Sovereign Election – Part II

                                          

                                                                  Who limits the atonement?   

Atonement by definition  in the Old Testament means to cover over, atone, propitiate, pacify. The Hebrew word is kāpar. In the Greek one of the words is hilasmos which means an expiation; meaning sin is covered and remitted.

Knowing who limits the atonement is critical to our understanding of the sovereign election process. Those who subscribe to Arminianism or Universalism say that the atonement is unlimited; meaning that Jesus died for everyone for all time. Jesus paid for the sins of everyone who will ever live in this earth. Now very carefully think about this, if that were true, why isn’t everyone saved if their sins were paid for in full by Jesus on the cross?

The reply that most Christians will give is that the sinner has to believe in what Jesus accomplished at the cross so that he/she can be saved (Romans 10:9-10).

Another question I would pose to the reader of this article is this: how can a sinner dead in trespasses and sins do anything (Ephesians 2:1)?  God has to first give life to the dead in order for them to respond to the gospel – be given repentance and faith to believe and be saved (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 2:8-9;John 5:21; Ephesians 2:5).  A physical illustration of this is when Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus and commanded him to get up.  How could a dead man respond to that call? He can’t come to life on his own. A power greater than himself  had to infuse him with the power and ability to rise from the dead so that he could have newness of life (John 11). That’s exactly what Jesus did when he commanded the dead chosen sinner to come to life; he came to life, believed the gospel truth and was born again. This is all by sovereign choice, God choosing, not man’s.

Man is wrong when he says that the atonement is for everyone. It was not. That was not the Father’s predetermined plan, and that is not what Jesus came to do. Jesus died only for those whom the father gave him to come and redeem. Jesus always did the will of the Father (John 8:29). To declare that Jesus died for everyone means that his sacrifice provided only a potential or virtual atonement because people can choose to reject it and go to hell to pay the penalty for their own sins. This proves the atonement can not be applied universally. Secondly, to say that Jesus died for every man actually makes Jesus a “sinner” because he disobeyed his Father’s command and “saved” those whom the Father didn’t choose before the foundation of the world. We know this not to be true.  Jesus’ sacrifice was an actual, complete, or definite atonement which actually forgave the sins of all who would believe; that would be the chosen of God before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 4:1). Man limits the effectiveness or power of the atonement. God limits it to who it extends, but it is unlimited to those to whom it belongs; actually saving them from their sins  (i.e. chosen, the elect/Matthew 1:21).

                                                                                                             

                                             No one is ever saved against their will

Another complaint against sovereign election is this: “since God chooses who will be saved, that means he’s going to save people kicking and screaming against their will. That’s a violation of their freedom!”

First of all, no one enters into the kingdom “kicking and screaming”. Just understand that if you’re chosen from eternity passed to be a recipient of God’s saving grace, you will receive that grace. God will cause the unwilling sinner to become willing and say yes to the gospel. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord. He turns it whichever way he chooses.” Psalm 115:3 says, “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” Another tucked away verse says this:”Your people will become willing in the day of your power” (Psalm 110:3).

All these verses speak  to the loving power of God to accomplish his purposes in the heart of the unwilling chosen sinner. God is the one that chooses which will always result in the sinner responding ultimately positively to the gospel. The chosen of God will isn’t violated, it’s given a jolt by God so that he realizes his need for salvation by the revelation he receives from the power of the gospel; sight is given to the blind. Let me put it another way, Jesus Christ’s blood sacrifice to the Father was so complete and efficacious that it demands the chosen sinner to respond to it in faith so that they’re saved. Packaged within God’s predestination plan is two essential virtues or benefits: repentance and faith; both which God’s grants the chosen. This is what makes sovereign election successful because it’s all of God and none of man. God does/will not leave part of his redemptive plan in the hands of wicked men to actualize it. It’s impossible for a dead sinner to do that anyway since he can’t seek God on his own (Psalm 14:2; Psalm 53:2; Romans 3:11).

Anyone who refuses salvation and dies in their sins, their sins were never atoned for. They’re being punished justly for their own sins.

God is the one that limits the atonement.

                                          God must be glorified in his wrath against the ungodly

Just like God will be (and is) glorified in his grace and mercy, he also will be glorified in his justice and wrath. The latter is something we’re not willing to accept about God’s character. If we’re honest, we think it’s cruel for God to send people to hell. Why do we think this way? Our minds our finite and they’re corrupt; that is why we must renew our minds with God’s word (Romans 12:2; II Corinthians 10:4-6).

This statement bears repeating, all the world deserves God’s wrath, none of us deserve His mercy and grace…ever! We’re all on an even playing field when it comes to sin. God sending mankind to hell is just; it’s never unjust to punish evil doers. We know this very well in secular society. All of us would agree that if a earthly judge pardoned a convicted serial killer or pedophile (i.e. Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer), we would all be outraged and declare that judge to be unjust and evil for not executing justice against the sins of those criminals.

Likewise, the judge of all the earth MUST  judge the crimes of the world committed against him for his holiness sake or else He would violate his own holiness. The blessed exception is only for those whom God has chosen to be recipients of his saving grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. And even then, the chosen sinner must acknowledge his sin, repent of it and exercise faith in God to believe so that he will be saved. This he will do because the Father has predetermined it would happen for the glory of his grace (Ephesians 1:6).

Now, back to the main point of why God will be glorified in his wrath and against evil doers; Romans 9:22-24 reads, “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which He had prepared before hand for glory even us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

There are vessels of wrath I see for two reasons: 1) Because of man’s love for sin (John 3:19).  2) God wants to unleash his wrath on these vessels and he will at the appointed time which gives him glory. These individuals have hardened their hearts against God and His holy word and therefore will be punished fairly as a result. God is a God of inexplicable mercy and grace and also a God of justice and wrath. God demands and will be glorified for his judgment of  unredeemed sinners. Once again, this is the fate of all men except the saved (i.e. the vessels of honor). God by justly condemning sinners amplifies his sovereign grace on those whom he saves. The salvation of man is a divine exception that God provides. The condemnation of man is the result of his obstinacy and hard heartedness. Both are in complete harmony of God’s sovereign will.

The scripture says in Proverbs 16:4, The Lord has made all things for Himself, Yes even the wicked for the day of doom. This doesn’t mean God causes men to be  evil or make him sin, but it shows the power of God that even the negative of  life  bows the knee to the Almighty  God. God will receive glory by destroying his enemies (Revelation 19:1-5).

                                     

                                                               In conclusion

As I mentioned earlier, all men are on an even playing field when it comes to sin. We’re all justly hell bound without divine intervention from God. God gives general revelation to all men via the creation and conscience (Romans 1). Man rejects the common grace God gives him everyday so why would God give him more deeper revelation of Himself? The only way God can and has done this is by sending his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, his beloved to die as a sin sacrifice for some (the elect) thus satisfying God’s holy wrath against sin. Jesus’ blood is the agent that purchased  His people out of the sin slavery market. This means we are His own possession.  This act gives man access to the Father God when he believes.

God has commanded all men (without exception) to repent. This is a general outward call that man rejects. He rejects because he loves his sin and the Father has not drawn  him to the Son[ (See parable in Matthew 22:1-14. Parable of the wedding feast of the king for his son) ( Also John 6:44)].  What’s commonly called the “inward call or irresistible grace” is the call that results in the sinner repenting and believing on The Lord Jesus for his salvation (Romans 8:29-30;10:9-10).

So you see the difference? God has decided to leave the majority of the world in condemnation because this is what they want; they  love their evil and sin. None seek after God (Romans 3:11).  Sin gives the wicked pleasure (Romans 1:32).  Most importantly, they hate God and his Son (John 15:18-23; Romans 1:30). This they choose to do despite the common grace they receive everyday. God is evident in their lives, but they have willingly chose to suppress the truth of God they know, and  also have chosen not to retain God in their knowledge (Romans 1:19,28). They forsake God, and God in turn forsakes them and leaves them to their own devices. Their eternal destruction is completely just.

God chose some from His just wrath because that is what He wants, and the Lord will do what pleases him (Psalm 115:3; Ephesians 1:9,11; Philippians 2:13; Matthew 11:25-27; Luke 10:21-22).        

God chooses whom he will save so that he will receive glory for it. God condemns whom he’s not chosen so that he receives glory for that as well. God is completely consistent in his dealing with man and super gracious at the same time; providing him with eternal deliverance from sin.

God’s sovereignty at work: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power (or right) to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood (not a natural birth), nor of the will of the flesh(no human effort) nor of the will of man (because natural man is powerless), but of God  (John 1:12-13).