Deep and Wide

A recent river ride in a canoe reminded me of the atonement of Jesus Christ. How, you might ask. The river flowed widely and beautifully through the country side. The water was clear and ran beneath trees colored with hints of fall foliage. The deep places in the river offered some of the smoother water. This view of God’s creation was a delight to the eyes. The atonement of Jesus Christ (the cross-work of Christ with a special focus upon Christ’s substitutionary death for our sins) is a river of redemptive truth that flows through the Bible. Its head waters are found in the Garden of Eden (more precisely in eternity past) and run to God’s kingdom on earth where the glorified crucified Christ will reign. Beyond this is that eternal kingdom bathed in the glory of God.

The wideness of the atoning work of Christ is seen in its universal, all-sufficient provision of redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation (2 Pet. 2:1; 1 Jn. 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:19). The message of Christianity is that the death of Christ paid sin’s ransom price, thereby satisfying God’s wrath against sin. This results in a peace treaty with God. Sinful man can have complete harmony with an infinitely holy God. Through His Son the forgiveness of sin, a satisfactory sacrifice for sin, and a reconciled relationship to Him have been provided by God. All this comes through faith alone, by grace alone, by Christ alone. The offer of this good news is also wide. The Scriptures say, “Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 22:17). The call to look and live is found in that grand “whosoever” of John 3:16. As all those snake-bitten Israelites were told to look upon the bronze serpent if they wanted to live. So are all sinners told to look to the saving work of Christ on the cross and find the healing of eternal life. Why has this wonderful provision been made? Because of God’s universal love (“God so loved the world.”). But all Christians are not in agreement about the universal nature of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Certain questions are raised; “Did Christ die to make all men savable or did He die to only save the elect?” “Was the death of Jesus intended to secure salvation for a limited number or was the death of Jesus intended to provide salvation for everyone?”

Among evangelical, Bible-believing Christians there are those who believe in a “limited atonement.” Actually, they would prefer to call it a “definite atonement” or “particular redemption.” Those who are so persuaded teach that Christ died only for the elect (those chosen from eternity past by God to be saved) and did not die for those who will eventually perish in hell. The “limited redemptionist” bristles at the thought that Christ’s death made salvation possible for all humans. It is asserted that Christ’s coming was to render certain the salvation of the elect of God. Their argument is based upon Scripture texts that say, regarding Christ’s death, that it was “For the transgression of my people” (Isa. 53:8), “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21), “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11), and “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). It is also claimed that “Christ did not ‘pay the penalty of sin’ for those who reject Him, because if He did then they would not have to pay it themselves in hell.” The river of Christ’s atoning work is viewed as not wide in its provision, but only deep in its intent, namely, to secure salvation for the elect.

Some responses to the “limited redemptionist” viewpoint are necessary. In the first place it is true that there are biblical passages that speak of Christ dying for “His people,” “His church,” and “His sheep.” All the elect rejoice in the depth of Christ’s salvation-securing, cross-work for them. But in none of these verses does it say that Christ died only for the elect. But what of the objection that if Christ died for the non-elect then they have to pay for their sins twice, once on the cross and then in hell? Did Christ pay for Pharaoh’s sin who was already in hell? If so, the argument goes, then it is a double-payment. But such logic misses a biblical truth. Pharaoh (and all those who die without salvation in Christ) is lost, not because Christ did not die for him, but because he refused God’s offer of forgiveness. No unbeliever has his sins paid for twice (once by Christ on the cross and once by himself in an eternal hell). The payment that Christ made on his behalf never actually became his. Faith is necessary for salvation. The elect are not saved apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One frequently hears the particular redemptionist assert that “Jesus did not come merely to make salvation possible, but actually to save his people.” But if Christ’s death actually saved those for whom He died, then why is faith necessary? People are lost because they reject the Christ who died for them.

It is best to conclude that God unconditionally elected some to salvation which Christ secured with an all-sufficient atonement. Yes, the atonement of Christ is limited in some aspects. It does not extend to angels and it does not save all the lost. Yes, the atonement of Christ is unlimited in some aspects. It focuses upon the whole human race in it suitability. Christ died to provide a basis of salvation for all men. The “whosoevers” of the New Testament are not empty invitations. When the apostle John says that Jesus Christ “is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2) no amount of hermeneutical weaseling can alter the universal intent of this claim. The fact that in some instances words like “all,” “whosoever,” and “world” are limited cannot be used to limit them in passages that have to do with Christ’s work on the cross. Was John the Baptist really saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the elect” (Jn. 1:29)? This in no way diminishes the depth of Christ’s death to provide for and save His people. The unfathomable nature of redemption accomplished and applied for the sins of those chosen before the foundation of the world is to the praise of the glory of God’s grace. But at the same time there is a wideness in Christ’s redemptive work that means we have a gospel for all the unsaved. People are not lost because Christ did not die for them. People are lost because they reject the Christ who died for them. Anyone who is saved must believe (Jn. 3:36). We can tell the unconverted that God loves them. All men everywhere are called to repentance. Deep and wide. That is the measure of God’s love in Christ’s work on the Cross.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church