews tells us, were “a shadow of the good things to come” because when Christ came, “he offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins.” The scriptures tell us that after Jesus made purification for our sins He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High where he ever lives to make intercession for His people. (Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 7:25)

The fact that Jesus intercedes for us is bound to the fact that he offered himself as a sacrifice. He died as a substitute; he bore our sins and Hebrews 9:12 says that, “He entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

On the significance of the fact that Jesus, our High Priest is interceding for us, James White says this:

It is impossible that anyone for whom the Son intercedes could be lost. Can we imagine the Son pleading before the Father, presenting His perfect atonement in behalf of an individual that He wishes to save, and the Father rejecting the Son’s intercession? The Father always hears the Son (John 11:42). Would He not hear the Son’s pleas in behalf of all that the Son desires to save? Furthermore, if we believe that Christ can intercede for someone that the Father will not save, then we must believe either 1) that there is dissension in the Godhead, the Father desiring one thing, the Son another, or 2) that the Father is incapable of doing what the Son desires Him to do. Both positions are utterly impossible.

Jesus himself affirmed limited atonement when he prayed, what is known as “The High Priestly Prayer”: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:9-12).

Jesus did not offer this prayer for the world; he offered it for believers elected in eternity past and therefore God will regard His prayers.

There are many verses that support limited atonement. Below are some that expressly tell us that Jesus did not die for the world but rather:

His scattered sheep (John 10:11-16): I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Only for those in the flock (John 10:26-29); “but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me,a is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”

His people (Matthew 1:21): She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

For many (Matthew 20:28): even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

For His chosen friends (John 15:1316): Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

For His elect (Romans 8:32-34): He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

For people from every tribe, language, people, and nation but not everyone (Revelation 5:9): And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Far from being controversial and causing angst this doctrine is the foundation of assurance for believers. When Jesus said, “It is finished”, he meant it! Jesus did not come to merely make salvation possible; He actually saved His people. Jesus did not come to make redemption a possibility; he literally turned aside God’s wrath for each of the elect. Jesus did not come to make reconciliation between God and man possible; He actually reconciled those whom the Father gave Him in eternity past. Jesus did not merely come to make atonement for sins possible; He actually atoned for the sins of every elect believer.

Don’t you read Romans 8:31-34 in new light? ” What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

With respect to problem texts and the question that inevitably always comes up regarding then the point of evangelism, the following points are important:

1. In real estate the mantra is location, location, location. In theology, it is context, context, context. In most of the so-called problem texts that I saw, the issue, more often than not revolved around context. Who is the text referring to? For example, in John 3:16, does the “world” truly mean all people in the whole world? Or, in 2 Peter 3:19 does “all” really mean everyone in the world? In almost all cases, when these difficult texts are understood in right context they actually support limited atonement.

2. Only someone who doesn’t understand the doctrine of limited atonement can say that it hinders evangelism. The reality is that it supports and propels evangelism is an extremely biblical way. Why? The responsibility is not on man but on God. Our job, by God’s grace, is to preach the gospel to everyone. And, just as the Apostles knew that repentance and faith was a matter of God’s grace, so can we know that our efforts will not be in vain. Paul was told in Acts 18:9 not to be afraid as God assured him “for I have many in this city who are my people” — so it is with us. We can preach with confidence knowing that the Jesus we proclaim is a powerful Saviour who is able to save to the uttermost!

I have plenty more but like I said, this is a blog post and not a book!

If you remember, say a prayer for the women (and me!) tomorrow at 10am EST!

Some Sources:

The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel by James Montgomery Boice & Phillip Graham Ryken

The Five Points of Calvinism: A Study Guide by Edwin H. Palmer

Limited Atonement by Lorraine Boettner

Was Anyone Saved at the Cross? by James White

The True Calvinist

September 24, 2011 by Christina

This post is a little “off the beaten path” but in view of recent observations and discussions, even with some of you, I am posting this excerpt from a chapter called, “The True Calvinist” in Boice and Ryken’s, The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel. If anyone is looking for a good overview on the topic, this book is an excellent resource.

I am not ashamed to say that Reformed Theology and The Doctrines of Grace (or Calvinism) have put me on the most solid theological footing ever. The more I see the purity of these doctrines woven throughout the pages of my Bible, the more I proclaim with Paul, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

I have also come to see, now more than ever before, that the unadulterated Gospel message — that is, the preaching of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2) will always be the object of great scorn and antagonism. The Gospel is always under attack and the Bride of Christ will always stand (but also prevail!) against tremendous opposition. This is every bit as true today as it was in the days of the early church.

Through these glorious doctrines, the Holy Spirit has produced in me a holy jealousy that did not exist before. I am jealous for the Bride of Christ. I am jealous for the Gospel. It is free for us but it cost God His only Son. How dare anyone corrupt or pollute the message of the cross? How dare anyone cheapen or reduce it “to the elementary principles of the world”? How dare anyone bruise the body of Christ?

I have been blessed by the loving sacrifice and ministries of so many saints who have been at this much longer than I have. At the same time, I have also observed, and if I’m honest, even been caught up (at least at some level) in something that, I believe, runs contrary to the spirit of Christ.

This excerpt, from the introduction to Chapter Eight of The Doctrines of Grace, articulates with great sobriety a strong warning for all of us who identify with Calvin and the Reformers. I will be the first to admit it. I like it when someone else of greater stature says what I’m thinking. You might be able to pick on me but I dare you argue with the likes of James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken! So, here I am, hiding behind the weighty words of these fathers in the faith.

There is a combative streak in Calvinism, and whenever the doctrines of grace are divorced from warm Christian piety, people tend to get ornery. Some Christians who identify themselves as Calvinists seem to be in a perpetual state of discontent with their pastors, often making uninvited suggestions for their personal improvement. Others seem overly concerned with converting people to their ecclesiastical denomination. Still others have memorized TULIP but somehow seem to be missing the heart of the gospel. Thus we have sympathy for the man who wrote: “Nothing will deaden a church or put a young man out of the ministry any more than an adherence to Calvinism. Nothing will foster pride and indifference as will an affection for Calvinism…The doctrines of Calvinism will deaden and kill anything: prayer, faith, zeal, holiness.

This ought not to be. In fact, it cannot be, provided that Calvinism is rightly understood. The doctrines of grace help to preserve all that is right and good in the Christian life: humility, holiness, and thankfulness, with a passion for prayer and evangelism. The true Calvinist ought to be the most outstanding Christian – not narrow and unkind, but grounded in God’s grace and therefore generous of spirit…. (pages 179-180)

Recently, while listening to an online sermon, I heard a Reformed preacher say that it is possible to be “doctrinally right and spiritually off.” Scripture bears witness. When Jesus rebuked his disciples in Luke 9:55 he told them,“You don’t know what kind of spirit you are”. I wonder how many of us (the writer included) have ignored these words and carried on with our religious crusades, all in the name of “Truth”.

In his commentary on this passage, Matthew Henry explains how the zeal of the disciples actually did more damage than it did good.

…they were ignorant of the prevailing motives of their own hearts, which were pride and carnal ambition. Of this our Lord warned them. It is easy for us to say, Come, see our zeal for the Lord! and to think we are very faithful in his cause, when we are seeking our own objects, and even doing harm instead of good to others.

We, like the disciples, must be prayerfully on guard against this kind of religious pretense. There is zero ambiguity in this text. Jesus flat-out rejects this kind of religious charade. The “true Calvinist” is the saint who is obsessed with God’s glory in all things. A combative disposition seeks glory for no one but self.

I will openly confess that I have had to repent of this kind of zeal, which really is no zeal at all but just a disguise for a wrathful, vengeful heart. I would even go so far as to argue that this kind of spirit is engaged in outright violence against the Bride of Christ. How so? It casts stones at the very body that we are called to love, cover, and protect. This so-called “passion” will do as much damage, if not more than any other opposing force since it destroys relationships from within and even, to use a colloquialism, bites the hand that feeds it!

If the Doctrines of Grace are truly to be embraced for all their eternal and glorious worth, then we must repent whenever God, in His mercy, brings us into conviction for a combative and destructive spirit. May there much grace to keep us ever mindful of it.

Reposted from February 25, 2011.

The comforting doctrine of predestination

May 14, 2011 by Christina

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

“If Paul looks into the distant past before the creation of the world, he sees that God foreknew and predestined his people to be conformed to the image of Christ.

If he looks at the recent past he finds that God called and justified his people whom he had predestined.

And if he then looks toward the future when Christ returns, he sees that God has determined to give perfect , glorified bodies to those who believe in Christ.

From eternity to eternity God has acted with the good of his people in mind.

But if God has always acted for our good and will in the future act for our good, Paul reasons, then will He not also in our present circumstances work every circumstance together for our good as well?

In this way predestination is seen as comfort for believers in the everyday events of life.”

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, page 673.

The Gospel and social reformation

April 26, 2011 by Christina

Shortly after completing my undergraduate studies I found employment at a non-profit agency here in NYC that provided social services to Holocaust survivors.

Despite my hearts to desire to “make the world a better place” it didn’t take long for me to realize that my best efforts were nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

Consider how great the extent of human suffering in this world. Consider how vast the problems in our world. I could strive for the rest of my life with every ounce of strength in me and still barely make a dent. So, I changed my perspective and set out on a different career path which, after a short while, also proved to be meaningless.

It wasn’t until my late twenties that God, in an act of sovereignty, brought me to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I saw then that the only thing that made sense in this world was the Gospel. I saw then that the only thing with authority to accomplish lasting and enduring “good work” was the Word of God.

There can be no denying that we are living in an era of rapid moral and social decline. We live in a world in which evil is called good and good is called evil. What is vile is honored among us and what is evil freely flaunts itself and struts about.

In “Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? : Rediscovering the Doctrines that Shook the World“ James Montgomery Boice discusses the sufficiency of the Word of God for social reformation by explaining what happened when John Calvin preached the Gospel in Geneva. If you have a few minutes to spare this will be worth your time.

“The final area in which we need to know that God’s Word is sufficient is the area of social renewal and reform. We live in a declining culture and want to see the lordship of Jesus acknowledged, justice done, and virtue increase. We want to see the poor relieved of want and suffering. How can this happen? Not by more government programs or by increased emphasis on social work – though such things may have a supplementary or stop-gap place – but by the teaching and practice of the Word of God.”

“In 1535 the Council of Two Hundred, which governed the city of Geneva, Switzerland, decided to break with Catholicism and align the city with the Protestant Reformation. They had very little idea what that meant. Up to this point the city had been notorious for its riots, gambling, indecent dancing, drunkenness, adultery, and other vices. The citizens of Geneva would literally run around the streets naked, singing indecent songs and blaspheming God. They expected this state of affairs to continue even after they had become Protestants, and the Council did not know what to do. It had passed regulation after regulation designed to restrain vice and to remedy the situation. They thought becoming Protestant would solve the problem. But that did not do any good either. Genuine moral change never comes from the top down by law, but from the bottom up through a transformed people. Geneva’s morals continued to decline.”

“But the Council did one thing right. They invited John Calvin to become Geneva’s chief pastor and preacher…Calvin had no weapon but the Bible. From the very first, his emphasis had been on Bible teaching…Calvin preached from the Bible every day, and under the power of that preaching the city began to be transformed. As the people of Geneva acquired knowledge of God’s Word and were changed by it, the city became, as John Knox called it later, a New Jerusalem from which the gospel spread to the rest of Europe, England, and the New World…”

“There probably has never been a clearer example of extensive moral and social reform than the transformation of Geneva under the ministry of John Calvin, and it was accomplished almost entirely by the preaching of the God’s Word.”

Nothing in the entire universe has the power to transform but the gospel of Jesus Christ. Absolutely nothing.

May God raise up a new generation of Reformers to preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world in moral and social decay.