Dan Chapa

Part 1- Review of Owen’s Atonement Theory In this section I review Owen’s view of the Atonement. In particular, I argue that Owen’s conflation of offering and intercession leads him to undermine justification by faith. I caution the reader to not attempt of “fix Owen’s argument for him”, or demand of me explanations of other aspects of passages quoted, or ask “how does this thought fit into an overall atonement theory”. Instead, just focus on understanding what Owen had to say, and if he was correct or not. There will be time explaining the atonement, when I give a positive defense of my own views. Owen’s view of the atonement lead him to unusual interpretations of certain “unlimited atonement” passages, so it’s well worth it to examine what he said about the atonement. Part 2 – Top 10 Reasons to believe Christ Died for all This section discusses the reasons to believe the atonement is unlimited. If Owen made some counter-arguments, they are included and addressed. The reasons are p...

For those who may have suffered through my review of John Owen's classic work the Death of Death in the Death of Christ, I have wonderful news. You get to do it all over again!!! I compiled it into 5 articles available here . I also added a link on the left side of my blog. I also now have a left side of my blog. :-) God be with you, Dan

For anyone interested, I have been chatting with Dr. James Galyon about J. I. Packers' introduction to Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ over on his fine blog here . BTW, among James' many qualities, he's a Cowboys fan. :-)

Whelp, that wraps up the series on John Owen’s book, the Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Wow, 46 posts! That’s quite a journey. This has been much more in-depth than I anticipated. But it has also been more rewarding than I thought as well. I chose Owen, because Calvinists often cite Owen’s book as the best out there on Limited Atonement. Also, older Calvinist theologians tend to be heavyweights at Polemics, which is what interests me. I wanted to highlight some of the problems with Owen’s arguments and present an alternative to his view that I think is more faithful to scripture. If anyone thinks I made mistakes in analyzing Owen’s arguments, or thinks they can provide stronger arguments than Owen, I welcome comments. I will be offline for about a week or so. After that, God willing, I plan on starting reviewing another classic Calvinist work: Jonathan Edwards’ The Freedom of the Will. If anyone wonders why I am blogging through Calvinist books, here are two quotes that...

Here’s J. I. Packer’s misrepresentation of Arminianism . First, it should be observed that the “five points of Calvinism,” so-called, are simply the Calvinistic answer to a five-point manifesto (the Remonstrance) put out by certain “ Belgic semi- Pelagians ” in the early seventeenth century. The theology which it contained (known to history as Arminianism ) stemmed from two philosophical principles: first, that divine sovereignty is not compatible with human freedom, nor therefore with human responsibility; second, that ability limits obligation. (The charge of semi- Pelagianism was thus fully justified.) From these principles, the Arminians drew two deductions: first that since the Bible regards faith as a free and responsible human act, it cannot be caused by God, but is exercised independently of Him; second, that since the Bible regards faith as obligatory on the part of all who hear the gospel, ability to believe must be universal. Hence, they maintained, Scripture must be in...

This post is part of a series started here , to counter Owen’s charge that Arminians are Pelagians and Packer’s that Arminians are semi-Pelagians. All quotations from the Canons of Orange taken from here . I didn’t provide comments, because I thought Arminius’ agreement with the Canons was straightforward. I you disagree, please comment. The Canon’s will be in red , quotations from Arminius’ will be in blue . CANON 21. Concerning nature and grace. As the Apostle most truly says to those who would be justified by the law and have fallen from grace, "If justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose" ( Gal. 2:21 ), so it is most truly declared to those who imagine that grace, which faith in Christ advocates and lays hold of, is nature: "If justification were through nature, then Christ died to no purpose." Now there was indeed the law, but it did not justify, and there was indeed nature, but it did not justify. Not in vain did Christ therefore...

This post is part of a series started here , to counter Owen’s charge that Arminians are Pelagians and Packer’s that Arminians are semi-Pelagians. All quotations from the Canons of Orange taken from here . I didn’t provide comments, because I thought Arminius’ agreement with the Canons was straightforward. I you disagree, please comment. The Canon’s will be in red , quotations from Arminius’ will be in blue . CANON 16. No man shall be honored by his seeming attainment, as though it were not a gift, or suppose that he has received it because a missive from without stated it in writing or in speech. For the Apostle speaks thus, "For if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose" ( Gal. 2:21 ); and "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men" ( Eph.4:8 , quoting Ps.68:18 ). It is from this source that any man has what he does; but whoever denies that he has it from this source either does not truly have it,...

This post is part of a series started here , to counter Owen’s charge that Arminians are Pelagians and Packer’s that Arminians are semi-Pelagians. All quotations from the Canons of Orange taken from here . I didn’t provide comments, because I thought Arminius’ agreement with the Canons was straightforward. I you disagree, please comment. The Canon’s will be in red , quotations from Arminius' will be in blue . CANON 11. Concerning the duty to pray. None would make any true prayer to the Lord had he not received from him the object of his prayer, as it is written, "Of thy own have we given thee" ( 1 Chron. 29:14 ). ...let us by prayer and supplication implore his present aid, in the name of Jesus Christ our great High Priest. "Do thou, therefore, O holy and merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fountain of all grace and truth, vouchsafe to grant thy favourable presence to us who are a great congregation assembled together in thy holy name. Spri...

This post is part of a series started here , to counter Owen’s charge that Arminians are Pelagians and Packer’s that Arminians are semi-Pelagians. All quotations from the Canons of Orange taken from here . I didn’t provide comments, because I thought Arminius’ agreement with the Canons was straightforward. I you disagree, please comment. The Canon’s will be in red , quotations from Arminius' will be in blue . CANON 6. If anyone says that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his grace, we believe, will, desire, strive, labor, pray, watch, study, seek, ask, or knock, but does not confess that it is by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we have the faith, the will, or the strength to do all these things as we ought; or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that y...

This post is part of a series started here , to counter Owen’s charge that Arminians are Pelagians and Packer’s that Arminians are semi-Pelagians. All quotations from the Canons of Orange taken from here . I didn’t provide comments, because I thought Arminius’ agreement with the Canons was straightforward. I you disagree, please comment. The Canon’s will be in red , quotations from Arminius' will be in blue . CANON 1. If anyone denies that it is the whole man, that is, both body and soul, that was "changed for the worse" through the offense of Adam's sin, but believes that the freedom of the soul remains unimpaired and that only the body is subject to corruption, he is deceived by the error of Pelagius and contradicts the scripture which says, "The soul that sins shall die" ( Ezek. 18:20 ); and, "Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey?" ( Rom. 6:16 ); and, "F...

By and large, I have completed my review of Owen’s position on the atonement. Owen does however make an additional argument against Arminianism. Owen relates Arminians with Pelagians . Additionally, J. I. Packer calls Arminians Semi-Pelagian in his introduction to Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Calling Arminians Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian is somewhat of a reformed tradition. The Synod of Dort repeatedly did so , clearing the path for generations to come. The charge that Arminians are either Pelagians or Semi-Pelagians is false. I intend to demonstrate this though 1) comparing the Canons of Orange to Arminius and 2) critiquing Packer’s argument. The primary difference between Arminians and both Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians is the issue of the necessity of grace. Pelagians deny grace is necessary for conversion. Semi-Pelagians deny grace is necessary for man to begin conversion (although, contrary to Pelagians, they think God’s must meet man half way). Arminians insist that God...

The topic of Justice is central to Owen’s view of the atonement. Book 3, chapters seven , eight and nine primarily deal with justice. The general idea with justice and the atonement is that we broke God’s law and therefore are due punishment. Justice gives one what is due him, so our punishment for sin is just. Punishing sinners simultaneously upholds God’s law and gives the sinner what is due him. ( Revelation 16:5 , Romans 6:23 ) The controversy is 1) how Christ’s death satisfies God’s justice and 2) how the atonement relates to justification and imputation. Owen built his model off his idea of the sin-bearer . His view was: 1) God shows mercy to the elect by transferring their sins to Christ 2) God punished Christ for our sins on the cross, which satisfies justice 3) When an individual believes, he realizes what Christ has already done In contrast, my view is: 1) Christ died on the cross desiring everyone’s salvation 2) An individual believes 3) Christ intercedes for the...

Without question, one of Owen’s favorite themes in the atonement is that of Christ as the Sin-Bearer. Owen quotes 1 Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53 throughout much of his book. This concept undergirds his whole concept of the atonement, but I think Owen’s understanding of Christ’s bearing sins is mistaken. Owen organizes his thoughts on Christ’s bearing sins as follows: 1. The elect’s sins transfer to Christ, making Him the Sin-Bearer 2. Christ carries the elect’s sins on the cross 3. God justly punishes the Sin-Bearer in our place Owen mistakenly conflates the sacrificial aspect of the atonement with the sin-bearer. Thus Owen relates the sin-bearer with punishment, even going so far as even going as far as equating “sin-bearing” with undergoing punishment. But scripture teaches a different concept for sin-bearer: taking away sin. In opposition to Owen’s concept of sin-bearer, I will offer my own. 1. Christ offers Himself as Sin-bearer 2. Christ intercedes for the believer 3. Th...

Systematic Theology is like connect-the-dots. One takes biblical data points and draws relationships between them to form a complete picture. This process helps people understand scripture, because they see the big picture. The more biblical data points one has, the higher degree of certainty they can have regarding the accuracy of their picture. Conversely, the less biblical data points, the less certain they can be regarding their picture. The challenge for systematic theology is that at times the data points are less than clear and could be seen many different ways. This can lead to drastically different pictures. It’s the role of the exegete (not the systematic theologian) to clarify the data points, and the role of the systematic theologian to draw the lines and clarify the big picture. But exegesis is hard and people make mistakes. The processes of 1) determining which aspects of a context are most relevant and also 2) how to apply an author’s theme to understanding a ...

Mercy Me’s wonderful song, I Can Only Imagine, invites us to imagine what it might be like when we meet Christ Jesus our Lord. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3LUc78vbDk Here goes… One day, after living a long and peaceful life, I find myself laying in my bed. My two sons are looking at me and I look back at them with joy of what they have become. This is my last memory of this world before I died. Immediately, I was rushed away into a great hall. There are people everywhere, waiting in line. I am given a number and am told by an angel to wait in line. The line is organized alphabetically by first name, so amazingly I am standing right next to Daniel the Prophet. “What was it like in the Lions den? Did you get to pet a lion’s tummy? I always wanted to do that.” Daniel chuckled and we chatted for a while. At length I came to ask a question that I have mulled over often. “Does my name mean God is my Judge in the sense of telling other people off in that they have no right to judge me or ...

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 fo...

Owen’s Argument 16i (final): Various Passages of Scripture - Love your wives Text Eph. v. 25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Owen’s Explanation Just as a husband shouldn’t love other woman, so Christ doesn’t love the non-elect. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath.i.ix.xi.html Refutation The passage doesn’t say non-elect, it says the Church. Does Christ not love the elect before they become a part of the Church? But to demonstrate the Christ loved unbelievers here’s a passage: Mark 10:21Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. While it’s true husbands have a special love for their wives, they are to love all believers (including females). Fathers love their daughters. Sons love their mothers… The point is there are different kinds of love. ...

Owen’s Argument 16h: Various Passages of Scripture - I pray not for the world Text John xvii. 9, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” Owen’s Explanation None given. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath.i.ix.xi.html Refutation It’s true that Christ intercedes only for the elect. He died for all and intercedes for some.

Owen’s Argument 16g: Various Passages of Scripture - Made Righteousness Text 2 Cor. v. 21, “He hath made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Owen’s Explanation Everyone for whom Christ was made to be sin, or a sin offering, is made righteousness. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath.i.ix.xi.html Refutation Owen correctly notes that the passage could be saying Christ was made a sin offering. As far as everyone for whom Christ was offered becoming righteousness, the verb genometha (might be made) is in the subjunctive mood, not indicative. So their becoming righteous isn’t certain, but rather uncertain. This passage just indicates the intent of the offering, not the effect.

Owen’s Argument 16f: Various Passages of Scripture - Redemption through His Blood The argument based on redemption has already been dealt with here .