EVERYONE
By Rick Mathes
Acts 10:13 (NASB77) 13 And a voice came to him, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat!”
Limited atonement simply means that those who don’t call upon the name of the Lord won’t be saved. The only unforgiveable sin is unbelief but those who do submit to His lordship will enjoy eternal life in glory. The saved include but are not limited to the helpless, the captives, the despairing and of course all of the lost. He throws out a wide net but very few are swept up in the catch for three main reasons.
Guilt: Uninformed sinners, those that don’t understand His unconditional forgiveness, feel their guilt so deeply that they have convinced themselves that nothing would be atonement enough to cover the shame of their sins.
Sin: Most don’t have an objective yardstick of what sin is. To them, everything is relative and they rationalize that when they have done more good than bad so it will go favorably when they meet God.
Misery: These poor souls have hit the mother of bottoms and have no hope or even any desire left to get up and continue. They are so beaten down by the wages of sin they just shrivel up and die.
There aren’t any qualifications a sinner needs to meet to be saved except the choice of Christ. He chooses who He wants regardless of their nationality, sex, rank, culture, character or sins. The sinner has nothing to do with his salvation. It is entirely the Lord’s choice for His purposes that He doesn’t have to disclose in advance.
What is the message we need to be attentive to?
- Faith in Jesus
- Confession of sins
- Forsaking sin
- Discipleship
- Baptism
- Witnessing
The Holy Spirit facilitates all of these requisites in a supernatural way that will leave the penitent sinner in wonder and trembling in the blessing of election.
Rick Mathes 