It may appear to some of our readers that the exposition we have given of John 3:16 in the chapter on ‘Difficulties and Objections’ is a forced and unnatural one, inasmuch as our definition of the term ‘world’ seems to be out of harmony with the meaning and scope of this word in other passages, [...]
Limited Atonement
The question which we are to discuss under the subject of "Limited Atonement", also known as Definent Atonement or Particular Redemption, is, Did Christ offer up Himself a sacrifice for the whole human race, for every individual without distinction or exception; or did His death have special reference to the elect? In other words, was the sacrifice of Christ merely intended to make the salvation of all men possible, or was it intended to render certain the salvation of those who had been given to Him by the Father? Arminians hold that Christ died for all men alike, while Calvinists hold that in the intention and secret plan of God Christ died for the elect only. - Loraine Boettner
The “World” of John 3:16 Does Not Mean “All Men Without Exception” by David J. Engelsma
It is now common among Reformed people that, when one confesses God’s election of some persons to salvation, God’s particular love for the elect, and God’s exclusive desire to save the elect, his confession is immediately contested by an appeal to John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten [...]
Introduction to John Owen’s Death of Death by J. I. Packer
J. I. Packer’s introduction to a 1958 reprint of John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (Owen Works, X:139:148) is a polemical piece, designed to show among other things, that the doctrine of universal redemption is unscriptural and destructive of the gospel. [...]
The Five Points of Calvinism – Part 2 by R. L. Dabney
II. The Nature and Agency of the Moral Revolution, Named Effectual Calling or Regeneration. This change must be more than an outer reformation of conduct, an inward revolution of first principles which regulate conduct. It must go deeper than a change of purpose as to sin and godliness; it must be a reversal of the [...]
Places of Scripture Seeming To Favour Universal Atonement Vindicated by Samuel Rutherfurd
For the fourth Particular, and the clearing of Places alleged; we are, (1.) To consider if the Place, John 3.16, prove anything against us. (2.) If all Men, and all the World that are said to be redeemed, be concludent against us. (3.) There be some particular Places to be considered. 1. The Greek Word [...]
The Five Points of Calvinism – Part 4 by R. L. Dabney
IV. Particular Redemption. ‘Did Christ die for the elect only, or for all men?’ The answer has been much prejudiced by ambiguous terms, such as particular atonement, limited atonement; or general atonement, unlimited atonement, indefinite atonement. What do they mean by atonement? The word (at-one-ment) is used but once in the New Testament (Rom. v. [...]
An Examination of the Five Points of Calvinism – Part III: Limited Atonement by Brian Schwertley
A doctrinal issue which is crucial to our understanding of God’s nature (i.e., His sovereignty) and the gospel is the extent of Christ’s atoning death on the cross.55 There are three different views current among professing Christians today: universalism, inconsistent universalism, and particularism. Universalists believe that Christ died for every individual (without exception) who ever [...]
Was Anyone Saved at the Cross? by James White
We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ’s death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved, and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. – Charles Haddon Spurgeon There was a time [...]
To God Be the Glory: A Popular Exposition of the Biblical Doctrine of Particular Redemption by Wayne Mack
When Christ died, He died not simply to make redemption a possibility, but to make redemption a certainty. He did not simply die to make man redeemable, He died to redeem. He did not simply die to make man reconcilable, He died to reconcile. There was no limit to the potential sufficiency of the blood [...]
Sufficient for All by Jim Ellis
Among those who generally accept the doctrine of a definite or limited atonement, it is often heard by way of explanation that ‘the atonement is sufficient for all, but efficient only for the elect.’ In fact this terminology may be found in some of the most respected Reformed theologians such as Hodge, Shedd, Buswell and [...]
Limited Atonement by Loraine Boettner
1. Statement of the Doctrine. 2. The Infinite Value of Christ’s Atonement. 3. The Atonement is Limited in Purpose and Application. 4. Christ’s Work as a Perfect Fulfillment of the Law. 5. A Ransom. 6. The Divine Purpose in Christ’s Sacrifice. 7. The Exclusion of the Non-Elect. 8. The Argument from the Foreknowledge of God. [...]
For Whom Did Christ Die? by Charles Hodge
I. State of the Question. This is a question between Augustinians and Anti-Augustinians. The former believing that God from all eternity having elected some to everlasting life, had a special reference to their salvation in the mission and work of his Son. The latter, denying that there has been any such election of a part [...]
Christ’s Limited Atonement by Charles Spurgeon
Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, ‘It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself,’ they say, ‘to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty.’ I admit there is, but beauty may [...]
An Exegetical Study of 1Timothy 2:4 by Gary D. Long
The purpose of this doctrinal tract is to set forth, in a readable outline form, a positive polemic for the doctrine of definite atonement — a doctrine which the author is firmly convinced glorifies the triune Jehovah to whom salvation belongs. An outline method is used to assist the reader in his study of three [...]
