Mephibosheth's Blog

Christ’s Provision – For all or not for all?

Jamie Sink — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:15:57 +0000

The extent of the atonement often sparks a debate which causes blood pressure to rise and emotions to flutter. Unfortunately, it is a debate far from being resolved among the godliest men. Nonetheless, the issue should not be overlooked. The extent of the atonement is one of those “doctrinal mountains” worth dying on.

I would like to begin with a personal illustration as to why I find it important to write this material on what I believe to be the biblical view of the atonement. While presenting the gospel to a young man in the neighborhood I was faced with the issue of election. I firmly believe that the Bible teaches election; that was not the problem. The problem arose when this young man insisted that if he were to be saved he would have to be one of God’s elect and, therefore, could not do anything to reject the gift of God or to accept it. While there was some truth in his statement, there was also enough heresy to lead him astray by way of confusion. This young man had been instructed that if Christ did not die for his sins that he was not one of the elect; his final statement to me was, “if God wants me to be saved he will save me; if not, then I guess he just didn’t want me.” My heart melted as our conversation ended that day.

I am in no way casting blame or trying to lump everyone who holds to a limited atonement view into one pile. However, it did rattle me to think that such a view of the atonement could eventually sway an individual into actually believing that salvation was unattainable for some because Christ did not die for all. I would like to very simply lay out some facts about election, hell, and the basis for God’s judgment. This may seem like a strange combination to some with a theological mindset who seek to argue the decrees of God along with the differing lapsarian positions (lapsarian referring to the fall of man), but I hope it to be simple and easily understood. After all, I am just a simple minded individual myself (please, no comments necessary).

First of all, election; it is a doctrine that cannot be avoided or totally comprehended. God is sovereign! It would be wonderful just to stop there with this subject; nonetheless, we must plow on. D.L. Moody said it well when he said, “I believe in election; the whosoever wills are the elect and the whosoever wont’s are the non-elect.” This quote is bound to arouse some that would like to greet me with a “holy kiss” right about now. Much time could be spent on discussing sublapsarian, infralapsarian, and supralapsarian positions but most likely it would even end in a dispute as to what each meant according to whose systematic theology was followed (i.e. Berkhof, Ryrie, Chafer etc.). However, if the biblical model of God’s decrees were followed they would flow as such: Creation, The Fall of Man, Salvation (Provision), Election, Salvation Applied. This model is seen in the Genesis account of creation concerning man’s fall and how God deals with it through the provision made by the shedding of innocent animal blood as a type of that which was to come. I would consider this the infralapsarian positions but others I am sure would disagree.

It would be against the biblical model to place election before the provision was even made. God is never caught off guard by anyone rejecting or accepting Christ; He is sovereign! God had foreknowledge of who would or would not accept before the foundation of the world, but that was not the basis of His electing (1 Pet. 1:2). The word “foreknowledge” used in 1 Peter is better understood as “relationship knowledge.” Therefore, God did not elect some on the “basis of” but “according to” His relationship knowledge He had with His elect before the foundation of the earth. However, unbelievers are marked off because of unbelief but never foreordained or predestined to damnation (Jn. 3:18).

Secondly, let us discuss the topic of hell. What was God’s intention for creating hell? Jesus states in Matthew 25:41 that hell was created for the devil and his angels. If hell was created for the purpose of punishing Satan and the fallen angels, why would God send any human being there? First of all, it is a misconception that God sends human beings to hell. Scripture is clear that a man goes to hell due to his rejection of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Adrian Rogers stated: “If you go to hell, you will go there as an intruder.” There is truth behind that statement because God did not create hell for mankind! Second of all, if God does not will that “any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” it must be His will that all be saved. Unfortunately, this does not mean that all will be saved. Man has been given by God a free will and God will never force His will upon man (Isa. 1:18). Hell is real; men will go there, but only on their own choosing.

Another common misconception about hell among some proponents of limited atonement is that men go there to pay for their sins. The Bible does state that there are wages for sin and the wages are death (Rom. 3:23). While this does include physical and spiritual death, it in no way suggests that sins are paid for in hell. If sins were paid for in hell then I would have to agree with some in the limited atonement camp that it would be unjust for God to deliver a second punishment for man’s sin if in fact Christ had already paid the price once. However, this is simply unbiblical and cannot be proved by using a proper hermeneutic for interpreting God’s Word.

Thirdly, a brief discussion on the basis of God’s judgment is necessary to understand the extent of the atonement. There are judgments by God that are poured out because of sin, but the consigning of an individual’s soul to an eternal separation from the face presence of God is solely based on an individual’s decision to accept the provision made (previously cited – Jn. 3:18; 2 Thess. 1:7-9). Because God is holy He must act within His own standard of holiness. I am in no fashion insinuating that God is unjust with His dealings with individuals, but, humanly speaking, it seems that if God dealt with a person on the basis of his/her rejecting His provision when there was not a provision made for that person then it would incite injustice on the part of God.

Furthermore, there is clear indication in Scripture that an individual has a responsibility to accept or reject the provision of God’s Son. Peter warns of false teachers who will bring in “damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them” (emphasis mine) (2 Pt. 2:1). Christ had already paid for the sins of these false teachers; it was their denying that condemned them. If Christ only died for the elect then these false teachers should be included with the elect. The question remains, how can a sinner be judged or damned for not believing on Christ if Christ did not die for him? It is clear that there will be those judged for that reason. This presents a real problem for limited redemptionists unless a juggling of the text is performed.

Christ did die for the sins of the world. A provision was made that placed all men on a salvable basis, reconciling all men objectively. But, it is ultimately man’s choice to accept or reject the provision made by Jesus Christ through His sacrificial death on the cross, His burial and resurrection. By accepting this provision man can be reconciled to God subjectively (Jn. 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:19; 1 Jn. 2:2). If I thought for a moment that God only made provision for some I would continually struggle with assurance of my salvation. Praise be to God for His unspeakable Gift!

For those not convinced – Come quickly Lord Jesus and straighten us all out!

The Holy Spirit

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:16:52 +0000

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and was never created but has always been in existence, living in perfect unity with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was the divine agent used to reveal and preserve the Word of God to mankind and indwells every living believer until death or the rapture, fulfilling the promise of Christ and empowering men to do the work of the Lord (Acts 16:7; 1 Cor. 6:11) (2 Pet. 1:21) (Jn. 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20).

The Holy Spirit currently works to convict men of their sinfulness, regenerate all believers, restrain evil in the world, baptize all believers into the body of Christ, indwell and seal all believers until the day of redemption (Jn. 16:7-11; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30; 2 Thes. 2:7).

The Person of Christ

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:16:20 +0000

The Scriptures teach the preexistence of the incarnate Christ and in His eternality in that He is coeternal and was coexistent with the Father in eternity past. Scripture testifies of the equality of Christ with Father and the Holy Spirit and that Christ is the Creator and sustainer of all things. Christ was incarnated in the flesh being conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and is the very Son of God the Father. Christ became man to reveal the partial essence of God the Father and to live a sinless life to provide a pattern for godly living, and to offer Himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for the sins of the world (Jn. 3:13, 31; 8:5; Mic. 5:2; Jn. 1:1, 2, 18; 8:58; 17:5; Heb. 1:3) (Gen. 1:1, 26; Jn. 10:30; 17:5; Phil. 2:6; Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2) (Is. 9:6; Jn. 1:14; Rom. 8:3; 1 Jn. 4:2; Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:16, 23; Lk. 1:27, 34, 35; Ps. 2:7; Matt. 8:29; 14:33; 16:16; 24:43;Jn. 3:16, 17; 10:36; Gal. 2:20; 4:4) (Jn. 1:18; 14:7-11; 1 Tim. 3:16; Mk. 10:45; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 Jn. 1:26, 29; Rom. 3:23-26; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 9:26).

Christ is fully God and fully man, He has two natures but is one person; He emptied Himself of His preincarnate position and took on the form of a servant without diminishing His person or relinquishing His deity. Christ fulfills three offices Prophet, Priest, and King. Christ Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day, and now sets on the Father’s right hand as an advocate and intercessor on the behalf of believers (Jo. 1:1-14; Jn. 5:18; Rom. 5:15) (Phil. 2:5-11; compare- Isa. 40:3 – Matt.. 3:3; Isa. 6:1 – Jn. 2:41; Ps. 68:16 – Eph. 4:28) (Matt. 5:22; Heb. 7:25, 27; 9:26; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 19:16) (1 Cor. 15:4; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25).

The Doctrine of Last Things

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:15:06 +0000

This writer believes that the next prophetic event to take place will be when the Lord Jesus comes in the air to call out (rapture) His Church, all that are in the graves and those who are alive and remain, to meet Him in the clouds to receive them to Himself and stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The rapture of the Church will be shortly followed by the seventieth week of Daniel (a.k.a. the tribulation) beginning with the anti-christ signing a seven year covenant with Israel. The tribulation period will be for the purpose of judging the nations and wicked unbelievers for their sinfulness and to bring salvation to the nation Israel. After three and one-half years the anti-christ will break his covenant with Israel beginning the Great Tribulation at which point Satan will be cast out of heaven. The events of the tribulation will be as follow: the seven seal judgments from which out of the seventh will begin the seven trumpet judgments which out of the seventh will begin the seven bowl judgments followed by the battle of Armageddon (Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thes. 4;13-18) (Isa. 28:14-22; Rev. 6:1 – 19:21) (Jer. 25:30-32; 30:7; Dan. 9:24-27) (Rev. 12:7-12) (Rev. 6:12-17; Rev. 8:1, 6; 16:14).

The tribulation period will be followed by the resurrection of Old Testament and tribulation saints along with the second coming of Christ for the whole world to see when He establishes His earthy kingdom for one thousand years during which time Satan will be bound in the abyss. After one thousand years Satan will be loosed to lead the nations of the earth to a final battle against Christ and will be devoured in that day and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. The resurrection of the unsaved dead will take place after Satan’s judgment and all unsaved will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment where all will be judged according to their works and cast alive into the lake of fire, which is the final hell (Rev. 20:1-5) (Rev. 20:7-10) (2 Thes. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15).

The Doctrine of the Church

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:13:47 +0000

This writer believes in a Universal Church (body of Christ) which consists of all believers, in heaven and on earth, from the day of Pentecost until the rapture, and is distinct from the nation Israel. The Head of the Church (body of Christ) is Christ Himself and every person that becomes a part of the Church does so on the basis of their acceptance in Jesus Christ and is baptized into one body by the same Holy Spirit regardless of nationality (Jew or Gentile) for the purpose of unity, peace, and loving one another (Mt. 6:18; Acts. 2:1-4; 11:15; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22, 23) (Eph. 1:20-22; 5:23) (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:3-10, 32; Col. 3:14, 15).

The local church is not the body of Christ but is to be a representation of the body that is made up of a group of baptized believers with two offices, pastor and deacons, and has two ordinances, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism and is self governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. The main purposes for the local church is for the edification of the saints and the spreading of the gospel (Mt. 26:26-29; 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41; 8:12; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1, 2, 18; Titus 1:7) (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:41, 42; 1 Thes. 5:11).

Salvation

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:12:55 +0000

Because of the inherited sinful nature mankind possesses, there is a need of salvation, and the only way regeneration can take place is through the person of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes by grace through faith alone and is freely offered to all who will believe, accepting the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The extent of salvation, to those who believe, includes justification, whereby the believing sinner is declared righteous, sanctification, whereby the believer is progressively set apart from this world system, and glorification, which is future, when the believer after death shall receive a new glorified body apart from sin (Rom. 3:23; Acts 4:12; Jn. 14:6) (Acts 2:21; Eph. 2:8, 9) (Rom. 3:21-25; 5:1; 1 Cor. 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:16; Eph. 5:26, 27; Rom. 8:17).

The Scriptures clearly teach eternal security of the believer and that salvation is secured by God apart from the work of man. The believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, and cannot come under condemnation. At the time of salvation a believer becomes a child of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Although a believer’s salvation is secure, God is Holy and cannot overlook sin, so when His children persistently sin He will chasten them in love, but in the end Jesus Christ will present them faultless before the Father because of His blood sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath on behalf of all believers (Jn. 10:28, 29; Rom. 8:1; 1 Jn. 5:12, 13) (Eph. 4:30) (Jn. 3:18; Rom. 8:1) (Rom. 8:16, 17; Gal. 3:26; 1 Jn. 4:4) (Heb. 7:25; 12:6; 1 Jn. 2:1, 2).

The Doctrine of Man and Sin

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:12:10 +0000

Mankind was created by God, in the image and likeness of God, having emotion, will, and intellect, as well as an immaterial and material part. The first man, Adam, consciously fell into sin and became spiritually dead in trespasses and sins therefore transmitting sin and plunging every man after into total depravity, with the exception of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way for man to have forgiveness of sin and fellowship with the Father; unless man accepts Jesus Christ as Savior he will be eternally separated with God after death. Jesus Christ alone has the power to break the bondage of sin and set man free from its bondage (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7) (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1-3; 2 Cor. 5:21) (Jn. 3:16; Lk. 12:20; 2 Thess. 1:7-9) (Rom. 6:11-18).

The Doctrine of Angels (Satan and Demons)

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:09:53 +0000

Angels

God created a fixed, innumerable number of spirit beings before the earth itself was created, these creatures are called angels. Angels were created in a holy state (unfallen) and are eternal beings, separate from God and man, without the ability to procreate. Angels are limited in power and knowledge and were given a responsible nature. Angels were created with will, emotion, and intellect. Angels were created higher in order than humans and therefore have greater knowledge and strength than humans, but are still subject to God (Ps. 148:5; Col. 1:16; Job 38:6, 7; 1 Cor. 6:3; Matt. 22:30; Lk. 20:36) (1 Pet. 1:11, 12; Rev. 7:1; 1 Cor. 6:3; Matt. 25:41) (Ps. 8:5; Jas. 2:19; Rev. 12:12).

Angels were created to be ministers of God in the areas of praise, worship, and service. Angels were also created to serve Christ at His birth, during His life, and after His resurrection, as well as serve God’s chosen people Israel, other nations, and the Church. Angels also announce and aid in the carrying out of judgment upon the unregenerate. Scripture states that the eternal state of angels was fixed at the time of the fall of Satan and one-third of the angels fell with him. Those who followed Satan were considered evil angels and the angels who remained faithful were considered the elect (Ps. 148:1; Isa. 6:3; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 22:9) (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 2:8-15; Matt. 26:53; Matt. 28:5, 6) (Dan. 12:1; 4:17; Heb. 1:14) (Rev. 14:6, 7; Rev. 16:1) (1 Tim. 5:21; 2 Pet. 2:4).

Satan

Satan is a real being and was created by God in an unfallen state; he was created as the highest of the angelic beings and was originally named Lucifer until sin was found in him. Satan, meaning adversary, is given many names in Scripture, but Satan and the Devil (accuser) are the most frequent used. Satan’s habitation before his fall was in Eden the garden of God and upon the holy mountain of God. Satan is described as coming from the order of the anointed cherubim that guarded the holiness of God. After Satan’s fall he beguiled Eve through subtlety and Adam followed plunging the whole human race into sin (Ezek. 28:12-15; Jude 9; Isa. 14:12-17) (Matt. 4:1, 10) (Ezek. 28:13, 14) (Ezek. 28:14; Gen. 3:24; Ex. 25:20) (Gen. 3).

Although Satan was defeated at the cross, his current work is to go about to snatch the Word of God from the hearts of the unregenerate as well as hinder the work of the regenerate and is currently the head of this world’s system. Satan’s current abode is in the second heaven and he has access to the third heaven where God abides and access to walk about the earth. Satan will be cast out of the second heaven during the middle of the tribulation period and at the end of the tribulation he will be bound and cast into the pit, for one thousand years, after that he will be loosed for a season of time to deceive the nations and gather them together for the final battle. Satan will then be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which is the final hell (Gen. 3:15; Jn. 12:31) (Lk. 8:12; Rom. 1:13; Matt. 4:8, 9) (Eph. 2:2; Job. 1:6, 7; 1 Pet. 5:8) (Rev. 12:9; 20:1-10).

Demons

Demons are the fallen, non-elect, angels that fell with Satan and represent one-third of the total angelic population. Among the fallen angels some were bound in Tartarus and some are free to do the work of Satan. Demons have the power to possess unregenerate individuals. Demons that were cast out of the flesh during the time of the New Testament were confined to the abyss until the middle of the tribulation and then released. Demons can only be cast out today by the giving and accepting of the gospel. Demons will be bound throughout the millennial period and then judged at the Great White Throne Judgment where they will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 12:4) (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) (Mk. 16:17) (Lk. 8:31; Rev. 9:1-11) (Col. 1:13) (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

The Doctrine of God

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:08:01 +0000

The Person of God

This writer believes that God is an eternal being with no beginning and no end, and that He is the Creator of the universe, all that is in it, and all of mankind. God put an inner sense in humanity that there is a divine Creator and made provision through natural and special (scriptural) revelation for mankind to have a relationship with Him (Ps. 90:2; Gen. 21:33; Gen. 1:1, 26; Rom. 1:18-20; 2:14, 15; Ps. 19:1-3; Acts 14:17; Heb. 11:6).

God’s Nature

God is incomprehensible to mankind in the sense that we can not know Him exhaustively, but can only have a true, limited knowledge of Him through the Holy Scriptures. God is a Spirit being and cannot be seen in His pure essence, but only in His revealed glory. God is transcendent, but at the same time approachable (Ps. 147:5; 1 Jn. 1:5; 4:8; Rom. 3:26; Jn. 4:24; Ex. 33:22, 23; 34:5-8).

God’s Attributes

God is omnipresent being in all places at all times with His full being, yet He cannot be limited to, or contained by any space. God is sovereign in His position as Creator (highest being) and in His power. God is holy and righteous in His entire being and must separate Himself from sin, or that which is unclean. God is immutable (unchanging) and is never inconsistent with His character. God is omnipotent (all powerful) and can do anything according to His perfect will, but will not do anything inconsistent with His divine nature. God is righteous in His judgment and will not violate moral or judicial standards. God is love, mercy, and grace (Ps. 139:7-10; 2 Ch. 2:6) (Dan. 4:35) (Isa. 57:15; Lev. 11:44; Deut. 32:4) (Mal. 6:6; Jas. 1:17) (Gen. 17:1; Ex. 6:3; 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 1:18; 19:6) (1 Jn. 4:8; Ps. 85:10; Heb. 4:16).

God’s Unity / Tri-Unity

Scripture is clear that there is only one God and that He is made up of three persons that form the Godhead which include God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; these three exist now and have forever existed in perfect tri-unity and harmony, sharing the same essence (Deut. 6:4, 5; Eph. 4:6; 1Tim. 2:5; Matt. 28:19-20).

Bibliology

Jamie Sink — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:05:23 +0000

It is this writers belief that the entirety of the Scriptures were given by inspiration of God, verbally and plenary, and that God used holy men, through the moving of the Holy Spirit, to write the words contained in the Scriptures. The Bible is centered on the person of Jesus Christ, testifying of Christ throughout. The Scriptures in their original manuscripts were without error and preserved in a manner that give us a perfect, pure, and true preservation of the originals. The Bible is God’s eternal Word and has ultimate authority and shall never pass away. It is God’s complete and final revelation to mankind (2 Tim. 3:16; Lk. 24:27; 1 Pet. 1:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:20, 21; Lk. 24:27; Jn. 5:39; Jn. 10:35; 17:17; Ps. 19:7, 8, 9; Matt. 4:4, 7, 10; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; Isa. 40:8; Ps. 119:89; Rev. 22:18).

The Word of God is living and became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible is God’s special revelation to mankind and has divine power to convict man of the wickedness of his heart, and is the only means whereby man can come to the knowledge of his sinful and helpless condition and be saved. The Holy Scriptures have the power to illuminate regenerate men by the Holy Spirit and they command obedience in order to receive understanding, however, the unregenerate man will not receive this illumination (Jn. 1:1, 14; Ex. 17:14; 34:27; Jer. 30:2; Rev. 1:19; Heb. 4:12, 13; Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 2:12-14; Jn. 7:17).