the dividing line

There is no such thing as a Christian who does not believe that the doctrine of limited atonement is a Divine truth. Notice the distinction: it is not said that belief in limited atonement is necessary for salvation, for that statement would bring with it, the implication that there is something other than Grace that saves a person. No, it is by grace alone, through faith alone that a wretched sinner is made perfect in the sight of Holy God. This is lovely and true, and should not be neglected by the mind in this treatise on the nature of salvation. With that said, it can be assumed that at no point should anyone think anything higher of the belief in the limitedness of Christ’s passion for the saving of His elect as but a necessary inclusion in the renewing of the mind that occurs when God decides to save a soul. The awareness of this reality is embedded into the intellect simultaneously with the enlightening--salvation--of the human vessel. God does the work of making the mind new in Christ. He makes truths such as Limited Atonement, intrude and invade the intellect so as to bring about humility and obedience--characteristics that are true for every Christian. As the famous theologian, J. I. Packer, penned it, “Calvinism [and by default, the doctrine of Limited Atonement] is the natural theology written on the heart of the new man in Christ.”1
The theologian, Augustine, was one of the Early Church’s first advocates for Calvinism, and was actually the individual that reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Owen looked to for insight apropos the sovereignty of God. Augustine had opponents though, the greatest of which were two men named Pelagius and Cassian. Pelagius claimed that every human being is capable of living as sinless a life as Jesus’ because man is born into the same moral state that Adam thrived in before the Fall. Both he and Cassian taught that everyone is able to save himself from the wrath of God by believing on the Gospel, independent of God’s will. Augustine was quick to put to death these antichrist’s beliefs, and did so with an authority that silenced all the defenders of Pelagianism, as well as making it known throughout the Church, that those individuals were heretics that would be damned if they did not repent. Unfortunately (or ‘fortunately’ because of God’s good purposes), because of Satan’s determination to pollute truth by any means, there arose an even more threatening sect of believers who followed the teachings of one Cassian.
James Arminius was a disciple of Cassian’s writings. After his death, his faithful seminary students compiled a five point protest against the Belgic confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism. After these protesters submitted their objections, the States-General of Holland thought it necessary to not only dismiss the Arminian’s five points, but to compose five rebuttals that directly corresponded to the Arminians. This was decided by a synod that convened at Dort over the matter. The Synod of Dort consisted of 129 delegates, who, after seven months of 154 sessions, finally agreed upon a set of statements that they thought would be sufficient to label Arminianism as a heresy once and for all.
The key point that Arminian’s deny is one that defines what actually happened at the Cross, in regards to the salvation of souls. This point defines for whom, and with what level of specific intentionality the Messiah died. Arminianism affirms that Christ died for sinners, but denies that He only died for some as opposed to all. Calvinism claims the opposite to be true. There are many ramifications that are spurred from the denial of Actual Atonement, the majority of which redefine God in the mind of the individual, three of which will be explored here. Redefining God is the error that every religion besides Christianity commits, and the cult of Arminianism commits the same fatal error.
There are different aspects to the intentionality of the atonement, one aspect though, is what Christ’s intention was in dying on the Cross. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”2 While Arminian’s would agree with this passage, they would disagree with Calvinists on the point that Christ only died for the sins of a select few. Since Arminians disagree with his idea, and would rather affirm that Christ died for every sin ever committed, it follows then, that God is either a liar, a failure, or that every human and angelic being will be saved from the Torments deserved by a life of sin.
The Bible is God’s written Word, and everything that is written in it is true. What happens then, when an Arminian reads Revelation 14, which is one of the most vivid descriptions of the Torments of Hell? Someone who truly denies the Actual Atonement would have to assume that that passage is a lie, because if Christ died for every sin, there is no sin to be punished in Hell.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me3. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day4. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him5.

An Arminian would have to admit that God is a failure in light of the Biblical text. Jesus came to do the will of The Father, and the will of The Father is that sinners would be saved by the death of His son. If Christ died for the specific purpose of actually saving everyone, then there would be none in Hell, and no damnation for anyone but Jesus (because He is the Divine Exchange). But since it is clear in the objective truth of scripture, that there will be people who enter Hell, Jesus must have fallen short in obtaining what He apparaently purposed to do: to save every sinner form Hell. That is why Christ died: to save sinners; but if He died to save all, and did not save some of those sinners whom He died for, and those whom He did not save will burn in Hell, then Christ is most to be pitied because of His inadequacy to fulfill His mission. Ultimately, if God is inadequate, He is no God at all, and the Arminian is deceiving himself.
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name6.”
If someone who denies Actual Atonement, can’t find it in Himself to admit that Jesus is a failure in light of their beliefs, it might be easier for them to conclude that He is a liar. There are many passages like the one above, that describe what Hell will be like, and what the experience of those damned to it entails. If someone believes that Christ died for everyone, they must conclude that He was trying to deceive everyone who has ever read those descriptions of Hell into thinking that that specific reality would never actually materialize: that “Hell” was just a sort of scare tactic used by Christ, for whatever purpose when He was inspiring the writers of the Bible. Again, just as with ascribing insufficiency to God, to attribute Him with deceit, would also create a non-deity in one’s mind.
C. Sproul and John MacArthur were once asked in a Q&A session,7 whether or not Arminians could be saved, and their response was “Of course an Arminian can be saved.” They used the argument that ‘simply because someone doesn’t have all their theology down exactly, that that doesn’t negate their salvation.’ That the man who died next to Jesus was never introduced to doctrines such as Calvinism or Arminianism before he died, and so one can expect that anyone else is going to be a carnivore of a theologian at the point of his salvation. A response to this claim would be what J. I. Packer has written, that “Calvinism is the natural theology written on the heart of the new man in Christ.” Essentially, what Packer is saying is that Christians are Calvinists, and it follows to say that Christians believe that Limited Atonement is true.
Actual Atonement is a doctrine that separates sheep from goats, even if those goats are the most sheepish looking goats there ever were. There are many who claim to be four point Calvinists, and by definition, deny the intentionality of Christ’s Atonement, and they will die in their sins for such a grievous matter. In the end, it simply comes down to what Jesus has to say about the business, namely that “[He] is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep… I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me… and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus taught Actual Atonement, and when He did, “There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, ‘He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to Him? Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” Truth, and the belief or denial of it, divides and separates God’s Own from all others.

i must not waste it...

What if a soul was condemned to God’s wrath on my account? I can’t think of anything more terrifying than that possibility--and most likely, that has already been a reality in my life. My complacency has probably caused someone to miss out on the gift of salvation: my disobedience is no doubt the thing that scared many goats away from the flock that is being led by the Great Shepherd. It is my prayer that any sheep that went astray on my account would be found by God’s grace, and that I will be sanctified by my Master, so as to attract more sheep to the herd. A wasted life for me, would be to stand before The Father, and be shown how any souls were damned because of my insubordination.
Some--probably “most”--would say that to be crushed by the Almighty Hand is the thing most to be feared; but for the sake of a lost and dying world, it has pleased God to break my heart for the unsaved to the point where I would willingly take on the torment an unsaved soul deserves if it meant their own salvation. The thing that I fear the most, is that someone would be tormented for eternity because I was selfish enough to stifle the growth of the Kingdom by wasting a single moment on something non-evangelical. My life would be such a waste if that happened--a total, utter, and disgusting waste.
I mustn't let this happen--I pray that by God’s grace it doesn’t. The Divine prohibition to stay my members from being used by sin for unrighteousness, and instead be used by God for righteousness’ sake, must become the overflow of my heart if I am to live the UN-wasted Life. It must become apparent to me that every time I sin, I am a hindrance to the Church. The sin of complacency could mean life or death to a potential convert, and the Body of Christ will suffer for it. “Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7. 24-25a ESV).
A few weeks ago, I made a resolution to live life, so that every action I take or pass off, would serve to be only evangelistic. The implications of this resolution are astronomical, and potentially life-changing if I live with the resolve necessary to accomplish it. From an outside perspective, a life lived to this degree would look most like Jesus’, and that quality of living most definitely would be anything but a waste. My life would be beautiful if it looked like that. Every word I spoke would be Christ exalting. The things I ate would be most beneficial. Seconds throughout the day would become Holy in and of themselves. All this, by God’s grace. If it would please Him to pour that much grace into my life, I would be most grateful, and because of Him, I will have lived with purpose driven vigor: a Gospel driven existence: a cross centered fate.
I want to live my life with my face always filthy from having dug my head deep into the dust at the feet of My Dying Savior. The UN-wasted life would be one characterized by a prevailing understanding that Jesus died to save sinners. It must be heavy on the heart of one who has been freed from the slavery of sin, to return to his previous estate, and burden to loose the shackles of his once-fellow laborers. This is why I was created, and I would hope that the rest of my life would be painted with a shade of obedience that can only be given as a gift from The Grand Artist. I must live with a dread that I could waste it.

Robert A. Peterson

I’ve never met the man who changed my life. This person might not even exist for all I know. I very well might have familiarized myself with the creation of the guy who hides behind the scenes: the mastermind could be someone who controls the spotlight and gives his made up phantom the credit and the applause for all of his brilliant work. Who cares? I know I don’t. All that I appreciate from this man or woman is that for whatever reason, they took the time, and effort, to solidify their knowledge into the form of a four-hundred (or so), page book; and thank God they did! Without that book, I would probably be void of any compassion whatsoever toward anyone or anything in this rotten world. It is because of that special person, who put their words on paper, that today, I see the rot, and gloom, and sin in the world, and grieve over its fallen state. I ache because I know that if those rotting corpses are not picked up, and made into some new and beautiful fruit bearing trees, that they will instead be thrown into eternal flames: flames so intense that they will wake the dead, and the dead will not be able to escape from the torment. They will look for death, but will not find it. This is their fate, if I do not do something.
I realize that these are not theologically correct notions. This is how I feel, as opposed to what I know. I understand that it is not up to me. Who goes to Hell is not even decided by anyone but God, so why should I feel any responsibility over the fact that people will have to be crushed by God’s unrelenting power, solely based on His unbiased will? Only God knows. I believe He poured this intense charity into my soul for a purpose. But I was not always this way.
It was not until I discovered “Hell On Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment” by Robert A. Peterson that I actually repented from such a harsh criticism of the world. Reading that book is what changed me from being a world-hating, (supposed) ‘Holiness-of-God’-defending, self-righteous hypocrite, into someone who has been brought to a place where I would even be willing to give up my own salvation, for someone I have never met, if that meant that they would be privileged To Live eternally. If it were possible for me to sacrificially impart my election on to even one individual who needed saving, I would do it in a second, completely conscious of the implications of that act. The kind of saving God did to me is most miraculous, and most to be praised! Only God could change someone so depraved, and so arrogant, into an individual so humble, just through a simple book.
The premise of Peterson’s work is to prove that Hell is eternal in the aspect of time, (or the lack thereof), while being eternally painful and horrendous as well. Participants in the outpouring of The Almighty’s fury will never be able to escape from it. In fact, God will sustain their souls for the very purpose that He might show His power in them by tormenting their eternal spirits. Hell will be a physical, conscience pain for those who experience it, and they will never find peace. They will grope in the darkness but will never find one bit of comfort.
This is a sobering thought, and it is this concept, (the realities of Hell), that added to my eventual salvation. One cannot wander into the realm of pondering the truths of God’s justice and yet move on to less weighty subjects unscathed. It has been my experience that the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment will either evoke tears caused by the broken heart that spilled them, or tears of hatred for the God who inflicts this righteous torment. It Is a wonder where those tears of hatred come from, seeing how one would think that there is no possible way a heart of stone could produce such moisture. To hear and understand what the afterlife holds for those who never believe in the Gospel, and not be broken for those fellow human beings who we rub elbows against every day, is unthinkable to me! How could somebody be so callouss? But as I ask that question, I’m reminded of the passage: “So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills,” (Romans 9.18 ESV). I give God the praise and the glory for the compassion that has overwhelmed me. It Is not a place I could ever come to on my own: He used Robert A. Peterson to get me here.

a disciplined mind

I have been reading through the book of Numbers, in the Old Testament of the Bible for a while now, and though it never occurred to me that this could happen, it is through reading this amazing book that I have been given a new reverence and respect for the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. Throughout all of my “Christian” experience, the people all around me, and my friends at church, always give the heaviest criticism to the Israelites for how utterly ignorant and stupid they are. Not only do people generally talk about the Nation of Israel in this way, but they speak of the twelve Apostles as if they’re more stupid than a jackass. They get this from the way that the Twelve consistently forget, or seemingly ignore the power and authority that Jesus possesses as God, in the way they doubt Him whenever He claims He can do some miraculous thing, or in the way that they fear any kind of opposition that comes their way, even though Jesus is standing right there in their midst. Churchgoers today point to these particular instances, and puff themselves up in thinking that they are so much more spiritual than both the Chosen People of God, and His Apostles. They read the account of when God has come from Heaven to place Himself on top of the Mt. Sinai, manifesting His terror and shear power in the form of Darkness, Fire, and Terrible Rumblings. Yet people will read that even in the midst of this Awesome Manifestation of God’s Presence, the Israelites decided to worship a representation of God that they crafted with their own hands, instead of the Magnificent Vision before them if only they looked up. They will look at this story and instantly think much of themselves because “they would never be so naive and stupid, because ‘they’re Christians.’” Professing Christians will remember how Jesus’ Apostles were thrown into a panic at a storm they were facing, while even though there was a storm bearing down on them, the God who rose it up in the first place was but feet away from them. Stories like this fill the chests of the majority of American Christianity with hot air called pride, and they don’t even realize that this balloon of a chest is caused by the same sinful error that those Biblical characters unfortunately were destined to make.
Contrary to popular belief, God still chooses to manifest His greatness through miracles and wonders through such works that can be experienced today. These Gems rival the caliber, even, of the terror that readers encounter in the signs He pours out on His creation in the Old Testament. It pleases Him that He would be unchanging in this aspect, in that He has never ceased to be transparent to lowly humans as to how Lofty and Worthy of Praise He is by continually revealing to us, tangibly, exactly why it is that He deserves/has to be worshipped. It is arrogant humanity, who, like the Israelites of old, are blinded by their own sin and rebel against God even while a Cloud of Terrible Fire consumes the air just feet above our heads. Yes, I say “our” because I am guilty of such arrogance. I am guilty of being the chief of those who are ignorant and obtuse to the Marvelous Workings of The King. He Is constantly, intimately working in my life, and I, a worm, instinctively go about digging blindly in the dark soil, when just inches above me, is a light so marvelously extravagant that it would instantly change me from a lowly worm of a caterpillar into the most God glorifying butterfly that ever was. I was once one of those in the congregation who scoffed at the ignorance of the Hebrews, but through the reading of Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life and Numbers, I have been humbled, and now I can empathize with the Hebrew people, because now I realize that I am Korah, leading the rebellious nation in their ignorance.
About five months ago, I set out to memorize the book of Romans. I had always heard about how beneficial the discipline of Bible memorization was, but never realized the legitimacy of it until I actually set out to memorize a huge chunk of it. The astonishing rate of spiritual growth, and the substance with which I could apply the growth to my practical living shocked me. I literally saw, as I walked the path of salvation, sin that was once parasitical to my flesh--eating away at it--drop off, dead and shriveled up, to be left on the shoulder as the distance between my Savior and I steadily began to subtract. My spiritual health had never been so free to rejuvenate me, and it was all thanks to the discipline of Scripture memorization. I figured that if I flooded my mind with things of God--completely saturated it with His Word--that my body would follow suit since it is the mind, and its state, that controls what the body does. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. I was being sanctified in every aspect of my life, and I was genuinely excited about it. One of the greatest miracles that could ever take place--the sanctification, and filling of God-centered joy of an utterly depraved soul--was happening right in front of my face! And yet, in full personification of the ways of my ancestors, I became bored with the grandeur of God, and settled for a life of pointless, joyless idolatry. I saw the benefits of what I was doing, and was amazed by it, but for some unknown, and unfortunate reason, I settled for worshipping my own depiction of God, rather than sitting in wonder under the glory that He was pleased to manifest on top of the mountain of my salvation.
This is why the spiritual disciplines are absolutely vital to the Christian life: emotions are fleeting, and one’s view of themselves can be extremely deceitful. I failed to keep up with the discipline because I got to a point of spirituality that I thought wouldn’t be hindered if I took a break from trying to cultivate it. Was I ever wrong! A day turned into two days, and the days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months. I stopped for a breather on the narrow road, and I never caught back up to where I was. Spiritual disciplines are essential because when they are strong in one’s life, they force a person to continue in their walk when they feel like they deserve a break. To discipline one’s self is to pull stone wheels behind you as you tread the soil. The stones can get bigger and heavier as you press on, collecting more and more weight as the y pick up righteousness from the road. Not only do these solid rocks build the man’s strength and endurance, but they also keep him from being tempted to break, because he knows that if he does, the tons of stone bearing down on him will crush him. He will be broken beyond belief if he thinks he is worthy to recline for even a second, because he knows full well that the One Who Is in the lead has the weight of Infinite Wrath riding on the cross He bears on His back. It is the epitome of arrogance when God manifests His Glory for His people to see and be caused to fall prostrate, and in spite of that beauty, create an image that is so grotesque, that it must be burned. Just as the Hebrews fashioned a golden calf at Mt. Sinai, so the man on the road thinks his burden is greater than The Almighty’s. He believes in his heart that he deserves to be fanned and tended to, more so than the One Who saved him from the path leading to destruction in the first place.
Donald Whitney expresses that the spiritual disciplines “are a necessary component for spiritual growth, but not the cause. Just as practicing for a sport or to play an instrument makes you better at what you do, so spiritual disciplines are necessary for growth. But there are some who can practice all they want, and never get any better. It’s by God’s grace that one grows into maturity.”1 I’m almost to the point of tears as I reflect on my own arrogance in the area of discipline. All the neglect can be narrowed down to insanity. It’s an insane thing to know what works, and refuse to put it into action. I don’t know why it happens that way, but I do know this: that the disciplines are crucial. It needs to be an absolutely integral part of the Christian walk, to set up rock solid safeguards to block off apathy and sloth. These safeguards keep arrogance away, and clear up the road ahead for a determined mind--a disciplined mind.