So, if the Lord Christ did shed His precious blood and gave His life as a ransom, did He or did He not redeem us from the power of sin and from the slave market of sin? The obvious answer should be that He certainly did on the cross by the shedding of His blood ransom us from sin and at the appointed time, by His Holy Spirit, applied the benefits that He bought for us on the cross to us. But if our Arminian brothers want to insist that Christ the Lord died for every single person in the world, how then was the life and blood of our Lord the ransom for their sin? How was the blood of the Lord, which is the blood of the New Covenant, shed on their behalf without bringing them into the New Covenant? According to Arminians, most of those for whom Christ died are unaware that Christ died for them (e.g., unreached people throughout history) and if they are aware, unless they believe, which is an act on their own (according to them), they will still rot in Hell. So, how effective is the atonement for them? It seems to me, that if Christ’s purpose was to redeem and forgive every single human being, then He has failed miserably. But such a thing is impossible for the God for Whom nothing is too hard (Jer. 32:27; Gen. 18:14). It is impossible for the God Whose purpose cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2; Isa. 14:27; Dan. 4:34-35; Rom. 9:19ff). The only consistent way to understand the extent of the atonement is by not forgetting the effect and purpose of the atonement, which is to save His people, be a ransom for many and forgive their sins.
Some may already object now that just because the Bible sometimes speaks of Christ’s atonement as being specific it does exclude it being offered on behalf of all men without exception. First, this objection would be correct if we did not stress the purpose and the effect of the atonement. The passages which we have looked at until now could only be applied to the elect—those who have saving faith in Christ thanks to the atonement itself. The atonement described in these passages is not an “iffy” thing, but a definite and certain atonement thanks to Christ’s sacrifice. Second, we have not forgotten that Christ’s death was substitutionary—meaning that He died in the place of people. He died on the cross representing all the elect. He did not die for a faceless group. He died for specific people and He died to propitiate God—to satisfy, i.e., remove His wrath against their sin. How could this be said of any group but believers? If we are consistent in our understanding of the Lord’s substitutionary death, we would limit the scope of the atonement to those who would believe, i.e., the elect, otherwise, we have to limit the power of the atonement. Third, the passages that speak of the a...
