Reformed Theology - Limited Atonement

Now let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Isaiah, please. Isaiah chapter 53. Just a few thoughts that I have been enjoying with regard to the Lord Jesus and the great work of redemption.

We all know that Isaiah 53 is written about 750 years before the actual crucifixion took place and it shows us the inspiration of the Word of God. This is a well-known verse, there's probably many here that would claim it for their salvation's moment. Isaiah 53 in verse number 5, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now there's a few other verses that we're going to read. Notice that little, it's two English words in our Bible, the last phrase of verse number 6, hath laid.

We all know that when you look at this section in Hebrew, Isaiah 53 verse 13 all the way through Isaiah 52 verse 13 and then 53 the entire chapter, we all know that we have five segments that are in here. We've just read in the middle segment and if you were to count all of the Hebrew words, you're going to find that this is the center word of this whole section, hath laid. It's almost like it's a picture of the entire Old Testament.

Everything is building up to this point. Interesting about chapter 53 of Isaiah, the word Christ is not used, Jesus is not used, of course, Lord, God, he, he, him. My father when dealing with Peter Orzac, many might remember his testimony, I remember my father telling me this himself when they used to visit Peter, Peter was quite a man that could talk and he would talk and talk and talk and talk and dad said we had to listen to him and let him sort of vent.

One day Peter was going on, waxing, going on about how great things were and everything else and my father said at the end, he said, Peter, can I read you a chapter in the Bible? Yeah, sure, sure, you've listened to me, I'll listen to you. This was the chapter that my father read, Isaiah 53. Now I'm visiting my dear friend when he was dying and he took me back to that day and he says, Scott, you want to know something? When your father read Isaiah 53 and there was a question that he asked that just brought light into my mind, he didn't get saved there, but it was God dealing with him.

After he read the chapter, my father said to him, who is that written about? And Peter said, anyone could have written that about the Lord Jesus. And my father said, the word Lord and Jesus is not there. He says, right there.

Wow. My father said, how did you know that? How did you know it's about Jesus Christ? Amazing what God has laid down in the scriptures. I want you to appreciate today that expression, verse number six.

I've heard older preachers say this, and I've used it myself in speaking to sinners that are interested, and they've often said, enter into the first all and exit at the last all. And that's how the verse starts. All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Written by a Hebrew prophet, a Jew. Is that only for the Jewish nation? There's not a person that would read that verse and would say that what we're reading in Isaiah 53, the scope of this thing is limited to the Jewish nation.

Now you might, I'm getting at you first thing in the morning because you're fresh, your brain's alive. I am very troubled by reformed theology. I'm very troubled by Calvinism, by hyper-Calvinism.

It's coming out again. They're reinventing the words, but dear child of God, they all mean the same thing. I'm very troubled by anyone that would teach limited atonement.

It is against what the Bible would teach. They get very good at word mechanics, fancy phrases. They might have letters behind their names, but you and I in the 21st century have got to anchor our minds on these clear statements of the word of God.

There is no way that you can get around this statement and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. What people are doing is they're going to verses that are hard to understand and they're starting to build a doctrine out instead of taking light from very plain, simple statements as we've just read and bring the light of that in to have a better understanding of this hard verse that we're trying to figure out. This is what's at the core of it.

I stated this a couple of weeks ago at another conference. When you look at the word of God, we know that there is a tremendous prophetic program that God has for his son. It's yet to be unfolded.

Reformed theology denies a literal kingdom, literal city of Jerusalem being blessed by the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Christ sitting on a literal throne in Jerusalem. This earth coming under the literal rule for a thousand years of the Lord.

They deny that. They turn it all literal and it's today, it's now. What that ends up doing is taking glory from God's son.

It is the father's ultimate goal to glorify his son, to lift him up. And according to Philippians, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess just who he is to the glory of God, the father. So we need to always understand when we come to the Bible and I start to take a truth out of the Bible and I start to think it, it means this.

Do you know what I got a guard against? Is it affecting God's character, God's purpose, God's program? Because if my thinking starts to clash with literal statements from the word of God, there's nothing wrong with the word of God. The problem is in my mind. I am not understanding this correctly.

The same thing applies when it comes to the redemptive work of Christ. There are so many statements. We want to look at a few, so many statements that show the unlimited vastness of the redemptive work of Christ for someone to stand and say, it's only for the elect.

You are marring God's character. That's what you're doing. Oh, I know you, we don't like to hear that, but we have to understand that we are dealing with an infinite God.

Have to understand that we are finite. And when we start to come to the work of redemption, even though the Lord Jesus is a real man at the same time, he's the eternal God. Even though it's something that we could measure from nine o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon, as we did last Sunday in the Bible study on some 22, I can measure the seconds.

I can measure the moments. I can measure the hours, but you cannot measure what an infinite person gave to another infinite person when he paid the price for sin. That is tremendous.

And we always need to step back and look at that wonderful work and always be in an attitude of just absolute amazement at it. So let us keep that in mind. Now there's going to be words that they're going to use.

These individuals coming in different ways. What they're going to start to do is they're going to start to use phrases and I'm just going to drop a few little words for you and those that are interested. I challenge you to study it out in the Bible as I've done and I'm still doing.

I like to challenge my mind with everything possible so that I can understand the word of God. They will say these words, atonement, substitution. Those are two words often you'll get them together in sentences.

Here's what they'll start to say. Atonement, tremendous work done, God word. Substitution, man word.

Atonement, couldn't put a value on the work. Substitution, just for the elect. Now what's wrong with that statement? Number one, you've taken one divine work and you've divided into two separate works.

That's a major problem. Most often what they'll do to try to prove that point is they'll go to Leviticus 16 where on the day of atonement you are introduced to two goats but notice the word of God. It's one sin offering.

One sin offering. How careful. The spirit of God did not make a mistake.

That wouldn't pass a grammar teacher rules because when you got something in the plural you should have the sacrifice in the plural but the spirit of God is not making a mistake. What else they'll try to say in Leviticus 16 is one goat was God word. One goat was man word.

Thus trying to prove their point. You read Leviticus 16 carefully you're going to find out that both goats were for God. Both are for the people.

Just read it carefully. Just let the word of God shape the way you think. Don't try to divide the work of Christ.

Here is probably the worst point of the whole thing. Hold on to your seat. The word substitution is not in the Bible.

Oh that's a man-made word. Oh right away you'll say we got pictures. Yeah sure I agree.

We have pictures of it in the Bible but if the spirit of God wanted me to be using that word all the time he would have given it to me but he didn't. Just keep in mind this lovely word appears so many times in the Old Testament. Atonement.

Atonement. You come into the New Testament and there's a corresponding equal word. Propitiation.

Atonement. Propitiation. Dear brethren can I can I encourage you to think this through in your mind.

An awful lot of people don't take time to follow the word atonement through the Old Testament and they just get stuck on one little meaning of it. To cover. To cover.

Go and look at all the ways in which the spirit of God used that Hebrew word. That's important because there's an awful lot of people that have this understanding when it comes to the Old Testament saints their sins were only temporarily covered. You're not going to find that in the Bible.

No. There David was as much forgiven as you and I are. Why? Not because of the animal sacrifice.

Hebrews makes that very clear but what that animal sacrifice did in the mind of God was took him to the person of Christ and everything went forward. Now we're post Calvary and everything goes back to the lovely person of the Lord Jesus. So just keep that in mind.

Romans 4 and 5 will give you that doctrinal aspect. David justified. Blessed is the man and there's an awful lot.

I don't want to go down that path right now but it is a wonderful thing. I want you to notice something that is unique because they're going to try to say this as well. They're going to try to use Matthew 20 and so on so forth.

Many. A ransom for many. And here's what they'll do.

They'll add a word that's not in the Bible. Gave himself a ransom for the many. Oh there you go.

The many. The elect. Please go and read Matthew 20 and 28 and Mark 10 and 45 again.

The definite article is not there. I'm going to show you in a minute where you do get the definite article with many and hopefully it will help you. But we have it here.

Look at verse number 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. Now if you have a Newberry Bible this will become apparent but you can look at it in Hebrew and prove it.

By his knowledge. Now there is a knowledge. We just we could take time to read all of Isaiah 53.

There is a knowledge associated with the Lord Jesus. Shall my righteous servant justify the many. The many.

Now in our English Bible it's many but if you go look at the Hebrew you'll find that it's in the plural of course and you'll find that it has the definite article. But look at the context of the statement. It's talking about justification.

A knowledge that is associated uniquely with him and his work. And that sinner takes it to himself. Exercises faith in it.

They become the many. So just keep that in mind. It's interesting.

This to my knowledge is the only place other than Romans chapter 5 where you actually have this the definite article. Let's go to Romans 5 for just a minute and I will show you what the Spirit of God does there. And I find this to be quite informative as well.

So it's not only important to notice grammar and and definite article and all of that but context is so important. So notice what we have in Romans 5 and I want you to see how he will use it both ways. Referring to those that are saved and those that are lost.

Look at verse number 15. You could start to read at 12. Adam's sin comes into the world.

Death by sin. But look at verse number 15. Romans 5 verse 15.

But not as the offense so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of. Now you have the definite article.

The one. I'm going to read it the way it is in the Greek. The many be dead.

So obviously everybody here would quickly agree with me that what the first federal head did affected every single person. There it is. You can't get around that.

Keep reading. Much more the grace of God and the gift by faith which is by the one man Jesus Christ hath abound it onto the many. Now listen.

When you come to the word of God. First Corinthians 15. You're looking at two federal heads.

There is the Adam and there is Christ. What this man does has affected every single person that has come into the human family. What this person the Lord Jesus has done.

It's abounding toward the many. Doesn't mean that every single person is going to be saved. But it is able to abound to the many.

He's contrasting. Then it comes again. Look at verse number 18.

Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the Lord Jesus the free gift upon came upon all men. So once again the same all with Adam the same all with Christ the many with Adam the many with Christ. Verse number 18 upon all men onto justification of life for as by one man's disobedience many the many definite article is there were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous.

So you can see how the spirit of God is not taking apart the work of Christ and trying to make a division in it. And I would I would I would submit that you take these verses that I've just read meditate on them think upon them study them go over them and I hope that it will be a help to you. Let's go to first Timothy.

First Timothy chapter two is where we'll end. I had this is the section that I have been enjoying. It's nice to hear of these gospel efforts just a little distance from us and souls getting saved.

What I have been enjoying dear brother and sister is even in the 21st century we have a God that loves to save that wants to save and the power is in the gospel message the person of Christ. It's not in our oratory ability our our verbal vocabulary but it's in the gospel message and it's a wonderful thing. Look at verse number one of chapter two and we could take time to look at the context verse eight but we're looking at a prayer meeting.

I exhort therefore that first of all supplication prayers intercessions and giving to thanks be made for all men for kings for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. Now the question you got to ask yourself is why? Why does God want a quiet and peaceable life? What is he building up to? Just keep that in your brain in all godliness and honesty for this a quiet and peaceable life for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who will have all men to be saved. How can you get around that? Who will have all men to be saved and to come on to the knowledge of the truth? God wants us to pray for the rulers.

He wants us to pray for the peace of this land not so that I can lay in my lazy boy and have a little cup of tea and oh what a quiet and peaceable life. He wants us to use the environment to spread the gospel. Why? Because in the heart of God is a desire to save all men.

You can't get around it. It doesn't matter who you look at. It doesn't matter what part of the world they come from.

It doesn't matter the language, the culture, the sinfulness. This verse includes Putin. What? This verse includes every dictatorial leader presently on the face of the earth.

You could go into them the deepest dungeon, the maximum security prisons. You could go down every cell. Doesn't matter the crime.

You could look them in the eye and tell them the God of heaven loves you. The death of Christ. Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures.

You could quote that lovely verse of Romans 5 and 6. For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Dear child of God, don't limit God and his power. Don't mar his character.

Don't read the word of God where we're given an insight into the heart of God and then all of a sudden we try to bring it out to the ground and it's like I don't know if I can share the gospel with them. My dear wife was brought up in a system later in life that made her try to figure out if she was one of the elect instead of trying to understand if she was a sinner. That's the way it was preached from the platform.

Nowhere in scripture does God ever encourage us to do that. God is asking us to declare publicly the doctrines of the word of God. God states us as sinners.

Christ died for sinners and thank God for the unseen person here, the spirit of God, that just moves looking for an honest heart. There's your seed of Luke chapter 8. The seed fell upon the good ground, an open and an honest heart. And when God discovers a sinner that starts to respond to his word, he then responds back to them.

They respond to his word. They respond back to him. It's a marvelous truth.

We need to think. We need to. Okay, I got another verse.

Okay, hold your hand here in Titus. Timothy, I want to go to Titus just for a second. This is something that is misused by these individuals, but you might remember the grammar.

I gave you a little grammar lesson at Stout and I'll try to bring it again here to you. Look at Titus chapter 3. What these individuals will try to do is they will try to say a sinner is so dead that they can't respond to the word of God, can't respond to the voice of God, and therefore God has to do a pre-conversion work, bringing the sinner up to a state where they can respond to the word of God. Now, I want to read a verse.

Let's read a verse for you. Titus chapter 3 and verse number there, verse number 5. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. Now, just notice what comes first.

He saved us. Then he goes and says this, by the washing of regeneration. Now, see, they'll pick up this phrase and they'll try to use it.

Ah, see, God's got to do a regeneration that is pre-salvation. Just notice how the verse is laid out. He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified.

Oh, there's a lovely word. By his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed.

Amazing how all these words come together in this little section. Here's the grammar lesson I want you to take away. Verse number 5. Do you notice the one preposition by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost? Anybody got a coin in their pocket? A coin has two sides, but it's the same coin.

On one top of the coin is the washing of regeneration. On the bottom side of the coin is the entrance of the Spirit of God. What does the Bible teach about the entrance of the Spirit of God? Ephesians 1. Upon believing, you were sealed with the Spirit of God.

So the washing of regeneration happened at the same time the Spirit of God came in. You have to bow your mind to that. That's the Word of God.

They like to separate it out. There was a regeneration work that preceded the moment of salvation, but the Spirit of God puts it all together. That's what I mean about us getting back to the Bible in the 21st century.

If you spend more of your time reading books by people writing about salvation and less time reading the Bible, I think you got your balance off. Come to the statements of Scripture. Study it through and let it challenge your mind and let it develop your understanding.

Come back to 1 Timothy chapter 2. We're building up to a final point here. So just think of this. The pleasure.

I'm coming back to a little comment. I had a brother this week and he said to me the comment you made last Sunday in Stout about we should be exercised to pray. He says it's been bothering me all week.

I said good because we need to come to the assembly meetings with an exercise to pray. And dear brother, if you don't know what to pray, just pray for sinners. Thrills the heart of God.

This is the whole context of 1 Timothy chapter 2 and those sitting here. We should never get tired of hearing brothers pray for people audibly that need to be saved. We should be hardly amening because it reflects the heart of God, the desire that's in the heart of God.

Come to verse number four who will have all men to be saved and to come on to the knowledge of the truth. Who will? This is God's desire. Well, someone says now there's a problem.

Everything God desires he gets. You're not reading your Bible. God desires every Christian to live for him, do they? God desires that we never fall into sin, do we? God desires that nobody backslides.

No assembly backslides. Do they and do we? Of course we do. There's the will of man.

We got God's will and there's different aspects of God's will that we can prove. There is his directive will, permissive will. Sure, there's all those different things that are brought before us in the word of God.

And just there's where we're taking light from the other parts of scripture and we're just allowing it to cast light like this light is doing here, which I had to turn away because it was quite bright in my own eyes. That's what we're letting. We're just letting the Bible speak.

Dear child of God, it's a marvelous thing that we've got such a volume in the 21st century. It can sit on the shelf with other books. It looks like other books.

There's something so unique about the living word of God. I hope we all value it. I hope I value it the way I should be valuing it.

Come back now. Verse number five, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, God and men, man, all men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all. We're right back to where we started in Isaiah 53 pre Calvary.

Now we're reading the verse post Calvary. You start it with all. We're still on the topic of all who gave himself a ransom.

That word ransom is the same word price. We all are familiar with that. Someone's taken hostage and there is the ransom note, the price note.

Do we understand that when the Lord Jesus finished that work on the cross of Calvary, there was a ransom paid to God that is infinite? Doesn't matter how many billions and trillions of people take advantage of it. When the Lord Jesus died, he didn't die for X amount of sins. You never get that in the Bible.

I can take you into the book of Romans and I will show you sins in the plural and I'll show you sins in the singular. I will show you sins and then I can show you sin. When the Lord Jesus died, he didn't just die for my sins.

He died for my sin as well. What I am the root, the core, as well as the fruit of the entire thing that will help you dear child of God. Why is it? See, this is the flesh.

This is a lack of knowledge of the Bible. Why is it then when we as believers commit sin, we beat ourself? Even after we have acknowledged it as wrong and we feel like there's some sort of, I feel better that I'm beating myself day after day. Oh, you rotten whatever.

God doesn't care how you feel. God is only concerned with what his son has done. That's positional truth.

Don't allow the misery of practical living to affect great doctrinal positional truth. Sometimes that happens this way too. I follow up with my brother.

Oh, I said, I'm sorry. I feel real bad. I feel real bad.

I feel you're occupied with yourself. According to the word of God, if I just cleared up with you, it's done. That's how God sees it.

And here I am standing before God who is basically trying to tell me it's all taken care of Scott. Oh, I feel real bad. Who cares about your feeling? God did not give us truth to feel good.

He gave us truth to know, to know, anchor your mind upon it, dear child of God. Finally, look at this lovely verse. Come back to it.

Verse number six, who gave himself of ransom for now, these individuals, let's back up these individuals that will try to make a distinction between atonement substitution, not a Bible word. Okay. But we're going to go with it for a minute in the Greek language for simple, simple English word, but you've got different Greek words, auntie Hooper.

They mean different things. It is very hard sometimes to distinguish those two. Greek is a very legalistic, professional, precise language.

It can make a shade of difference just by using a different words. And this is this case, auntie Hooper, auntie Hooper. What do they mean? Well, I hope there's no Greek scholars amongst us because this is going to be a very layman.

It's just very simple. I don't want anyone to lose it. Okay.

But this is my just simple understanding of it. One is going to stress something is done instead of you. The other one is going to emphasize something is done for you.

And for your benefit, one in my mind is focused on who's doing the work. The other is really focused on what has been done. It's just a very simplistic way of trying to see that slight shade difference between them.

Now the reform people will try to say, aha, there is a work done for all, but only those that receive it. It's for them. See, see how they try to make a shade difference.

Look what the spirit of God has done here. You're not going to see this in our English Bible. The, the, the, the Greek word for price, Lutron don't spirit of God has done in this little word.

Ransom here. It's the only time it's, it's compounded in the new Testament. Let's read the verse, verse number six, uh, where there who gave himself a anti Lutron for Hooper, all men, the spirit of God takes those two different prepositions, which a lot of people make a big deal of.

And they try to say there's there's for all of mankind. There's for the elect. You know what the spirit of God does brings them both together in this one verse, what Christ has done anti Lutron, a price for all four in the stead of all mankind.

I leave the word of God with you. Not Scott McLeod's thinking because I will come and go. I want to protect the character of God in the presentation of the gospel.

Do not stand on this platform and limit in the slightest what God has done. Do not preach the word of God. Look every single person in your audience in the eye.

And according to the word of God, you can tell them Christ. Jesus died for the ungodly Christ. Jesus died for their sins.

You don't have to hold back on that. That is the core of the gospel message, dear child of God. And I trust that we will hold to it.