Predestination / Free Will (7b)

Second: Unlimited Atonement

• Jesus Christ died for all people, paying the price of redemption for them all. But this does not guarantee their forgiveness; many of His redeemed will eventually be damned because of unbelief.
• Christ’s atonement was sufficient and efficient for all, but it only takes effect when faith is present.
• Christ’s sacrifice was merely a potential substitutionary atonement; it becomes an actual atonement when a person contributes faith to the equation, and even then, only if they persevere in faith to death.

• Scripture:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. … For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” (Romans 5:6-8,17-18)
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
“[Praying for all men] is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)
“(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)
“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. … For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:9,17)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” (2 Peter 2:1)
“He is the atoning sacrifice [literally, the propitiation] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
• Additional Scripture (Luke 19:10; John 4:42;10:11;12:32; Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18)

BOTH VIEWS LIMIT THE ATONEMENT!

• Limited in extent or scope by the Calvinists (narrow bridge all the way across the chasm of sin)
• Limited in value or effectiveness by the Arminians (wide bridge goes only half way across the chasm of sin)
• The Issue: Did Christ die in the same way for all men?
o What was Christ’s death designed to accomplish from all eternity?
o What was accomplished by Christ’s death?
o Did it accomplish the desired outcome?
o Did Christ sufficiently satisfy the demands of God’s justice on the cross? If not, then faith atones too…

Sproul, in Grace Unknown, pg 164 quotes J.I. Packer, “[Arminians believe] Christ’s death did not ensure the salvation of anyone, for it did not secure the gift of faith to anyone (there is no such gift); what it did was rather to create a possibility of salvation for everyone if they believe.”

• Did Christ pay for:
o All the sins of all men? Yes, then why is anyone sent to hell?
o Some of the sins of all men? Yes, then works must be involved to atone for the rest of our sins.
o Some of the sins of some men? Yes, then works must be involved…
o All of the sins of some men? Yes, then nothing else is necessary. Christ did it all!
• Does God punish sin once in perfect justice or twice?
• Did Christ fail in His attempt to save all men? Did He succeed in saving all those He intended to save?
• Many Passages say Jesus dies for “all” or the “world” (often explained in light of Jews / Gentiles). Consider the following Scripture passages: John 1:9,29; 3:16-17; 4:42; Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15,19; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:14

Ligon Duncan, in "The First Epistle of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS," Volume 37, Number 36, September 16, 2004, said: “Everywhere in the New Testament that we find the emphasis on God as savior of ‘all men’ or Christ as savior ‘of the world’ the inspired biblical writers are pressing home and reveling in three grand realities simultaneously: (1) that there is only one Savior God and one way of salvation for all mankind—our savior God is the only saving hope for the whole of humanity; (2) that our Savior God is not only the savior of the Jews but also of the Gentiles; and (3) that our savior God is not merely the savior of some tiny remnant of Israel or the savior of some exclusive Judaizing or Gnostic few, but rather that He is the savior of a multitude that none can number.”

Predestination / Free Will (7a)

First: Limited Atonement (Particular Redemption or Definite Atonement)

• Jesus Christ died as the substitute of God’s elect, forever redeeming them. He did not atone for the sins of any who will die as unbelievers.
• Christ’s atonement was sufficient for all, but efficient only for the elect.
• Christ’s sacrifice was actually propitiatory; it permanently appeased God’s wrath and satisfied His justice.

• Scripture:
“But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. … I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD , ‘that I am God.’” (Isaiah 43:1-3,12)
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.” (Luke 1:68)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.’” (John 6:35-39)
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. … I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. … I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. … but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:3-5,11,14-16,26-29)
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. … ‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.’” (John 13:1,18)
“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message … Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’” (John 17:1-20,24-26)
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit … And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:1-4,28-30)
“[Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14)
“Therefore he is able to save completely [or forever] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
“He … obtained eternal redemption. … For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. … So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:12,15,28)
“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” (Revelation 5:9)
• Additional Scripture (Psalm 34:22; Isaiah 53:11; Matthew 1:21;15:13;20:28;26:28; Mark 10:45;14:24; Luke 19:10; John 11:50-52; Ephesians 5:25-27; Colossians 1:21-22,26-27; Hebrews 10:14; 1 Peter 2:24)

Predestination / Free Will (6b)

Third: Conditional Election

• God chose to save those sinners whom He foresaw having faith (anyone who placed themselves in the group of believers)
• Election to salvation involves both the sinner choosing God and God choosing the sinner. God’s choice was conditioned upon man’s choice, as God chose before creation those whom He foresaw in time believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.
• Conditional Election refers to:
o Individuals, not a particular nation.
o Salvation, not service. (Election to service is unconditional.)
o Based on faith, not unto faith.
• Both sides agree with election and predestination!

• Scripture:
“From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth–he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” (Psalm 33:13-15)
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.’” (Acts 15:7-9)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout … Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)

• Faith is a condition for election.
The Prescient View: God elects based on foreseeing those who will believe.

• Conclusion: God elects those whom He foresees having faith. The Calvinist suggests that the Arminian view of Election depicts election to salvation as both merited by faith and meaningless, just an acknowledgement of the obvious. What is God’s purpose in election to salvation? Study Romans 9:10-24:

“Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?’ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”

Fifth: God’s foreknowledge
Foreknowledge in Greek is “PROEGNO” (pro-gnosis / prognosis). The word appears only 7 times in the New Testament.
“PROEGNO” applies to man in: Acts 26:5: “they have known me for a long time,” and 2 Peter 3:17: “since you already know this.”
“PROEGNO” applies as a verb to God in: Romans 8:29: “those God foreknew He also predestined,” Romans 11:2: “God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew,” and 1 Peter 1:20: “He was chosen before creation, but was revealed in these last times.”
“PROEGNO” applies as a noun to God in: Acts 2:23: “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.” and 1 Peter 1:2: “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”

All of these verses suggest an intimate “knowing” and not a foreseen “know about.” See Romans 8:29-30 – The Golden Chain of Salvation. Does God foreknow the person or about the person? How many of those He foreknew were predestined? How many of those He predestined are called? How many of those He called are justified? How many of those He justified are glorified? ALL OF THEM!

Predestination / Free Will (6a)

First: Predestination

Refers to God’s determining before there was time where people would spend eternity! This either applies absolutely (certainly) to individuals as Calvinists claim or conditionally to groups of people known as believers and unbelievers as Arminians claim. In other words, one group claims that God predestines individuals unto salvation or damnation, while the other group claims that God predestines groups of people (believers and unbelievers) unto salvation or damnation, and then it's up to the individuals to determine what group they'll fall into. Predestination falls under the category of God’s Sovereignty. Election and Reprobation fall under the category of Predestination.

Second: Unconditional Election

• God chose to save some people based on nothing to do with them.
• God the Father graciously chose and predestined some sinners to salvation. His choice was in no way conditioned upon foreseen good or merit or belief or faith of the chosen ones.
• Unconditional Election refers to:
o Individuals, not a particular nation.
o Salvation and service. (We are saved to serve God.)
o Unto faith, not based on faith.

• Scripture:
“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’” (Matthew 11:25-27)
“He replied, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.’” (Matthew 13:11)
“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” (John 5:21)
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
“Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” (Romans 9:10-13)
“God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me’? And what was God’s answer to him? ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened.” (Romans 11:2-7)
“But when God, who set me apart from birth [or my mother’s womb] and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man…” (Galatians 1:15-16)
“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.” (2 Timothy 1:8-11)
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout … Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:7-9)
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world [or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain].” (Revelation 13:8)

• Additional Scripture: Psalm 33:11-12;65:4; Isaiah 65:1; Amos 3:2; Haggai 2:23; Matthew 22:14;24:22-24; Mark 13:20-22; Luke 10:21-22;18:7; 1 Corinthians 1:26-30; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 2:10,19-21; 2 Peter 1:3; Revelation 17:8
• The Calvinist considers election in light of two critical theological elements:
o Total Depravity – None will choose God, so God couldn’t have foreseen any choosing Him.
o The Covenant of Redemption made before time between the Father, Son, and Spirit.
• The Calvinist notes that ELECTION SAVES NOBODY. Rather, election by God the Father marks a people to be saved by the work of the Son and Holy Spirit. Election is a merciful act of God; God is not obligated to save anyone.
• Election is a condition for faith.

The Reformed View: God elects based on nothing in man

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:4-12)

• Conclusion: God chose some people to save as vessels of mercy and left others in their sinful state as vessels of wrath. He was not obligated to save anyone.