Mounting evidence
John 3:14-15 | Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
The reference is to the story of the bronze snake that served as a type of Christ in Numbers 21. The parallels:
- The entire Israelite community had sinned and needed saving, just as the entire world has sinned and needs saving.
- There was no indication that Moses did not intercede for all the people, just as there is no indication that Jesus does not intercede for all humanity.
- The bronze snake was mounted on a pole, just as Jesus was mounted on a tree.
- The bronze snake was available to all the Israelites, just as Jesus’s death is available to all people (non-Calvinist theology).
- And perhaps the most compelling parallel: The snake’s being on the pole did not automatically heal the Israelites––they had to look at the bronze snake to recover and be healed. In the same way, Jesus’ death on the cross does not automatically heal us. We must make a response to receive His salvation (non-Calvinist theology). It is there, but it is not effective until we receive it.
Again, other passages witness to the universal atonement of Christ:
Romans 5:6 | For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.
Note the distinction between the "we" and the "ungodly". Who are the "we"? Who is Paul talking to here? Those Jews and Gentiles who have believed (see Rom. 4:25-5:1; c.f. 3:22). Yet Paul does not say "Christ died for us" (though he easily could have--and in fact does in verse 8), but he says "Christ died for the ungodly."
Who are the ungodly? Everyone (Rom. 3:9-18). Everyone was ungodly at some point in their lives, yet Christ died for the ungodly. The passage does not say Christ died for some of the ungodly, or the ungodly elect, but simply that He died for the ungodly.
Luke 19:10 | For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Again, scripture teaches that we all are lost. The analogy is clear. This verse does not say that Jesus came to seek some of what was lost, or part of what was lost, but simply what was lost.
Romans 10:13 | For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Revelation 22:17 | Both the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Anyone who hears should say, "Come!" And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.
As Samual Telloyan notes, “The word ‘whosoever’ [whoever/anyone/everyone] is used at least 110 times in the New Testament and always with the unrestricted meaning.”
Universal Parallels
I admire Calvinists for the fact that they are often the first to point out the universal extent and effect of sin on the human race. Everyone, and they mean everyone, is a sinner.No exceptions.
Psalm 143:2b | … for no one alive is righteous in Your sight.
Romans 3:12 | All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
Isaiah 53:6 | We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way.
The word “all” simply means “all”.
A Calvinist would be indignant if I took the phrase “no one alive” in Psalm 143 to infer that only those alive in David’s day were sinners, and no one else is. Similarly, if I took the world “all” used in the other two passages (or any other ones, for that matter) and interpreted them to mean anything other than “every human being who ever lived,” I would most certainly be accused of avoiding the force of the text––of wriggling and squirming to get away from what the text clearly says.
Yet this is exactly what a Calvinist must do when presented with the biblical texts that speak of the universal extent of the atonement. They must try to avoid the text.
They have to. Otherwise their theological system is broken.
Observe these verses that draw the clear parallel between the universality of both the extent of man’s sin and the extent of Christ’s atonement:
Isaiah 53:6 | We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.
Romans 5:15 | But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift overflowed to the many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 11:32 | For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
(Note: It is important to recognize this objection: In the Romans passages, Paul is speaking to Jews and Gentiles who have believed. Thus when Paul uses the word "all" in Romans 3:22b-23, he is referring to all the Jews and Gentiles who have believed: "...God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." However, before we restrict the extent of total depravity here, we must remember that Paul has built his argument for the total depravity of all who believe based upon the indisputable truth of one fact: everyone without exception is totally depraved, see Romans 3:9-18. In the same way, Christ's death for "all who believe" need not be restricted solely to them, if, in fact, Christ died for everyone without exception.)
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 | For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:19 | That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.
Here, a clear distinction is made between the “world” and “us”, the “us” undoubtedly referring to the Christians Paul is speaking to. But if there is a distinction, than that must mean that the “world” God is reconciling to Himself is something other than the elect.
Matthew 11:28 | Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
We all bear the weight and burden of sin. We all are weary and burdened, before we come to Christ. Christ’s unrestricted invitation is open to all who are weary and burdened (which is everyone).
The parallels seem far too clear to be dismissed. If one wishes to affirm the universal extent of man’s sin which imposes itself on the world, than it seems that one must also accept the universal extent of the atonement. There simply does not seem to be any other way around it. No amount of theological or eisegetical acrobatics can divorce the two, for they were not meant to be divorced.
Thomas Jenkyn notes: “No passage of Scripture can be adduced which limits the atonement to the sins of the elect. Whenever the death of Christ is mentioned in connection with sin, it is always with sin universally and as a whole.”
But this parallel leads to an interesting paradox.
Calvinism practically starts with the doctrine of total depravity. It is usually the first point put forth by proponents of Calvinism. Why? First, it is clearly biblical (which is the reason, I hope to say, that Arminians believe it as well); second, the other points of the tulip logically build on its foundation.
Now here’s the problem: The doctrine of total depravity, which affirms that the extent of sin is universal, uses verses just like the ones I’ve been presenting in defense of an unlimited atonement to build it foundation.
Just like the verses I’ve been presenting, the doctrine of total depravity is built upon verses that affirm that all men sin, that the world is evil, and that no one is righteous.
If I'm not mistaken, sometimes these verses are the exact same verses, as I've tried to show.
Which leads to the question: If one’s theology leads one to deny verses virtually identical to the very verses on which it is built, then why not just deny the foundation? Why not just save yourself the trouble and deny Calvinism in the first place? Put in other words, to carry out Calvinism to its full conclusion (limited atonement), I believe is to undercut its very foundation (total depravity).
Three More Verses
One of the most compelling verses indicating that Christ indeed died for those who will go on to spurn Him for eternity comes from Peter’s second letter, where he warns against false prophets. It goes without saying that these prophets will meet God’s swift retribution.2 Peter 2:1 | But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves.
To illustrate the power of this verse, I'll try to repeat it in the way Calvinism seems to understand it:
2 Peter 2:1 | But there were also false prophets [who were still elect] among the people, just as there will be false teachers [who are elect] among you [the elect]. They [the elect] will secretly bring in destructive heresies [willfully, even though they are elect], even denying the Master who bought them [which forces them to be elect], and will bring swift destruction on themselves [even though they are the elect].
Millard Erickson writes: “2 Peter 2:1 seems to point out most clearly that people for whom Christ died may be lost…there is a distinction between those for whom Christ died and those who are finally saved.”
The point is clear. These false teachers are not Christians. They deny the Master, not their Master. Yet that Master bought them.
One might object that the false teachers are simply elect persons who are currently unconverted but will become converted at some point in their lives before they die, but the question naturally arises: What of the swift destruction they bring upon themselves?
On the other hand, an unlimited view allows its holder to avoid performing on this verse what one theologian has dubbed “avalanche dodging”.
The avalanches keep coming:
1 Timothy 4:10 | In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe.
One can almost imagine a conversation Paul is having with Timothy in this verse:
Paul: The living God is the Savior!
Timothy: Yes, but the Savior of whom?
Paul: The Savior of everyone!
Timothy: Ok, but wait, when you say “everyone”, do you really mean “everyone”, or do you just mean “every one of those who believe”?
Paul: I really mean everyone! But especially every one of those who believe!
This humorous conversation illustrates the frustration I often feel with adherents of limited atonement. Time and time again, they want to restrict or qualify its extent, and time and time again, the response is: No, everyone! Everyone everyone!
(Note: Some explain this verse by stating that Christ died for the non-elect in the sense of making it possible for them to receive common grace, but died "especially" for the elect in the sense of allowing them entrance to heaven. But this seems to butcher the word "savior". By definition, a savior gives what is needed, not just nice things. The non-elect do not need common grace; they need their sins forgiven. This is not to say they deserve it, but that they need it. Christ, as the Savior of all, gives what is needed: redemption).
There is not one who is not invited. All are freely given the gift.
The last verse that I will present comes from none other than the apostle John, the one Jesus loved, who understood perhaps more than anybody else the deep, deep love of Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:2 | He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
I simply ask: Could John have possibly made himself any clearer?
We understand what the word “propitiation” means. We understand that as our “propitiation”, Jesus paid the full price for our sins. This verse clearly and unequivocally states, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus paid the full price, not only for the sins of Christians, but also for the sins of everyone else. There is not a single person anywhere, who ever lived, for whom Christ did not pay the full price for their sins.
Some say that the phrase "whole world" means "whole world of the elect". But John consistently (19 out of 23 times) uses kosmos (world) throughout 1 John as that which is in contrast to the church. The church is not to love “the world” (1 John 2:15-17), the world does not recognize Jesus nor His disciples (3:1), hates disciples (3:13), has the spirit of the antichrist (4:3-4), and is overcome by disciples (5:4-5). One is hard pressed to see how “world” here could mean “elect of all nations”.
Additionally, note the words of Walter Martin (Christian Research Institute):
“John the Apostle tells us that Christ gave His life as a propitiation for our sin (i.e., the elect), though not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) … [We] cannot evade John's usage of [the word] ‘whole’ [holos]. In the same context the apostle quite cogently points out that ‘the whole [holos] world lies in wickedness’ or, more properly, ‘in the lap of the wicked one’ (1 John 5:19, literal translation). If we assume that ‘whole’ applies only to the chosen or elect of God, then the whole world does not ‘lie in the lap of the wicked one.’ This, of course, all reject.”
It is hard to object to this verse in any exegetical way. Thus, it seems to me, objections that come are logical; objections which already presuppose their own conclusion.
But taking Scripture alone, at its word, is a different matter. A Calvinist may be able to state why this verse does not fit in with his theological system…
…but he cannot explain why it is there.
And that’s why theological systems can be dangerous.
0 comments:
Post a Comment