Other Figures of Speech for God’s Saving Acts - Part 1

References: (1) The Bible is a salvific book. The apostle Paul told Timothy its central message: “From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). (2) There are PRE-SALVATION ACTS of God that are important for our understanding of the whole salvation process. (3) While there is wide evangelical agreement on the origin, nature, and purpose of the atonement, there is considerable difference on its EXTENT. This question has been posed: TO whom is this salvation offered and FOR whom did the Lord Jesus Christ die? Here we can easily enter into a CONTROVERSY that has been prevalent since the time of John Calvin whose lifetime spanned from 1509-1564, his son-in-law, Theodore Beza (1519-1605), Jacob Arminius (1560-1609), and the Synods of Dort (1618-1619). (4) of John Calvin are usually identified by belief in most or all of the 5 points articulated by Theodore Beza. These 5 points are: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Preservation of saints. If we take the first letter of each point it makes a memorable acrostic: TULIP. (5) Some Calvinists assert Christ’s atonement is LIMITED, that is, Christ died ONLY for the ELECT. Let me identify those who believe in limited atonement by labeling them as strong Calvinists. In other words, strong Calvinists do not believe in universal atonement, that is, that Christ did not die for every single person, and salvation is not available for every single person. (6) The plain statement of John 3:16-17 is that God loved the world, NOT JUST A SPECIAL FEW, and the clear IMPLICATION is that Christ was given to die for the SINS of every person in the WORLD. Moreover, verse John 3:13 makes it EVIDENT that WORLD here means the ENTIRE FALLEN WORLD, for it is the same world that is UNDER CONDEMNATION. (7) John 3:16-17 and 12:47b, signifies the SAME FALLEN, SINFUL WORLD that will be judged in the “last day” (12:48b). (8) If you believe that only the special group called the elect can be saved, then that automatically implies the non-elect CANNOT be salved. Thus, there is a DOUBLE PREDESTINATION for everyone’s eternal destiny; the elect are predestined to be saved, and the non-elect are predestined NOT to be saved. That means before the foundation of the world, God decided that some would be predestined to go to hell. How can one call that love? Such a stance has an impact on evangelization contrary to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19). That conclusion simply goes WAY TOO FAR for me. (9) My favorite Christian apologist is Norman Geisler who is a 4-point Calvinist opposing only limited atonement. (10) There are 3 point Calvinists. I am probably a 2-point Calvinist. Accepting total depravity, and preservation of the saints opposing limited atonement, and I am not sure about the other 2 points. It seems to me that the controversy is a MATTER OF INTERPRETATION. And I believe in the universal offer of salvation to anyone. So in that regard I accept some Arminian doctrines. So both my 2 points and the universal offer of salvation I believe are true from scripture. What we need to do is come up with an interpretation that covers both. This is Episode 192.