Unlimited/Limited Atonement

This post relates to something I heard recently. A friend of mine mentioned that some people believe in limited atonement, or that Jesus only died for the people that are saved (and not for the people who are/never will be saved).

I believe in Unlimited Atonement, or that Jesus Christ died for everyone. I want to illustrate three reasons that limited atonement is incorrect:

1. Bible Contradicts It

2. Limits God's Love for the World

3. Makes Pointless the Great Commission

I will write 1 and 2, but my friend will write 3 (as they came up with that response).

1. Bible Contradicts It

Verses: 1 John 2:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, John 1:29, 1 Timothy 2:3-6, John 3:17-18

1 John 2:1-2, "¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate(A) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

(A) Gr Paracletos, one called alongside to help; or Intercessor.

Here John clearly states that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Jesus died once for all for all.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Here Paul clearly states that Christ died for all.

John 1:29, "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Here John exclaimed to those around him that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

1 Timothy 2:3-6, "³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time."

If God desires all men to be saved, why would He only allow some to be saved? He didn't. These are just some of the verses that support Unlimited Atonement, but that's enough.

John 3:17-18, "⁷"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Here Jesus says that God sent Him into the world to save the world. Not just part of it, all of it.

2. Limits God's Love for the World

Verses: John 3:16

John 3:16, "¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Here Jesus explains God's motivation for sending Him into the world: Love. God's love for the world prompted Him to send His only son into the world to save it. This means that God's love is directly related to His sending His Son to die for our sins.

To limit the death of Jesus as only paying for some of the world's sins is to limit God's love for the world. God loves the world (as shown here in John 3:16).

3. Makes Pointless the Great Commission

Limited Atonement and the great commission:

Here are some verses supporting unlimited atonement, and how the great commission is talking about everyone. These verses clearly show that, the Bible talks about spreading the gospel to the whole world, and everyone in it, not just some people.

First we will look at the great commission:

Matthew 28:19-20

¹⁹”Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”

(Also, Luke 24:47: “….and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”)

Obviously, the great commission says “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations” not just certain nations or certain people.

Jesus died for all men, so God wants us to tell everyone about Him. By believing in limited atonement, there would be no need for the great commission. If Jesus had only died for certain people, then according to limited atonement, only those certain people can and will be saved. In this case, there would be no need for the great commission and there would be no need to go to all the nations and tell others about Him, because only those certain people can and will be saved.

According to 1 John 2:2 (and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.), Christ died for the whole world and that’s why Jesus is so clear about presenting the gospel to everyone, because everyone can be saved, and Christ died for all, because Jesus died for the sins of all people, everyone can be saved, and that’s why the great commission is clear that we should present the gospel to everyone.

Hope you all like it and agree! Comments?

Eternal Security

This is a major issue to me. I believe eternal security (commonly cited as "once saved, always saved") is an essential part of the Christian faith. I will lay out my reasons for eternal security and then lay out responses to common arguments against eternal security.

Here are my reasons:

1. Grace

2. Contractual Basis of Salvation

3. Holy Spirit and Inheritance

1. Grace

Verses (all verses NASB): Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8-9, "⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Salvation is by grace. Grace is giving you something you don't deserve in spite of what you've done or DO deserve. Verse 9 points out that salvation is not by works. The reason? So that no one may boast, which makes sense. If salvation wasn't "Jesus Christ = Salvation," but instead was "Jesus Christ + Man = Salvation" then man could boast by saying "I got myself into Heaven." God avoids this by keeping Man OUT of the equation.

People who don't believe in eternal security usually are referring to the situation of apostasy (being a Christian and then turning back and not believing anymore). This stems from the fact apostasy is really the only situation in which a lack of eternal security would matter.

Here's the flaw with that argument. Read carefully: is not practicing apostasy a good work? Yes it is. But to say that not practicing apostasy is required for salvation is to put the "+ Man" into the equation. Because then, in Heaven, men can say "I didn't practice apostasy! So I made it." This is boasting in the works MAN did to make into Heaven.

Since the Word of God is clear that salvation is not by works, this can not be the case. Salvation is also a gift. This verse also illustrates my next point:

2. Contractual Basis of Salvation

Verses: Ephesians 2:8-9

The last section dealt mainly with verse 9. I want to step back and look at verse 8. Verse 8 says that salvation is by grace through faith and is the Gift of God. A gift. The contract is this: You have faith in Jesus Christ and in exchange God gives you salvation. This being the case, and given the fact God can't violate His promises (because to promise something you can't or won't give while knowing it [and God is all knowing] is to lie, and God can't lie; see: Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18) , you are given salvation and have it forever. Think about it. Look at the line below. Pretend it represents your life span form beginning to end:

|-----------------*-----------------------------------------------------|

Now pretend that each "-" represents, say, a year. Each of those years (due to the nature of time) is unrepeatable. The asterisk ("*") represents when you had faith in Jesus Christ and were saved. Since a moment in time is NOT repeatable, once you believed in Christ and were saved, your end of the contract was fulfilled. From that point on, God must honor His side of the contract: salvation. As long as that point in time exists (when you had faith in Jesus Christ) the contract still exists. Since you can never go back and "un-believe," God's side of the contract remains in effect forever.

This situation means just one thing: Once saved, always saved.

3. Holy Spirit and Inheritance

Verses: Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30

Ephesians 1:13-14, "¹³In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

Ephesians 4:30, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Ephesians 1:13 states that once you believed in the Gospel you were sealed with the Holy Spirit. Verse 14 adds that Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance. "Inheritance" refers to going to Heaven. That's the inheritance of God's children.

Finally, Ephesians 4:30 states that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (or Jesus Christ's second coming).

Now the overall point is very simple idea. If we are sealed the Holy Spirit when we are saved, the Holy Spirit is our "ticket" into Heaven, and the Holy Spirit is with us until we die, how can we be lost? The Holy Spirit is our guarantee to enter Heaven and we are sealed with that ticket until we die. If we have our ticket and can't lose it, how can we be lost? We can't.

____

These are my thoughts. I have more reasons for eternal security, but these are some of the strongest. Thoughts?

God bless,

Robert

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I plan to use this to post ideas and thoughts related to the Bible. I would love return opinions and comments!

God bless,

Robert