Dan Chapa

Owen’s Argument 5: The Bible doesn’t say Christ died for all men P1: The bible doesn’t say Christ died for all men P2: The bible is our only source of truth on who Christ died for C1: Therefore, Christ died not for all men http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath.i.ix.ii.html Scriptures Cited by Owen None. Refutation P1 is interesting. There are several passage that say Christ died for all, implying all men. In two case the implication is so strong that the KJV translates them all men & every man. John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. But the word “men” is not in the Greek. Other passages with a similar implication are 1 Tim 2:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. So while the scriptures might not say P1 in the lingo of P1, that’s what it means. ...

I started working on the Atonement by going over John Owen's theory on the atonement, looking at what I thought was the weak link, namely the difference between Christ's death and His intercession . For more, see the tag the death of death in the death of Christ. Recently, I went through the top 10 reasons why Christ died for everyone. There's a tag on that as well. What I plan on doing next is in at least two parts. I want to review Owen's arguments against unlimited atonement and I also want to go over theories for explaining unlimited atonement. Whelp, that's the plan, Lord willing.

In this post I plan on 1) presenting the passages that teach Christ died for the world, 2) presenting my argument, 3) explaining 1 John 2:1-2, 4) going into some detail on the word "world", 5) addressing Owen's counter definition. The Text The New Testament has 10 passages which teach Christ died for the world. 1 John 2:1-2 is one of them. 1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. The others are: John 1:29, 3:16, 3:17, 4:42, 6:33, 6:51, 12:47, 1 John 4:14, and 2 Corinthians 5:19. My Argument My argument is relatively simple. P1: Christ died for the whole world P2: The whole world in 1 John 2:2 means everyone C1: therefore, Christ died for everyone The controversy is in what the "whole world" means. Explanation of the Passage F...

What else would all mean? Just kidding. While Arminians are aware that all can be used in a variety of ways which ends up not meaning each and every person, the basic meaning of all is the same in each of its various uses. All can be used in a hyperbolic sense. This is an exaggeration where a person says all but when pressed would clarify meaning something less than all. Another more common use for all which ends up meaning less than each and every is an implied qualifier. Someone says all, but they mean all within the context. This second sense, an implied qualifier, is the way most Calvinists explain the “all passages”. Christ died for all “sheep”. Christ died for all “races of’ men. They typically infer this into the context from 1 of 2 factors. Sometimes they look at an element of the context which says God is actually saving this or that person. From that they infer that if all means each and every person, each and every person is saved. Thus all really means all “sheep”. Other ti...

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them , and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Peter is prophesying about a falling away. He speaks of false teachers who deny the Lord that bought them. My argument is simple. P1: Christ bought the false teachers P2: the false teachers ultimately perish C1: therefore Christ bought those that ultimately perish Calvinists deny P1 in two ways. First, they claim that the Lord isn ’t Christ but the Father. Second, they claim that bought isn ’t Christ’s redemption from sin, but the Fathers ownership of the world in general. The second point hinges on the first. If the redeemer is the Father, it may or may not refer to Christ’s redemption from sin. For God sent His son to redeem us from sin. But if Lord refers to Christ, it’s beyond question that the passage is talking about redemption from sin. ...

Here's my next argument that Christ died for those who ultimately perish Luke 22: 17And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 21But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. This passage is the institution of the Lord’s supper. Christ gives the bread to the disciples (including Judas) and says that it’s given for you. My argument is simple: P1: Judas was among those for whom Christ gave his body P2: Judas was ultimately lost C1: Therefore, Christ gave His body for those who were ultimately lost. Calvinists try to deny P1 in two ways. Some say that “y...

There are several passages of the word of God that teach that Christ died for those that ultimately perish. These passages don't teach that Christ died for all, because they only talk about specific groups or even one individual. Never-the-less, these are powerful arguments that Christ died for all, because they disprove substantially every argument that is used by Calvinists to show that Christ died for the elect alone. I plan on examine 3 passages starting with Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10: 26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanct...

The previous 7 arguments as to why Christ died for all men have been based on systematic theology, logic and history. The next three will be based on scripture and as such they are the strongest. The best is yet to come.

The doctrine of justification by faith is the teaching that God pronounces sinners, who are believers, not guilty, based on what Christ has done. God counts our faith as righteousness, based on Christ. Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Phi 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: This doctrine clearly teaches that the blessings Christ are applied to no one apart from faith. Those that have faith are justified, tho...

Many Calvinists argue that if God wanted to save people through Christ’s death and they don’t end up saved, God failed. But God can’t fail. So Christ’s death was never intend to save all people. Regarding the will of God it’s vitally important to break the will of God down with respect to it’s object. If He want’s Himself to do something, His will is always done, for who can stop Him? Daniel 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? But if He wants us to do something, His will may not be done. Psalms 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. At first glance, this only seems to strengthen the Calvinist argument. They think they have Arminians in a trap. Either A) God failed for Himself to bring about our salvation or B) man, not God saves. Neither alter...

Let’s suppose that I offered you $100, but I didn’t actually have $100. Can my offer be said to be sincere? In the same way, the Gospel message is preached to all men offering them forgiveness. But if Christ is not the foundation of salvation for all men, 1) God cannot justly forgive their sins because Christ is not offered as their substitute and 2) the sincerity of the Gospel offer is in serious question, because God cannot fulfill it, does not want to fulfill it and causes it not to be fulfilled. Many Calvinists are quick to counter that there can be no “run on the bank”, because God does not cause the reprobate to respond to the Gospel. But that’s besides the point. The sincerity of the offer and God’s inability to forgive are actual, rather than hypothetical. We don’t need to suppose a reprobate person to come to these conclusions. Some Calvinists point out that those that reject want to reject. But this also is besides the point. The issue with regard to sincerity is not ...

Many Calvinist’s affirm that Christ’s death was sufficient for all, but efficient for the elect. In doing so, they seem to embrace the position almost universally accepted by the church. But what do they really mean? They don't mean Christ's death can save the reprobate. Rather, they mean that Christ’s death would saved everyone, if God had willed it to be offered for all men. This removes its actual sufficiency and only makes it a hypothetical sufficiency. While it may be true that Christ would have had to suffer any more than He did to save more, had they been elected, it is not true that Christ’s blood can save them. Christ’s blood was not actually offered to God on the reprobate’s behalf, nor was His blood intended to be the basis of their salvation. The Calvinist position removes the provisional aspect of salvation talking the weight out of the historic position of the Church: sufficient for all, efficient for the elect. In this regard, Calvinists stand alone agai...

Christ, by God's plan, is the sure foundation of salvation. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you (1 Peter 1:20) When talking about God's plan, theologians talk about the order of the decrees. This is a logical, not a temporal order. Because this plan was from the foundation of the world, the issue is logically what is based on what, not temporally, which came first. On this issue Calvinists come in 3 flavors: supralapsarian , sublapsarian / infralapsarian and Amyraldian . Amyraldian's teach that Christ died for everyone. Sublapsarian / infralapsarians say God first decreed the fall, then elected some for salvation. Supralapsarians say God first elected some for glory other for destruction, then He decreed the fall. The question at hand is relationship between the decree that Christ the foundation of salvation and the decree of salvation. What is the relationship between Christ's death and predes...

Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life and God is the Truth. We are commanded to believe. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 3:23) A person who trust in Christ, believes Christ died for him. So if Christ didn’t die for someone, the Truth requires that person to believe a falsehood (ie that Christ died for him).

I don't normally hold to irresistible grace, but after Calvin did about everything he could to avoid saying Christ died for everyone, the Holy Spirit finally pinned him down and twisted his arm till he exclaimed : The only Lord God, or, God who alone is Lord. Some old copies have, “Christ, who alone is God and Lord.” And, indeed, in the Second Epistle of Peter, Christ alone is mentioned, and there he is called Lord. But He means that Christ is denied, when they who had been redeemed by his blood, become again the vassals of the Devil, and thus render void as far as they can that incomparable price. Calvin on Jude 4: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom45.viii.ii.ii.html

D. V. I plan on doing a Jay Leno like top 10 list countdown on the top ten reasons to believe Christ died for everyone.