Reformed Theology and the Doctrines of Grace — Unit 5: Particular Redemption and the Free Offer of the Gospel

Key Verse

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Define particular redemption (also called definite atonement), and explain why the common name "limited atonement" can mislead.

2. Give the main biblical and theological reasons the Reformed churches hold that Christ died to save His people certainly.

3. Explain the free and sincere offer of the gospel to all people, and the grounds on which a Reformed preacher makes it.

4. Describe the debates among historians over Calvin and over the wording of Dort on the extent of the atonement.

5. State the universal-atonement objection fairly, and answer it from the Reformed side.

Where We Are in the Course

Unit 4 taught that God chose a people in Christ. This unit asks what Christ did for them. It follows Dort's second head of doctrine, on the death of Christ and the redemption of men by it (see Course 1, the unit on the Synod of Dort, for the history). We teach two things together: that Christ died to save His people certainly, and that the gospel is to be offered freely and sincerely to every person. Many who hold that Christ died for all do so from love for the lost, and we honor that.

What the Question Is, and What It Is Not

All sides agree that not everyone will be saved (Matthew 25:46), and that Christ's death is of infinite worth. The question is not how valuable the cross is, and it is not whether salvation is offered to all. The question is this: What was the intent of the Father and the Son in the death of Christ? Did Christ die to make salvation possible for everyone, and then to wait to see who would use it? Or did He die to save His people actually, and the offer of the gospel is the means by which they are brought in?

The Reformed answer is the second. Notice that both sides limit the atonement. The Arminian limits what it accomplishes: it saves no one by itself, but opens a door. The Reformed limit who it was designed for: it saves all those for whom it was made. For this reason many Reformed teachers prefer the names particular redemption or definite atonement to "limited atonement." We use the older name.

What the Churches Confess

The Canons of Dort, Head 2, sets out three connected truths.

The worth of Christ's death is infinite. Article 3 teaches that the death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins, of infinite value and worth, abundantly sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

The gospel is to be proclaimed to all. Article 5 teaches that the promise of the gospel, that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have everlasting life, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and published to all nations and persons without distinction.

The intent is to save the elect. Article 8 teaches that it was the will of God that Christ should, by the blood of the cross, effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation and language all those, and only those, who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given to Him by the Father.

The Westminster Confession, chapter 8, section 8, says the same: to all those for whom Christ purchased redemption, He certainly and effectually applies and communicates it. The old saying that Christ's death is "sufficient for all, efficient for the elect" is often traced to Peter Lombard, and the Reformed churches use it, with sufficiency meaning worth and not intent.

The Reasons from Scripture

Scripture speaks of Christ dying for a people. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11), and again, "I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:15). The angel says, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Paul says that "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25), and tells the Ephesian elders to shepherd "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). Jesus says that He came "to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).

Christ's work is a real substitution that accomplishes salvation. The New Testament does not say that Christ made redemption possible but that He "obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). Paul asks, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). The "us all" are the people of Romans 8:28-30, the same people who are called, justified and glorified. No one for whom Christ was delivered up is left without these gifts.

The Father, the Son and the Spirit work as one. The Father elects, the Son redeems, and the Spirit applies. It would break the unity of God's saving work if the Son died for those the Father did not choose and the Spirit will not call. Christ's intercession shares the scope of His sacrifice. In John 17:9 He says, "I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me," and Romans 8:34 joins His death with His intercession for the ones who cannot be condemned.

Faith itself is purchased. Faith is "granted" for Christ's sake (Philippians 1:29). If the cross purchased only a possibility, salvation would depend finally on something other than the cross.

The Puritan John Owen put the argument in his book The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (1647). If Christ died for all the sins of all people, then all would be saved. If He died for some of the sins of all, then none would be saved, for all have some sin. So He died for all the sins of some people. The usual reply is that unbelief is the one sin not covered. We answer that Christ bore that sin too, for His people, and secured faith for them.

The Free and Sincere Offer of the Gospel

Particular redemption does not shut the door of the gospel to anyone. We say it plainly: the doctrine of definite atonement does not restrict the free, indiscriminate offer of the gospel to all people everywhere. Every hearer is commanded to repent and believe, and every hearer who comes is promised welcome. Faithful Reformed preachers do not say, "Christ may not have died for you." The gospel is to be preached to every person. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). "And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). God "commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Ezekiel 33:11 records God's own word that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that they turn and live. The Westminster Confession, chapter 7, section 3, says that in the covenant of grace God freely offers to sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, and the Shorter Catechism, question 31, speaks of Christ as freely offered to us in the gospel.

On what grounds can a Reformed preacher make the offer sincerely to all?

First, the sufficiency of Christ. There is in Christ a full and perfect salvation, enough for any sinner who comes. Nothing is lacking.

Second, the command of God. God commands all to repent and believe, and the preacher is sent to obey that command and speak to all.

Third, the promise. The promise is that whoever believes will be saved, and whoever comes will not be cast out (John 6:37). Every sinner who comes will find that Christ died for him, since the coming itself is the fruit of Christ's work.

Fourth, the sincerity of God. The call reveals what is pleasing to God: that sinners turn and live. It does not claim to reveal His secret decree. We offer Christ to sinners as sinners, not to the elect as elect.

The preacher does not know who the elect are, and does not need to. He says, "Christ is a Savior for sinners. He calls you. Come." If the hearer does not come, the fault is his own, as Jesus said to Jerusalem: "you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37). If the hearer comes, he has the evidence that he is among those Christ died for.

In the eighteenth century, some English Baptists, such as John Gill and John Brine, held that sinners should not be commanded to believe and that the offer should not be made to all, because they thought it inconsistent with election. Their opponents called this hyper-Calvinism. Andrew Fuller answered in The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation (1785), arguing that all hearers are bound to believe the gospel. Spurgeon, a Reformed Baptist, preached both the particular intent of the cross and the free invitation of the gospel.

Two Historians' Questions

Did Calvin teach particular redemption? Historians disagree. R. T. Kendall argued that Calvin taught that Christ died for all, and that the doctrine of particular redemption was developed later. Others, including Paul Helm and Roger Nicole, have replied that Calvin's statements show that he held Christ died for the elect, though he did not state it in the form that later debates required. We hold that this is not decisive. The authority for the doctrine is Scripture, with the confessions as the church's statement of it.

What does Dort allow? Moses Amyraut, a French Reformed professor at Saumur, taught in the seventeenth century that Christ died for all on condition of faith, while God elects some to receive faith. This is called Amyraldism or hypothetical universalism. A French synod at Charenton in 1637 did not condemn him. Some of the British delegates at Dort, such as John Davenant, held a similar view and signed the Canons. Some historians conclude that Dort deliberately left room for it. Others, noting the strong language of article 8 and the rejection of errors, conclude that Dort's meaning is particular. We hold the second view: the second head never says that Christ intended to save any who perish. We grant that the wording is careful and that godly men signed it with different views.

The Objection: Christ Died for Everyone

The universal-atonement objection is held by Arminians, Wesleyans, Amyraldians and many others. Its holders point to texts that seem to say Christ died for all: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16); "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29); Christ "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2); "He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9); "One died for all" (2 Corinthians 5:14); "who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6); and 2 Peter 2:1, which speaks of false teachers denying the Master who bought them. They add that the gospel offer is sincere only if Christ died for the one addressed, and that a preacher must be able to say to any hearer, "Christ died for you."

Our answer. We take these texts seriously and offer five replies.

First, the words "world" and "all" in Scripture have many senses, and the context decides. John uses "world" for humanity in its fallen condition, and in 11:51-52 he says Jesus would die to gather into one the children of God scattered abroad, meaning Gentiles as well as Jews. First John 2:2 makes the same point: Christ is the Savior of Jews and Gentiles, not only of the first readers' own circle. Revelation 5:9 says He purchased people for God "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

Second, several texts speak of the people Christ saves. In Hebrews 2:9-10 the "everyone" for whom He tasted death are the "many sons" He brings to glory. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, those for whom He died are the ones who now live no longer for themselves.

Third, John 3:16 shows that God's love for the world is real, and it grounds the universal offer. It does not say how many He intended to save by giving the Son.

Fourth, 2 Peter 2:1 is a difficult text, and Reformed interpreters differ. Some say it speaks of what the false teachers professed. No reading of it can overturn the many texts that say Christ's death actually saves.

Fifth, the theological argument. If Christ died for everyone's sin in exactly the same way, the cross does not decide who is saved, and the final cause of salvation is the sinner's own act. That is the very thing Unit 3 and Unit 4 show the Bible denies. The Amyraldian position removes this difficulty by saying God elects some to receive faith, but it then gives Christ two purposes in His death, a universal one that saves no one by itself and a particular one that does. We find that the New Testament has only one: He "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us" (Titus 2:14).

As for the claim that the offer is insincere unless Christ died for each hearer, the offer promises that Christ saves all who come, and every coming sinner will find that Christ is his. As for the preacher's words, we may say, "Christ died for sinners, and He invites you," and we may not claim to know the secret decree. Believers may say with Paul, "who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Pastoral Application

A visiting couple from a Wesleyan church attends your congregation. After the service the husband says, "Pastor, if Christ did not die for everyone, how can I tell my unbelieving brother that Jesus loves him and died for him?"

First, honor his concern. He wants his brother saved, and that is good.

Second, tell him what he may say with full confidence. Christ is a sufficient Savior for sinners. God commands all to repent. Whoever comes will not be cast out. He can tell his brother these things plainly and warmly, without knowing the secret decree.

Third, show him that this doctrine produces assurance and boldness. A Savior who actually saves is a better message than one who only makes salvation possible. Read Romans 8:32-34 with him.

Fourth, keep fellowship. He may disagree, as many godly believers do, and the common faith is greater than this difference.

Summary

Particular redemption teaches that in the death of Christ the Father and the Son intended to save the elect certainly. The cross is of infinite worth and sufficient for all. Scripture speaks of Christ dying for His sheep, His church and His people, and presents His work as a real substitution that obtains redemption. The free and sincere offer of the gospel goes to all, on the grounds of Christ's sufficiency, God's command, God's promise and God's revealed kindness. Hyper-Calvinism, which denies the offer, was answered by Andrew Fuller. Historians debate Calvin's own view and the wording of Dort. We stated the universal-atonement objection fairly and answered it: the words "world" and "all" have several senses, the texts often speak of the people Christ saves, and the theological argument shows that the cross itself must decide who is saved.

Further Reading

• Canons of Dort (1619), Head 2, with its Rejection of Errors.

• Westminster Confession of Faith (1646-47), chapters 7 and 8; Shorter Catechism, questions 21 and 31.

• John Owen, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (1647).

• Andrew Fuller, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation (1785).

• Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (1872-73), the volume on soteriology.

• C. H. Spurgeon, the sermon "Particular Redemption."

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