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Examining the Doctrine of Limited Atonement:
Biblical Response to the 'I' in the TULIP
The doctrine of Limited Atonement is a dividing issue within the body
of Christ and the purpose of this information is to give a biblical
response to the doctrine of Limited Atonement. The doctrine of Limited
Atonement comes from the five points of Calvinism known as the TULIP. The
doctrine of Limited Atonement teaches that when Christ came and died upon
the cross He only died for the elect with whom God has already predestined
to be saved. That means Jesus did not come to give His life for anyone to
be saved, but only those whom He has chosen to be saved.
John Calvin and "Limited Atonement"
John Calvin said the following from his commentary concerning the issue of
those in whom God wants to be saved:
"But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many
do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the
hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to
their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel.
For God there stretches forth his hand without a difference to all, but
lays hold only of those, to lead them to himself, whom he has chosen
before the foundation of the world."
(John
Calvin, Commentary on 2 Peter 3:9)
In another place John Calvin said:
"For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect
alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith."
(John
Calvin, Commentary on John 3:16)
According to John Calvin it is only those whom God has chosen to be saved
that will be saved, therefore in logical conclusion Jesus did not die for
anyone to be saved, but only those who God has chosen to be saved. Only
those whom God has chosen to be saved will have their eyes opened so that
they may seek Him. So in essence John Calvin taught the doctrine of
"Limited Atonement."
Statement from Reformed Theology on "Limited Atonement"
"But even more important, this truth of Scripture that Jesus dies only for
the sins of His own people, is the only truth which exalts the power and
glory of the Name of God. Any other divergent view detracts from the glory
of His Name. Any view of the atonement which suggests that the ultimate
decision concerning one's salvation rests with man, detracts from the
power and glory of God. God does not share His power and glory with any!
He is God alone! He has absolute power. He determines the beginning from
the end. He determines the final destiny of every creature -- and He does
so in harmony with His perfect righteousness."
(from
Protestant Reformed Churches in America)
This is shown to demonstrate what the doctrine of Limited Atonement is by
those of Reformed Theology, known as Calvinist's.
Official quote from Canons of Dordt on the doctrine of "Limited Atonement"
The Canons of Dordt says the following concerning Reformed Theology on
Limited Atonement:
"For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of
God the Father that the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son's
costly death should work itself out in all his chosen ones, in order that
he might grant justifying faith to them only and thereby lead them without
fail to salvation. In other words, it was God's will that Christ through
the blood of the cross (by which he confirmed the new covenant) should
effectively redeem from every people, tribe, nation, and language all
those and only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given
to him by the Father; that he should grant them faith (which, like the
Holy Spirit's other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death); that
he should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, both original and
actual, whether committed before or after their coming to faith; that he
should faithfully preserve them to the very end; and that he should
finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without spot or
wrinkle."
(Canons
of Dordt, Second Point, Article 8)
Canons of Dordt are official doctrines of Reformed Theology, known as
Calvinism. This quote is from Canons of Dordt which shows the official
belief on the doctrine of Limited Atonement.
The heart of "Limited Atonement" and the love of God
The doctrine of Limited Atonement is that Jesus only died for a certain
group of people that was chosen by God before the foundation of the world,
and therefore only those who have been chosen to be saved will be, and the
work of the cross is only available for them. This gives the God of
the Bible a different picture when sharing the faith with those who have
not come to know Jesus. If the doctrine of Limited Atonement is
correct, than does a person who is sharing the faith tell that person that
Jesus may or may not of died for them on the cross? If you take time
to examine this it can be quite puzzling.
What does the Bible teach about "Limited Atonement" and who Jesus really died for?
The following will be some clear passages that give the clear truth
concerning this issue within the body of Christ. There are many
passages that could be used, and these will be just a taste of the
wonderful love of God for anyone to be saved if they come to receive Jesus
as their Lord and Savior.
13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is
broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and
there are few who find it. 15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will
know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor
figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but
the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit,
nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will
know them by their fruits. 21 "Not
everyone who says to Me,
`Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will
of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 "Many will say to Me on that
day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast
out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will
declare to them, `I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE
LAWLESSNESS.' 24 "Therefore
everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared
to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed
against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on
the rock. 26 "Everyone
who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them,
will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 "The rain
fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that
house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Matthew 7:13-27)
32 "Therefore
everyone who confesses
Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33 "But
whoever denies
Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:32-33)
28 "Come
to Me, all
who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke
upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU
WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was
the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He
must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it,
Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter,
"Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not
setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." 24
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he
must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
25 "For
whoever wishes
to save his life will lose it; but
whoever loses
his life for My sake will find it. 26 "For what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:20-26)
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,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of Man be lifted up; 15
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
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.
17 "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. (John 3:14-18)
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried
out, saying, "If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 "He
who believes
in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers
of living water.' " (John 7:37-38)
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life;
he who believes
in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and
everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; 31
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
(John 20:30-31)
14 I am under obligation both to
Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So, for my part,
I am eager to preach the gospel
to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the
Jew first and also to the Greek.
(Romans 1:14-16)
6 For while we were still helpless,
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good
man someone would dare even to die. 8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:6-8)
8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your
heart"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a
person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation. 11
For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE
DISAPPOINTED."
12
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is
Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13
for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
(Romans 10:8-13)
1
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and
thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
2
for kings and all who are in authority,
so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and
dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and
one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6
who gave Himself as a ransom for all,
the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:1-6)
10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope
on the living
God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
(1 Timothy 4:10)
9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels,
namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and
honor,
so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
(Hebrews 2:9)
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9)
20 `Behold,
I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation
3:20)
17
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say,
"Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take
the water of life without cost.
(Revelation 22:17)
The Scriptures are clear that Jesus came to give His life for the world,
anyone, the ungodly, sinners, and He invites all to come to Him.
This is an overall examination showing that the Scriptures are clear that
the work of the cross is available for anyone. The doctrine of
Limited Atonement is un-Biblical in it's teaching that Jesus came only to
give His life for certain people, an elect chosen without anyone having to
make a choice in their life. If you have any questions please let us
know and we will do our best to give you a Biblical answer.
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