As many of you know, I have a yearning to understand reformed (Calvinistic) theology and have been wrestling with many of the doctrines contained therein for quite some time. Over this period, my understanding of election, free will, sinfulness, grace, justification, sovereignty, and the utter sinfulness of man (among other things) has been changed through expository preaching and searching the scriptures. Of all of the doctrines of grace, the doctrine of limited atonement (the L in TULIP), otherwise known as actual atonement (which I like better even if it messes up the ever so useful acrostic) has been the one I have struggled to understand most. Recently, John MacArthur has published a study on the doctrines of grace and his exposition of this particular doctrine opened my eyes to what the scripture has to say.
Quote:
| Originally Posted by John MacArthur
If I ask the average Christian for whom did Christ die? The traditional answer would be, “Everybody…everybody, Christ died for the whole world, He died for all sinners.” And most people then in the church believe, and I’m sure many people outside the true church, many people associated with Christianity, believe that on the cross Jesus paid the debt of sin for everyone because He loves everyone and He wants everyone to be saved.” That’s pretty much the common evangelical view. Jesus died for everybody, He paid the price for the sins of everybody. And all we have to do is tell sinners that He loves them so much that He paid the price and He wants them to be saved and all they have to do is respond. Now if that is true, then on the cross Jesus accomplished a potential salvation…not an actual one. That is, sinners have all had their sins atoned for potentially and it’s not actual until they activate it by their faith. So, what we need to do is to tell sinners that they need to pick up the salvation that’s already been purchased for them. Since Christ died for everybody, everybody therefore can be saved, it’s just a matter of them coming to receive that salvation. And so, our responsibility is to convince people to come and take the salvation that’s been provided for them, to convince them to come and accept the gift. This is so deep in the fabric of evangelical theology that the most popular book on the church currently, The Purpose Driven Church, in it the author says, quote, “I can lead anyone to Christ if I find the key to that person’s heart.” The assumption is that if you can just figure out the technique of getting to some emotional point, you can win anybody on the planet to Christ because, after all, He’s died for all of them. That’s the popular idea. And I know many of you are thinking, “Well…well it seems to me that that’s what I’ve always believed in, that’s what I’ve been taught.” |
This is a perfect description of my answer not too long ago and only recently have I had the desire to search into these things. Johnny Mac has put together (as he does so well) a firm foundation of scripture on which this doctrine rests and oppositional opinions are shattered. Thanks to God for John and his gifts of preaching and exposition. Without the likes of such gifted servants, I would be lacking in understanding of many things.
Christ in Community 