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Pilgrim said:
I apologize up front and confess I am going [Linked Image] with my question. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/rolleyes2.gif" alt="" />

The question is simple enough: Is the term "particular redemption" as you define it, actually represent Amyraldianism?

My reason for asking is that historically, particular redemption has been used as a synonym for Definite Atonement or Limited Atonement which holds that Christ suffered the penalty for only the elect, albeit IF He had intended to do so, His sacrifice would have been sufficient for the entire human race. This is decidedly different than saying that He "atoned for the sins of the world", w/o qualification.

In His grace,

I'm going to confess now, I had no idea what Amyraldianism is, so I had to do a little research. The little that I read from Wikipedia seems to state in a very basic sense what I hold to; that is, "God has provided Christ's atonement for all alike, but seeing that none would believe on their own, he then elected those whom he will bring to faith in Christ, thereby preserving the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election." (posted from Wikipedia: Amyraldism)

I hold to the belief that Christ death was to atone for the 'sin of the world' (Jn. 1.29) That Christ died not just for our sins (the elect) but also for that of the world and that His sacrifice was not just a propitiation for the sins of the elect, but also for thos of the world (1 Jn. 2.2)

I do not beleive, however, that because Christ died for the sins of the world, or that He is the propitiation for the sins of the world that He necessarily redeemed everyone. While death 'takes a way the sins of the world' and made 'propitiation for sin', He only redeemed the elect. That is, His death made possible the redemption of the elect while it was a satisfaction for the sins of the world. By my understand of limited atonement, Christ death was not a satisfaction for the sins of the world, but only and necessarily for the elect. Since I do not believe this, I cannot accept the term 'limited atonement', thus I choose 'limited redemption'.

Many have said that this is just semantics, but words are powerful and hold significant meaning. Words are chosen specifically for a reason, and these words define what we say and what we believe. Perhaps my definition is not the normal one for limited redeption, and perhaps what I call limited redeption is what others call limited atonement after a fashion, but I doubt it. My fellow elders in my church don't quite see this the same way, but we all agree and hold to the basic belief that Christ died especially for the elect, and that only the elect are saved, redeemed, justified, sanctified, preserved and ultimately glorified.

I hope this helped.

Blessings in Christ,
Matthew

"Those who go down to the Sea in Ships
Who do Business on great Waters;
They have seen the Works of the LORD,
And His Wonders in the Deep."
-Ps. 107:23-24