What does "limited atonement" mean?

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crossnote

Senior Member
Nov 24, 2012
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Im in agreement man is born dead spiritually. But trust and obey isnt a concept that needs spiritual
power to act on.
And if power is needed God will supply it. Stretch forth thy withered hand!
I agree that the unregenerate are spiritually powerless. Thats why He reaches out to man through
the gospel.
But truly knowing who to trust and obey does take a revealing to our spirit from an outside source.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
(Mat 16:17)
 
A

Abiding

Guest
Not unless the Father enables them (Jn 6:65).

Does he enable all? If he does, and it's the common natural order of things, then why even mention it?

Jesus states it because it is not the common natural order of things,
it is the uncommon supernatural (spiritual) order of things.
Its not in any good hermeneutic to add personal thought to any verse
John 6:65 is a truth to be sure. The problem isnt what Jesus said but
rather whats put into it such as what happened before the Father gave
us to the Son.

Some say we were regenerated then given to the Son....ok good so far.
Then others may say we were regenerated in order to receive the gospel....now thats
where we run off the tracks.

In otherwords enabling is a must. To say that that makes it necessary to be regenerated first
isnt taught in scripture.

Whats in the scripture is that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
 
Jan 11, 2013
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But truly knowing who to trust and obey does take a revealing to our spirit from an outside source.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
(Mat 16:17)
Absolutely
It ain't a theological exercise
But that outside source enters your life pretty quick once you do accept him
 

Elin

Banned
Jan 19, 2013
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Elin said:
So, all the 'whosoever shall believe' really do not mean that, but means the elite elect?
Shoot, let's go party like it is 1999 and let the dice roll as they may.
So, you're just looking to justify what is in your heart?
I think he is being cryptic about the logic.

I think he is saying that if one is born again, he doesn't think in those terms after his rebirth
because his heart has been so dramatically changed,
and that kind of thinking seems reasonable only to the unregenerate.

To those who are born again, that kind of thinking is contradictory to what is in their hearts.

That thinking seems reasonable only to those who want to justify their unbelief.

So he is asking if that is what is in your heart, which is why you think that way.
I cannot help it, but how does understanding I have a will to choice make me unregenerated? If I am still in the darkness and have not yet been reborn, then you are saying I am doomed. All because I am in disagreement to your way of thinking.
Let me rephrase from: "unregenerate" to "do not believe in God's word regarding election."

And it's not about having a will to choice.

It's about the thinking you believe will necessarily follow in election.

The hearts of those who believe they are elect never go there.

That thinking has no entrance into the mind of those who believe they are elect.

That thinking can exist only in the hearts of those who do not believe God's word regarding his election (Mk 13:20; Ro 8:30).

Notice what comes first in the order of Ro 8:30: predestined--->called--->justified--->glorified.
 

zone

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
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and who does he chose and why?

thus the whole crux of the argument.
what argument? you have no argument...except corridors of time. which is ludicrous.

the disciples (who knew the messiah was coming - they were given the oracles of God , not the gentiles), were FISHING.

Jesus appeared to THEM and CHOSE them.

if you want to say because He knew they would choose Him, prove it.
 
Jan 11, 2013
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Let me rephrase from: "unregenerate" to "do not believe in God's word regarding election."

And it's not about having a will to choice.

It's about the thinking you believe will necessarily follow in election.

The hearts of those who believe they are elect never go there.

That thinking has no entrance into the mind of those who believe they are elect.

That thinking can exist only in the hearts of those who do not believe God's word regarding his election (Mk 13:20; Ro 8:30).

Notice what comes first in the order of Ro 8:30: predestined--->called--->justified--->glorified.
foreknew comes first, then:
predestined--->called--->justified--->glorified
 

crossnote

Senior Member
Nov 24, 2012
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they like to live on symbols

Moses held the serpent up high, and said if you look at it, you will live, do not you will die

Many died.. why? if it was so easy that all we had to do is look.. Who forced them to not look at the serpant? better yet, who forced them to look at it?

this is called faith..

not quite the same; earthly example of a heavenly reality...also earthly faith (visible with eyeballs) of a spiritual faith (having our spiritual eyes opened).
 
Sep 8, 2012
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Wow..

And this explains why you believe the way you do?

God knew people would recieve,m in fact many people all ready believed it before Christ even died.. Ever hear of abraham, Isaac? jacob? Daniel? David? many many others??
(What??? Who was slain before the foundations of the world?? - (Before Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,David and Daniel and many others decided to follow Him?)
WOW, indeed.


No pride in trusting someone else.

It is like I am drowning in the ocean. A savior comes to rescue me and says sit still trust me, and let me do all the work. don't fight me and try to save yourself or I will let you go.

I do just that. Nothing (because I am unable to save myself) and trust him completely.

later when we get back to shore. I boast of how I saved myself.. Are you kidding me?? Boast of saving myself?? HA HA HA! (Why boast?) - - - (No redeemed person would) - I know you are saying no one does but thats why I point it out.

No, he would be on his knees, thankful and praising the one who risked his life to save yours, Giving HIM all the glory.. (Yes he would, yes I am)


in your senerio. You have many people drowing in the sea. A god who is perfectly able and has complete power to save everyone. But instead, he picks and choses. ok I will save him. Pass right over ten more, Then save this person. Pass over a few more, And chose to save that person. then sits there and watches everyone drown he COULD have saved.(here again, you supplant the words of God with your petty logic) - (Are some of those drowning in the sea-{Rev. 17:15} rich?) - (Do you not know that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven than to thread the eye of a needle with a rope?) -{the aramaic word isn't 'camel', its 'rope'}

Then demand everyone give him praise and glory??(No where in the scriptures does it say He demands worship) yeah right, Who is going to praise that Guy?("Every knee shall bow" is in recognition, not a frontal demand from a tyrant!) even the ones who he saved would be appalled that he let so many die when had had complete power to save them all..(yea, I agree, your idea of God would.....you got that right)

That is a huge difference than a savior not saving someone because they would not sit still, and continued to try to save himself.(really, your God wouldn't save the anxious?) The savior warned them if they tried to save themselves, he would leave them on their own. because they prevented him from saving them..

In this senerio. The savior gets the glory, because he tried to save everyone, but many chose to reject his offer of salvation and tried to save themselves. (What kind of God is that? That wouldn't save the fearful? Though He saves every other type of sinner?)

Your dissemblage of the character of God is quite remarkable.
 
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Bookends

Senior Member
Aug 28, 2012
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i don't understand it.
Who can understand it, some may think they do. But I say, just stop trying to understand it. Set the example and continue to pray for them...

Oh wait, do you pray for them to see the Light? Or pray for God to Save them, or both? Are they one in the same...heh heh...
 

Elin

Banned
Jan 19, 2013
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Elin said:
But believers still have the fallen nature, although they have been freed from the power of sin.

And their fallen nature limits their moral power.

For example, does the believer have the moral power to choose to live a completely sinless life?

He does not.
So I guess a convert has a get out of jail free card, if(or should I say when) he sins, it isn't his fault, there's nothing he can do about it.

Schucks, if only I'd know that years ago, I wouldn't have felt bad for my sin.
The sinner's responsibility is treated in the companion thread, "Sovereignty of God and Moral Responsibilty of Man," here.

You're tracking well. . .that is the logical next step.
 
C

cfultz3

Guest
Let me rephrase from: "unregenerate" to "do not believe in God's word regarding election."

And it's not about having a will to choice.

It's about the thinking you believe will necessarily follow in election.

The hearts of those who believe they are elect never go there.

That thinking has no entrance into the mind of those who believe they are elect.

That thinking can exist only in the hearts of those who do not believe God's word regarding his election (Mk 13:20; Ro 8:30).

Notice what comes first in the order of Ro 8:30: predestined--->called--->justified--->glorified.
Thanks for answering.....I am sorry to repeat....but, if we are elected for either for salvation or damnation....then this is the conclusion of the matter:

What does limited atonement mean to you?

--Going by how the words are naturally defined (certain ones are atoned for), several problems come to mind.

If only certain ones are atoned for, then:

1) All those 'whosoever shall believe' are negated.
2) God purposefully allowed others to come into the world for the sole purpose of enduring the second death.
3) No matter how much I desire to follow God, if I am doomed, I am still headed to death and the hope He gave me was false..
4) No matter what one does, if he is destined to Heaven, he will go. (What if Hitler was destined for Heaven?)
5) God would have to be the cause of one's sins so that they would be doomed to death.
6) It negates the Cross and in effect says that God did not love all, but only the elect. (although He says He loves)
7) Jesus did not die for the sins of the world. (although He said He did)
8) God would be unjust to judge the wickedness of the wicked, since He was the cause of it.
9) many more...........................

How do you feel when someone tells you the blood of Christ frees only so many people in the end?

1)That they are basically saying that God is a liar when He sent the Word to be the atoning sacrifice for those who would come to Him in faith.
2) That we are not responsible for our own action, but that, God is solely responsible for wickedness.
3) That we should not walk the straight and narrow path because we will end up where we were destined to be in the first place.


And, God already knows who will be saved and who won't?

--He knows the beginning from the end. But, He is not cause of one committing sin. Although, He can and does use people wicked or good to do His will, but He already knew what they would have done. He just uses that action He foreknew they would do for His purpose.


....before I am damned again by you and that other godly judge.....I am exiting
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
face it.
your view credits the Work of Jesus to satan.
oh Glory!
Thanks for you opinion. But that is all it is.

Your hate is going to tear you up. I know. I went through it. I pray you find peace soon!
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
not quite the same; earthly example of a heavenly reality...also earthly faith (visible with eyeballs) of a spiritual faith (having our spiritual eyes opened).
I must disagree.

People looked because they trusted. They did not look, then have faith. it was those who did not look that did not have faith, or they would have looked, they were to worried about themselves looking down so they could see what where they were going 9trying to save themselves) instead of blindly looking at the serpant (thus God) (faith is a hope which is NOT SEEN) and letting God lead them.
 
Jan 11, 2013
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The sinner's responsibility is treated in the thread, "Sovereignty of God and Moral Responsibilty of Man," here.
It might be. But you would have to be pretty naive not to see, that if a person believed:

But believers still have the fallen nature, although they have been freed from the power of sin.

And their fallen nature limits their moral power.

For example, does the believer have the moral power to choose to live a completely sinless life?

He does not


T
hey would, inevitably at times fall back on the above as an excuse for sin
 

zone

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
27,214
164
63
Some say we were regenerated then given to the Son....ok good so far.

In otherwords enabling is a must. To say that that makes it necessary to be regenerated first
isnt taught in scripture.

Whats in the scripture is that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
okay...what about this though mike - go to the calling (which yesterday you said you had the scoop on, so i should be patient until i see that - because that can shut this whole thing down for me...if i see that calling part...that the calling is not of God also, or is man's part in it.....i dunno:confused:):

Acts 3:9
New International Version (©1984)
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

English Standard Version (©2001)
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

International Standard Version (©2012)
For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself."


i'll try not to ask you many more questions, because i really only have a few:)
this would be one of them.
and how to discuss it without using terms from some denoms that sidetrack everything before it gets going.
anyways....mebee i go to News and Poetry for a spell.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
what argument? you have no argument...except corridors of time. which is ludicrous.

the disciples (who knew the messiah was coming - they were given the oracles of God , not the gentiles), were FISHING.

Jesus appeared to THEM and CHOSE them.

if you want to say because He knew they would choose Him, prove it.
Your argument is fruitless. as it does not support you case. we are talking about salvation here,

he chose Judas, and Judas will burn in hell because he chose never to believe.

if all who chose would trust Christ, then Judas would be in heaven today with everyone else he chose.


my point, It is not a salvation issue you are making.

God always choses based on foreknowledge, Just because you do not see it, does not mean it is not true. You are not God. neither am i. and this I am right you are wrong crap does NOTHING to glorify God, and does nothing but glorify self

if thats the way you want to be. so be it.
 

zone

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
27,214
164
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It might be. But you would have to be pretty naive not to see, that if a person believed:

But believers still have the fallen nature, although they have been freed from the power of sin.

And their fallen nature limits their moral power.

For example, does the believer have the moral power to choose to live a completely sinless life?

He does not


They would, inevitably at times fall back on the above as an excuse for sin
oh that old hobby horse.
pfffft.
 

Elin

Banned
Jan 19, 2013
11,909
141
0
Elin said:
Jesus, through regeneration, frees those who believe in him from that hostility, insubordination and inability to obey God.

But believers still have the fallen nature, although they have been freed from the power of sin.

And their fallen nature limits their moral power.

For example, does the believer have the moral power to choose to live a completely sinless life?

He does not. But Adam had that power before the fall, and he lost it when he disobeyed God.

So slavery to sin speaks of our fallen nature and the limitations it places on our ability to make all moral choices.
I am having problems with the above Elin. For clearly the emboldened according to what you write refers to the Christian, the person accepted by God. Now if the above is true, the convert must remain a slave to sin, but Paul says this cannot happen:
Okay, to address it in your terms.

He is a slave in that he is not free to choose/make all moral choices and, therefore, cannot choose to live a sinless life.

He is a slave to the llmitations of his fallen nature, he is not free from those limitations, which Adam did not have before he disobeyed God and, therefore, Adam was created truly free to make all moral choices.

It's the same as me being a slave to gravity.
I am not free in my person to overcome its limitations.
I must go outside my person to overcome it.