The Doctrines Of Grace - Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement

The Doctrines Of Grace

Exposition of Limited Atonement

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PARTICULAR REDEMPTION

Originally Published by
THE NEW TESTAMENT BAPTIST CHURCH
4828 Vine Street
Cincinnati 17, Ohio

I am continuing our message on the doctrines of grace, this is the third in the series today. The subject is limited atonement or particular redemption. The text is found in John's gospel, Chapter 10 verse 15. "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep." Certainly that is a blessed text and that is the very heart of what I intend to preach to you today, that the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for the sheep. There's a distinction made between sheep and goats in the 25th chapter of the book of Matthew. We learn that in the day of judgement those that are the sheep and are on the right hand of the Father shall enter into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world; and, the goats that are on the left hand shall be cast out into outer darkness. Surely it is evident then, that Christ did not die for the goats; but, He died for the sheep, those who were given Him by the Father. I wish for us to consider first of all,

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST?

If we can get this straight in our thinking it will help us tremendously to understand the theme that is before us. We turn first of all to the book of Hebrews 10:9. "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." We learn, that the purpose of His death was to accomplish the Father's will. Christ came for that special purpose--to fulfill the will of His heavenly Father. Now we must determine what was the will of the Father in the death of Christ. And from a close study of the scriptures, as we did speak to you last week on the doctrine of election, we see that it was not the purpose of the Father to save all men; but, that He has chosen some to salvation. If then Christ came to fulfill the purpose of the Father; and, it was not the purpose of the Father to save all men: then it was not the purpose of Christ to die for all men.

In the everlasting covenant, the covenant of grace, the Father chose a people, Christ promised to die for them, and the Spirit pledged himself to apply salvation to their hearts. In Isaiah 53, I wish we had time to read the whole chapter for it teaches this subject so clearly, but I confine our thoughts to verses 10 to 12. "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;" Notice, it pleased the heavenly Father to bruise Him, His only begotten Son. "He hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." We learn that Christ saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He saw the suffering and the agony which He would have to endure; and yet, He was content with it, for He realized that by His death, everyone for whom He died should be redeemed from sin. Now if Christ died for all men and some for whom He died should go to hell, then Christ could not have seen the travail of His soul and been satisfied but He would be a disappointed Christ. And so we are preaching to you today the doctrine that the atonement of Christ was limited. It was limited in purpose; not in its value but in its purpose, for it was designed for the objects of the Father's love and they were the elect of God.

Furthermore we see that the purpose of the death of Christ was to save His people from their sins. That is clearly stated for us in Matthew 1:21. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." It did not say that He would save the whole world, nor does it say that He should attempt to save His people; but that He would save His people from their sins. If that was the prophesy given concerning the birth of Jesus Christ and the purpose for which He came, we must surely know that which was determined by the Father was fulfilled by His faithful Son. Next we read in the book of Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." If that then was His purpose; He accomplished that very thing.

Now in the third place, we see that the purpose of His death was to bring the elect unto glory. In John 17 we find the prayer of intercession made by the Lord Jesus; and we see in the second verse that as He prayed, "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." You see that eternal life was not for all men, for we are sure that some shall perish and shall spend eternity in the lake of fire; but, He gives eternal life unto as many as were given to Him by the Father. In the ninth verse He says, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Do you believe then that Christ would limit His prayers to those given to Him by the Father, and at the same time die for all men? Surely not. He prayed for those for whom He died, and He died for those given Him by the Father. His purpose then was not to save the entire human race, for, if that had been His purpose He would have accomplished it. I preach to you today a sovereign Christ. I preach to you a Christ who is all powerful and accomplishes everything He intends to do. It was His purpose to save only the elect of God, and His purpose was fulfilled.

Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." There was joy set before Christ. Oh yes, there was great agony as He looked forward to the cross, it was a terrible cup He had to drink, how bitter it was when His Father had to turn His back on Him because the sins of the elect were laid there, and He cried out, "Oh, my God why hast thou forsaken me." But beyond the cross was joy, and what was that joy? It was the joy of seeing many sons brought unto glory. It was the joy of seeing His chosen ones being conformed unto His holy image. That was the joy set before Him; but, suppose Christ looked forward and said, "I will die for all men but my death will not be effective unto any, unless their free will be joined with it." Since man's will is depraved and corrupt then there would have been no joy set before Him, for there would have been none saved. But oh, there was joy set before Christ; for all those the Father had given unto Him should surely be redeemed by His death, and that very thing was fulfilled.

Now we read in the book of I Peter 3:18, once again revealing the purpose of His death and just notice the words of the scripture and see if you could possibly imagine that any other idea was in the minds of these that wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit, than that all for whom Christ died should be eternally saved. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." He did not die in order to put us in a savable state, but he died to bring us to God; and if He died for that purpose, then He brought everyone to God for whom He died. We see then something of the purpose or design of the death of Christ. Second let us consider,

WHAT THE DEATH OF CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED

What was accomplished by His death upon the tree of the cross? We read in the first book of Peter 2:24, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (You were not put in the position where you might possibly be healed, but you were healed by His stripes.) For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." You see, my friends, He actually bore our sins on the tree of the cross. Could you imagine that He bore the sins of Judas Iscariot who now burns in the very pit of hell? Could you imagine that He bore the sins of all that vast multitude who shall be cast into the lake of fire on the judgement day? Surely not. Oh, it makes me to shudder to think of such a thing; but, we do know that He bore the sins of God's elect and all of them having their sins remitted by His precious blood shall finally be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and shall inherit the celestial city which He has gone to prepare for them. We note then in the first place concerning what was accomplished by His death that He actually bore our sins.

Next we find that He died for His sheep, and because of this none can be lost. In John 10:10 He says, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." And the 28th verse, "And I give unto them eternal life" (He does not offer them eternal life.) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." He died for the sheep, and He gives eternal life unto everyone for whom He died. In Hebrews 13:20, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep." He was not a Shepherd of goats, but the Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Furthermore we turn to the book of Matthew 26:28, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." We learn then that He suffered or He died for many. And in the 15th Chapter of John's Gospel the 13th verse we learn something more of His death, we learn that He died for His friends. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Now does this mean that we carry out His commands in order to become His friends? No, if we are His friends, we shall do whatsoever He commands us, giving evidence of our friendship with Him; and so, He died for His friends.

Now back to the book of Hebrews Chapter 10. You know, if you'll just notice the language of the Scriptures as I read to you these verses, and just in your own private devotions notice how the Holy Spirit has inspired the writers to word the phrases concerning the work of Christ; you will see by the language itself that it cannot be imagined but that the death of Christ was restricted to those who were given to Him by the Father. Now the 14th verse of Hebrews 10, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Who are the sanctified ones? They are justified. Who are the justified? They are the called. Who are the called? They are the predestinated-- they are the elect of God. We see then God's purpose working from the other direction. They were elected, they were called, they were justified, they were sanctified; and, it says here that Christ "hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." "When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Heb. 1:3.) He actually purged our sins. Christ did not come to attempt to save men; He came to redeem His people. He purged their sins and then sat down on the right hand of His Father.

The next thing that we see accomplished by the death of Christ, is that He reconciled His people to God. Could you imagine that all the world is reconciled to God? No, that is not so, for there are some who go to hell, and they are not reconciled to God. In Romans 5:9 He says, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." Furthermore, let us turn to Acts 20:28. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." Then the language of this verse reveals that He died for the church of God.

In Hebrews 2:10 we learn that the purpose accomplished by His death was the bringing of many sons unto glory. "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified." (Isaiah 45:23.) And Galatians 6:16 reveals that He had reference to the spiritual Israel, who are the chosen of God.

Now the third question that we wish to consider is this:

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIONS TO THIS POSITION?

There are many who object to it, because it is the very heart of the gospel. This is the very heart of the doctrines of grace, and this is where so many rebel at that blessed truth that is taught in the Word of God. Well, there are many objections that are raised, and I could not possibly deal with all of them; but, I will consider just a few, lest there are some who have honest questions concerning this glorious truth. One of the first things that men immediately refer to is the use of the word "world" in the scriptures, and the first passage that is always read to us when we have preached a message of this kind is John 3:16, and so I will read it to you. But, let me say this, many people read this verse as though it were the whole counsel of God; however you cannot prove any doctrine by one verse of scripture, and yet this verse does not prove the doctrine that men try to make it prove; because rather than teaching a general redemption, it teaches a particular redemption. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 simply states that the design of God's love, that all who believe in Christ should be saved by Him. "These believers in their unregenerate state are scattered abroad among the Gentiles as well as among the Jews, and so are fitly described by the word 'world.'" Now, my friends, if God loved every man from Adam to the last, I would ask you then where is the evidence of that love? Why, millions of people have lived and died without so much as hearing of salvation through Christ. Surely we can see that, "the word 'world' simply has reference to men of all nations. And to those who reject this explanation I might ask, when the scriptures say over there in the book of Acts, 'God hath also granted repentance unto the Gentiles or unto the Gentiles granted repentance unto life,' does it mean that every Gentile has been granted repentance, and that every Gentile shall be saved?" Why, surely not. When He says He has granted repentance unto the Gentiles, it simply means that all those of God's elect among the Gentiles shall be given repentance, that the Gentiles as a class of people had been given repentance and so it is here in John 3:16. It does not have reference to every man in the world from Adam to the last, but it has reference to men of all nations.

I feel that the best way to understand this is to see what was actually accomplished by the death of Christ. We turn to the book of Revelation and we read there in the fifth chapter and the ninth verse. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." Now that is the song they sing in Glory, and that will help us to understand what is meant by the use of the word world in the scriptures. It means that people of every kindred, tongue, and nation; that Christ's death was not restricted to the Jews, but that it was for members of the entire human race scattered throughout the world who were the object of the Father's love. So John 3:16 simply states that the object of God's love shall not perish because Christ died for them.

Now in John 7:7 we find there the word "world" is used to distinguish unbelievers from believers. In John 12:9 the word "world" is used of a special people. Romans 11:15 uses it to distinguish Gentiles from Jews, and thus so in passages such as John 3:16 and 1:27, I John 2:1 and 2 -- it is used of all the elect of God. There is yet a passage in Hebrews Chapter 2 which troubles many people and we shall turn there and examine it once again though we have already read one verse from it. Verse nine says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." And somebody says, "You see there, Christ died for all men"; but, the context will explain what it means. "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings... For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." If then you will read the context you see that the passage has reference to sons, it has reference to the church, it has reference to the brethren, it has reference to those who are the children of God; so the verse properly translated would say that, "Christ has experienced death for every son," for every one that was given to Him by the Father. I wish I had the time to go on to the fifth chapter of the book of Romans which troubles some, but the use of the word "all" there, will show that it is "all unto justification;" not salvation for all men, but all that Christ died for, all who are finally justified: and that cannot possibly be interpreted to mean any more than the elect of God.

Finally, I want to read to you one more verse which is in the book of Romans, 8:34, and this is one of the plainest in all the Bible concerning particular redemption. He says, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." We ask the question then how could any for whom He died be condemned? The law has been fulfilled, justice has been satisfied, sin has been paid for; and so, the Apostle argues that condemnation is impossible. And if condemnation be forbidden by His death, then none for whom He died can be condemned. All for whom Christ died, died in Him; thus the law could not again demand their death.

Oh, my friends, if Christ died no more for His people than the inhabitants of hell what hope have we? If Jesus died for Judas Iscariot as much as He died for you, what hope do you have of heaven? The death of Christ is the foundation of our Christian hope; but, those believing in a general redemption cannot possibly enjoy that blessed hope in Christ. They claim to believe in a redeemer who does not redeem, an atonement that does not atone; thus believing that the death of Christ must be joined with free-will in order to save. But I preach unto you today a Redeemer who does deliver His people from sin; and, if the Spirit of God has convicted you of your guilt and has given you a desire to be delivered from sin, and to be washed in the Saviour's blood; I assure you, that it is a great evidence that you are chosen of the Father. If you are drawn to Him just now, you can know that He does cleanse you in His own precious blood. May the Lord grant repentance unto some sinner today.