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Primum Mobile is a quarterly web magazine. This issue and all its contents are © Copyright 2004-2009 by the editors. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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Limited Atonement
by Paul Lytle
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
-Acts 20:28
Did Jesus intend to pay the price for every sin in the world
and fail in His mission,
or did He pay for exactly the sins for which He intended to pay?
I have met, in my day, a number of people who would consider themselves three- or four-point Calvinists, meaning that they subscribe to three or four of the Doctrines of Grace, but not all five. Without fail, this is the point that remains unaccepted. I’m sure there is such a thing as someone who believes this but not one of the others, but I have not met him. In my own case, this was the hardest to accept. When I really began studying the Bible, it was easy enough to accept “Perseverance of the Saints.” I understood very quickly that Jesus did not lose His sheep. “Unconditional Election” came next, and “Irresistible Grace” followed almost immediately, so connected are the two. Once I realized that “Total Depravity” did not mean that we are incapable of doing anything noble or good in life, but incapable instead of seeking God on our own, I realized I believe that too.
But Limited Atonement speaks to something else. It tells us that Jesus’ sacrifice was not for everyone, but only the Elect. That is, Jesus died only for those who are predestined to be saved.
If you came to these articles without knowing already what they were about, I can imagine your eyes grown wide and your mouth agape. I imagine it because mine was. I will filled with a general and dull horror at the statement, almost as though something terribly wrong had been stated.
Almost all of us are told, as a child in Sunday school, that Jesus died for everyone, usually right after we sang “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” And that is true, in a manner of saying. I would rather say that He died not for everyone, but for anyone, that is anyone who would believe, but let us stick with the original statement. This doctrine seems to contradict that. Even if I say that Jesus died for anyone, it still seems like we are being contradictory. This doctrine seems to say that Jesus only died for a remnant.
And that’s true too.
Before we default to what we have been told as children about this answer, let’s look at this logically. We have only two choices here. Either the great redemptive action of Jesus upon the Cross was for everyone, and that it can be thwarted by the will of man; or Jesus’ redemption is only for those who have been foreknown by God and is perfect in its accomplishment.
Let me restate that more simply. Either Jesus died for everyone, and His Blood was not sufficient to save many, if not most, from death, or He died for some and saved every single one for whom He died. Either it was for everyone and His Blood failed to save most, or it was for some and was perfect in its application. Either every sin is forgiven, even while some pay for those forgiven sins in Hell; or not every sin is forgiven.
And this is really where we need to take the trip back through what we have already learned in this series of articles. We cannot accept God on our own, but only through the work of the Spirit. God chose certain ones He would save, and the Spirit is sent to begin a work of regeneration in those people. Those Elect are predestined to repent and believe in Christ. Those predestined will not reject God, and those who are not predestined will go about their rebellion against God forever.
So whose sins are forgiven? The sins of the Elect. Therefore, for whom did Christ die?
The offer of His Blood is made to all in a general call, but it does not cover all sins in the history of the world. It does not forgive every trespass. It cannot, for many hold tight to their sins and will not let them go. Others, by the prompting of the Spirit, will repent of them and be saved. Their sins are forgiven, but not the sins of those who will not believe.
Let me see if I can make an analogy here. Imagine that there is an extremely generous man who goes to the courthouse and offers to pay the fines of every convicted criminal he comes across. Some of the criminals accept his offer. Others think it is a joke and ignore him. Still others are too prideful, and they do not accept. He made a general offer to everyone to have his fine paid, but whose fines were paid? Certainly not everyone’s.
Jesus’ death does not pay the price for every sin on the planet. It is offered for every sin, absolutely, but it specifically pays for the sins of the Elect. Those who deny Him and refuse His sacrifice are not forgiven! Are the sins of those in hell forgiven? If they were, then why are those people in hell? No, those sins are not forgiven, because it would not be just for two people to pay the price for the same sin.
Again, God is not in Heaven, wondering if we are going to accept Him or not. No, He’s already chosen us! He knows who are amongst His Elect, and who are not. We cannot thwart His will. He has not cast the net of His forgiveness wide, hoping that some stragglers will happen in, but He has led those He has chosen to Himself. It is these who are forgiven. It is these for whom the Blood of Christ is spilt.
In other words, it would be rather silly of God to choose certain people to accept the sacrifice of Jesus and then have Jesus pay for the sins that will absolutely not be forgiven!
We are again left with two options. Either Jesus paid a great price, and the power is with us to accept it; or Jesus paid the price in full for His Elect, and that righteousness was given to us on the basis of that grace alone, not by our own works. I believe that Scripture supports the latter.
Can the work of Jesus come back void? Can His redemptive power fail? Of course not! And yet people remain in rebellion against Him. Is it in their power to thwart Jesus, or has the redemption of Jesus’ Blood been poured upon the Elect alone?
Let me ask it another way, if I may. Was it the intention of Jesus to save everyone? If so, how terribly short of His goal has His work fallen! How miserably has He failed! Obviously, this is not the case, for when His word “goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Our conclusion must be, if we are to believe in the infinite power and glory of our Lord, is that He saved exactly who He intended to save.
And as I have said, I would much rather it be this way. I would rather the forgiveness of my sins be left in the capable hand of God from start to completion on the Cross rather than in my hands to seize hold of the gift. I am too flighty and too fickle for such weighty matters. I would lose myself more quickly than I would like to guess.
And so would you. What have we produced in this life? Our experiences have been a long string of selfishness, greed, lust, and ambition. We desire attention and wealth. We so rarely give God the adoration He deserves. We so rarely even think of Him! Imagine then if eternal life were left up to you, like a “Get Out of Jail Free” card that God passed out to everyone before leaving us to our own devices. Would you trust yourself with that, when everything is riding on it?
But Jesus has already brought about my forgiveness. God has already chosen me for it. I could get paranoid and worry on if I said the right thing while repenting, or if I phrased the Sinner’s Prayer properly. But I don’t have to, because it’s always been in God’s hands. I can rest in the peace of His Grace.
In Him rests my eternal security. Upon His Cross died my sin. Do not get me wrong; just because I say the atonement is limited, it surely has enough room for you. Do not think that there were only so many sins He could have carried and no more. No, if I slip in the next moment, it is by His Blood that I am still forgiven. If you bow to Him right now, confess your sins and believe on Him, that Cross will carry yours as well.
God does not run out of Grace. He does not stop forgiving because He’s tired of me messing up. No. Christ died for His sheep, and He rose again to guide us still. His sheep will make it home, every one. And each one will make it without a shot, for He has taken on every sin from them.
What I Am NOT Saying
Let us be very careful on this point, because it is so easy to assume other things about this doctrine, and we mustn’t do that. There is much I have not said here, and yet it can seem that I have, indeed, said them.
I am not at all saying that Jesus refuses people. May it never be! People refuse Jesus every day, but anyone who comes to the Father repentant and with faith will find life. Here’s the thing — anyone who does that is Elect and was foreknown by the Father. Every single one of us chose death in sin, but God chose some for life. Jesus rejected no one — everyone rejected Jesus. Part of the work of the Spirit is to change the heart to repentance.
It is the Spirit that brings about the regeneration needed to make that choice. God is not wondering whether we will pick Him or not. He has brought that life about. Therefore, He is not surprised at anyone who suddenly confesses Christ, or anyone who denies Him. If someone believes, he will be saved. That has always been the way to the Father. And anyone who believes has already been named by God. Both are true.
No one is refused. But Jesus did not die to save those who would spend eternity refusing Him. Those people have made their choice, and the redemption of Jesus’ Blood has no use for them. They will pay the price of their own sins.
No one is excluded except that he excludes himself in his own sin.
I am also not saying that the redemption here is limited to a certain group (except that the group be regenerate Christians), race, sex, or anything else. We are all sinners, and none is beyond salvation in this life.
I am also not saying that Jesus only loves certain people and not others. No, He loves everyone. But that is not to say that every single person on the planet is a child of God. That is not biblical. Only those who believe are God’s children, not those who reject Him (John 1:12).
Just because someone is loved doesn’t mean he should be accepted into Heaven. God can love someone wholly, but if that person rejects God, then there is only one place left for that person to go. Again, the Blood of Jesus is not useful to that person if he will not repent and believe.
Jesus’ Blood is not wasted. It does not forgive sins, only to have those same sins punished in Hell. May it never be!
Scriptural Support
There are many verses that show clearly who Jesus died for, and it wasn’t everyone, but for the Church only. This is important, for we should not make the mistake that everyone in the world will be saved or even that most people will.
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
-John 17:9
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
-Acts 20:28
Did you notice here that Jesus spilt His Blood for “the church?” We will see this again in the following passage.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
-Ephesians 5:25-27
Jesus died for His sheep. Is everyone in the world one of His sheep. The Bible is clear that not everyone is.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
-John 10:11-15
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
-Matthew 25:32-33
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
-Colossians 2:13-14
Will all sins be forgiven? Obviously not. The Bible is very clear on this point.
The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.
-Deuteronomy 29:20
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
-Matthew 12:31
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
-Romans 1:29
And just as a reminder, those sheep were named before the foundation of the world.
[A]nd all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
-Revelation 13:8
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
-Jude 1:1
[E]ven as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.
-Ephesians 1:4-5
Many people will point to verses where the Bible tells us that Jesus died for “all” or for “the world.” I will address these below, but also note how many say Jesus died for “many” rather than “all.”
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
-Matthew 26:27-28
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
-Isaiah 53:12
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
-Matthew 1:21
Objections
Doesn’t John tell us that Jesus died for “the sins of the whole world” (John 3:16)?
He does say that Jesus died for the world (the phrase “the sins of” is not in the Greek), but what does that mean? Does he mean that every person in the world will be saved? We know that it's not John’s theology, because he goes right away in the next verses to tell us who isn’t saved. No, that is not what he means. Then what else could he mean? And there are other passages that are similar. Do they really mean that “all” or “the world” will be saved?
First, it could be that he means that all will be offered the gospel. There is a common call to all people to repent and turn to God. Second, it could mean that Jesus had not died only for the Jews, or only for men, or only for the rich, but for anyone in any nation. This is true as well.
The understanding of this verse that Jesus died for every sin committed does not work, because it would therefore mean that everyone is saved. The Bible does not teach this; John does not teach this. In context here, the word “world” really only refers to those who believe in Him and confess their sins. In other words, the Elect. He uses the word “world” because of the reasons listed above, not to suggest universal salvation. “All” or “the world” is often used to make a point, but not to say that everyone will be saved. There are also several verses (see above) where it is said that Jesus died for “many.”
Remember that in the Bible, the world kosmos (world) does not have a concrete meaning. After all, John tells us in this place that “God so loved the world,” but in another tells us “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). Are we to assume that “world” has the same meaning in both verses? If so, they contradict each other. In another place he uses this same word to mean both Jews and Gentiles rather than just Jews (1 John 2:2).
We do the same thing in English. “The world is in orbit of the sun,” meaning planet; “The world of politics is confusing,” meaning area of interest; “The whole world is angry about this,” meaning a large number of people; “You should go see the world,” meaning a variety of cultures and countries.
Just the other day, the people in my office were discussing a particular policy, and it was said that “everyone feels this way about it.” Did we mean that everyone in the world had an opinion about my office’s policies? No, obviously, “everyone” meant the people in the office. If we are going to make doctrine based on words like “world” or “all,” we need to be very careful about context, since the context is what is going to reveal the meanings of these words. I believe that the passages in which it is said that “many” would be saved are put there to show us that “the world” or “all” is not meant to suggest that the whole world will be saved.
But doesn’t God love everyone? This doctrine makes it sound like He does not.
On the contrary, to believe that Jesus’ Blood can save everyone in theory but no one in practice seems more unloving to me. If you come across a drowning man, which action is more loving? Tossing out a life preserver and saying, “Well, I tossed him out a life preserver; it’s up to him to grab it now;” or jumping into the water and pulling that man in?
When Jesus died, He saved us. Period. End of story. When He said, “It is finished,” He meant it. He wasn’t tossing out a way to Heaven with the hope you’d grab it. He swam out and pulled you in. That’s greater love. He followed us into death itself to save us, for there was no other way. What a wonderful love that is!
It is true that He does not save everyone. But before declaring His actions unloving, please remember that we all deserve death. It is not His fault that we have earned Hell. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The fact that some are saved shows incredible mercy on His part.
The only people who will not get exactly what they deserve are Christians, because we do not deserve life. You may want to give everyone a pass, but that is not just. What would you think of a judge who refused to send murderers to jail? Not much, I imagine, but you want God to act in that very lawless way.
How does He choose who to save?
Specifically, He does not tell us. We know it is for His glory, and we know that it will make sense in the end, and it will all be for the good. But we are not to argue with His choices, for only He knows the beginning from the end. See Romans 9:19-24.
And that is where we must have faith in the loving God that saved us. It will make sense in the end, and it will be glorious. We cannot see it now, for we are living in a moment without the wider view, but once we see it, I am convinced that we will be in awe and wonder.
Truly, no one will be able to say that he was treated too harshly. No one will be able to make a claim against God’s justice. And I am certain that no one will be able to make a claim against His love either.
So what if someone repents and believes, but Jesus hadn’t died for that person’s sin?
Here is where our will and God’s will line up, because the situation offered in this question cannot happen. Remember that the names of the Elect are written before the foundations of the world. Remember too that God’s grace will work in the lives of the Elect, and the Elect will be brought to Christ before the end. And this is a happy surrender, not against the will of the person, but enjoined with it. God’s grace is not refused, and nor does the Elect want to refuse it.
So if someone bows a knee to Christ, that person, by definition, was one of the Elect, named before the foundation of the world. God doesn’t make little slips here; He is not surprised. There are not two groups – the Elect and those who come to Christ – with just a little overlap. No, it is the same group. Those of us who have been Predestined will, through God’s grace and providence, confess Him. Therefore, Jesus died for us. It cannot be that someone slips through the cracks and believes without God having already foreknown him.
Have you come to see the terribleness of your own sin? Have you come to understand that you cannot make it to Heaven alone? Have you bowed that knee to Jesus and repented? Do you believe? If you answered yes to these questions, you need not worry about whether you are part of the Elect or not. That is God’s concern, and if He has softened your heart with His Spirit and drawn you to Him, then the question of being Elect is academic. The more important question is this — Is Christ the Lord and Savior of your life?
If you are reading all of this but do not know the answer to that question, then let us put aside all other questions but that one. I have tried, in my own fallen way, to show a little of God’s incredible glory in these doctrines. But the most wonderful thing is that this glorious God came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus. He died for us. If we repent and believe, we will find eternal life with Him.
Do not let anything I have said turn you from Him. If there is something about God you don’t like, try to understand Him more. He is loving, merciful, and personal. He is good. I have found, over the years, that if there is some part of Him that disgusts me, my heart will be changed to reflect His own with a little study, understanding, and help from the Spirit. In the end, that part of Him no longer disgusts me, but that part of myself that felt that way is changed to see the awesome glory of God. Our natures are twisted, and sometimes we see things like that too. But the Blood of Christ can straighten us, and as we go, we will learn to love Him more, look to Him more, and be ever more in awe of who He is.
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