1. The Terms "Will" and "All." 2. The Gospel is for Jews and Gentiles Alike.
3. The Term "World" is Used in Various Senses. 4. General Considerations.
1. THE TERMS "WISH," "WILL," AND "ALL"
It may be asked, Is not the doctrine of
Predestination flatly contradicted by the Scriptures which declare that Christ
died for "all men," or for "the whole world," and that God wills the salvation
of all men? In I Tim. 2:3, 4 Paul refers to "God our Saviour, who would have
all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (And the word
"all," we are dogmatically informed by our opponents, must mean every human
being.) In Ezekiel 33:11 we read, "As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way
and live"; and in II Peter 3:9 we read that God is "not wishing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The King James Version
reads, "Not willing that any should perish..."
These verses simply teach that God is benevolent, and that He does not delight
in the sufferings of His creatures any more than a human father delights in
the punishment which he must sometimes inflict upon his son. God does not
decretively will the salvation of all men, no matter how much He may desire
it; and if any verses taught that He decretively willed or intended the
salvation of all men, they would contradict those other parts of the Scripture
which teach that God sovereignly rules and that it is His purpose to leave
some to be punished.
The word "will" is used in different senses
in Scripture and in our every day conversation. It is sometimes used in the
sense of "decree," or "purpose," and sometimes in the sense of "desire," or
"wish." A righteous judge does not will (desire) that anyone should be hanged
or sentenced to prison, yet at the same time he wills (pronounced sentence, or
decrees) that the guilty person shall be thus punished. In the same sense and
foe sufficient reasons a man may will or decide to have a limb removed, or an
eye taken out, even though he certainly does not desire it. The Greek words
thelo and boulomai, which are sometimes translated "will," are also wsed in
the sense of "desire," or "wish;" e. g., Jesus said to the mother of James and
John, "What wouldest thou?" Matt. 20:21; of the scribes it was said they
"desire to walk in long robes," Luke 20:46; certain of the Scribes and
Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, we would see a sign from thee," Matt.
12:38; Paul said, "I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I
might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue," I Cor.
14:19.
In like manner the word "all" is unmistakably used in different senses in
Scripture. In some cases it certainly does not mean every individual; e. g.,
of John the Baptist it was said, "And there went out unto him all the country
of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins," Mark 1:5. After Peter and John had
healed the lame man at the door of the temple, we read that "all men glorified
God for that which was done," Acts 4:21. Jesus told his disciples that they
would be "hated of all men" for His name's sake, Luke 21:17. Paul was accused
of "teaching all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this
place" (the temple), Acts 21:28. When Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto myself," John 12:32, He plainly meant
not every individual of mankind, for history shows that not every individual
has been drawn to Him. He certainly does not draw the many millions of
heathens who die in utter ignorance of the true God. What He meant was, that a
large multitude from all nations and classes would be saved; and this is what
we see coming to pass. In Heb. 2:9, we read that Jesus tasted death "for every
man." The original Greek, however, does not use the word "man" here at all,
but simply says, "for every." So in principle, if the meaning is not to be
limited to those who are actually saved, why limit it to men? Why not include
the fallen angels, even the Devil himself, and the irrational animals?
I Cor. 15:22 is probably the one verse most
often quoted by Arminians to refute Calvinism. There we read, "For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." The verse is, however,
entirely irrelevant. This is from Paul's famous resurrection chapter, and the
context makes it plain that he is not talking about life in this age, whether
physical or spiritual, but about the resurrection life. Verses 20 and 21 read:
"But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that
are asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the ressurrection of
the dead." Then follows verse 22, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive"; and that he refers not to a regeneration or a making
alive in this present world but to the new life which is given in the
resurrection is made clear by what follows immediately in verses 23 and 24:
"But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are
Christ's, at His coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the
kingdom to God, even the Father," etc. Christ is the first to enter into the
resurrection life, then, when He comes, His people also enter into their
resurrection life. Then comes the end, that is, the end of the world, and the
introduction of heaven in its fullness; and what Paul says is that at that
time a glorious resurrection life will become a reality for all of those who
are in Christ. This is possible because Christ is their federal head and
representative. Through His power all of His people shall be raised to newness
of life with Him. And this point is illustrated by the well understood fact
that the race fell in Adam, who acted as the federal head and representative
of the entire race. What Paul says in effect is this: "For as all born in Adam
die, so also all born in Christ shall be made alive." Verse 22, then, refers
not to something past, nor to something present, but to something future ; and
it has no bearing whatever on the Arminian-Calvinistic controversy.
It was not the whole of mankind which was
equally loved of God and promiscuously redeemed by Christ. John's hymn of
praise, "Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins bv His blood;
and He made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father," Rev.
1:5, evidently proceeds on the hypothesis of a definite election and a limited
atonement since God's love was the cause and the blood of Christ the
efficacious means of their redemption. The declaration that Christ died for
"all" is made clearer by the song which the redeemed now sing before the
throne of the Lamb: "Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy
blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation," Rev. 5:9. The
word all must be understood to mean all the elect, all His Church, all those
whom the Father has given to the Son, etc., not all men universally and every
man individually. The redeemed host will be made up of men from all classes
and conditions of life, of princes and peasants, of rich and poor, of bond and
free, of male and female, of young and old, of Jews and Gentiles, men of all
nations, and races, from north to south, and from east to west.
2. THE GOSPEL IS FOR JEWS AND GENTILES ALIKE
In some instances the word "all" is used in order to teach that the gospel is
for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Through the many centuries of their
past history the Jews had, with few exceptions, been the exclusive recipients
of God's saving grace. They had greatly abused their privileges as the chosen
people. They supposed that this same distinction would be kept up in the
Messianic era, and they were always inclined to appropriate the Messiah
exclusively to themselves. So rigid was the Pharisaic exclusivism that the
Gentiles were called strangers, dogs, common, unclean; and it was not lawful
for a Jew to keep company with or have any dealings with a Gentile (John 4:9;
Acts 10:28; 11.3). The salvation of the Gentiles was a mystery which had not
been made known in other ages (Eph. 3:4-6; Col. 1:27). It was for that reason
that Peter was taken to task: by the Church at Jerusalem after he had preached
the Gospel to Cornelius, and we can almost hear the gasp of wonder in the
exclamation of the leaders when after Peter's defense they said, "Then to the
Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life," Acts 11:18. To
understand what a revolutionary idea this was, read Acts 10:1-11:18.
Consequently this was a truth which it was then peculiarly necessary to
enforce, and it was brought out in the fullest and strongest terms. Paul was
to be a witness "unto all men," that is, to Jews and Gentiles alike, of what
he had seen and heard, Acts 22:15. As used in this sense the word "all" has no
reference to individuals, but means mankind in general.
3. THE TERM "WORLD" IS USED IN VARIOUS
SENSES
When it is said that Christ died "not for our sins only but for the sins of
the whole world," I John 2:2, or that He came to "save the world," John 12:47,
the meaning is that not merely Jews but Gentiles also are included in His
saving work; the world as a world or the race as a race is to be redeemed.
When John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world!" he was not giving a theological discourse to saints, but
preaching to sinners; and the unnatural thing then would have been for him to
have discussed Limited Atonement or any other doctrine which could have been
understood only by saints. We are told that John the Baptist "came for a
witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe
through him," John 1:7. But to say that John's ministry afforded an
opportunity for every human being to have faith in Christ would be
unreasonable. John never preached to the Gentiles. His mission was to make
Christ "manifest to Israel," John 1:31; and in the nature of the case only a
limited number of the Jews could be brought to hear him.
Sometimes the term "world" is used when only
a large part of the world is meant, as when it is said that the Devil is "the
deceiver of the whole world," or that "the whole earth" wonders after the
beast, Rev. 13:3. If in I John 5:19, "We know that we are of God, and the
whole world lieth in the evil one," the author meant every individual of
mankind, then he and those to whom he wrote were also in the evil one, and he
contradicted himself in saying that they were of God. Sometimes this term
means only a relalively small part of the world, as when Paul wrote to the new
Christian Church at Rome that their faith was "proclaimed throughout the whole
world," Rom. 1:8. None but believers would praise those Romans for their faith
in Christ, and in fact the world at large did not even know that such a Church
existed at Rome. Hence Paul meant only the believing world or the Christian
Church, which was a comparatively insignificant part of the real world.
Shortly before Jesus was born, "There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be enrolled,"..."and all went to enroll themselves,"
Luke 2:1, 3; yet we know that the writer had in mind only that comparatively
small part of the world which was controlled by Rome. When it was said that on
the day of Pentecost, "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from
every nation under heaven," Acts 2:5, only those nations which were
immediately known to the Jews were intended, for verses 9-11 list those which
were represented. Paul says that the Gospel was "preached in all creation
under heaven." Col. 1:23. The goddess Diana of the Ephesians was said to have
been worshipped by "all Asia and the world," Acts 19:27. We are told that the
famine which came over Egypt in Joseph's time extended to "all the earth," and
that "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain," Gen, 41:57.
In ordinary conversation we often speak of
the business world, the educational world, the political world, etc., but we
do not mean that every person in the world is a business man, or educated, or
a politician. When we say that a certain automobile manufacturer sells
automobiles to everybody, we do not mean that he actually sells to every
individual, but that he sells to every one who is willing to pay his price. We
may say of one lone teacher of literature in a city that he teaches everybody,
— not that everybody studies under him, but that all of those who study at all
study under him. The Bible is written in the plain language of the people and
must be understood in that way.
Verses like John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have
eternal life," give abundant proof that the redemption which the Jews thought
to monopolize is universal as to space. God so loved the world, not a little
portion of it, but the world as a whole, that He gave His only begotten Son
for its redemption. Andnot only the extensity, but the intensity of God's love
is made plain by the little adverb "so," — God so loved the world, in spite
of its wickedness, that He gave His only begotten Son to die for it. But where
is the oft-boasted proof of its universality as to individuals? This verse is
sometimes pressed to such an extreme that God is represented as too loving to
punish anybody, and so full of mercy that He will not deal with men according
to any rigid standard of justice regardless of their deserts. The attentive
reader, by comparing this verse with other Scripture, will see that some
restriction is to be placed on the word "world." One writer has asked, "Did
God love Pharaoh? (Rom. 9:17). Did He love the Amalekites? (Ex. 17:14). Did He
love the Canaanites, whom He commanded to be exterminated without mercy?
(Deut. 20:16). Did He love the Ammonites and Moabites whom He commanded not to
be received into the congregation forever? (Deut. 23:3). Does He love the
workers of iniquity? (Ps. 5:5). Does He love the vessels of wrath fitted for
destruction, which He endures with much long-suffering? (Rom. 9:22). Did He
love Esau? (Rom. 9:13)."
4. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Nor does the prophetic invitation, "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," Is. 55:1, and other
references to the same effect, contradict this view; for the majority of
mankind are not thirsty but dead, dead in sin, hopeless and willing servants
of Satan, and in no state to hunger and thirst after righteousness. The
gracious invitation to come to Christ is rejected, not because there is
anything outside their own person which prevents their coming, but because
until they are graciously given a new birth through the agency of the Holy
Spirit they have neither the will nor the desire to accept. It is God who
gives this will and excites this desire in those who are predestined to life,
Rom. 11:7, 8; 9:18. He that will, may come; but a person who is completely
immersed in heathenism, for instance, has no chance to hear the Gospel offer
and so cannot possibly come. "Faith cometh by hearing;" and where there is no
faith there can be no salvation. Neither can that person come who has heard
the Gospel but who is still governed by principles and desires which cause him
to hate it. He is a bondservant to sin and acts accordingly. He that will may
escape from a burning building while the stairway is safe; hut he that is
asleep, or he that does not think the fire serious enough to flee from, hasn't
the will, and perishes in the flames. Says Clark, "Arminians are fond of
quoting: 'whosoever will let him come,' or 'Whosoever believeth,' implying
that belief and decision are wholly the acts of man, and that this is an
offset to sovereign election. True as these statements are they do not touch
the point at issue. Miles deeper down than this lies the vital point; viz.,
how does a man become willing? If a man is willing he can certainly choose;
but the sinful nature averse to God must be made willing, by God's word, by
God's grace, by God's Spirit, or by sovereign intervention." Strictly
speaking, these are not divine offers indiscriminately made to all mankind,
but are addressed to a chosen people and are incidentally heard by others.
If the words of I Tim. 2:4, that God "would
have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth," be taken in
the Arminian sense it follows either that God is disappointed in His wishes,
or that all men without exception are saved. Furthermore, the doctrine which
imputes disappointment to Deity contradicts that class of Scripture passages
which teach the sovereignty of God. His will in this respect has been the same
through the centuries. And if He had willed that the Gentiles should be saved,
why was it that He confined the knowledge of the way of salvation to the
narrow limits of Judea? Surely no one will deny that He might as easily have
made known His Gospel to the Gentiles as to the Jews. Where He has not
provided the means we may be sure that He has not designed the ends. The reply
of Augustine to those who advanced this objection in his day is worth quoting:
"when our Lord complains that though he wished to gather the children of
Jerusalem as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,but she would not,
are we to consider that the will of God was overpowered by a number of weak
men, so that He who was Almighty God could not do what He wished or willed to
do? If so, what is to become of that omnipotence by which He did whatsoever
pleased Him in Heaven and in? Moreover, who will be found so unreasonable as
to say that God cannot convert the evil wills of men, which He pleases, when
He pleases, and as He pleases, to good? Now, when He does this, He does it in
mercy; and when He doeth it not, in judgment He doeth it not." Verses such as
I Tim. 2:4 it seems are best understood not to refer to men individually but
as teaching the general truth that God is benevolent and that He does not
delight in the sufferings and death of His creatures. It may be further
remarked that if the universalistic passages are taken in an evangelical sense
and applied as widely as the Arminians wish to apply them, they will prove
universal salvation, — a result which is contradicted by Scripture, and which
in fact is not held by Arminians themselves.
As was stated in the chapter on Limited
Atonement there is a sense in which Christ did die for mankind in general. No
distinction is made as to age or country, character or condition. The race
fell in Adam and the race taken in the collective sense is redeemed in Christ.
The work of Christ arrested the immediate execution of the penalty of sin as
it related to the whole race. His work also brings many temporal and physical
blessings to mankind in general, and lays the foundation for the offer of the
Gospel to all who hear it. These are admitted to be the results of His work
and to apply to all mankind. Yet this does not mean that He died equally and
with the same design for all.
It is true that some verses taken in
themselves do seem to imply the Arminian position. This, however, would reduce
the Bible to a mass of contradictions; for there are other verses which teach
Predestination, Inability, Election, Perseverance, etc., and which cannot by
any legitimate means be interpreted in harmony with Arminianism. Hence in
these cases the meaning of the sacred writer can be determined only by the
analogy of Scripture. Since the Bible is the word of God it is
self-consistent. Consequently if we find a passage which in itself is capable
of two interpretations, one of which harmonizes with the rest of the
Scriptures while the other does not, we are duty bound to accept the former.
It is a recognized principle of interpretation that the more obscure passages
are to be interpreted in the light of clearer passages, and not vice versa. We
have shown that the evidence which is brought forward in defense of
Arminianism, and which at first sight appears to possess considerable
plausibility, can legitimately be given an interpretation which harmonizes
with Calvinism. In view of the many Calvinistic passages, and the absence of
any genuine Arminian passages, we unhesitatingly assert that the Calvinistic
system is the true system.
This is the true universalism of the
Scriptures — the universal Christianization of the world and the complete
defeat of the forces of spiritual wickedness. 'This, of course, does not mean
that every individual will be saved, for many are unquestionably lost. Just as
in the salvation of the individual much possible service to Christ is lost and
many sins are committed through the period of incomplete salvation, so it is
in the salvation of the world. A considerable number are lost; yet the process
of salvation is to end in a great triumph, and our eyes are yet to behold "the
glorious spectacle of a saved world." The words of Dr. Warfield are very
appropriate here: "The human race attains the goal for which it was created,
and sin does not snatch it out of God's hands; the primal purpose of God with
it is fulfilled; and through Christ, the race of man, though fallen into sin,
is recovered to God and fulfills its original destiny."
So while Arminianism offers us a spurious
universalism, which is at best a universalism of opportunity, Calvinism offers
us the true universalism in the salvation of the race. And only the Calvinist,
with his emphasis on the doctrines of sovereign Election and Efficacious
Grace, can look to the future confidently expecting to see a redeemed world.
