An Impossible Debt

 To get saved, we need to be forgiven of an impossible debt to God that only He can pay (Christ's sacrifice, being God, was perfect and infinite value); we must declare spiritual bankruptcy in God's court.  We do not have a chance to meet God's demands and it's good that Jesus paid it in full by declaring: "It is finished [Tetelestai]." Which in interpretation, means and implies "Paid in Full." Once you have remitted a bill, you forget it! Same with God, once we are forgiven at salvation, God keeps no record of wrong and doesn't count our sins against us. (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19; Psalm 32:2).  We no longer are debtors to God after our salvation because God no longer can count our sins against us or there would be double jeopardy and God is just and cannot allow His justice to  be perverted. 

We owe an outstanding debt to God and man to love and this the summation of our ethic: loving God and our neighbor. We even owe a moral debt or obligation to society in general!  We forgive others then as Christ has forgiven us! We return the favor and be examples of forgiveness without any malice or vengeance for trespasses against us. Our forgiveness is not conditional because that would not be grace. 

Just like Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer that we should forgive others their debts or sins as God forgives us. This is not legalism or adding to the grace of God: Jesus plus this or that. The statement is highly troubling and some think that if they haven't forgiven someone, they are lost.  But we want to forgive out of gratitude and the operative word is "as" meaning we will do it. That is not the same as saying "if we forgive others."  All our sins are forgiven upon salvation and we need only confess them to regain fellowship, not salvation.  The woman forgiven of adultery loved Jesus so much that Jesus was prompted to say that he who is forgiven much, loves much!  

God's grace is not only necessary for  salvation, but sufficient. We forgive others out of love and a change of heart  because God has transformed us from the inside out to be new creatures in Christ eager to do good and love others. Whenever we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are to examine ourselves to see if anyone holds something against us or we have sinned against a brother, even offending them or making them to fall. 

God's mercy means that God doesn't treat us as we deserve and punish us, and His grace means He give us what we do not deserve as a blessing. We must never come to God seeking "justice," for if we got that, we would certainly be condemned. Some wish God were only "fair" to them and don't realize that would not be living by grace and we would forfeit the grace of God. If we deserved salvation, it would be justice, not mercy. The cost of unforgiveness is damnation!  It does cost to be saved, but more not to be!   Soli Deo Gloria!

It Is Finished!...

The declaration from the cross that summed up the work of Christ on our behalf is as follows:  The Father had planned or authored it, the Son realized, revealed, executed, and fulfilled it, and the Holy Spirit applied and made it known--it was a cooperative venture of the Trinity. But it was Christ who paid the ultimate price of His blood and will be glorified and worshiped for it ("Worthy is the Lamb"). We cannot add to Jesus finished work which is perfect already because He left nothing as undone for us to do--all we have to do is receive it as a free gift.  Jesus paved the way back to God (not one of several ways, not merely the best way of many ways, but the only way). 

If you were to add a mustache to the Mona Lisa because you thought it was an added touch for the good--you would ruin the masterpiece and insult Michelangelo to boot.  Don't even go there, suggesting we can finish what God started--God always finishes what He starts.  His work was not contingent, but a sure thing: Salvation is a done deal and not something we work for--that is how we can be sure.

Jesus actually called out "tetelestai" in Aramaic, an accounting term that means "Paid in Full."(salvation is a done deal!).    Jesus was saying that Satan had nothing on Him now and that the price of our redemption had been "secured and accomplished.  God was both just, and the Justifier--what had seemed incomprehensible. All of our sins were nailed to the cross according to Colossians 2:14 and Christ, in His infinite nature and perfection, was able to take on our punishment--so we don't have to bear it in hell, where we deserved to go. 

The miracle of the infinite redemption price was that Christ did it voluntarily and was not murdered on the cross, but gave up His Spirit willingly of His own accord, and expired on His terms at the exact moment of His choice. His statement emphasized that He had won and that what He came to earth to do was done so He could go to the Father. Jesus left nothing undone, He even provided for His mother, made intercession for the transgressors, and refused the painkiller to ease the pain of His suffering--neither did He left no prophecy unfulfilled.

What this means is that our salvation is a done deal and we don't add to God's work to get saved by our own efforts in the flesh or gain the approbation of God via morality, ritual, good deeds, philosophy, or religiosity.  It isn't Christ plus doing good, plus obeying and complying with church rules, plus being a moral person, plus achieving the American dream, ad infinitum.  Not plus anything!  We simply accept our salvation as the free gift of God via a personal act of faith alone in Christ alone by God's grace alone!

The gift of faith is also by grace and God enables us efficaciously to receive Christ as the Lord and Savior of our lives. We act on the faith that God gives us: It is God's gift, but our act! We are not on probation as a believer, but enter eternal life in the here and now and are to live in light of eternity the more abundant life that He promised.  It must dawn on you that you can do nothing but believe in your heart and follow on to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior from Day One.  Soli Deo Gloria!

How Limited Is The Atonement?

NB:  WHETHER YOU BELIEVE CHRIST DIED FOR ALL THE SINS OF MANKIND WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION, OR JUST FOR THE SHEEP, EITHER WAY ONE LIMITS THE ATONEMENT (EITHER IN EXTENT OF OUTREACH OR EXTENT OF EFFICACY).

Actually, those who believe in unlimited atonement are either universalists or believe in an atonement that only makes possible the salvation of all but actually saves no one for certain--that is a real limitation. In a so-called limited atonement, it actually accomplishes something--the salvation of the elect ("it is finished"). In 1 John 2:2 we see that Christ is the "atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not ours only but those of the whole world."

The problem lies in the definition of "world." The Greek word kosmos has several meanings. It doesn't always refer to everyone without exception. Sometimes it refers to everyone without distinction. In other words, all kinds of people can get saved, not all people. The word can mean creation or the universe and the way to test this is to plug the word into the sentence and see if it makes sense. John uses the word in John 3 several times and every time the word creation makes sense whereas believers or every person doesn't make sense.

We have to be careful so we don't prove that God saves everyone. The atonement was infinite in value and only avails for the believer, otherwise, everyone would be saved. What they say is "sufficient for all, efficient for some." God sent His Son into the universe because He so loved the universe.

In 1 John 2:2 what He did for us He did for the cosmos. He did the same thing for the cosmos. Now we just have to figure out what He did. In many translations, the word propitiation isn't used because it is above the reading level of the readers. They use the word atonement instead. Martin Luther used the word reconciliation. You see how the translators like to do your thinking for you. If Christ redeemed us He also redeemed the world or creation. Well in a way He did. Another way of looking at this verse is to see that there is one way of salvation, for the Jew as well as for the Gentile--Christ is the way of salvation, not for the Jews only but for the whole world. The main argument for the limited atonement is that Christ suffered once for the "sheep" and for His "friends" and not for the lost. "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." "No love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Also, there is the law of double jeopardy which says that if Christ suffered for your sins, how can God make you pay for them in hell. The whole question is whether Christ died for Hitler's sins or not, and if he has to pay his debt in hell on top of that. Some Arminians say that Christ died for all sinners and it's their fault if they don't accept the "free gift of eternal life." But doesn't God know ahead of time who will believe and didn't Christ only pray for the believers in the high priestly prayer of John 17?

The answer is that God offers salvation to everyone through the general call of the gospel but only the elect will hear. But all that God calls get justified (cf. Rom. 8:30). "The elect obtained unto it and the rest were hardened"m (Rom. 11:7).  "As many as were appointed to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48).  The gospel is for "all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39).  We don't know who the elect are so we have to preach to everyone and we preach the gospel because we are commanded to, not because we know who will be saved. The Scriptures say that "no one can resist His will" (Rom. 9:19). NB:  We are not saved by our theory of the atonement, period.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Debating The Atonement?

Is it necessary to quarrel about the Atonement--that is, its extent, purpose, or design? Some of the problems are due to mere semantics and definitions. Some very conservative Calvinist theologians consider this a litmus test of orthodoxy. Today we have what is called four-point Calvinists. They do not adhere to or affirm the L of the acrostic TULIP, I mean the doctrine of the limited atonement or particular or definite redemption. They do not like to be called Arminians, who were declared heretics at the Synod of Dort in 1618. Their formulation was that the Atonement is sufficient for all but efficient for some. They believe that Christ died for Judas' sins.

One has to realize that we contribute nothing to our salvation. God quickens faith within us and thus faith is a gift. It is not a meritorious work as Rome believes. Salvation is either of God, of God and man, or of man. Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is of the Lord." Remember that Jesus said, "It is finished."

He was not making salvation possible for all, but assured for the sheep, for whom He laid down His life. I've heard it said that Christ died for all indiscriminately, but we have to receive it. If Christ was punished for Judas' sins, then why should he suffer in hell? Arminians believe the Atonement made salvation possible for all, but certain for none. It makes it both indefinite and unlimited. In what way does the Atonement avail for the non-elect?

Salvation is for everyone in the sense that if they believe they are saved--but God decides who believes. We believe because of our election; we are not elected because we believe. Acts 13:48 says, "As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." N.B. that the appointment or election came first (c.f. 2 Thess. 2:13). Is. 53:12 says, "...He bore the sin of many..." (note that it could have said "all" but named the sub-set).

It is not necessary to understand the Atonement to be saved. We are not saved by our theory of the Atonement either. We must pray as if everything depends on God, and witness as if everything depends on us. We should not let our doctrine hinder our witness--keep it simple. Some doctrine is not meant for babies in Christ. May we get our "meat in due season."

Logic will make it clear that Christ laid down His life for His "friends." He only prayed for believers in His great intercessory prayer in John 17:9:  "I pray for them, I pray not for the world."  God knows ahead of time who will believe. There is a legal principle of double jeopardy. God predestines the salvation of His elect. Universal atonement leads to a conclusion of Universalism (redemption and salvation for all).   1 John 2:2 leads to this conclusion if we use that as a proof text--"And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (Here the world refers to Jews and Gentiles included who believe, not everyone indiscriminately.)

Atonement means reconciliation. All are not saved or reconciled, ergo the Atonement has to be definite or limited to the elect. It is good news that no one who believes will be left out. The Arminian makes possible the salvation of all, but certain for none--it could've been that no one got saved! Au contraire, Jesus said, "It is finished." The plea is that Jesus died to offer you salvation contingent upon faith.  NB:  We are not saved by our theory or view of the atonement!  Let me finish with stating that we are never saved by our theory of the atonement, and it is the immature believer who balks at learning the things of God in depth.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Did God Die?

I will use a syllogistic proof (a major premise, a minor premise, leading to a conclusion) that shows God as dying on our behalf on the cross: Christ is God; Christ died on the cross; hence God died on the cross. Now some may balk at this kind of logic and seem to think that it is impossible for God to die; but what is here, but separation from the Father and Holy Spirit, in a cry of dereliction, taking on the sins of the world until Christ pronounces tetelestai or "it is finished," [a done deal!].

You have to look at your definitions of God and to see the logic. The sky went black from 12 noon till three o'clock that day as the Father could not look on the Son bearing our sins. Since God is infinite, we cannot put Him in a box and confine Him to logic that makes His Godhead understandable to us, but as the song goes, "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God, should'st die for me!" Lee Strobel refers to "Deicide" as what we did to Christ on the cross.

If Jesus was only a man the sacrifice would be imperfect and insufficient for us. The triune God works together to accomplish a unified plan and goal. The Father purposes and plans, the Son implements and carries through, the Holy Spirit applies and completes the plan. Jesus experienced separation from the Father and in this sense, He died and wondered about His being forsaken. This is a paradox because in one sense God died for us and in another sense, God judged sin in Jesus as our substitute and is very much alive and working to preserve the cosmos.

As long as you define your terms you can make this statement. God is three persons in one essence. Jesus is two natures in one person, neither separated, confused, mixed, nor divided. He is not a deified man nor a humanized god or theanthropos, but the infinite God-Man, perfect God, perfect Man, very God of very God, and very man of very man (not a God in human disguise, nor a man with divine attributes). Jesus' two natures can be distinguished, but not separated; due to the hypostatic union.

In the final analysis, it depends on how you define death.  Christ's Spirit was indeed separated from His body and when we die our spirits are separated from our bodies too.  Christ never was separated in His divine nature from the Trinity but lost fellowship during His passion on the cross.   Soli Deo Gloria!