Concerning the general principle of the possibility of the atonement, it is agreed and understood by all believers that the atonement of Christ had the potential for every single person in history without exception to be saved. The general principle of the atonement is stated in numerous places in the New Testament. For example, John 1:29 declares that Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In contrasting the work of Christ with that of Adam, Paul states in Romans 5:18, So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. Paul here clearly states the general principle that Christ’s death has the potential for the salvation of every single person in history.  He also clearly states this in I Timothy 2:4-6 where he writes of God who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. These verses and others state the general principle of the potential of what the work of Christ might accomplish.

But just as with the Scripture’s teaching about prayer discussed in my previous post, the Bible tells us that this general principle in regard to the atonement is qualified in its application and, because of this, is limited in its actual and accomplished effect. Paul, in fact, does this very thing when, later in I Timothy 4:10, he writes of the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. The first part of this statement sets forth the general principle that the living God is the Savior of all men. This general principle is immediately qualified and limited by the words especially believers or specifically believers. While God is potentially the Savior of all men without exception, the actual accomplished effect of this general principle is that He is actually and effectually the Savior only of believers. If we don’t see the difference between the general principle and the actual accomplished effect, we would have to conclude that Paul is, in this very statement, contradicting himself.

This discussion, then, is not about the general principle of the potential of the work of Christ but the specific effect of His death. We are not looking at what is the possibility of the atoning work of Christ but at what His death actually accomplished. We will do this by examining the issue from three different perspectives that will bring the matter into sharper focus. These three perspectives in sequence are as follows:

1. The end result of Christ’s work of atonement.
2. The origin or beginning of Christ’s work of the atonement in the mind and purpose of God.
3. The different views of the actual effect of the atonement itself.

The End Result of Christ’s Work of Atonement

The first perspective from which we will examine the issue of what the atonement of Christ actually and effectually accomplished is to look at the actual end result of the atonement. We can do this by asking two questions. The first question, which may seem to be unnecessary, but lays the foundation for the discussion, is: Does the Bible reveal that the atonement of Christ accomplished the salvation of anyone? In other words, does the Bible reveal that anyone will actually be saved by the atonement of Christ? There are only two answers to this question and they are “yes” or “no.” We know the obvious answer to this question is a resounding “Yes!” The Bible reveals that there are people who are actually saved by the atonement of Christ. This means that Christ’s work of atonement is actually effective in accomplishing the salvation of people.

The second question from the perspective of the end result is: Does the Bible reveal that everyone without exception will be saved or that only a limited group of people will be saved and all the others condemned to hell? Once again, the clear answer to this question is that the Bible reveals that a limited group of people will be saved. From its very beginning in the book of Genesis to the very last book, the Book of Revelation, the Bible reveals that there will be those who will be saved as well as those who will not be saved but will be condemned to hell. Christ spoke of people going to hell more than any other person in the Bible. In many places, He taught that there would be a limited and specific group of people who would be saved. For example, in Matthew 8:11-12 He said, “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46, He begins by saying, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goat” (Matthew 25:31-32). He concludes the parable speaking first of the goats, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Christ teaches that there will be those who are saved and those will be condemned. The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, states this saying, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Those who do not believe in the Son will perish.

The Bible clearly teaches that the end result of what the atonement accomplished is that only a limited group of people are saved. Because the Bible teaches that not every person is saved, it is self-evident that that the atonement of Christ was not effective in accomplishing the salvation of those who were lost. The inescapable conclusion of looking at the atonement from the perspective of its end result that only a limited group of people are saved is that the atonement of Christ is limited in what it actually accomplished. The atonement of Christ is not effective in accomplishing the salvation of those who go to hell for the obvious reason that they are not saved and go to hell. It is limited to effectively accomplishing the salvation of those who are actually saved.

In my next posts I will continue discussing the final two perspectives: the origin or beginning of Christ’s work of the atonement in the mind and purpose of God and the different views of the actual effect of the atonement itself.

Tags: Atonement

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