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The second point of Calvinism is “unconditional election,” and part two of this series said that election is not predetermined.  Instead, God elects according to His foreknowledge (1 Pet 1:2).  God knows who will believe in Him and elects them before the foundation of the world.  Calvinists get unconditional election out of this by changing the meaning of foreknowledge.  They say that term means “forelove,” in the sense that “Adam knew his wife Eve” (Gen 4:1) and Joseph did not ‘know’ Mary until after Jesus was born (Matt 1:25).

Turning “foreknowledge” into “forelove” is one of many examples of how Calvinism contorts the meaning of words to get its five points.  It really is tell-tale.  This stretching of the truth does not comport with the plain meaning of the text.  Changing the meaning of “foreknowledge” opens the door to all sorts of new doctrine not taught in scripture.  Rather than knowing who would believe, God makes only certain people to believe and others not.  It becomes His will to damn people to Hell rather than knowing who wouldn’t believe.  This is a big change in the reading of scripture almost entirely through this manipulation of one word.

The first three points of Calvinism are (1) total depravity, (2) unconditional election, and then (3) limited atonement.  I named instead the first two (1) each person’s spiritual bankruptcy and (2) God’s election according to his foreknowledge.

3.  LIMITED ATONEMENT

More than Atonement

“Limited atonement” is the historical term for this third point.  As a bit of an aside to its meaning, I believe that atonement is an Old Testament concept.  Christ’s death was more than atonement.  His death and shed blood did more than atone for sin.  Jesus’ work on the cross removed, took away, or washed away sin.  For instance, Israel had a day every year called, Yom Kippur, which means, “Day of Atonement.”  This spoke of something that occurred through the blood of animals, which could not take away sin.

In the context of the point of Calvinism, Calvinists say that God atoned only for the sins of the elect.  They mean that Jesus died and shed His blood only for the elect.  Calvinists don’t take this from any statement in scripture.   The Bible doesn’t teach it.  It’s what some might call a logical leap that reads like the following paragraph (I’m going to indent it to indicate it is not my position, so as not to confuse).

The Fit Into Calvinism

No spiritually dead person can believe unless God enables them through regeneration.  God regenerates those He selects for salvation before the foundation of the world.  Since He predetermined whom He would regenerate, Jesus only died for those He would save.  He didn’t die for those He wouldn’t save or else that would save them.  Therefore, He limits the atonement to only the elect.

Calvinists would say that God gets all the glory for the salvation, because He did everything, start to finish.  Some go so far to say that nothing happens, not a single molecule moves, without God causing it.  Calvinists would say that if God is sovereign, then He does it all, what they call “monergism.”  Again, some Calvinists take this to the extent that if God isn’t doing it all, then man adds something in the nature of works to grace, which is unproveable and false.

Instead of teaching limited atonement, scripture says that God provides an

3.  AVAILABLE SUBSTITIONARY SACRIFICE BY CHRIST

Some Calvinists won’t use “limited atonement,” which is a negative sounding descriptor, but “particular redemption.”  Even for me, I could embrace something called “particular redemption,” depending on how it’s explained.

I’ve never seen a four point Calvinist reject any other point than this one, perhaps the hardest for Calvinists to believe.  It’s a reason why, I believe, for the replacement terminology, “particular redemption.”  To make it easier, I also hear Calvinists say that everyone limits the atonement or else God would save everyone.  The limitation doesn’t read, however, as though Christ died only for the elect.  At worst, God limits the effects of His death — redemption — to only those who believe, or only to the elect.  But the latter is not what Calvinists say or mean about or by limited atonement.

Logical Leap

Like with unconditional election, Calvinists take a logical leap with limited atonement.  They do it by framing the argument in a way that only their position can stand.  It’s however, not how scripture frames this salvation doctrine.  Calvinists say that if Christ wasn’t redeeming with His work on the cross then no one is saved.  Since He did save, then His cross work must redeem everyone.  The Bible does not state this line of thinking or reasoning.  At most, it is an inference Calvinists make from scripture, however, one contradicted by verses in the Bible.

Redemption comes through Jesus’ death alone, but only to those who believe in Him.  When scripture says that Jesus died for everyone, it does not mean that He provided redemption for everyone.  It means He paid the penalty for everyone, but no one gets the benefits of His death without faith.  The inference claimed by Calvinists arises from this philosophy of Calvinism already expressed in this series that does not represent a biblical doctrine of salvation.

Availability of Salvation

If Christ died only for the elect, then how could the Apostle Paul write what he did in 1 Corinthians 15:1-3?

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

Paul declared the gospel when he arrived in Corinth.  Not everyone received, but those who did receive it (verses 1 and 2) were “saved” (verse 2).  However, the message he preached to an unsaved audience, not all of which received it, was “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.”  By “the scriptures,” perhaps Paul was referring to Isaiah 53:5:

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This teaches Christ’s substitutionary death.  If someone believes that Christ died only for the elect, is he telling the truth in preaching that Christ died for the sins of that audience?  This was the typical gospel preaching of Paul and it included, “Christ died for you.”  I continue to preach that to everyone and mean it.

Scripture Not Limited Atonement

The combination of many different verses proclaim that Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice is available for everyone.

Romans 5:6, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Hebrews 2:9, “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.”

2 Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

1 John 2:1-2, “1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

I agree with the truth from Jesus “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:15).  Jesus would preach that message to unbelievers, many of whom never went on to believe (John 12:46).  The system of Calvinism clashes with obvious New Testament teaching.

Christ Died for Everyone

Christ died for all men in that His substitutionary sacrifice was available to everyone, if they would believe on Him.  And, everyone is without excuse as to believing on Him (cf. Rom 1:20).  It would sound like a legitimate excuse from someone, if he said, “Christ didn’t die for me,” if that’s what really happened.

When Jesus explains why people don’t receive salvation, He doesn’t say what Calvinism says:  not predetermined, didn’t get irresistible grace, and He didn’t die for them.  No, He says things like we see in Luke 13:3, “Except ye repent.”  Or, He says the culprit is hard, thorny, or stony hearts (Matt 13).  Explaining even apostates, Peter says ‘they deny the Lord that bought them.’  He bought them and they still denied Him.  Calvinistic inferences contradict the plain teaching of scripture.   Explicit statements outdo, undo, and exceed inferences and even something greater than inferences, implications.  If you’re a believer, you’ve got to go with what God says.  That’s your doctrine.

Faux Intellectualism

These opaque, murky points of Calvin should recede in the face of unadulterated true statements of God.  Their continued embrace seems a desperate grasp of faux intellectualism.  The following may trigger some, but it also sounds to me like a kind of virtue signal.  It lays out an intricate contraption of theology impressive in the nature of Rube Goldberg.  It takes just those types of twists and turns to end a pristine quest of human ingenuity.

The points of Calvinism wilt like day old salad in the face of not many mighty or noble are called, because to wrap your brain around Calvinism requires egg headed genius orbiting in an intellectual satellite thousands of miles above earth.  Calvinism has the mighty and noble on speed dial.  The foolishness of preaching is not incomprehension and contradiction.

More to Come