JM
Puritan Board Doctor
Has anyone had the chance to read David Cloud's new attack on the doctrines of Grace sent out in his email news letter?
So what does the passage say then? Cloud's arguments are so weak I can't believe it.
j
Matthew 20:28 -- "Even as the Son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many."
That Jesus gave His life a ransom for many does
not mean that He gave His life a ransom only for
the elect. This would contradict 1 Tim. 2:6 and 1
John 2:2 and many other Scriptures.
John 10:11 -- "I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
Again, that Jesus gave His life for the sheep is
not to say that He did not also give His life to
make it possible for all men to be saved.
Acts 20:28 -- "Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed
the church of God, which he hath purchased with
his own blood."
Again, that God purchased the church with his own
blood is not to say that the atonement was
limited to those who would be saved. The
Calvinist Limited Atonement doctrine must be read
into these verses.
John 11:49-52 -- "And one of them, named
Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year,
said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor
consider that it is expedient for us, that one
man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not. And this spake he not of
himself: but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
and not for that nation only, but that also he
should gather together in one the children of God
that were scattered abroad."
Arthur Pink says that he would be willing to rest
his doctrine of Limited Atonement upon this
passage "more than any other" (The Sovereignty of
God, p. 66).
But John 11:49-52 says nothing about the extent
of Christ's atonement. To say that Jesus died for
those who will be saved is not to say that He
died ONLY for those who would be saved.
Acts 16:14 -- "And a certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which
worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul."
No person can be saved unless the Lord opens his
or her heart. This is not a Calvinist doctrine
but a doctrine that all Bible believers
understand and believe.
To say that God opened Lydia's heart so that she
attended unto the things of Christ is not to say
that God has pre-selected only a certain number
of sinners to be saved. It is also not to say
that God does not attempt to save the non-elect.
It is also not to say that Lydia was Irresistibly
Called or that she was sovereignly regenerated
and then given faith. All of this Calvinist
doctrine must be read into the passage.
So what does the passage say then? Cloud's arguments are so weak I can't believe it.
j