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Atonement and Love

Romans 9:13

You cannot separate the sin-atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ from the love of God. The atonement of Christ is the revelation of the love of God (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10). The atonement reaches as far as the extent of God’s love, that far and no further. So, if the atonement is universal, the love of God is universal. If the atonement is limited to specific, chosen sinners, the love of God is limited to specific, chosen sinners. The two cannot be separated.

Religious charlatans, being ignorant of the Scriptures, go around telling everyone they meet, “God loves you.” You read bumper stickers, billboards, and church signs everywhere that say, “Smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Preachers tell sinners, “God loves you so much that he gave his Son to die for you. Won’t you let him save you?”

What does the Book of God say about his love? If God loves everybody and has a wonderful plan for their lives, he has a very strange way of showing it. Ask those who perished in Noah’s day. There was no room in the ark for anyone except those who entered the ark. There was plenty of room for those eight souls, but no room for anyone else. It was fire that God rained from heaven upon the inhabitants of Sodom, not love.

God tells us plainly that his love is limited to his elect alone (Psalm 5:5; Romans 9:13). No, God does not love everyone. He hates the wicked. And the redemption of the Son is limited to those God elected in love and predestinated to salvation in love before the world began (Ephesians 1:3-7). “But are not all wicked?” you may ask. — Not God’s elect, not in Christ! In Christ, God’s elect are redeemed, justified, righteous, sanctified, holy, glorified, and saved from eternity (Romans 8:29-30; 2 Timothy 1:9). As such, they are accepted, beloved, and blessed of God in Christ with all spiritual blessings from eternity (Ephesians 1:3-7).

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s