Chapter 34
"He that
despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?”
-- Hebrews 10:28-29
In these two verses God the
Holy Spirit declares that those who despise the gospel of God’s free and
sovereign grace in Christ shall, in the day of judgment, be worthy of much
sorer and more severe punishment than those who despised the law of God given by
the hand of Moses to the children of Israel.
There are many, many proper
and very sober applications of this warning. Here God himself speaks of men who
have “trodden under foot the Son of God,”
have counted the blood of the Son of God, “the
blood of the covenant”, an unholy thing, and have “done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” I want you to see, from
the Word of God, that those words very accurately describe the religion and the
preachers of our day.
I have chosen my words
deliberately and purposefully. I have chosen them, either by the Spirit of
Christ or by the spirit of antichrist. I will leave that for others to decide;
but there is no alternative between the two. This is the charge I make against
the religion and the religious leaders of this apostate generation: -- All
preachers of Arminian, free-will, works religion, all preachers of the damning,
blasphemous doctrine of universal atonement or universal redemption, that is to
say -- all who believe, teach, and preach that the Son of God died to redeem
and save all human beings, even those who perish at last in hell under the
wrath of God are guilty of this crime. -- They tread under their feet the blood
of the Son of God, count the everlasting blood of the covenant an unholy thing,
and do despite unto the Spirit of grace! There is not today, never has been,
and never can be any doctrine in all the world more dishonoring to God, more
blasphemous to the Lord Jesus Christ, more contrary to the Spirit of grace and
to the Word of God, or more damning to the souls of men than the doctrine of
universal atonement.
Be sure you understand me. I
will not argue with anyone about terminology. When I use the terms Universal Atonement and Universal Redemption, this is what I
mean. -- Universal Atonement
is the damning delusion of men, which teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ died
to make atonement for the sins of all human beings without exception. It is the
teaching that, by his blood, Christ merely made atonement possible for all,
though he actually procured it for none. -- Universal
Redemption is that doctrine which says Christ shed his blood to redeem
and save all people, that he made salvation possible for all and provided a way
for all to be saved, though he did not actually secure and guarantee anyone’s
actual redemption and salvation by the shedding of his blood.
It is clearly the teaching
of Scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ actually and effectually redeemed and
made atonement for every sinner for whom he died at Calvary. The death of
Christ was not a gamble. Nothing was left to chance. He, by his sin-atoning
blood, effectually and infallibly secured the everlasting salvation of God’s
elect.
Here is a list of
indictments against every preacher and teacher of this blasphemous doctrine. I
lay these fourteen charges against all who teach that the Lord Jesus Christ
died for those who perish in hell under the wrath of God. These are serious,
stern indictments. I do not make them lightly; but make them I must. I am fully
aware that many are convinced that the man who writes these lines is a bit
hard-nosed about the doctrine of the gospel, a little too strict, a little too
straight-laced, a little too dogmatic. If you will weigh the things here stated
in the light of Holy Scripture, I am confident that you will be convinced
otherwise.
1.
The teaching that Christ died to save all men makes man his own savior.
If the Lord Jesus only made
redemption possible, if he only rendered men savable and put them in a savable
condition, if he only made it possible for man’s sins to be put away, then any
who are saved are saved, not because of what he did, but because of what they
do. – If they are justified, they must justify themselves by their own works. –
If they are made righteous, they must make themselves righteous by their own
obedience. – If they are to be born again, they must give themselves spiritual
life by the exercise of their own will. – If they are sanctified, they must
sanctify themselves by their personal holiness. – If they are preserved in life
and grace, they must preserve and keep themselves.
The Word of God declares, in
the plainest term possible, that the Lord Jesus Christ actually did put away
the sins of his people and actually obtained eternal redemption for us by his
blood (Heb. 1:3; 9:12; 10:14).
2.
The doctrine of universal atonement
reduces the love of God to nothing.
At first glance some would
say, “That cannot be right. The universal redemptionist says God loves
everyone. You say God only loves the elect.” That is my point exactly. The Word
of God highly commends the love of God displayed in the death of his Son and in
our redemption by his blood. We rejoice to sing…
Could we with ink the oceans
fill, And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a
quill, And every man a scribe by trade -
To write the love of God
above Would drain the oceans dry,
Nor could the scroll contain
the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.
We delight in the love of
God! But what kind of love is that which does not secure the salvation of its
objects when it has the power to do so? If God loves all men alike, what does
the love of God have to do with anyone’s salvation? Absolutely nothing! But
that is not the teaching of Scripture. The Word of God declares that those who
are the objects of God’s everlasting love and predestinating grace are also the
objects of his effectual call and the possessors of his eternal inheritance
(Jer. 31:3; Eph. 1:4-11).
3.
The notion of universal atonement is as blasphemous as it is
unscriptural because it reduces
the wisdom of God to foolishness.
We worship and serve the
all-wise, omniscient Lord God, wonderful in counsel and infinite in knowledge.
But where is the wisdom of forming a plan for the salvation of a people whom he
knew would never be saved? Where is the wisdom of God in sacrificing his
darling Son for people who were already in hell when he made the sacrifice?
That is not the wisdom of God Paul describes and glories in as he declares the
everlasting purpose of God toward his elect in the Book of Romans (Rom.
8:28-39; 11:33-36).
4.
Universal redemption is a
denial of the justice of God.
According to the Word of God
redemption is primarily and act of divine justice. Read the Scriptures for
yourself, and you cannot fail to see this fact of Divine Revelation (Ps.
85:8-13; Prov. 16:6; Isa. 45:20-21; Rom. 3:24-26). If Christ was punished for
my sins and I must also bear the punishment for them, the justice of God is
gone. In fact, the justice of God gives us as much hope as the grace of God. As
Augustus Toplady put it …
“From whence this fear and
unbelief? Has not the Father put to grief
His darling Son for me? And
can the righteous Judge of men
Condemn me for that debt of
sin Charged to my great Surety?
Complete atonement Christ
has made And to God’s utmost justice paid
All that His people owed.
Payment God cannot twice demand,
First at my bleeding
Surety’s hand, And then again at mine!”
5.
Those who preach universal redemption blaspheme God in their preaching
by reducing the omnipotence of
almighty God to impotence weaker than the will of man.
Isaiah declares that the
Lord’s arm is not short that it cannot save. But the Arminian tells us plainly
that God cannot save multitudes for whom Christ died, though it is his will to
do so, because they will not let him save them!
6.
Those who preach universal atonement blaspheme God by asserting that the immutable God
is, after all, fickle, mutable, and changeable.
We are told that God loves
all men now, while they live on the earth, but that he will cease to love them
when they die and he cast them into hell! Does that sound like God to you? Oh
no! Our God changes not (Mal. 3:6; Job 23:13; James 1:17).
7.
I lay the charge of blasphemy against all who teach that Christ died
for all, even for those who perish in hell, because it robs God of his glory in salvation.
The primary aim of the
Triune God in saving sinners is his own great glory (Eph. 1:3-14). But the
Arminian, the free willer, tells us that man has every reason to boast because
it is he, not God, who makes him to differ from others. It is not God’s will and
God’s work that makes the difference between men, but man’s will and man’s
work.
8.
Universal atonement is a blasphemous doctrine because it denies the satisfaction of
Christ.
Universal redemption denies
that Christ, by his precious blood shed at Calvary, has satisfied anything. If
those for whom he died yet perish themselves, then his death did not satisfy
the Old Testament types, the words of the prophets (Isa. 53:8-12; Dan. 9:24),
or the requirements of God’s holy law and justice.
9.
Universal redemption is a blasphemous, damning heresy, for it affirms that there are multitudes
in hell for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died in vain!
Did not the prophet declare,
“He shall see of the travail of his soul
and be satisfied”? Did he not assert, “He
shall not fail”? The Son of God did not die in vain!
10. Universal redemption is a
doctrine most clearly unscriptural and blasphemous inasmuch as it attempts to separate the priestly
office and work of Christ, declaring
that Christ sacrificed himself for and died in the place of a people for
whom he refused to pray (John 17:9, 20). What absurdity!
11. Universal atonement is a
blasphemous doctrine in that it makes
the cross of Christ a miscarriage and asserts that he shall never see of the
travail of his soul and be satisfied (Isa. 53:10-11).
12.
Universal redemption is as useless as it is blasphemous because it gives sinners no reason to look to,
trust, and hope in Christ.
The basis of our hope is
redemption accomplished. "Let Israel
hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous
redemption” (Ps. 130:7) The Lord God sends his servants out to declare
redemption accomplished, not redemption possible (Isa. 40:1-2).
13.
Universal atonement is as useless as it is blasphemous because it offers believers no reason to love,
obey, and glorify Christ.
If the Lord Jesus has done no more for his people than he has for the damned, if he loved the lost, prayed for the reprobate, tried to save the multitudes who perish in hell, and loved those who are forever cursed, why should anyone seek to live for him, serve him, and honor him. If it is the believer’s will that has turned him to Christ, it seems to me that Christ should serve, honor, and glorify his people, that he is in debt to them, not them to him. Blasphemy! The Word of God makes the fact of our distinct redemption by Christ to be the motive and inspiration for our devotion to him (1 Cor. 6:9-11, 20).
14. Above all else, I lay this
charge against every preacher of universal redemption. He blasphemes God in
that he DECLARES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS A
FAILURE, a weak, frustrated, defeated failure, rather than the sovereign,
effectual Savior of his people.
It is written, “He shall (not might, may, or wants to,
-- but SHALL), save his people from their
sins,” and, blessed be his name, HE SHALL.