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Did Christ die only for the elect? |
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The doctrine of Limited Atonement is the third of the five points of Calvinism (the other points are Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Irresistable Grace and Perseverance of the Saints - spelling the acronymn TULIP). The doctrine of Limited Atonement teaches that Christ died - not for all people - but only for the elect. This doctrine is held by many Reformed Christians, although there are people who would call themselves Calvinists who do not hold this doctrine (so-called four-point Calvinists).
There are two big problems with this doctrine. Firstly, it finds next to no support from Scripture. That is, there are no verses that clearly and categorically affirm this teaching. Instead, those who argue for Limited Atonement (LA) base their arguments for primarily on logic, sentiment and tradition (that is, the Calvinistic framework of thought) rather than Scripture. Secondly, there are a number of verses that clearly and categorically teach that Christ died for all people. How those who affirm LA try to wriggle out of these verses makes for interesting reading.
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The Authority of Scripture |
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In previous articles I have argued that the Bible is God's Word - and that it is inspired and inerrant. If you believe these things, then we may take another step in this article and also say that the Bible is authoritative - what it says carries God's authority.
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Does the Bible contain mistakes? |
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The first thing you should do if someone says to you ‘The Bible is full of contradictions and mistakes' is to hand them a Bible and ask them to point one out for you. Usually, people saying such things have no idea where to look in the Bible for ‘errors' - they are just repeating what others have said and have not read it themselves. Jesus' word to the Sadducees applies to them: ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God' (Matthew 22:29).
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Imagine if you went to a party and, to your surprise, saw the Prime Minister standing across the room from you. You might already know lots of things about the PM (you recognize his face, know his name and what job he does), however unless he introduced himself and talked about himself, you could never know Him personally.
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Seven Ways God Speaks to us |
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1. In Creation
Psalm 19 says that God speaks in Creation: ‘The Heavens declare the glory of God’. Strangely, some people prefer to believe that the world just made itself and that the miracle of Life ‘happened’ by a long process of trial and error. In reality, evolution is the greatest bluff in the history of science. The 100 million catalogued fossils in our world’s museums do not present the evidence that would prove evolution – ‘a finely graduated organic chain’ full of ‘intermediate links’ (Darwin). Instead, there are huge gaps between the species. Evolutionists point to a handful of possible cases of missing links, but this is like pointing to Hawaii as proof of a land bridge from California to China. Evolution is a fairytale for grown-ups (frogs really do turn into princes), a crutch for atheism. Creation shouts ‘the Lord God made it all’.
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Judge not, that you be not judged |
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In the 1970’s John 3:16 was the best-known, best-loved and most often quoted verse in the Bible. Today, this is probably no longer true. Instead, Matthew 7:1 has taken its place as the verse that Christians quote more than any other. ‘Do not judge’ is taken as a blanket ban on passing negative comments on others’ activities, beliefs, habits, language, disobedience of God’s word, unscriptural practices or shady moral choices.
However, it is seriously to be doubted whether most people who quote this verse understand what the verse is really saying. It certainly does not mean that we are not allowed to hold or express opinions about certain issues.
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