Saturday, August 20, 2011

Unlimited atonement

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
‘Limited atonement’ is one of the pillars of five-point Calvinism, and it’s one that I struggle to find in the Scriptures. In fact, I find the opposite – verses like this, which show that Jesus’ death was sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.
But that’s not to say that everyone will be saved! There is a condition: that we repent of our sins and believe in Him for salvation. Only then is that atonement applied to our lives. If someone refuses to repent and believe in Christ, that decision will condemn them to an eternity separated from God. We read in John’s gospel: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17-18).
Jesus’ death makes provision for anyone and everyone to be saved, if they would choose to respond to the Holy Spirit prompting them, and believe in Christ. But people may say, ‘Then in a way, some of Jesus’ suffering was wasted, by providing atonement for those people who would reject Him.’ But, think about this: every year on the Day of Atonement, a goat was sacrificed for the sin of the whole nation. It didn’t matter how many people were there in the nation at the time – whether it was 200,000 or 20 million – the blood of the one goat was sufficient for all. The atonement Jesus’ blood provides for the sins of the world isn’t about numbers. It’s about Who He was, the fact that the perfect Son of God Himself died, bearing the punishment for all sin.

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