Let me pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the cross of Christ.
We thank you for our Saviour and all that he has done for us.
! We thank you that he is our great high priest,
the one who has made atonement for our sins.
We thank you for the forgiveness that we have in him.
And as we consider his cross today, as we consider the atonement,
help us to understand these things that are far too deep for us.
But by your Spirit, please give us some understanding of this,
a greater appreciation of all that the Lord Jesus has done.
And we ask this in his name. Amen.
So if you're new or you're just jumping in to this series,
this term, we're thinking about the atonement.
So that's the title of this term, the atonement.
And what the atonement means, we're thinking about what Christ was doing on the cross.
Okay?
What Christ was doing on the cross.
And just a heads up, we're going to be doing it.
Usually I do every Sunday School series in half terms.
So usually we'd finish by this coming half term.
I'm actually going to extend this over two half terms.
This is going to be like a mega, mega series.
So we're going to do all of this, this term, this half term and next.
So there's lots more to come.
And last session, we saw what the cross is all about.
So the first one, we saw the need for the atonement.
And then we saw what the cross was all about.
What's happening on the cross.
And we saw Christ's death is not just a random death.
It's not just an unfortunate death.
No, Christ's death is a sacrifice that makes us one with God.
So just like the Old Testament priests would make sacrifices, in that same way, Christ was a sacrifice.
So on the cross, all our sin and guilt and the debt all went on to Christ on the cross.
So this is his people here.
All the debt went on to Christ.
And he substituted in for us.
That's the little dotted line.
So he substituted, swapped in for us and identified with our sin.
And the sin of debt went on to him.
And so he bore the wrath of God.
The wrath of God that is rightly deserved, the penalty for our sin.
That was all diverted and borne on to Christ.
Christ, he paid the penalty that was deserved for our sins.
And by doing so, he reconciled us to God.
So that broken relationship because of the debt and the wrath, we weren't reconciled.
And so we needed to be reconciled.
And so on the cross, Christ was reconciling us back to God.
And so he achieved three things.
Redemption, meaning ransom.
He paid for our debt.
Propitiation, which means he appeased God's wrath.
Ended God's wrath because it was diverted away from us.
And he reconciled us.
So these three things.
And this is atonement.
When we speak of atonement, it means at-one-ment.
Making us at one with God.
And what does that involve?
That involves these three things.
They're kind of the three ingredients to atonement, you could say.
And this is what happened with the Old Testament sacrifices we saw last week.
And this is what happened to Christ.
The Old Testament kind of gives the shape of what Christ is doing.
But today, I want us to ask an important question.
If this is what Christ was doing, if this is what was happening on the cross, and this is what Christ was achieving,
who was he doing it for?
Who are these people here?
I want us to answer the question today, who did Christ die for?
Or if you want to be grammatically correct, for whom did Christ die?
That's the correct term.
That's kind of how people phrase it.
I know whom is the correct term, but it feels weird saying it.
Like, no one says whom.
You're going to get laughed at if you say whom.
Who did Christ die for?
Okay?
And you may not have thought about this question.
Or maybe you think it's a bit of an odd question to even bring it up.
But I want us to see that this is really important to understand the atonement.
It's important to appreciate all that Christ has done on the cross.
And so, who did Christ die for?
I wanted to jump straight in.
There are three major views.
Okay?
View one.
You can see this at the top left of your page.
View one.
Christ died for everyone.
Okay?
So, Christ actually died for every single person.
Actually paid for all their sins.
And so, reconciled every single person on the planet, throughout history.
Every single person.
He reconciled back to God.
And so, to jump to the conclusion of this.
That means that there'll be no one in hell.
That there's no judgment falling on absolutely anyone.
And so, everyone will be in the new creation.
Okay?
And I'm going to just quickly dismiss this one.
Because that is just unthinkable.
Okay?
Right?
We have our doctrine of hell.
We have our doctrine of judgment.
We have our understanding of the need for the gospel.
If everyone's going to the creation, there's no need for the gospel.
Don't worry about it.
Why would Christ tell anyone to preach the gospel?
Okay?
So, view one does make any sense at all.
We can't think that.
And so, we're not going to get into that today.
Okay?
You can ask me more afterwards if you want.
But view two, we're going to consider a bit more.
So, view two is that Christ died hypothetically for everyone.
Okay?
So, this says that Christ died generally for everyone.
There was an intention that he generally died for everyone.
He died to make salvation possible for everyone.
He died to make humanity savable.
But the cross is only made effective to the elect.
To those whom God chooses.
So, in this view, the cross is a bit like a medicine box.
Right?
So, when Christ died, he made this medicine box with, you know, a trillion pills.
Right?
I've made this for everyone.
Christ died generally for everyone.
But not everyone will actually get one of those pills.
Okay?
It's only those who receive it, who believe, who God has chosen.
Okay?
So, that's view two.
But view three is that Christ died for his people.
So, Christ died for a specific number of people.
Not everyone.
But his people.
And all those people will be saved.
There's not a question about it.
And this view is often called limited atonement.
Or definite atonement.
I'm going to use the word definite atonement.
I think that's a better term for...
Well, we'll find out why that's a better term.
And I want us to see today and be convinced of this third position.
All right?
Christ died for his people.
Who are these people?
Who are the people Christ died for?
It is his chosen people.
You could say it's the elect.
But today, I also want to address why people might have issues with this position.
And maybe you're coming with questions and maybe it's not sitting right at the moment.
I want to address some of those issues.
And the common issues are often...
What about the all verses?
Okay?
So, 1 Timothy 2.
Christ gave himself as a ransom for all.
Romans 5.
One act of righteousness leads to justification in life for all men.
Okay?
So, what about the all verses?
What about the world verses?
So, the famous one.
1 John 2.
He's the propitiation for our sins.
And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Huh.
What's going on there?
And another common objection is...
What about evangelism?
So, if Christ didn't die for all people...
If that's not how we're going to say it...
Then, how can we offer the gospel to all people?
And another objection would be...
Well, it's to do with the name limited atonement.
Right?
That's what it's often called.
How can we say that Christ's cross is limited?
Doesn't that say Christ's mercy is limited or his power is limited?
And small in some way.
And some people say, we don't want to limit the cross.
So, we're not going to go with limited atonement.
Well, how do we answer all this?
Well, I want us to see why positively...
First of all, positively...
Why we must think of the atonement as this third position is definite atonement.
And I want us to make a case for that.
And then we can answer some of these questions.
Like, what about the alls?
What about the world?
And I'll try to answer maybe the limited atonement question along the way.
But I want us to jump in.
And I want us to think about all this in the right way.
And to do that, we need to see Christ went to the cross with two things on him.
He went with two things on him.
Christ went to the cross with a belt and a treasure chest.
Okay?
So, to understand definite atonement, to understand the cross, you need to understand that Christ died for his people.
And to see that, you need to understand a belt and a treasure chest.
So, the first point, Christ died for his people.
So, two things I want us to see.
The first is a belt.
Christ went to the cross wearing a belt.
I mean, metaphorically, right?
He wasn't actually wearing a belt.
So, if you cast your minds back to our Sunday school on covenants, on the two giants.
Don't worry if you weren't there.
But if you were, try to cast your mind back on the two giants, Adam and Christ.
So, do you remember there are two giants of the Bible?
Adam and Christ.
And on the belt of these two giants, attached to these two giants, are people.
So, you are either in Adam or you are in Christ.
So, Romans 5.
For as by the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners.
Adam's disobedience made many sinners.
But the one man's obedience, the many will be made righteous.
So, two people, two effects on two different people.
So, 1 Corinthians 15.
For as in Adam all die.
Everyone attached to Adam will die.
So, also in Christ shall all be made alive.
And Thomas Goodwin, a theologian, he phrased it like this.
This is a helpful way to picture it.
In God's sight, there are two men.
Adam and Jesus Christ.
And these two men have all other men hanging from their girdle strings.
Belt.
Okay.
Right.
So, all of humanity across all time and space.
They are split into two groups.
And they're hanging from two different belts.
Adam and Christ.
And so, whatever happens to these two giants happens to everyone attached to them.
So, if Adam falls, if the giant falls, everyone falls with them.
If a giant stands, if Christ stands, everyone stands with them.
And I want us to see being attached to these giants.
This doesn't just mean at the end of time, everyone will eventually end up on these giants.
No.
I want us to see everything that Christ did in his ministry, he did with a specific people already attached to his belt.
And that includes dying on the cross.
And I want us to see that.
We've got a big breakout section.
So, look at the dotted box.
Lots of questions.
Lots of verses.
Break out into groups.
Answer these questions.
And I want us to see this giant in action in the Bible.
I'll give you five minutes for this.
Thank you.
There we go.
One more minute.
it sounds like people are finished maybe we'll wrap up in a few seconds
okay let's wrap it up there so first question i won't pick on anyone let's just think about this
according to the new testament who has christ come to save that let's just look at the language
it's quite specific isn't it he didn't come to save every single person in the world not everyone will
enter the kingdom no jesus came to save his his specific people matthew 1 he came to save his
church his bride his friends that's who he's laying his life down for and that is a specific known
people and so so think about john 10 so he speaks of his sheep he says he knows his sheep right
that's not every single person he has sheep that belong to him and he knows who they are
it's the flock that he knows and it's and it's those he is laying his life down for
and also it's a specific people known by the father too do you see that so the father has given jesus
a people the father has said here is a people now go and save them right so that's the language that we
see in the new testament and how does christ save these people so he's got people to save how does
he save them it is through the cross so the bible is clear that the cross does something so the cross
is how jesus saves his people and so if jesus came to save a specific people and the cross is how he
saves them then there is a very specific intention to the cross and that's key it's the intention behind
going to the cross right jesus says i am going to the cross to save my people the specific people that
i know and that the father has given me they're the ones i'm going to the cross for because they
are the ones i'm going to save and the cross is how i save them and this this isn't out of the blue
this isn't us trying to kind of cram this onto the new testament's phrasing no this is the exact shape
of the atonement in the old testament so according to the old testament when the priest made sacrifices
who were they intended for intention what was the intention behind the sacrifices so look look back
to the day of atonement leviticus 16 the high priest made atonement for the people for god's specific
people and so notice it doesn't say that he uh it doesn't say he uh he doesn't kill the goats uh
it doesn't say he kills the goat for israel and the philistines and the assyrians and the egyptians
does it and he doesn't say this sacrifice is generally for all nations or just generally
for anyone ambiguously um but really only israel are going to see it and know about it and therefore
it'll apply to them no the priest doesn't even have the philistines in mind when he's doing this
no the sacrifice is intended for a specific people god's people and so related to that whose sin did
the sacrifice atone for right what was the effect um uh what did who did the sacrifice can um apply to
in effect well even on the individual scale we see this here in in that verse when one person sins
any atoning sacrifice that is made it covers their specific sin so the priest shall make atonement
for him for his sin so it's not just a vague sacrifice that just covers sin in general
and then he comes along and maybe the sinner trusts in it and then it covers his sin
no that there was a specific intention it covers his specific sin or think of the day of atonement with
the goat remember we thought about that last week so the priest lays his hands on a goat and confesses
specific sins onto that goat that the goat doesn't just bear sin of the world generally around us no it
doesn't just suffer in general it suffers for those specific sins of that specific people
and so when the high priest made the sacrifices and then entered the holy place was he just acting for
himself or just acting vaguely in general as a vague priest no he was carrying people with him
so that the 12 tribes were written on his breastplate so you could say the people specific people were
written on his heart and that people came in with the high priest and he sacrificed and made atonement
for them that the people on him so not the philistines not the egyptians not generally all people
are on his heart no god's people so so the priest represents a specific people
so we can see here whenever a sacrifice is made it isn't just generally made and then it's up for
grabs for whoever may or may not take it it's not like a medicine box with lots of pills
where there it is just go and grab it maybe some will grab it maybe some won't no whenever a sacrifice
is made it is always intended for a specific people
and that is how we need to think about the cross christ died not just for a general people but
carrying a specific particular definite number of people with him and so we can think of him wearing a
belt so just like adam and christ you know the two giants wear belts think of christ wearing a belt on the
cross metaphorical belt so just like the priests wore a breastplate making sacrifices and then entering
into god's presence with god's people on him not the whole planet well christ on the cross he is like a
giant wearing a belt on that cross carrying a people carrying his people his bride his church
his flock and dying for them so on the cross he was wearing a belt
so let's draw a belt here right that's a belt there are lots of hooks on that belt
on that hook for all his people
all his people that he's substituting him for
and so you can think when you're in christ you can say you can think he was carrying you
on his belt on the cross he was carrying me with him on the cross on his belt
and everyone who will be in his kingdom was on that belt his people we can say he died for us
for our sins and so yes christ is a substitute we thought about that last week he's a substitute
for sinners but but on the cross he's even more than that he's a representative for his people he's
not only substituting he's representing them and so think of a substitute in football so we thought
about that last week so if you come off the pitch and someone else substitutes on for you and they play
um that and let's say that person goes and scores a goal right uh and they win the game uh they win it
for you don't they they're representing the whole team when they sub on and score the goal they're winning
it for their team and not all teams not the other team right that they're subbing in and representing
your team well that is just like christ he represents us and wins atonement for his people
and this is what the confession articulates so have a look at westminster confession 11 4
god did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect his people his flock and christ did
in the fullness of time die for their sins whose sins the elect and rise again for their justification
nevertheless they are not justified until the holy spirit doth in due time actually apply christ unto
them think of last sunday school and the holy spirit and so i think you can see here that this is linked to
election i know this might be opening up a whole nother topic um this is linked to to election and that's
important god knows who he will save that the father already had a people to save and so he gives that
people to christ to save now we don't have a list of who those people are that is a secret for god to
know that that is in the mind of god hidden but god does know that and so he's chosen to save that people
and this is why it's called limited atonement or sometimes called limited atonement not because
it's limited in power or limited a limit of god's mercy like oh yeah god's not that merciful it's not
limiting god's mercy he's not saying it's small but it's called limited atonement because the cross
is limited limited to a specific number of people but there are not those who will never be in a new
creation
there are not these people also included it is limited to his people and that's why i think definite
atonement is probably a better term uh um i think that yeah try to use that term uh definite it suggests
that there is something definite and intentional about the cross and that's i think key to how to
think about this it's the intention what is christ and god's intention going to the cross it's to save
the people on his belt and so think of a belt but also and i'll stop for questions at the end
uh also think of a treasure chest so uh you remember a sin debt hangs over our heads doesn't it
and that debt that is what is owed to god that debt is our lives remember the soul that sins shall die
and so what happened on the cross jesus paid that debt for us with his own life he redeemed us paid
that debt by dying and so uh let's just keep thinking about that think of uh being in debt to a bank okay
so let's say you owe a bank a trillion trillion pounds right just just infinite money and you just can
never repay it this is this is the this is the parable jesus makes in matthew 18 and you can just
never repay it uh well the cross is like jesus carrying a treasure chest full of wealth infinite
wealth into that bank into your bank going to your bank account and just handing over that treasure chest
and paying it all for you paying all that debt wiping it out and it's an infinitely valuable treasure
chest because if you come back to the cross he is the treasure chest it's his life it's infinitely
valuable and so the cross is like jesus going to the bank and actually paying your debt it's a payment
and so the cross actually does something the cross doesn't just potentially save people it doesn't
just potentially pay a debt it actually pays a debt it is the payment into uh into the account
it intentionally saves people so look at revelation 5 for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed
people for god ransomed redeemed redemption paying the debt mark 10 for even the son of man came not to
be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom a payment a redemption for many and tied to
christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and so christ actually did something
on that good friday he didn't just make us redeemable he didn't just potentially redeem us no he actually
redeemed us something was handed over to god in on that day a payment was actually made and so if you
think of a treasure chest a treasure chest christ was actually handed over on that good friday he didn't
just pay a debt in general and say okay now it's up for grabs some people may have their debts wiped out
maybe not take it or leave it no debt is always specific to sin and that's just like the old
testament sacrifices it's linked to personal guilt right it's payment for specific sins of specific people
so just like the one peter two he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree our personal sins were on
there our personal debt whose sins ours his people the people on his belt jesus hands over the treasure
chest of his life for the people on his belt and the confession again is summarizes this well look at
8.5 the lord jesus christ by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself which he through the eternal
spirit once offered up unto god hath fully satisfied the justice of his father fully satisfied debt ended
and purchased not only reconciliation but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those
whom the father who's whom the father hath given unto him so christ made a perfect and complete payment for us
and that payment settled the debt the treasure chest and the treasure chest it was so valuable in fact
do you see it purchased something so it not only settled the debt and it not only achieved reconciliation
not only reconciliation but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those
whom the father hath given unto him
so do you see that there is a link between who christ died for
and who will actually be saved the debt is paid for those who will be in the everlasting kingdom
and if we're to say otherwise okay let's just zoom out and just maybe kind of put on the other hat all
right let's say this isn't the case or let's say um someone believes this isn't the case
it presents two really big problems because think about it let's say christ died for all people
every single human being that will ever live and that's the way the father designed the cross
even i'm not talking about saving absolutely i'm talking about hypothetically dying for all people
and let's say that's the way the father designed the cross and christ goes to the cross and he's
thinking i'm laying down my life for everyone ever i'm producing a medicine box for everyone with a
with a trillion plus pills but it turns out not everyone will actually be saved by this
it presents two really big problems that means first of all the cross isn't powerful enough
he went to save them he had them in mind but they didn't get saved he redeemed them from sin
but it didn't work because their sins then remain on them basically the treasure chest isn't valuable
enough which is just unthinkable to say of christ's death so that's the first thing and the second
problem is that if christ pays the debt for everyone so some something was actually happening on the cross
not potentially it was actually happening and he actually paid the debt of everyone hypothetically
right and then potentially everyone will um kind of come and accept that uh that payment of debt
if christ pays that debt but some don't accept the payment and then they go to hell let's say like
these type of people that means they also have to pay the debt for their sins and so uh think of it like this
so let's say let's say christ died for everyone this is everyone this is everyone who lived in the past
in the future absolutely everyone let's say christ in kind of went to the cross intentionally for them
this is view number two and then all that debt went on to christ that that's what we've seen uh
uh happened on the cross so all that debt went on to christ he substituted in for everyone and represented
everyone but let's say someone because this is everyone someone doesn't accept that payment and they
uh so they go to hell okay
and so they go to hell that they face god's judgment what are they doing there in judgment
that they are first of all
receiving god's wrath
okay this is just the teaching of hell
and they're also
in doing so in facing god's wrath in spending eternity in hell
they are paying something they are paying for their sins
they are paying their own treasure chest
right and so have a look if that is the case so christ paid for them on the cross
but then they step out of that don't accept the payment and then they have to pay it
in hell how many payments will be made for their sins
there's two how many treasure chests are there there's two
his life christ's life and their life
and that wouldn't be just if christ has satisfied god's justice
but then they go to hell and have to pay again
then christ hasn't satisfied god's justice on the cross
because it's paid twice
and so that would simply be unjust and couldn't square with god's character
but that isn't what happened
no something remarkable happened on the cross
a treasure chest
was handed over
and every sin of his people
was actually paid for
so the cross doesn't potentially save
it actually does all those attached to his belt
and that is why with his last breath
what does jesus cry
it is finished
the debt is over
guilt ended no more payment no more punishment
and so it is impossible for christ to die for someone
and then for them to have to pay for their sins again
it completely undermines the justice and the satisfaction
and all that christ was doing on the cross
we must say christ died for his people
and this isn't just kind of a niche theological debate
and i was trying to kind of like with the argument
no
this is a huge confidence and comfort for us
this means we can look at the cross
and we can say christ actually died for me
he went to the cross
with me written on his heart
and something actually happened with my sin on that day
christ redeemed me
he went to the cross for me
i was written on his heart
and he was carrying me on his belt
and so my redemption is certain
because he went to die for me
and i want us to see
this is definite atonement
okay
this is it's biblical
and this is what is happening on the cross
okay
but what about the whatabouts
let's get on to that
let's just finish with that
i can't get on to every kind of single puzzling text
but i'll kind of give you a way to think about them
and i'll do some examples
so anything that includes all or every old world
i can't touch on everything
but i hope even before we get on to the the puzzling text
i hope what we can see already
should already kind of clarify what it can't mean
right so if we come across and
christ died for all
or um
god so loved the world
we've got to be careful already
because we know how we kind of
we need to think
so we've got to realize what it can't mean
okay but let's see what they do mean
what about the all verses
so what about 1 timothy 2
who christ gave himself as a ransom for all
one act of righteousness leads to justification in life
for all men
he who did not spare his own son
but gave him up for us all
how will he not also along with him
graciously give us all things
well the first thing to say is
just because you see the word all
it doesn't necessarily mean
and automatically mean
all people
right
every single person ever
it doesn't necessarily mean that
and it just have a look at romans 8 32
okay
so do you see
how will he not also
so it says
gave him up for us all
okay
question mark
what does all mean
how will he not also
along with him
graciously give us
all things
now when he says all things
clearly he doesn't mean
literally all things
christ doesn't give us
every ferrari in the world
at every second
all the time does he
and he doesn't give us lightsabers
he doesn't give us infinite money
right
so it can't
already we've got to think
it can't mean
all
right
so we need to be careful with all
he means
all types of things
that we need
and so for one timothy
let's have a look at one timothy
he's saying
christ gave himself
for all types of people
so jew
gentile
rich
poor
male
female
in fact that this is his point
in one in one timothy two
he's saying pray for kings
pray for the people in high
authority
because christ's salvation
is for all
types of people
like don't neglect
even the kings
okay
uh
no it's for
uh
it's not for each and
every all person
it's for all types of people
and that's the same with world
okay
so what about world verses
so look at one john two
he is the propitiation
for our sins
and not for ours only
but also for the sins
of the whole world
i think this may be the one
that catches us most off guard
so john
let's think about the context
john is writing
as an apostle
and he's saying
propitiation
salvation
is not just for
us apostles
and not just for us jews
and not just for a special
sect of people
which is the problem
going on in one john
if you if you remember
in home groups
it's kind of a special
sect of people saying
this is true christianity
no he's not just saying
and not just apostles
not just jews
not just a special sect
of people
no christ's propitiation
is for all types of people
across the world
all types of people
everywhere
that's the same with
john 3 16
for god so loved
the world
god didn't set his love
on jupiter or pluto
or mars
no he set his love
on this world
this sinful world
and that includes
all types of people
whoever do you see
whoever believes
will have eternal life
uh
and so if you ever come
across all
or world
just think
not every single person
it's all types of people
uh
the people hanging on
christ belt
are
you can think
they are all types
of people aren't they
all sorts
we are all types
of people here
okay
but what about
preaching and evangelism
so a common objection
is to say
well if christ
didn't die
for all people
how can we offer
the gospel
to all people
well the first thing
to say is
it's just not our place
to know who the father
has chosen
okay
what we're saying here
isn't that we know
who these people are
and that we
therefore we don't need
to worry
or care
no
we are just called
to preach the gospel
we know god has a people
and we are
our duty is just
to preach the gospel
but actually
definite atonement
so believing that christ
died for his people
this actually gives us
even more confidence
to share the gospel
because definite
atonement says
we can present
a message that says
it is really
with christ
that's not looking
this is the wrong way
to think
it is really
with christ
on the cross
that is
that is where
you will find
atonement
there is no
evil
too great
no sin
too bad
that that treasure
chest cannot
perfectly pay for
because whoever
believes in him
you can really say
christ died for me
not generally
but for my specific sins
he was on the cross
for me
and so definite
atonement
it actually empowers
evangelism
it gives
confidence
it gives us
confidence
that the cross
actually does save
it's not just
hypothetically
maybe it saves
some people
no
when people believe
the gospel
their sins
really are atoned for
and so you can
kind of think of it
this way
it's like saying
trust in jesus
and you will find
you were on his
belt the whole time
we don't know
who's on there
but when you trust
in him
you realize
you were there
the whole time
and this is why
this isn't just
a random debate
this isn't
this isn't just
kind of a niche
thing to think about
no
this actually gets
to the heart
of the atonement
definite atonement
it gives real meaning
to the heart
of the gospel
message
that's been
passed down
to us
but what is
the heart
of the gospel
christ died
for our sins
according to
the scriptures
that's what we're
seeing
it's definite
atonement
let's
do one
or two
questions
you