Where We Have Been/What’s Upcoming

Having finished the review of Owen’s objections to unlimited atonement I wanted to briefly review where we have been and go over, God willing, where we are going. Where We Have Been. We started with a Review of Owen’s understanding of the atonement. This shows Owen’s primary misunderstanding in Books 1 & 2 of the Death of Death in the Death of Christ, relating to the differences between Christ’s death and His intercession. Then we moved to the top 10 reasons to believe Christ died for all. Owen’s objections to these reasons, found in Book 4, were discussed as well. Included within the top 10 was a detailed analysis of every New Testament usage of the word world, to discover the right sense in which Christ died for the world. Recently, we just finished reviewing Owen’s arguments against unlimited atonement. This step-by-step review of Owen’s objections to unlimited atonement covers Book 3. What’s Upcoming I plan on taking a break from the topic for little bit, while I focus on my upcoming debate with Turretinfan on Romans 9-11. Lord willing, after I have had a chance to re-write my analysis of those chapters, I will return to the atonement. In reviewing Owen’s understanding of the atonement, I pointed out Owen’s primary problem, namely intercession. Although we went over what was wrong with Owen’s view, we didn’t go over the correct view of the atonement. Actually, there’s a great deal in Owen’s books 1 & 2 that I agree with. Most of the effectiveness and fruits of Christ’s death that Owen’s sees related to Christ’s death, I see as related to the application of Christ’s blood to the believer. But we need to cover how this works, so I plan on covering a few atonement theories. In the process, I plan on making a few comments on Packer’s introduction to Owen’s the Death of Death in the Death of Christ. As I said, I plan on talking a break from the atonement while I prepare for my Romans 9-11 debate, but Lord willing, I will be able to post a brief teaser on atonement theories tomorrow evening.

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