The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum true calvinism.......MJM please read

MJM,

Just a few quick responses to some statements you made:

(1) The passage does not say that Christ make a propitiatory sacrifice for the non-elect. What it says is: "and <span style="background-color:yellow">[color:"blue"]he is the propitiation[/color]</span> for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." In other words, Christ's death propitiated God, i.e., (a) appeased God's wrath, and (b) removed that which was offensive. The result of Christ's vicarious substitutionary atonement, in this regard, is that God's wrath toward those for whom Christ died was removed because their sins, which evoked that wrath, was dealt with by Christ receiving the punishment due. What all these abhorrent views have in common is that they either diminish, ignore or deny the judicial basis of the atonement. As John Murray so succinct put it, "the atonement was antecedently absolutely necessary", i.e., there just wasn't any other way that a man could be saved. Justice demands that law-breakers be punished. And the Lord Christ received that punishment. Consequently, the legal requirements in all its aspects was fulfilled. The atonement satisfied the law in a four-fold way: 1) Reconciliation: those who were estranged from God and with whom God was at enmity, were joined together, Christ having made peace between them. (Rom 5:11; 2Cor 5:19; Heb 2:17). 2) Redemption: Christ paid the price which was necessary to effect the release of those who were held captive. Thus it is said that His death was the "ransom". (Matt 20:28; 1Tim 2:6; cf. Rom 3:24; 1Cor 1:30; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Heb 9:12, 15). 3) Propitiation: The Lord Christ appeased God's anger through His substitutionary death. All men are born with the imputed guilt of Adam and inherit the corruption of nature which befell Adam in consequence of his transgression, aka: Original Sin. Of necessity, all men are born sinners and are thus under the judicial wrath of God (Eph 2:1-3; Rom 5:12-18). 4) Sacrifice: The Lord Christ offered up Himself as the necessary offering to satisfy the law which had been broken. Thus, He having accomplished all that was required, God was wholly satisfied. And having accepted that atonement, God cannot punish anyone for whom that atonement was made. The LEGAL requirements were met; the debt paid, the anger appeased by the removal of the offence, the bond broken and reconciliation was accomplished. All this was done APART FROM any act or even desire of the recipients. The atonement was the administering of capital punishment by the court of heaven. The benefits of that legal satisfaction are then applied to those for whom it was intended.

2) The context of the 1Joh 2:2 does not allow one to understand the meaning of the word, "world" to be synonymous with "all mankind without exception". For as I have illustrated above, if Christ IS the propitiation, i.e., if Christ succeeded in appeasing the wrath of God by removing the sins which offended Him, then all men of necessity must be saved. For, a) God is no longer angry with those whom Christ was the propitiation, and 2) there is not even one sin that would provoke God's wrath and thus cause Him to find anyone guilty of punishment, He, Christ having been punished in their stead.

BTW.... and I'm sure you have been given the reference previous to this, but nonetheless I shall provide it once more, Dr. Gary Long has given a most thorough and convincing exegesis of 1John 2:2 here: PROPITIATION IN I JOHN 2:2.

In His Grace,