Think Wink.

This morning as I was driving to church, I had an epiphany of sorts. I posted a while back about limiting the atonement, but I really couldn’t articulate it back. It made sense to me in my head, but I couldn’t repeat what Piper had said in my own words. But this morning as I was driving to church, I finally did it! I was finally able to articulate how I define Limited Atonement or Particular/Definite Redemption.

Here I go. I have a particular professor that is openly anti-Calvinistic in his theology when he teaches his classes here at MBTS. The way I finally got was to put myself in a class taught by him. So I will use him as my guinea pig, nothing personal for he is a very smart man who has earned the Dr. initials in front of his name. So here is the scenario. I am in a class and Calvinism comes up. Let us say that we are in a class on the pastoral epistles. We are coming to that Arminian Pillar text: 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” I am not going to give him the chance to respond much because I really don’t know his response to this. So I do not disrespect him but am only using him to start the conversation. The conversation would go like this.

Dr. Anderson: You see, Paul here says God desires all people, all men to be saved. He doesn’t just want to save only some, but all men. God doesn’t unconditionally elect people in eternity past and the atonement isn’t just limited to that people. The cross is for everyone and God wants all men to be saved.

Me: (I raise my hand and wait to be called upon.)

Dr. Anderson: Go ahead, Henry.

Me: Well, here is how I understand the atonement and how it is limited. Jesus said in Luke 22:20 that his blood bought the new covenant for the disciples that was promised in the Old Testament. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Jeremiah 32:38-40) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 36:26-27) and Moses (Deuteronomy 30:6) all say that in the new covenant, one of the promises guaranteed by the covenant was that God would draw us to himself through a radical change of heart. He would change our hearts by removing the unbelieving and unrepentant heart of stone and replace it with a believing and repentant heart. Thus those who are included into this covenant would have the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5; John 6:29). The new covenant has God promises to bring us to saving faith and Christ’s atonement purchased that covenant. Thus if God were to apply it to a person, it would produce or result in saving faith and repentance. It would be applied as a result of saving faith and repentance. I don’t see where you universal texts contradict this, do you?

Dr. Anderson: No I don’t [Then he might try to raise objections to this at this point].

Me: If that is true, then if any is to believe, God must first apply the atonement of Christ and the new covenant promises to him. Thus faith is the result of God’s application of the cross (Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 2:24-25; Ephesians 2:8). Thus all who has, does, and will believe with saving faith is because God applied the cross to their sinful hearts. If that is true then all who believed were purchased by the cross, the effects of the cross are only given to them. They were chosen by God to receive the cross. Ephesians 1:4 and 2 Timothy 1:9 says that choice of God was made before the foundations of the world. Romans 9:11 says it was not based upon birth or deeds/works but on God who calls. Ephesians 1:6 and Ephesians 1:11-12 says that it is for the glory of God alone that he made this choice.

Recapping the argument:
1.) Christ’s atonement bought the New Covenant (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25).
2.) The New Covenant guarantees our obedience of Faith (Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Jeremiah 32:38-40; Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Deuteronomy 30:6)
3.) Faith and repentance is the duty of man (John 6:29; Romans 1:9; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30)
4.) Faith and repentance is a gift of God (John 6:64-65; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 2:24-25).
5.) God grants to the sinner faith and repentance by applying the New Covenant promises to the sinner bought by Christ’s death on the cross.
6.) These believers are the definite group people that the Scriptures speak of (Romans 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:10; John 10:11; John 10:15; Ephesians 5:25; Acts 20:28; John 11:52; Hebrews 10:14; Revelation 5:8-10).
7.) The people to whom God applied the cross to were chosen by Him apart from any merit within themselves (Romans 9:11; 2 Timothy 1:9).
8.) These people were chosen by God before the foundation of the world and for his own purposes (2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 1:4)
9.) These people were chosen by God for the ultimate purpose of revealing his own glory (Ephesians 1:4-6; Ephesians 1:11-12; Romans 9:22-23).

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