What Does the Bible Say About...?: Easy-to-Understand Answers to the Tough Questions by Ron Rhodes

Author:Ron Rhodes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-05-07T18:27:00+00:00

I believe the doctrine of unlimited atonement is the scriptural view, and there are numerous verses that support it. Following is a sampling (with relevant portions italicized):

In Luke 19:10 we read, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." The "lost" in this verse refers to the collective whole of lost humanity, not just to the lost elect. This is the most natural understanding of this verse.

In John 1:29 we read, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"' What is the "world" here? The world represents humanity in its fallen state, alienated from its Maker. Reformer John Calvin says of this verse, "When he says the sin of the world, he extends this favor indiscriminately to the whole human race."' Though Calvin is often cited in favor of limited atonement, here is a clear statement in which unlimited atonement is his view.

In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." It is critical to observe that John 3:16 cannot be divorced from the context that is set in verses 14 and 15, wherein Christ alludes to Numbers 21. In this passage Moses is seen setting up the brazen serpent in the camp of Israel, so that if "any man" looked to it, he experienced physical deliverance. In verse 15 Christ applies the story spiritually when He says that "everyone who" believes on the uplifted Son of Man shall experience spiritual deliverance.

In John 4:42 we read, "They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."' It is quite certain that when the Samar itans called Jesus "the Savior of the world," they were not thinking of the world of the elect.

First Timothy 4:10 says, "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." There is a clear distinction in this verse between "all men" and "those who believe." Apparently the Savior has done something for all human beings, though it is less in degree than what He has done for those who believe.' In other words, Christ has made a provision of salvation for all men, though it only becomes effective for those who exercise faith in Christ.

Hebrews 2:9 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." The Greek word everyone (pantos) is better translated "each." Why use the word pantos (each) rather than panton (all)? The singular brings out more emphatically the applicability of Christ's death to each individual human being.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.