Did Christ Die for Everyone?

The extent of Christ’s atonement has been debated so much that I felt compelled to weigh in on the issue today.

To start with, let me say that my theology has some loose ends in it. For example, I have no doubt that the free will of man and the sovereignty of God have a place of common ground even if that place exists outside of the limited understanding of my finite brain. A toddler may not understand what electricity is or how it works, but he can know that if you flip the switch, the lights come on. In a similar way, when it comes to explaining God’s truth, I’m like a child, content to affirm what the Bible teaches and willing to trust God for the things that are beyond me.

There are four basic ways of looking at the atoning work of Christ on the cross.

1. The cross provided atonement for no one. To some, the story of the cross is a myth or a tragic story of man’s inhumanity to man and nothing more. Islam teaches that it’s blasphemy to suggest that Allah would punish the innocent so the guilty could go free.

2. The cross provided atonement for everyone. This is the teaching that everyone will eventually be saved since the penalty for sin has been eliminated for every sinner on earth. Evangelism is simply letting people know the good news that they are already saved.

3. The cross provided atonement that is limited in effectiveness. With apologies to Arminians who might object to the term “limited”, this view teaches that while the work of Christ on the cross made it possible for everyone to be saved, it is not adequate to save anyone unless combined with the faith of a sinner.

4. The cross provided atonement that is limited in extent. This is the view that the cross did all that is necessary for salvation, but that it is applied only to the elect.

Did you know that atonement is actually an Old Testament term? It comes from the Hebrew word that means to cover something over. When the Jewish priest would complete the process of sacrifice and announce that atonement had been made, he was saying that the sins of the worshipper had been covered over. Guilt had been removed.

We make the issue more difficult than it needs to be by looking at the atonement as a theological monolith that must be all one thing or all another. The Bible itself doesn’t treat it that way. In fact, the New Testament never uses the word atonement, but instead is much more precise and uses terminology that describes different aspects of atonement that our Lord accomplished on the cross.

Is it possible then, that the New Testament teaches that some aspects of Christ’s atonement are unlimited and some are limited? I think it is. My goal is to keep this simple, so we won’t consider every verse in the Bible that deals with the issue. I’d simply like to clarify the matter for those who would like to see how the Bible can teach both at the same time.

First, it seems clear that the New Testament teaches that the death of Christ was for every sinner, at least to some extent. John says, in 1 John 2:2 that Christ, “ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 2:6 that Christ, “gave Himself a ransom for all.” Then there is Peter who warned about false teachers (clearly unsaved) who deny “the Lord who bought them.” (2 Peter 2:1) Each of these aspects of the atonement falls into the category of what we might call “redemptive” aspects. Because of sin, there is a price that must be paid and there is penalty that must be endured and our Lord paid that price and endured the penalty for all the sin of the world.

And it is just as clear that Jesus taught that His death on the cross was only for the elect, at least to some extent. In John 10:11, for example, He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” And who are His sheep? The Lord defined that a few verses later when He addressed those who did not believe in Him, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.” (See John 10:26-28.) The Lord also told His disciples in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” Who are His friends? Again, they are His disciples, those who obey His commandments.

In both of these passages Jesus used a Greek preposition that means “in place of.” His death on the cross was “in place of” the sheep, and it was “in place of” His friends. Substitution is another aspect of His atonement and that was what the Lord had in mind. He died on the cross in place of sinners, but not all sinners. He was a substitute specifically for those who belong to Him.

Charles Spurgeon put it this way in one of his sermons: "To think that my Savior died for men in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to imagine. That He was the substitute for the sons of men, and that God having first punished the substitute, punished these same men again, seems to me to conflict with any idea of justice.” (From “The Mission of the Son of Man.”)

We’ll study the cross throughout eternity and never come to the end of it, but here are a couple of things we can know with certainty. To pay the penalty for all sin the Lord tasted death for every man. And to bring many sons to glory, He took the place of those sons under the wrath of God.

Are Angels Watching Over You?

Gemma Galgani was an Italian saint who claimed that she had conversations with her guardian angel. I’m not sure what they talked about, but if she was like many of us the discussion may have been something like, “Where were you?” Some of us question the concept that angels are standing guard over us, usually when something bad happens. If we have a spiritual protector, we ask, where was he when we needed him?

To begin a quick survey of the Bible’s teaching on the subject, I’d like to take you to one teaching moment in the life of Christ. The disciples were concerned about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (You may have noticed that this issue seemed to have been on their minds a lot!) Jesus answered their question by calling a little child and using him as an object lesson. Entrance to the kingdom would be only for those with childlike humility. Receiving a child is the same as receiving Christ. And then He warned the disciples about the danger of “despising” little children because of their angels. “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10) It does seem, doesn’t it, that our Lord is saying that every child has an angel assigned to him or her? Even more, however, is the fact that when in heaven, those angels see the face of God. Angels have access to both heaven and earth, but in heaven, those angels are always near the throne. I would take that to mean that the angels assigned to children are among the most powerful, higher ranking angels. The Lord may assign a PFC angel to hand out judgment on a city, for example, but kids have Four Star General angels watching over them.

The Bible often speaks about angels watching over believers at various times in their lives. For example, when Abraham was concerned about a good wife for Isaac, he told his servant, “The LORD God of heaven … swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.’” (Genesis 24:7) Or when Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, God didn’t control the animals Himself. Instead He dispatched an angel to provide the protection Daniel needed. (Daniel 6:22) Or how about the apostles who were in prison and were delivered by an angel who opened the prison doors at night and led them out? (Acts 5:19) Again and again we see that an angel was there to protect God’s people in a time of need.

The Bible also tells us that for believers, angels will be there for us when we die. When Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, He said that when the beggar died he didn’t simply shoot up to heaven, but was led there by angels. It may have seemed to a bystander that the beggar died alone, but in reality angels were there with him to aid in the transition from competing with dogs for scraps of food to enjoying the glory of the Lord in Paradise. (See Luke 16:22.) It’s also interesting that the rich man did not have an escort to hell, which raises a final observation we can make.

There does seem to be a limit. It’s not Church dogma, but a common Roman Catholic teaching is that a guardian angel is assigned to every person on earth. We don’t see that in the Bible, however. Angels are seen watching over children and caring for the redeemed, but there is no indication that the lost have angels who care for them. In fact, Psalm 34:7 tells us, “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” If you need another reason to fear the Lord, you will find it in the help you need every day.

How many times have you experienced “close calls” when you needed help? You may have said, “If I had been in that intersection seconds earlier ….” But you weren’t. “If that bullet had been an inch lower … . “ But it wasn’t. In fact, there are many close calls that you never even know about, but if you fear the Lord an angel was there just the same watching over you.

So where is your guardian angel when bad things do happen, even though you may be a faithful Christian? He’s right there with you. All the biblical examples of deliverance through angels teach us that when the believer does experience illness or pain or persecution he can be sure that it has met the approval of God first, and He’ll use it for good. And when the time comes that your life on this earth is over, you can look forward to an angel who will be there to escort you to glory.