Limited atonement

Limited atonement is a Christian teaching particularly associated with Calvinism (indeed, it is one of the so-called "five points of Calvinism") and is also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement". The doctrine says that Jesus Christ's work on the cross actually takes away the penalty of sins committed by those whom God has chosen (predestinated) to receive mercy. The atonement is thus "limited" in that it effects salvation for the elect only. The doctrine is contrasted with that of universal atonement, which is advocated by Arminian, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic theologians (among others) and which says Christ's work makes redemption possible for all but definite for none.

Some Christians identify themselves as "four point Calvinists," usually dropping this point because they believe it contradicts certain passages in the Bible or because they feel it limits the sincerity of the evangelist's message, i.e. "the free offer of the Gospel."

External links

  • The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (http://www.graciouscall.org/books/owen/death/toc.html) by John Owen (ISBN 0851513824) with a famous introduction (http://www.graciouscall.org/books/owen/death/preface.html) by J. I. Packer, who says, "It is safe to say that no comparable exposition of the work of redemption as planned and executed by the Triune Jehovah has ever been done since Owen published his. None has been needed....[N]obody has a right to dismiss the doctrine of the limitedness, or particularity, of atonement as a monstrosity of Calvinistic logic until he has refuted Owen's proof that it is part of the uniform biblical presentation of redemption, clearly taught in plain text after plain text. And nobody has done that yet."
  • Articles on Definite Atonement (http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/definiteatonement.html) at Monergism.com
  • "Limited Atonement" (http://www.thirdmill.org/magth_main.asp?section=mag&subnav=th#mclaughlin), a series of articles by Ra McLaughlin


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