The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-17, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.  Copyright John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

Do you hold to "Limited Atonement"--that Jesus Christ did not suffer, substitutionarily, on the cross, for the sins of the whole world?

Answer

Yes.  But don't go out and say "John MacArthur advocates 'Limited Atonement,' because I don't.  And I will tell you why--because I don't like that term, because it is not Biblical.  It is obvious when something is not explicitly stated in Scripture, and when you are dealing with the inscrutable nature of God and the mysteries of redemption, and the mysteries of the unfolding divine purpose, and the mind of God--there will always be grappling with these issues.  Whatever it is that you believe about the inherent nature of the atonement, whatever it is that you believe about the limits of the atonement, whether they're there or not there--whatever it is that you believe about the actual efficaciousness of the death of Christ and to whom it is applied, whatever nuances of that discussion you particularly believe--in the end, the atonement will only have value to those who believe--whatever it is that you believe.

My point is, arguing about that really is pointless in a sense.  I understand the debate and I certainly engage in it heartily, but in the end we make our best shot.  It is like trying to define the Trinity, it is like trying to unscrew the unscrutable, it's like trying to figure out things that are beyond our capacity--whether you're talking about the security of the believer measured against the perseverance of the saints, or you're talking about volition and divine election, whether you are talking about any of those kinds of issues, you are always are going to be in the dilemma, and that is why theological debates like this have gone on always.  In the end, however, we don't need to separate, we don't need to become divisive, we don't need to sort of break fellowship over what exactly is the inherent, innate character of the atonement, because in the end, the death of Jesus Christ is only efficacious for those who believe.  And in the end, whatever was going on, on the cross, it has no application to those who don't believe--right?  So, whatever you want to say about it's inherent limits or non-limits--in the end you come to the same place.

It is like the argument about Predestination--people always say, "Well, I just can't handle that God predestined.  I just can't handle that He elected; I just think He knew what was going to happen."  O.K., let's take that view: "God just knew what was going to happen."  When did He know it?  Well, He always knew it. Well, then if He always knew it, why did He create the people to whom it would happen, if He didn't want it to happen?  Even if He knew it was going to happen and nothing more, and went ahead and created the people He knew it was going to happen too--He acted sovereignly in doing that--did He not?  You can't escape these issues.  I'm certainly not going to say all truth resides with me.  I believe in a gospel offer that is universal.  I understand the exegesis of 1 John 2:2, that "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world."  I understand that.  I understand John 3:16, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever . . . ."  I understand all of that.  I understand the call to go to preach the gospel to every creature on the face of the earth, which means you have to have an honorable, legitimate call to salvation or you're illegitimate in that.  I wrote a lot of this in the book on the Love of God, trying to cover a lot of these things.

In the end, these things are very difficult for us to grasp, because they are things that are in the divine mind and we are not capable.  Suffice it to say, I've always been content to fellowship with those who would take an unlimited view, and those who would take a limited view, because in the end, as long as you believe that people who are putting their faith in Christ go to heaven and those who don't go to hell, then you are orthodox--and that's the issue.  But it is the nature of seminary; it's the nature of grappling day in and day out, hour in and hour out, as I do constantly in my life, with these kinds of issues, and reading widely on these things, to sort of pick and chose where you feel the weight of evidence, and it is usually related to how much you respect the "scholar of choice" or the "author of choice" and that's fine.  That's all about establishing trust and confidence in those that God has given to us as teachers.  The very fact that we are still discussing this issue is pretty good indication that it is not crystal clear, so that we could all rally around it, such as we are able to rally around some things in Scripture, for which there is really little discussion, because they are so explicit.  

But anytime you are crawling into the mind of infinite God and trying to sort out those matters, you have to stand with a bit of humility and a sort of a soft dogmatism, and I'm happy to softly dogmatic on this point, understanding as best I can what the Word of God has to say.  I have such a strong view of the atonement that I would have to believe that if Jesus, on the cross, actually paid the penalty for the sins of somebody, then they wouldn't go to hell, because that would be double-jeopardy.  So there is that issue, theologically, to deal with, and I know how those passages are dealt with as well.  But I think in the end, we want to maintain some humility.  It seems like the younger you are, the harder you hold to these views, and as you grow in your understanding of Scripture, you are more comfortable with allowing yourself to leave the real hard questions to the Lord.  As I say, what matters in the end is who believes, and who doesn't believe.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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