Note:
Last Sunday in Lynchburg, we continued our series on the Doctrines of
Grace. I did a follow-up to my message
on “Limited Atonement” with a message on “Objection Passages to Limited Atonement.” Below is part of the
introduction to the message along with the eight objection passages I reviewed:
Many
of the objections raised against the doctrine of Limited Atonement relate to
the interpretation of various passages using the word “all.” Those who object usually take for granted
that the word “all” in every instance refers to “all humanity.” When read in context, however, the word “all”
very often refers to “all the elect.”
We
make this kind of discernment in everyday life.
One might hear the following report on the news: “There was an accident involving a single
vehicle with four passengers. All were
killed.” Upon listening to this report,
one does not suppose that all human beings were killed or that all the people
in the city were killed in the accident.
The context makes clear that “all” refers to all the passengers. Knowing the context is a key to right interpretation. Many read the Gospels and the epistles as
universal missives to all humanity, rather than as communication written to a
particular audience. This clouds their
ability to understand these passages.
Many
also confuse the astonishment expressed in the New Testament over the fact that
both Jews and Gentiles (all kinds of men; men from the whole world) are being
saved. Paul, for example, is staggered
with amazement that in Christ “the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same
body, and partakers of the promise in Christ through the same gospel” (Eph
3:6). Some confuse this emphasis with
the notion that all men without exception are redeemed (universalism) or
potentially redeemed (Arminianism).
Here are the eight objection
passages reviewed:
1. John 1:29
2. John 3:16
3. John 12:32
4. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
5. 1 Timothy 2:1-7
6. 2 Peter 3:9
7. 1 John 2:2
8. 2 Peter 2:1
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