Calvinism Essays -- Religion, God

God takes great pleasure in the salvation of men (Lk. 15:4-7). It is His passion, and the sacrifice of His Son is the measure of it (Jo. 3:16; 1 Jo. 4:10). That He would offer His Son for some and not all misreads the divine concern for the lost (Mt. 23:37; Lk. 5:31,32; 15:1-7; 19:10). Scripture affirms that God has done and is doing all that He can wisely and righteously do to save men (Isa. 5:1-7; 53; Jo. 3:14-17; Ro. 3:24-26). It simply will not countenance the insidious notion that fewer saved is better, which is an unavoidable implication of Calvinist theology. Limiting the saving interest of God to some men only is a troubling feature of Calvinism and should concern all who share God's passion for the lost. Hence, the dispute between limited and unlimited atonement is no small matter, as the atonement controversies in the past have shown. That God has unconditionally assigned some to salvation and some to damnation, either before or after the fall, finds no sanction in Scripture. Yet Calvinists say God has either limited the work of Christ to a select few or has limited the Spirit's application of Christ's work to a select few. In either case they limit the atonement unconditionally. Scripture says God wills the salvation of all men (1 Tim. 2:4-6; 2 Pet. 3:9) and that He has provided for all. "All things are ready" (Mt. 22:4). When it comes to salvation, He stands in the same relation to all men. He is the Creator of all (Jo. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16) and the Saviour of all (Jo. 4:42). To say He has undertaken for some and not for all is the voice of limitarian theology and not Scripture. In taking our nature (Heb. 2:14-18)), Christ provided an atonement for all who wear it. He died for every man in particular (Heb. 2:9; 1 Jo.... ...ll address later). They cannot conceive of God's operating on a generous margin, of His making a provision for more than actually enjoy it. Over the years Calvinists have struggled to give their system a friendlier face, a more congenial and universal look. One plan has been to say the atonement is sufficient for all but only efficient for the elect. However, such "universality" is merely theoretical and does not make the non elect any more savable. In this scheme, the atonement is sufficient for all in the sense that, had God intended to save all men, Christ's death would have been sufficient to do so. However, since He never intended to save all, He never included the sins of all in the cross. Thus the atonement is sufficient (theoretically able) to save all but efficient (that is, actually saving) for the elect only because only elect's sins were atoned for. Calvinism Essays -- Religion, God God takes great pleasure in the salvation of men (Lk. 15:4-7). It is His passion, and the sacrifice of His Son is the measure of it (Jo. 3:16; 1 Jo. 4:10). That He would offer His Son for some and not all misreads the divine concern for the lost (Mt. 23:37; Lk. 5:31,32; 15:1-7; 19:10). Scripture affirms that God has done and is doing all that He can wisely and righteously do to save men (Isa. 5:1-7; 53; Jo. 3:14-17; Ro. 3:24-26). It simply will not countenance the insidious notion that fewer saved is better, which is an unavoidable implication of Calvinist theology. Limiting the saving interest of God to some men only is a troubling feature of Calvinism and should concern all who share God's passion for the lost. Hence, the dispute between limited and unlimited atonement is no small matter, as the atonement controversies in the past have shown. That God has unconditionally assigned some to salvation and some to damnation, either before or after the fall, finds no sanction in Scripture. Yet Calvinists say God has either limited the work of Christ to a select few or has limited the Spirit's application of Christ's work to a select few. In either case they limit the atonement unconditionally. Scripture says God wills the salvation of all men (1 Tim. 2:4-6; 2 Pet. 3:9) and that He has provided for all. "All things are ready" (Mt. 22:4). When it comes to salvation, He stands in the same relation to all men. He is the Creator of all (Jo. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16) and the Saviour of all (Jo. 4:42). To say He has undertaken for some and not for all is the voice of limitarian theology and not Scripture. In taking our nature (Heb. 2:14-18)), Christ provided an atonement for all who wear it. He died for every man in particular (Heb. 2:9; 1 Jo.... ...ll address later). They cannot conceive of God's operating on a generous margin, of His making a provision for more than actually enjoy it. Over the years Calvinists have struggled to give their system a friendlier face, a more congenial and universal look. One plan has been to say the atonement is sufficient for all but only efficient for the elect. However, such "universality" is merely theoretical and does not make the non elect any more savable. In this scheme, the atonement is sufficient for all in the sense that, had God intended to save all men, Christ's death would have been sufficient to do so. However, since He never intended to save all, He never included the sins of all in the cross. Thus the atonement is sufficient (theoretically able) to save all but efficient (that is, actually saving) for the elect only because only elect's sins were atoned for.