Tag: atonement
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Universal Justification But Not Universal Final Salvation
I was recently asked a series of excellent questions about universalism. The questions arise from a real tension. The Bible teaches that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. God genuinely reconciled the world to himself through the blood of Christ. He sincerely desires the salvation of every person. Does that mean that…
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Luther Preached the Gospel So Objectively that It Sounded Universalist
A recent visitor to my church explained to me his understanding of the Christian Gospel: The visitor was earnest, lovely, a kind and gentle soul. The only problem is this: What he said is not the Christian Gospel. Point 2 is absolutely true, and is the teaching of God’s Law. Points 1 and 3 are…
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When God Commanded Genocide: 1 The Judge of the World on Trial
You are completely right to feel troubled by genocide in the Old Testament. Let’s not be mealy mouthed about this: God really did command Israel to commit genocide. This really did happen. Probably the starkest example is from 1 Samuel 15:1-3, which I’ll quote here in full: And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent…
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You Can’t Read God’s Mind
Featured image: AI generated (does not depict real people) Judge Mike Lynch, former Texas state district court judge described the harrowing personal experience of issuing the death penalty: In my first death penalty trial, in 1998, the defendant had sexually assaulted and brutally slashed and stabbed a woman who had befriended him. The jury found…
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Does God Feel Love or Wrath? (Part 3)
God so loved the world… (John 3:16) Yet, it sounds like the opposite: …the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36) In Part 1, we saw that John 3 creates a real tension: God loves the world—and yet his wrath remains. In Part 2, we saw that this isn’t a contradiction, because “love” and…
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Forgiven—Yet Still in Hell??
On the cross, God reconciled the world to himself in Christ (2 Cor 5:19). Jesus took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And he bore God’s wrath—his legal condemnation of sin—as the atoning sacrifice for the whole world (1 John 2:2). In other words: on AD 33, at the cross, God forgave everyone…