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Anything else, other comments? There was something else
I wanted to say, but I don't know what that is. All right, well, we have some extra copies, and we'll have to hand these out here in just a moment.
We're going through kind of a series on Sunday night, and I'll just lay my cards out. I'm trying to encourage more people to come on Sunday nights, and so there's three ways to do that.
Number one, you can talk about end times. That'll pack the house out. Number two, you can talk about cults. That'll pack the house out.
Or you can talk about controversial subjects. And so that's what we're doing now. I've already done the other ones. And so we want to talk about topics that we can take our
Bibles out and say, you know, it's okay if we disagree. It's okay if we try to wrestle with these things, and we'll still love each other anyway.
What does the Bible say? The gay bishop's thing was a little easier because we're all solidly evangelical on that side.
Women's roles in the church, there's room to disagree with any evangelicalism. We looked at Bible interpretation of hermeneutics, and tonight, it's another one.
Did Jesus die for the elect only, or did he die for each and every person that was ever born? How many people have their handouts from three weeks ago?
Some do, all right. Maybe we could have a couple folks hand these out. I'll keep one. These are my notes.
By the way, thank you to both, I think, Nate and Bruce, who I lost my soft copy, and those guys entered everything in, and so now
I have a hard copy. And I also have the soft, it's on software, too. If you'd like a copy of this on the internet, just email me.
I'll send you all these notes. I've updated my notes. And so there's an updated copy.
If you'd like one of these, that's fine as well. Just email me at bbcpastor at AOL, and I'll send you my notes.
There's nothing original in here anyway, and so you can go ahead and just email me at bbcpastor at AOL .com,
and I'll go ahead and make sure you get this on hard copy. Again, as this is being handed out, remember, there are people in the church that have a view that Christ died for each and every person.
There's a view that Christ died for the elect, and what I will make sure of with all my power is that we all get along, kind of Rodney King theology.
We need to do that, and it's okay within evangelical circles to disagree. And if Luther and Bunyan believe that Jesus died for each and every person that was ever born, and here we have
William Carey, and just pick anybody you'd like, a Spurgeon, that Christ died only for the elect.
Both of these camps are within Orthodox evangelicalism, and we wanna make sure that we're not trying to be snooty or above people because we have a certain view.
And by the way, if I'm right tonight, I'm only right by the grace of God, right?
It's not because I'm smarter or better, and so when we start learning doctrines, what we don't wanna do is say, well,
I know, and you don't, and therefore I'm better, when all these doctrines should be total pride crushers where we can say, wow,
God, that you would die for me, that you would send your son for me. I'm the least worthy person.
So the good news is, when I have discipleship groups, I let people try to discuss this issue and hammer it out because it's hot, it's inflammatory in the sense that we really, it is not simple enough, as I explained with one man,
I said, well, here's why I think Jesus died for just the elect, and they said, well, whosoever believes in the
Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. End of discussion. It's not that simple, and it is whosoever believes in the name of the
Lord shall be saved, but it's a complex issue. So does everybody have a copy? Okay, well, get your thinking caps on, and if you took them off this afternoon, put them back on.
We always have to have them on. And what we'll do is we'll review the first couple, and then we'll go through and deal with the other ones.
These are not weighted. Some are more important than others. What I'm trying to do is put together a case, almost lawyer -esque, to say this is why
I believe that Jesus died for not each and every person as we would be taught.
That's the MO for the day. 300 years ago, if you lived in New England, and someone said to you, did
Jesus die for the elect, or everybody, the answer would be eight out of 10 times the elect.
Now it's eight out of 10 times the other way around, and we just wanna work through it. So you can see in my introduction, and some of this is review, everyone limits the atonement.
You either limit how many people Jesus died for, or you limit the effectiveness of the atonement.
I said here right to the very beginning, the issue number one, whose punishment did Christ bear? One, he died to save all men without distinction.
That means everyone's going to heaven, universalism. B, Christ died to save no one in particular.
He died to make them savable. Arminianism we call that, potential, made possible, and then people exercise faith.
Or C, Christ died to save a certain number of people that the Father had given him, and that's my position. It's okay if we disagree, it's no big deal.
Number two, the purpose of the atonement. That's really what we're getting at. What was the design, or what was the intention of the atonement?
Did God intend to save all men, or did he not? Let's go to John chapter 10.
We're teaching our kids now at home, sword drills. So you have to get your Bible out. Everybody, we don't have to do this now, but this is what we do with the kids.
Everybody put your Bible up. John chapter 10, verse 10. We scurry to get it. Sword drills, you can't cheat ahead of time.
So tonight you're gonna need your Bible. Like this morning, I try to stay away from audible preaching, where you cross -reference nine zillion times, and you sound like a quarterback audible -ing.
Four, 63, 816, 432, and you're just going through, and I like to go to one spot and just camp on Sunday mornings.
Now tonight's gonna be a little different because it's a topic, it's not an exposition. And so look at John chapter 10, verse 10, and I just wanna start off by saying
Jesus died for all those that the Father had given him, would give him, did give him his best,
I guess. He didn't die for the goats, he didn't die for the wolves, he died for the sheep.
John chapter 10, verse 10, one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And I believe it was
God's intention to send the Son to die for those that the Father had chose. All right, proof for particular redemption are death and atonement.
Limited atonement doesn't really sound that good because we're somehow limiting the atonement and I am here to say, like I did three weeks ago,
Christ's death on the cross could save a million, billion people on a trillion planets. His death was spectacular.
It was good enough for as many as who would believe. How would we prove this though? Number one, scripture shows the limitation of Christ's death.
We won't look these verses up because we did it last time. The many, number one, the children of God, those given him by the
Father, his church, many sons, and you can read the list on your own. Let's go to the second one.
Let's turn to Ephesians chapter five, the close tie between sanctification and cleansing. In other words,
I believe that Jesus died only for those that the Father had given him because those are the only ones who will be sanctified.
Jesus dies for them and then cleansed them and he does not cleanse the others. You can look at someone who's an unbeliever and yes, they may believe in the future, but God is not in the process of sanctifying them and making them more pure and holy.
So let's look at Ephesians chapter five, verse 25, and take a look at this sword drill. Everybody gets the verse.
By the way, I think next week what we'll do is we'll look at Bible translations, why they're important. We'll take a look a little bit at the
King James only controversy and I thought that's kind of dead, but it's still alive and even someone here at the church recently visiting didn't want to hear me preach out of anything but the
King James and I like the King James. It's a wonderful version, but it's not the only version. So that'll be next week.
Ephesians 5 .25, husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her.
We could talk about there even the intent of the atonement. But here's what he says in verse 26, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.
One of the components, it's not the only component, but Jesus died for people and then he washes and cleanses them too.
What about the unbeliever? If you think Jesus died for each and every person, he died for them, but he's not cleansing them.
And there's a tie in between the saving nature of God and his son's grace and sanctification and cleansing.
Why don't we go to John chapter 17 and we'll look at it further. John 17, by the way, we're gonna have to try to save time at the end for questions because there's always questions and I'm not gonna be able to cover every verse.
There's books and books written on the subjects and many trees have given their lives on the subject. And that's the intention of a tree.
That's a good thing. Okay, John chapter 17, verse 19. You have to be careful when you talk about the environment because we wanna take care of the environment.
We just don't wanna worship it, right? John 17, verse 19. And for their sakes, the ones that the father had given him,
I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, not just the disciples there, the apostles to be, but for those also who believe in me through their word that they may be one even as thou father art in me and I in thee that they may also be in us that the world may believe that thou descend me.
Did you see that? I'm praying for these that you've given me father and I'm cleansing them. The tie in between justification and sanctification if you will.
Go down to verse 24. Father, I desire that they also whom thou has given me be with me where I am in order that they may behold my glory which was given to me for thou just loved me before the foundation of the world.
And there again, I'm just trying to prove the point between if Jesus dies for you, he will cleanse you, aren't you glad? Now we come to the next verse,
Romans chapter eight. And this to me is what
I could not get around if I believe the other view. And by the way, I did believe the other view for years and it's certainly an orthodox view.
I have many friends who believe it, professors. We can still have great fellowship.
The Romans chapter 8, 32, pretty much, well, I've never been attacked by a mosquito here in my life, just came right up to me.
It's like when I was preaching on Easter Sunday and here comes that lily bug. I don't know what kind of bug it was, but it was in the
Easter lily and just came right out. It was going slow motion. It was an Easter Sunday with all the unbelievers there.
Here it was packed and I could see that thing just going in slow motion. And I couldn't stop because I wanted to get my point out and here it goes and it even got right here and then told the story 50 times, but it's funny every single time.
The bugging ministry. But think about this here.
Romans 8, 32, he who did not spare his son means to withhold. He didn't hold him back.
He left it all in the field as people say. He didn't hold anything back. He spared nothing, 110%.
I mean, what else could you give? But delivered him up for us all.
How will he not also with him freely give us all things? What's he trying to say there?
Would God do less for his children than he did for his enemies? In other words, if while you were an enemy,
Jesus died for you, now that Jesus died for you, won't he give you everything else? Now, how can an unbeliever say that?
If I think that Jesus died for each and every person, let's just push the envelope a little bit. How about Judas?
Could this be true? Is this true of Judas? Jesus dies for his people and he gives them everything else.
Jesus dies for Judas and then he gets everything else? Answer, no.
He does not receive the benefits. Thank you. He does not receive the benefits of the death of Christ.
It's an argument from greater to lesser. Okay, let's keep going. And I know you probably have questions.
Just write them down. Let's go to the next one. I'm just trying to build my case. Number three. The Bible states that Christ came not to enable men to save themselves, but to save sinners.
That is to say, the language of the New Testament is never God made it possible for you to believe.
God makes it possible for you to believe. It is always to procure salvation. God made redemption.
God made propitiation. God made reconciliation. Let's go to Hebrews chapter nine.
Some of Bruce Avini's favorite verses here on this topic. My point here is, if God's blood is applied to you, you will be saved.
He's not done his part. Now he's waiting for you to do your part. God dies for you and now he's waiting for you to exercise your faith.
No. You do. You must exercise your faith, but that's not the context of what we're talking about right now.
Hebrews chapter nine, verse 11. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle.
Not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation. And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood.
He entered the holy place once for all, having made redemption possible.
Know what the text says? Having obtained eternal redemption.
He didn't make it possible, he did it. Look down at verse 13. For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh.
Three great preaching words of all time. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God. If the blood of Christ is applied to you, you will be saved.
True? That's my point. Now we could look up a lot of verses and I don't think we really need to, but in redemption, if you look at your notes, they are actually redeemed.
I mean, can you imagine you say, well, we've paid bail for you, you're no longer guilty, but you don't get out of jail.
It just doesn't work that way. In him we have redemption, Ephesians chapter one, verse seven. How about this?
Propitiation. I'll read Romans 3 .24. Well, let me read first John 2 .2.
For he himself is a propitiation for our sins. We'll get back to that one in a bit because it has the world. If Jesus took the wrath of God in your place, the language is never and now he's made it possible for you to believe.
And same thing with reconciliation. It never says he made reconciliation possible. It says he reconciled.
You say, okay, I'm still maybe not that convinced. Well, let's see if we can get more convincing.
Number four, Christ's sacrificial work cannot be separated from his intercessory work.
Jesus prays for those he died for and no one else. Let's take a look at that. Back to John chapter 17.
It's amazing. If Jesus died for you, he'll be praying for you. All right,
John chapter 17. And again, it's very shocking these days. If I said to someone,
I don't believe Jesus died for everyone, people would be shocked. So let's just see what the text says.
John chapter 17, verse nine, I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom thou has given me for they are mine.
Can you imagine? Jesus dies for people and he prays for those people. Why would Jesus not pray for people that he died for?
That's strange. Verse 10, and all things that are mine are thine and thine are mine and I have been glorified in them.
I am no more in the world and yet they themselves are in the world. I come to thee, Holy Father, keep them in thy name.
The name which thou has given me, that they may be one even as we are. Go down to verse 20. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, not just these disciples right here, but for those also who believe in me through their word.
Now that could be a whole sermon on that. Can you imagine Jesus prays for you and God will answer his prayers. But here,
Jesus dies for you and the intercessory prayer ministry that he has is linked to those that he has died for and no one else.
Go down to verse 24. Father, I desire that they also whom thou has given me be with me where I am in order that they may behold my glory which thou has given me.
For thou dost love me before the foundation of the world. Oh, righteous Father, although the world has not known thee, yet I have known thee.
And these have known that thou dost send me and I have made thy name known to them and will make it known that the love wherewith thou dost love me may be in them and I in them.
Furthermore, number five, the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit. Do you know the
Holy Spirit prays for the people that Christ has died for and no one else? Look at Romans chapter eight, verse 26.
This is a very famous verse for trying to speak in tongues, although you'll see that that's not the context at all.
Romans chapter 8, 28, 826. And again, I'm going at rapid pace. We can't turn this into a nine -part series, but write down your questions and we'll save time for some of those.
Romans chapter eight, verse 26. The Spirit's intercession is for God's people and those alone.
He only intercedes for those purchased by Christ. Romans 8, 26. And in the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness.
For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.
And that's wonderful where it says he helps us. It's a neat word that says he takes us, he grabs hold of us face -to -face.
It's just close help. We're not alone in weaknesses, he's saying. So the
Spirit himself keeps on interceding with groanings too deep for words.
Does the Father hear these prayers? Verse 27. For he who searches the heart knows, hearts know what the mind of the
Spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
What assurance it should be that the Holy Spirit is praying for us all the time. All right, now,
I'm gonna get the big guns out now and it's a little more philosophical than biblical, but I think you may see my point.
Number six. The Trinity forces the issue that Jesus died only for the elect.
The Trinity, the doctrine of the Trinity. What do I mean by that? The Father, I think it's fair to say, we've been in Ephesians for a long enough time.
In chapter one of Ephesians, verses four through six, it says that the Father has chosen us before the foundation of the world, true?
Not that we are holy and blameless, but that we should be. The Father has chosen us. Down in verse 13 and 14 of Ephesians chapter one, the
Spirit has sealed us and only us. The Father chooses some. And remember with election, he didn't have to choose anyone so that he chooses any, we're thankful.
The Father chooses some, the Spirit seals some and makes some born again, and the Son says, but I'm going to die for more than the
Father has chosen and more that the Spirit has sealed. Does that make any sense? It doesn't make any sense to me.
The Trinitarian view is they're all co -equal, co, it's the same essence.
The Father chooses some, the Spirit will quicken them unto eternal life, and the Son will die for those same some.
That's easy to say, for you to try to say. I'm glad Doug gave me that water.
John 6 .37, all that the Father gives me shall come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.
The Father says, Son, these are the ones for you. And the Son says, thank you, Father, but I'm going to die for more too.
It doesn't make any sense. The doctrine of the Trinity is the Father chooses, the Son dies for those that the
Father chooses, and the Spirit takes those that the Father has chosen and the Son has died for and say, now
I will make it effectual. I will redeem you. I will make you born again. If you read the notes there,
I'll just read them out loud. If God planned for all to be saved and Christ died for all and the Spirit has sent to all, then we are presented with a very unglorious
God. The Father is disappointed because his plan failed. The Son is dissatisfied because his blood was shed in vain for the majority of mankind.
The Spirit is defeated by the majority of mankind. Response, no. The doctrine of the
Trinity will force you to say, it all has to be together. The Father dies for these. The Father chooses these.
The Son dies for these. The Spirit makes these alive. Okay, the next one, number seven.
Just trying to rapid fire here. These are one of those things. I actually like it sometimes when my brain hurts.
It's kind of fun. My brain just freezes. I see a couple of you tonight going, what does this have to do with anything?
And you say, well, I'm having a hard week and now we're going to talk about little things about the atonement. Well, there couldn't be a better subject.
Could there be? The death of Christ. And we want to understand it because when you understand it, you're going to say,
I can't believe that Jesus died for me. We'll get to that in just a little bit. The spread of the gospel.
Question, we don't have to answer it out loud. If Christ died for all mankind, why has the gospel not been preached to all?
The Holy Spirit even restricted the direction of the apostles. Don't go over there. Now, if Jesus has died for every person, why does not the gospel go to every person?
Number eight, the ultimate fallacy of unlimited atonement. And I think unlimited atonement denies the substitutionary death of Christ.
Think about it. If Jesus is your lamb, I think
God is going to accept that atonement, don't you? If Jesus died in your place, in your stead, on your behalf, he's your substitute.
I think you're in heaven. You're as good as in heaven. You have eternal life. Now, if you believe in the other view where Jesus died for each and every person, you mean to tell me that Jesus Christ was
Hitler's substitute and Hitler didn't make it to heaven? Let's pick somebody else.
Jeffrey Dahmer. He said he became a Christian at the end of his life. Is Christ's blood good enough to save Jeffrey Dahmer? Yes. But I have a flip side to ask.
Let's ask somebody else. Who for sure do we know is in hell? How about Goliath? Did Jesus die for Goliath?
If your view is he died for each and every person, then he did. Then my question to you is, well, then why is
Goliath in hell? The response cannot be because he didn't believe because a lack of faith is sin too.
I hope it is. That was me for 29 years of my life because he didn't believe.
And that's just like at the very back page. If you look at the back page with the John Owen quote, the very bottom, you answer because of unbelief.
I ask, is this unbelief a sin or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it or he did not.
If he did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which he died? If he did not, he did not die for all their sins.
Goliath is in hell because he's a sinner and Jesus' blood is not due him, but it was never even intentionally designed for him.
I think the logical conclusion is this. If you believe that Jesus died for each and every person, then why is not everybody in heaven?
Why is it not universalism? And you say, well, they didn't believe. And I just would repeat what
Owen said. All right, that gives us to the next one. Look at number nine. People in hell before Christ's death. Can you imagine?
Let me just read the quote from Roger Nicole. A Baptist who preached from this pulpit, I think, didn't he, Fred, Roger Nicole?
I think Roger Nicole came here and preached. Does anybody remember?
I heard that he came and preached here, so I'd like to have him back someday. At the time of our Lord's death on the cross, the eternal destiny of many reprobates had already been sealed in death and hell.
Sinners during the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Judas, et cetera. Can we suppose that our Lord died with the intent of bearing the sins of those who were then and there in hell?
If not, he did not die for all. I could attack it this way if you'd like, if you want to get philosophical.
If Jesus died for each and every person that has ever been born, and now they have to exercise their faith.
He says, I've died for you, and now you have to exercise your faith. And they don't, then there are no degrees of punishment in hell.
Did you get that? Why is anybody in hell if Jesus died for all their sins? Well, they didn't believe, and that's the only thing that they're in there for is a lack of belief, and that means everybody's in hell for only one sin.
If you're in hell for only one sin, punishment is appropriate for that one sin.
No, the scripture teaches in Hebrews and in the Gospels that there are degrees of punishment in hell.
Why? Because as people live to be 80 and 90 and 100 years old, they rack up their sin mileage that they have to pay for.
Did Christ die for the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Assyrians? How about the Ninevites? Oh, by the way, we read
Nahum this week. You know how everybody says, well, in Jonah, God went over to, sent
Jonah over to the Ninevites and says, you better stop and you better repent, and then God changed his mind,
God relented, God repented, the text says. But you know, 100 years later,
Nahum went there and said, you better repent or here comes the judgment, and God did give the judgment. So for these open theology people that said, well,
God just backed off and he changed his mind. He didn't change his mind, he postponed like he does so often with his patience and judgment, and he said,
I'm gonna wait 100 years before you get it right. Wait, that doesn't have anything to do with this, but I was excited.
Nahum, Nehemiah, contracted, little Nehemiah. Nahum, Nehemiah, why are people in hell if Jesus died for their sins?
Do you mean somebody in hell today, Jesus received the wrath of God from God Almighty, and then somebody's still in hell for that?
No. Furthermore, number 10, along the same line of thinking, God does not demand payment two times.
There is no double jeopardy. No double jeopardy. Rock of Ages, top lady sang the song, wrote the song, payment cannot
God twice demand. First at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again at mine. God is just, isn't he?
Perfectly just, and he says, you know, I've punished my son in your place, but I'm also going to punish you for all eternity.
I don't think that's justice. I think that's double jeopardy. I think that's double payment. Proverbs 11, one, a false balance is an abomination to the
Lord, but a just weight is his delight. Can you see any delight in the Godhead when the Godhead says,
I know that my son has been punished, and he has stood in your place, and been in your stead, and instead of looking at you,
I looked at him, but you're going to hell anyway and paid. That doesn't seem right. Job 8 .3,
Bildad said in one of his moments of truth, God, does God pervert justice, or does the
Almighty pervert what is right? If God died for your sins, you're going to heaven.
Okay, number 11. Number 11, the Old Testament prophecies and ceremonies.
Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 53, and I just want to show you that there is a limit to the death of Christ there even, and for those that he intercedes for, just like we've seen.
And by the way, no one would argue with me that the Passover meal was just limited to the
Israelites, limited Passover, particular Passover, definite
Passover. Nobody argues there. I don't know why we argue with this one. Somehow I think we don't like limited atonement because we think
God doesn't love them like he should. That's not true either. Isaiah 53, you know the passage?
Isaiah 53, verse four. Just look at the passage, and I'll try to make the words emphatic. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried.
Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities. They're not talking about the Hittites and the
Jebusites and the Electrolytes. I mean, they are talking about the Jews, the people of God.
The chastening for our well -being fell upon him, and by his scourging, we are healed.
Verse six. All, not all, every all, but all of us, like sheep, have gone astray.
Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has called the iniquity of us to fall, us all to fall on him.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.
Verse eight. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away, and as for his generation, who consider that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet he was with the rich man in his death because he had done no violence.
And was there any deceit in his mouth? Verse 10. But the Lord was pleased to crush him, Yahweh was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief.
If he would rather render him as a guilt offering, he will see his offspring, he will prolong his days, and the good pleasure of the
Lord will prosper in his hand. And I could go on reading. Down in verse 12, though, towards the end, yet he himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.
Okay, just a couple more, and then we'll get to some questions. Number 12. The Lord's Supper.
Why do we limit, this is just a question, it's not a big one, I wouldn't die on this one,
I wouldn't even use it as an argument unless I had to, and here it's just something to think about.
Why do we limit Christ's table, the
Lord's Supper, to just believers? And I would say to you, one of the reasons we do it is because it's just logical and it makes sense that it's for the people, it's for the children of God.
As you see the notes, it says we view the Lord's Supper as a covenantal ceremony since we remember the death of Christ, our covenant head who secured the salvation that was promised in the new covenant.
We should not limit the Lord's Supper to believers only if Christ died for all people without exception. Did you get that?
If Jesus died for everybody, how can you say no to somebody who comes to the table? Well, the answer could be because they haven't believed yet, and I could go for that.
All right, number 13. A few more to go. Number 13, the parallel between the bride of the husband and the bride of Christ.
Edwin Palmer, who writes an excellent little book said, if the Arminian view is correct that Christ loved the whole world equally and gave himself up for the world, then this parallel would fall.
For then the injunction would be that the husband should love and give himself up for not only the church's bride, but also for those outside of it.
This would be contradictory to scripture, which teaches that a man should have one wife. Something to think about.
All right, here's a big one. Number 14, the concept of the Lord's victory.
Would it be proper to speak of the Lord's victory as triumph if 80 % of the people for whom he supposedly died repudiated that sacrifice?
You understand that? It's like, well, how great can Christ's death be if the majority of people, since many are called, but few are chosen, there's going to be a great number in heaven, but out of percentages, fewer than greater, and Jesus died for all these people, yet most didn't come.
How could that be a victory? And then lastly, and I kind of saved this one towards the end, since every
Bible doctrine has its problems, and this doctrine does too, always interpret the unclear in light of the clear.
Here's what happens. Someone says, well, okay, I understand all these points and everything else, and I understand these verses, and I get it, but for God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, so therefore that's fine.
Well, I think we have to deal with John 16, John 3 .16, and we will, but if you have some verses that teach that maybe the
Trinity doesn't seem like what it is, and then here's all these verses about the Trinity. Here's my question to you.
Do you interpret the few in light of the many, or the many in light of the few? How about Jesus in his, he's fully
God and fully man. Here's all these that says he's both, and here's some that we just go, I wish that JW wouldn't have asked me in my door because it kind of seems like he's got me.
Do you interpret these in light of these, or these in light of these? Or those in light of these, and these in light of those?
What I'm trying to say is, if you go to 2 Peter 2, verse 1, it sounds like Jesus died for the false teachers, but he either died for everybody, or he died for the elect, and I'm going to interpret some of these verses and say, that's a hard verse, but I'm gonna interpret the ones that I don't know in light of those that I do know.
Okay, now let's get to the rub. Objections. There are two classes of texts that speak of Christ's saving work in general terms.
And what are the two words that we're after? Anyone? World and all.
World and all. Let's look up some of these. Okay, look at the one down there in world.
Different meanings, world, number two. The word need not imply every man and woman in the world.
It has many meanings. In the writings of John, world, cosmos is used 112 times.
So what are the books of John? Which ones did he write? I want to say he wrote five books. Can you think of the five?
Okay, good, five books. He's used world 112 times. This is Robert Morey stuff that he has.
It's excellent. The first one is the entire universe or created reality, world. Second one, planet
Earth. Third, general public or crowd of men. Four, sinners under wrath of God and in the control of Satan, the evil world system.
Five, sinners from all ranks and nations or races of mankind, not just Jews, but also
Gentiles. Realm of all evil opposition to God. Realm of fallen mankind, body of God's elect.
So when you read for God so loved the world, the first thing you want to do is think about context and say, not this.
Default, Jesus dies for every person that's ever been born. That's all that I've ever been taught. So for God so loved each and every person.
What you should do, even if you take the view that's opposite of mine, you should say the word world means different things in different contexts.
That's all I would want. Can you imagine? Okay, here's the woman at the well,
John chapter four. Jesus says, you don't worship the right way. Let me tell you how to worship.
She gets saved and she runs back to the village. By the way, I think she was a smart lady, especially in those days where we had this whole matriarchal,
I mean, patriarchal system and everything. She doesn't go back and say, well, you know, I'm gonna tell you guys right and set you straight.
She's like, you better go check it out for yourselves. But needless to say, she goes and she says, you know what?
Here is somebody who is the savior of the what? World. I think she said it.
It may be one of the men, I'm not sure. It doesn't matter. She's a savior of the world. And what is she saying? Wow, I've just met the person that's gonna save each and every person that was ever born universalism.
What's she saying? If you are steeped in this culture of here are the barbarians, the people that just, they don't speak
Greek and here's the Greeks and here's the Jews and here's all the Gentiles. And you've got the
Jews sometimes thinking the Gentiles are dogs and all these kind of differences. And someone says to you, a
Jew steeped in these things. And that day, Jesus didn't just die for the Jews. He died for the world.
What are you gonna think? You're gonna think Gentiles. So what I'm trying to say is you have to be careful that just because the word world is used, do not automatically think each and every person.
Let's go to the passage. Let's go to John 3 .16. A very wonderful passage of John 3 .16.
What does it actually mean? And I think it's very simple that Jesus loves humanity.
I don't think he's talking about each and every person. You may disagree with me, that's fine. Someone came to me today and said,
Mike, is it okay if we disagree with something that you said in the pulpit? I said, if you only got one thing, you're doing pretty good.
Of course it's okay to disagree. You just disagree in a proper fashion and you're not gonna stand up.
I was at Grace Church several years ago. Even when we lived there and went to church, John was speaking on the atonement and some guy got up and stood and said, you're a liar.
I'll never forget what John says. I'm just dying to use it myself someday, but I'm not wanting the trouble.
John said, people hate it when you preach. And then you could just see the ushers.
I wonder what our ushers would do. I wonder what I would do. And then when
Scott was there at the Shepherd's Conference a couple years ago, there was a lady, John was preaching, and she just started screaming,
I can't take it anymore. I can't take it, John, I can't take it. So John just says, well,
I think we need to pray for this lady. Everybody prays. Making sure all my guys got their eyes closed and I just pay attention to what's going on.
I'm staring over there. All the ushers come over there. She's got all kinds of problems. She wasn't the same lady, although I thought she was.
Someone accused MacArthur of all kinds of sexual sin. John's like, well, elders, you better check that out if that's what they're doing.
I'd haven't, but you need to check it out. She said that John, with his eyes while he was preaching, was trying to seduce her as he preached with his eyes.
Come to find out she did that at the last church. I love John's response.
John said, I think my wife knows my looks and she would know sitting in the front row if I was giving some other lady the eye.
It's just so stupid. How do I get off on this? John 3 .16.
Of course we can disagree about these things. It's okay, I don't expect everybody in this room to say Jesus died for just the elect.
It's okay. We're gonna start a division or something and we don't wanna do that. Let's hammer it out. John 3 .16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. By the way, the translation is that those believing in him, whosoever is not in any text.
If you wanna know whosoever, you need to go to Romans 10. That those believing in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
Now if you mean the world is each and every person that has ever been born, you've got a problem because mission not accomplished.
The purpose of Christ is, if you think about him as a bounty hunter going out to try to get somebody with a price on their head, he will come back victorious with his criminal every time, won't he?
If you think Jesus can say, well, you know, man's will can thwart my will and God, you wanted me to save everybody but I just couldn't.
No, what's he saying? You can either say that you are Gentile but I think he's saying, listen,
God loves humanity and I'll show you why he loves humanity. He sent his son. Anyway, we could look at a thousand verses but let's look at another world verse and then we'll go to the all verses.
First John chapter two, verse two. Many use this as the sine qua non of Jesus died for each and every person.
And I think if you see it like a New Testament Greek or Jew and try to read it as such, it becomes very easy.
First John chapter two, verse one. My little children, I'm writing to you these things that you may not sin.
If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, righteous. The righteous one.
And he himself, emphatic, is the propitiation for our sins. He had the wrath of God poured out on him for our sins.
Not only ours or not for ours only but also for those of the whole world. Option one.
Jesus died not only for those people that John was writing to but also the whole world.
The Son of God received the full wrath of God Almighty. For not just believers but the whole world.
That can't be. If Jesus has paid for your sins, you're going to heaven. So, think like a
Jew. Think like a Greek back in those days. He himself is a propitiation for our sins in the
Jewish culture of which John was one. And not for ours only but praise be the name of the
Lord because I'm a Jew. I mean, I'm a Jew. I'm a Gentile.
I was going to say Goyim but then I didn't know if I got the ending right. But for those also of the whole world not just the
Jews. Mankind in general. Okay.
Then the next word, all. And again, I'm not going to cover everything but let's go to 1
Timothy chapter two. And I just want to say when you see the word all in the Bible there's a little word in the
Greek for all. A couple different little words. Pas, pon, pontes. Three different ones. And they mean all.
All manner of. All sorts of. All kinds of. And you've got to determine in context what it is.
Now the New American Standard and other translations will pick for you. Like any good translation will.
I'm not saying they get it right all the time. Sometimes all does not mean each and every person.
As you're turning to 1 Timothy two I'll read it to you. Mark 1 5. And all the country of Judea was going out to him and all the people of Jerusalem and they were being baptized by him in the
Jordan River. Did the entire city of Jerusalem go out to John the Baptist and get baptized?
The answer is no because Luke 7 30 says the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected John the Baptist's baptism and did not get baptized.
Does all mean all? Well sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. 1 Timothy two verse one. Let's take a look at this.
When you see the word all you need to say even in the notes all manner of, all sorts of, all kinds of are inclusive all.
1 Timothy chapter two verse one. First of all, I urge you that in treaties and prayers and petitions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all.
It doesn't say all men, but all. Okay, what are the all? The text says it, but it's the
NES. What kind of all? All kinds of. What kind of all kinds of? For kings and for those who are in authority in order that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires, same
Greek word all, not all men, who desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now has he just kind of gone schizo and said I want you to pray for your leaders and now by the way Jesus has died for all.
He's saying I want you to pray for these kind of leaders, all kinds of leaders because Jesus has died for all kinds of people.
There's one God, one mediator also between man, between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all.
What all? Which all? For all kinds of people, for all kinds of leaders. Now if you don't think
I'm right, look down at verse seven. And for this I was appointed a preacher and apostle. I'm telling you the truth,
I am not lying. As a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Jesus is not just the Savior of the
Jews, he's the Savior of all, all kinds of, all manner of. When John the Baptist says behold the
Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Do you think for one moment John the Baptist thinks that everybody's going to heaven because Jesus has paid for all their sins?
No, he takes away for the sins of all kinds of mankind. Alright, I didn't mean to shout.
What does it matter? I think number one, real comfort in times of trouble. If Jesus died for you, he's going to give you everything extra.
Number two, real encouragement in evangelism. If Jesus died for someone, they're going to come to faith.
Aren't you glad? Three, I think it will help you to properly preach the
Gospel. You don't see anywhere in the New Testament where people preach the Gospel by saying Jesus died for you.
I don't think you know. Number four, God gets all the glory in your salvation. You will not get to heaven and someone will ask you why are you here?
And you'll say, because I believed and my buddy who's in hell didn't believe. And lastly, thanksgiving, that God would do that for you.
Questions? Yes, Jonah. Well, let's go to a passage and maybe this is the one that you're talking about.
2 Peter 2. I don't know, so I'd have to hear the exact question.
But I think if Jesus died for you, you're going to heaven. He died not only for all your sins, but also the sin of unbelief.
And God has not done His part on earth and He's waiting for you to do your part. But God cast
His vote yes for you and you can. And Jesus has died for our sins and if He has, we're going to go to heaven.
If you look at 2 Peter 2, I don't know if this is it, Jonah, but it comes up all the time, but false prophets also arose among the people.
Just as there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the
Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. So there you could say, look it,
Jesus died for unbelieving false teachers. They're surely not going to heaven, so He can't just die for the elect.
He has to die for more. And you can study that on your own, but I think like in Titus and other passages, there was a group of false teachers that were
Jews and they were going around and they were having big trouble. And I think these were Jews in the church. And here's what happens.
Peter says, there are some people who bought them, who took them up out of the land of Egypt, who redeemed them.
He bought them out and they're still denying Him. The gall, the unmitigated gall of people who have been saved, their great, great, great, great, great grandparents have been saved out of Egypt and now they're in the local church trying to destroy it.
So I think you could have people who have been bought by God out of Egypt in a temporal sense and now they're trying to destroy the church.
It's a hard passage, I agree. Okay, next. Give me the exact question, Bill. I know it's one of these brain freeze things.
There's a book called Redemption Accomplishments. Yes. How does this affect?
So as we can sit and look at it and think, well, this is just like academics. And I know in a sense that it would be nice if we understood the people that Jesus died for.
What do we do? I never go to someone and say, well, let me tell you about Calvinism and all that stuff.
I'd go to them and I'd say, I mean, you wouldn't know if I was a four -pointer or a five -pointer or I was Calvinistic and Arminian, you wouldn't know how
I got my evangelism because I'd go to them and I'd say, listen, there's this big problem. I usually use the four
W's. Who is God? He's holy, he's high, he's lifted up, he's righteous, he's good. Number two
W, who is man? Here's who man is and how he's fallen short. And number three, who is
Christ? Number four, what does God command them to do? So that doesn't change anything for me except in the back of my mind
I say, since God has chosen me a lot, I have encouragement to evangelize now because I think if you have a healthy view of God as sovereign over souls,
I don't have to change the message to water it down because I want people so much to get saved. I'd also say that I took my view of if we use
Calvinism or Arminianism, I try not to because they're kind of light and loud words. If we use the sovereignty of God and salvation,
I don't preach for people to get saved anymore although I want them. Thirdly, I don't tell people that I don't see any place in the preaching in the
New Testament. I do say
Jesus' church, he died for them and so even if I'm wrong,
I'm consistent. For me as a
Christian to believe in himself you don't have to lay down at night.
Somehow it's up to me to be a savior and it's not up to me and so I have bowed my knee to you and maybe you dreamed in heaven but let's say he's not.
I will honor you and love you and worship you even if not. What am
I going to do? If he would save anybody, I'm willing to say thank you
God you saved him. Think about the angel. He could have said to all the angels and he did.
I don't think it's sitting in the Bible. I don't think it's the place where we labor into God because we have put our hope on the living
God who is the savior of all men. That is, the believer. I don't use, even though that's in my handout, you can cross that one off if you want.
I used to use it, Jesus claims to die. I remember Jesus' death was that.
Even though I think that's still over, yes.
Think about the free deal with election. I think if you, I think if you understand election and finally can see, you know what,
God killed him and he's going to do something because he killed him.
I think if you say, you know what, God who killed this cat, he would be holy. You're just going to stand around when it comes to the corner because why would
Jesus put, God would find a place to come and Jesus would find a place to offer this.
Why would Paul, why would, he did it.
I'm afraid to say, that's, you know, in the good of the Bible studies, that a person can get together with groups and then groups and then groups.
It was
Paul doing it. He was doing it in the inspiration of the spirit of God and he said in chapter one, this is still a private pit. The first thing you need to know about praising
God so you can praise him properly is this time
I learned about election. I thought it was on the second lesson. I'm just in a charismatic environment so I'm not blessed with charismatic, but I thought
I had my charismatic second lesson. I couldn't believe that God would pick me. I thought he'd pick me because I picked him.
I picked him because he picked me and he didn't want to pick me. He didn't want to pick me. I don't believe it, but he picked me.
God, God would just pick me. You know me better than I know me and you know the depths of my heart and I can't believe he picked me.
You know, we never figured it. We did not read a book. I just said, can't you just pick me up?
It was a bad little kid's book. He was reading the language in it. It was just a kid's theological book.
We read through it. I think it's called the Bible. So we read that thing and Tim says, yeah,
I totally agree. I don't. And so then
I did. I had to clear it in. I had to say, okay, here's what God has got. It's a biblical denomination.
It's a biblical, what is it?
You know, it's a prophetic song that comes to mind. I'm just, and you have to listen to what he was saying.
He was making my time, I tell you. He was talking all the time. He never did any of this. He was talking to everybody and he was saying, you know, here's the truth.
That's what I'm going to do. That's the truth. You know,
I just kind of, I couldn't believe it.
I couldn't believe it.
He would die for you. He died for you. You know, in a way, that certainly, that's how they said it.
They said, here's the good stuff. Here's the bad stuff.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know.