For some odd reason there is a belief within Christianity that mankind does not have a free will to choose. This belief is called Calvinism. Calvinists believe that man is so deprived that they cannot respond to God's offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. Therefore, God takes it upon Himself to pick and choose who He wants saved and who He wants condemned to an eternity in Hell. One is left to conclude that if a person didn't want to go to Heaven that God would drag them into His presence because they have no choice. Conversely, if someone desired to go to Heaven, but God did not choose them to be saved, then they will be cast into Hell. If that were true, where on earth could anyone say that God is a loving God? They could not. I often wondered where this belief could have originated. Then the other day I happened upon a conversation over Romans 5:18. One individual believed that this passage destroys the belief in limited atonement held by most Calvinists. Whether that is true or not can be debated. However, the response of one individual defending the Calvinists point of view was interesting. They said:
"T[h]e problem with your interpretation of Romans 5:18 (as you have used it above) is - if you follow your argument to its 'logical' conclusion - then you are proclaiming a universal salvation, that is, to say that all people will automatically be saved whether they believe in Jesus or repent of their sins or not. And of course, we know that universalism is a GREAT heresy. So, you will have to look a little farther to find a Scripture that destroys the Calvinistic view of limited atonement..."
In one aspect, the individual defending Calvinism has a good point. If you believe that Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the whole world is salvation then, by default, one could say that the entire world will be saved. A term called universal salvation or universalism. However, where many Christians go astray in their understanding of the Gospel is that the death of Jesus doesn't save anybody! There are two things wrong with the term "limited atonement."
"When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" Hebrews 9: 11-14
First, there is nothing limited about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death was a one time act that took away our sins from the eyes of God for all eternity. By dying on the cross, Jesus obtained eternal redemption. This is in stark contrast to the blood of bulls and goats which only served as a temporary covering of sins, but never took them away. Secondly, His sacrifice paid the sin debt of the entire world, not just a select few who God "chooses" for salvation. Christ's death, as we learn in 1 John 2:1-2, was a "propitiating" sacrifice, for the entire world, which completely satisfied God. Atonement, as mentioned earlier, is more in line with the shed blood of bulls and goats which didn't take away our sins.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Romans 5: 8-10
Where Calvinism errors is in its grasp of the totality of the Gospel. It correctly discerns that the death of Christ, if assumed to be the entire Gospel, can lead to a belief in universalism. However, they fail to go from the cross to the empty tomb, choosing to insert their own heresy of man not having a free will. Interestingly enough, the chapter which contains the verse that started this whole discussion, Romans 5, also contains the answer to this problem. When Adam sinned in the Garden, the life of God which was breathed into Him at Creation, was removed by God, and Adam died spiritually. God, desiring to restore His life to mankind, had to first deal with the sin that caused that life to leave in the first place. Therefore, in His love, He sent Jesus to take the penalty for the sins of the world. Jesus, being God in the flesh, was the only man who had a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. Once Jesus died, removing the sin barrier that separated man and God, God could now offer His life back to mankind, as a free gift, made possible through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And because of the eternal consequences of the cross, the life we have been given is an eternal life. A life that will carry us through this life and on into eternity even after we physically die.
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." 1 Corinthians 15: 14-19
Salvation is the restoration of the life of God. The death of Jesus Christ is an important part of the Gospel, but is not salvation in and of itself. The death of Jesus Christ has wide reaching effects. For the unbeliever it allows them to come to faith in Christ knowing that their sins don't prevent them from accepting the life of Christ. For the believer it seals them in Christ, knowing that their sins will not prevent the life of God from leaving them. Whether you believe that Jesus dying on the cross is the entire Gospel, or that man doesn't have a free will to choose to accept God's offer of salvation, you only have understood half the Gospel. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are still in our sins and to be pitied more than all men. Our faith is futile without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The empty tomb is more than God's mastery over physical death or proof of the deity of Christ. It marked the first time in since the Garden of Eden that God could offer His life back to mankind. This is an offer that we all have the ability to accept or reject. God loves us so much that He doesn't force us to love Him, but allows us to come to Him by faith in response to the truth He has revealed to us.
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