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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
THE REAL LIMITATION
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation," 2CO 5:18-19.
This verse in its unaltered form leaves those self-righteous High Priests, scribes, and Pharisees who performed all the burnt offerings inexcusable for refusing the true sacrifice of the Father. First, we must understand the office held by the High Priests. They took the lamb and made the burnt offering to make the sacrifice to God for appeasing His wrath upon the sins of the people. This was a type or foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ.
JOH 1:29 says, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Do you see what John the Baptist was telling the scribes and Pharisees? He was telling them that their actions all these years typified the true sacrifice, and Jesus was the Lamb of God--the true sacrifice for sin--and they rejected Him!
Does this teach universal redemption? No! Not at all! Remember the picture of walking a tight rope with the wind blowing. If you feel a wind pushing you from one side, you will brace against it. As soon as you are braced, Satan will switch the wind to the other side. What will be the result? You will fall to the other side. This is a picture of Satan's tactics using doctrines and interpretations to keep people from understanding what Jesus says. We brace against the theory that the atonement is limited; then the wind switches to the other side, saying therefore, the Scripture must teach universal redemption. It teaches no such thing. Our text clearly teaches where the limitations are; there is no limitation in the love of the Father or that His love was insufficient. The limitation is not in an insufficient atonement of Jesus.
The limitation is found in "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," JOH 3:16.
"...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The limitation lies with those who do not believe! The fault is placed on the individuals of the human race, not on God. Our text does not teach universal redemption nor an insufficient atonement. Whosoever believes will have eternal life; those who refuse to believe, like the chief priests, that Christ indeed was the Lamb of God will perish; that is the limitation.
To teach that the atonement was not sufficient to cover all sin would place the fault on God who will be clear of every man's blood. The fault lies with rebellious man, not in the atonement, not with God. There is no limitation here; it is in the rebellion of man.
To clearly set this straight let's turn to 2CO 5:20-21, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
What do those verses teach you and me? Does our responsibility to believe on the name of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, teach us that, as is so commonly taught in this our day, that God cannot influence us unless we give Him our confidence? Some teach that if we refuse, God can't save us. We must accept Jesus first. May we place ourselves beyond the reach of mercy? Is that the meaning of these verses of Scripture? No. Those verses teach us that from God's side reconciliation is in place. The atonement is sufficient to save any who believe in Him. "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The atonement is sufficient for whosoever believes on the Son of God to save them regardless of how big a wretch or sinner they are. Believe, and you will be saved. The fault lies with rebellious man who refuses to become reconciled with God, not with the atonement.
Let's consider the word reconciliation. If you come to a court of law, having been cited for a crime, you must face a trial if you do not plead guilty. If you are convicted and go to prison for the prescribed time, you have satisfied the law, and you are a free person. However, that does not mean you are reconciled; you may still hate the law with a bent and determination to violate it again even if it means being placed back in jail within a short time. In such a case there is no reconciliation from the side of the criminal. From the side of the law, reconciliation has taken place, the law was satisfied.
From God's side the penalty for sin has been paid by His Son whom He sent; the law has been satisfied, but from our side we must still be reconciled. If we remain in rebellion and refuse to believe, that is the limitation; the atonement is not limited.
As we see our responsibility, we may not go to the other extreme with those who teach that God cannot influence us unless we give Him our confidence, or that we can place ourselves beyond the reach of mercy by refusing to accept Christ. It is NOT true there is nothing God can do if we choose not to believe. Some limit the atonement by teaching that unless we make our decision and give our hearts to the Lord, there is nothing He can do.
Can I tell any sinner: "God loved you from eternity, He gave His Son for you, His Son bled and died for you, He rose again to justify you, but because you refuse to accept Him, God can't go any further."? That is limiting the atonement; then the blood of His Son was shed in vain.
Such teaching would seem to mean that He died for some, but since they refused, His death was in vain. That limits the atonement to the sovereignty of man! Do you believe in such limitations on the atonement? Such teaching flies in the face of Scripture; our God is an Almighty God. If God, the Father, so loved you before He ever created the world that He gave His Son for your salvation, He can deal with His little rebellious child as well as you or I could with our little children. Just because our children are rebellious does not alter the fact that they are our children. God applies a little discipline, and thereby He can and does influence our attitude.
God is an Almighty God! With the Word of His power He created the heavens and the earth. If He comes, like on the day of Pentecost, with the unction of His Holy Spirit to accompany the Word in our heart, He can influence any one of us. The atonement is not limited to the effect that God cannot save a person because he is rebellious. Amen.
The ransomed of the Lord
Shall unto Zion come;
A faithful, loving God
Will surely bring them home;
He gave his life a ransom-price
And Zion shall in him rejoice.
The promise of the Lord
Shall stand for ever good,
And Zion shall record
The wonders of his love.
Redemption’s glorious work is done;
The ransomed shall to Zion come.
These on-line devotions are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion. See also our sermon notes. We pray this devotion has been a blessing to those who read it. Thank you.