|
Question: Should I Say "Christ Died for You" When Sharing the Gospel? One problem I have with reformed theology is its understanding of the crosswork of Christ and the extent of the atonement. As a reformed Christian, as I understand it, one must not tell any unsaved person that Christ died for him, for they cannot say that. No man knows except Christ himself who are his elect for whom he died. Is this correct? Actually we speak to the unbeliever in the same way the Scripture does. Rather than saying "Christ died for you", which has no biblical warrant, we proclaim instead that "Christ died and rose again for all those who would believe (John 3:16) . God commands all men everywhere to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore be reconciled to God by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ this day." Since we do not know which of these persons' hearts and minds will be illumined by the Holy Spirit, we act as instruments of God in the outward call casting forth the seed of the Word by the preaching of the gospel to all men, that His Word be willingly and gladly embraced by all those He quickens. His death secures forgiveness for all who would believe, but not for all men. The invitation is for all but ONLY those who believe have their sins actually atoned for. Think of it this way -- we don't say to unbelievers, "God has already forgiven you because Christ paid for your sins". In the same way, we don't say "Christ has already paid for your sins and they have already been propitiated for" (God's wrath turned aside) - for how would this be any different than saying your sins are already forgiven? If we say this then it is not entirely accurate because God's wrath isn't turned aside UNTIL one believes. If sins are already atoned and propitiated for, as many claim in their gospel presentations, then what is left to do? Our sins would then already all be forgiven and we have universalism, which no evangelicals believe. If Christ died for all men in the same way ... if atonement and propitiation has already been made for all persons' sins ...if Christ already bore God's full wrath for all mankind, then why are not all men saved? Isn't hostility and rejection of Christ (unbelief) also a sin for which Christ died? If God's wrath has already been poured out then how can there be further punishment? Will they again bear the punishment for their sin in hell for which Christ already died? So the aspect that is universal about the atonement is the offer of forgiveness to any who believe, but not that Christ has already universally propitiated for all the sins of mankind or already paid for your individual sins. Christ Died for Us It should be remembered that when the Bible speaks of Christ dying for us individually, it is speaking in the context of believers. The text in Romans 5:8 makes this clear: "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The context is "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1) which is a clear reference to those already forgiven. So it would be an inaccurate use of Scripture to apply this to unbelievers. Similarly verse 32 of Romans 8 is often used to defend a univeralistic atonement: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" But it also fails to see the context. The verse precedeing and following shows again that the context is believers when it says,
Most assuredly my view is that the plain gospel is to be preached to all sinners ---- that Jesus bore the wrath of God on behalf of ANY who are willing to come and embrace the Savior. We all teach (Arminians and Calvinists alike) that whosoever will may come to Jesus. Here is where both camps can agree. But the issue is, are there any unregenerate men who are natural willing to submit themselves to the humbling terms of the gospel? A Look At Peter's Gospel The Scriptures often teach us what goes on behind the scenes. Look closely at Peter's sermon in Acts 2 where he proclaims that the listeners must repent and believe in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and that "..."For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." (v. 39) Peter heralds a full gospel but also is showing partially what goes on behind the scenes here. He says ANYONE may receive forgiveness who will come, but he does qualify it with an "all whom God will call to Himself", showing that it is ultimately up to God who will come. But this does not stop him from indiscriminately proclaiming the gospel to any who will come because the final result is in the secret counsel of God .. You and I only know the elect by their response of faith to the gospel. (See my article on the relation of Word and Spirit in salvation) Contrary to first impressions, universal atonement,
in reality, turns out to be quite impersonal, for it paints Christ as
dying for no one in particular. It gives people the message that He
just spreads his net over the earth and hopes that someone will respond,
so to speak. This may be the way it looks to us but not to God. He has
a specific plan he is carrying out. The Reformed understanding of the
Scripture is that Christ suffered and died with the intent to save particular
people whom He set His affection upon (John 6:39, 10:11) ... that is,
for those who were chosen in Him before the foundation of the
world (Eph 1:3-5). It is a purposeful salvation by a personal God. And
His saving purpose will not be thwarted ... rather, He will infallibly
save those He loves in Christ. Did Christ Die For the Elect in the Same Way He Did for the Non-Elect? Thus, it is abundantly clear from the Scripture that Jesus Christ died for the elect in a way that He did not for the non-elect. The very notion that only certain persons are illuminated, only specific persons enlightened to a true understanding of the Text, and only these whom God came to save are granted a new sense which gives rise to a desire for and faith in Christ, is itself proof of this (John 1:13, 5:21, 6:37, 44, 63-65; Rom 9:16; 1 Pet 1:3; 1 John 5:1, 10). The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the enabling power of God to do all that God requires of us, including the desire for faith in the Redeemer (Eph 1:3; 2:5, 8; 1 John 5:1, 10). To suppose that the unregenerate has an independent desire and power in himself for saving faith, apart from Christ's resurrection power for those dead in sin, is to make void Christ's work on our behalf. Universal Aspects of the Atonement I should clarify, as I have elsewhere, that I believe that Christ died in many ways for the non-elect ... for instance God withholds his wrath from them for a time, and He gives any who hear an opportunity to respond to the free offer of the gospel. God is not stopping anyone from believing ... but man naturally loves darkness and hates the light and will not come into the light (John 3:19-20). He is just not willing to respond on his own and needs a change of disposition if he would be willing. That is why God promises in the new covenant that he will change our heart of stone to a heart of flesh and put His commandments in our heart that we might obey - which includes the command to believe. This doesn't come naturally - but rather is part of what Christ came to accomplish. We cannot believe UNTIL our hearts are first made flesh. As long as we have a heart of stone no one is going to believe. How should we hold out the gospel then? We can proclaim something like this: "Jesus bore the full wrath of God for sinners. Based on the promises of Scripture, if your faith is in Jesus Christ today then I can assure you that your sins are forgiven." Anyone who believes this gospel can have this assurance that all his/her debts are cast on Jesus, our substitute. In other words we should tell the gospel to unbelievers as the Bible does. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES has everlasting life. Note: "The belief in a universal atonement, when it comes down to it, is erroneously teaching that God's love is conditional, since it requires man's faith-response for His love to be effectual. On the other hand, the biblical view is that, while He does require that we believe in Him, yet His love for us is not dependent on that. Rather, these requirements we cannot do or provide for ourselves (faith, repentance, obedience), Christ, in His redemption, mercifully provides for us by granting those He set apart as His own a new understanding of spiritual things (1 John 5:20) and a new sense of His beauty and excellency. Even very desire to believe is part of the grace he grants to us in Christ (John 6:37, 39, 44). In other words, the Scriptures teach that Jesus lays down his life for His sheep (John 10:11) and calls each of them by name (John 10:3). God's love for His own is, therefore, personal and unconditional. Now that is grace!"Related Articles |