Calvinism: Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement

O.K., continuing from last week, here's the most debated petal in TULIP. Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement. In order secure their redemption, Jesus Christ came into the world and took upon Himself human nature so that He might identify Himself with His people and act as their legal representative or substitute. Historical or mainline Clavinism has consistently maintained that Christ's redeeming work was definite in design and accomplishment - that it was intended to render complete satisfaction for certain specified sinners, and that it actually secured salvation for these individuals and for no one else. Christ did not die simply tomake it possible for God to pardon sinners. Neither does God leave it up to sinners to decide whether or not Christ's work will be effective. On the contrary, all for whom Christ sacrificed Himself will be saved infallibly. Redeption, therefore, was designed to bring to pass God's purpose of election. All Calvinists agree that Christ's obedience and suffering were of infinite value, and that if God had so willed, the satisfaction rendered by Christ would have saved every member of the human race. The Arminians also place a limitation on the atoning work of Christ, but one of a much different nature. They hold that Christ's saving work was designed to make possible the salvation of all men on the condition that they believe, but that Christ's death in itself did not actually secure or guarantee salvation for anyone. Since not all men will be saved as the result of Christ's redeeming work, a limitation must be admitted. Either the atonement was limited in that it was designed to secure salvation for ceterain sinners, but not for others, or it was limited in that it was not intended to secure salvation for any, but was designed only to make it possible for God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe. In other words, one must limit its design either in extent (it was not intended for all) or in effectiveness (it did not secure salvation for any). Jesus Actually Saves 1. The Scriptures state that Christ came, not to enable men to save themselves, but to save sinners. Matt 1:21; Lk 19:10; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 1:3-4; 1 Tim 1:15; Tit 2:14; 1 Pe 3:18 2. The Scriptures declare that, as the result of what Christ did and suffered, His people are reconciled to God, justified, and given the Holy Spirit, who regenerates and sanctifies them. All these blessings were secured by Christ Himself for His people. a. Christ, by His redeeming work, secured reconciliation for His people. Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18-19; Eph 2:15-16; Col 1:21-22 b. Christ secured the righteousness and pardon needed by His peopel for their justification. Rom 3:24-25; Rom 5:8-9; 1 Cor 1:30; Gal 3:13; Col 1:13-14; Heb 9:12; 1 Pe 2:24 c. Christ secured the gift of the Spirit, which includes regeneration and sanctification and all that is involved in them. Eph 1:3-4; Phil 1:29; Acts 5:31; Titus 2:14; 3:5-6; Eph 5:25-26; 1 Cor 1:30; Heb 9:14; Heb 13:12; 1 John 1:7. Jesus Fulfills the Eternal Covenant 1. Jesus was sent into the world by the Father to save the people whom the Father had given to Him. Those given to Him by the Father come to Him (see and believe in Him), and none of them shall be lost. John 6:35-40. 2. Jesus, as the good shepherd, lays down His life for His sheep. All who are 'His sheep' are brought by Him into the fold and are made to hear His voice and follow Him. Notice that the Father had given the sheep to Christ! John 10:11, 14-18; 10:24-29. 3. Jesus, in His High Priestly Prayer,prays not for the world, but for those given to Him by the Father. John 17:1-11, 20, 24-26. 4. Paul delcares that all of the spiritual blessings which the saints inherit, such as sonship, redemption, the forgiveness of sin, etc., reslt from their being 'in Christ,' and he traces these blessings back to their ultimate source in the eternal counsel of God - to that great blessing of their having been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and estined to be God's sons through Him. eph 1:3-12. 5. The parallel which Paul draws between the condemning work of Adam and the saving work of Jesus Christ, the 'second man' and the 'last Adam,' can best be explained on the principle that both stood in covenant relation to 'their people.' Rom 5:12, 17-19. How Jesus Died for 'All' and Yet for a Particular People 1. There are two classes of texts that speak of Christ's saving work in general terms: (a) those containing the word "world" - John 1:9, 29; 3:16-17; 4:42; 2 Cor 5:19; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:14 and (b) those containing the word "all" - e.g., Rom 5:18; 2 Cor 5:14-15; 1 Tim 2:4-6; Heb 2:9; 2 Pe 3:9. 2. There are other passages which speak of His saving work in definite terms and show that it was intended to infallibly save a particular people, namely, those given to Him by the Father. Matt 1:21; 20:28; 26:28; John 10:11; 11:50-53; Ac 20:28; Eph 5:25-27; Rom 8:32-34; Heb 2:17; 3:1; 9:15, 28; Rev 5:9. Again, this is a summary and quotation from the book, The Five Points of Calvinism. See: Total Depravity and Unconditional Election