"it is Finished" Can Arminians understand what it means?
A friend of mine, who happens to be an Arminian, recently asked me for some material regarding the meanings of the words of Christ from the Cross, "tetelestai" (It is finished). Now, I found this rather odd being that an Arminian and a Calvinist have mutually exclusive views of the atonement of Christ. One understands it as Particular and completed, while the other understands it as general and incomplete (insufficient in and of itself for salvation). The following is my complete correspondence to him regarding the usage of my material. In essence, I am going to ask him to not use my material as long as he is an Arminian since he CANNOT understand what Jesus meant by "it is finished" and still believe in a hypothetical universal atonement. (Names have been edited to protect the innocent)
ok, Friend....here is the outline to my study on the Atonement of Christ and the significance of the word from the Cross, "tetelestai". Part I deals with what the Bible says was the Intention of the coming of Christ and his work on the Cross. Most of the words are from Jesus himself as he frequently alluded to the intended outcome and purpose of his coming. To be brief, Matt. 1:21 states plainly, that Christ came "to save His people". There is no getting around the intentional language that Christ came with a specific purpose that was given to him by the Father and that was "to save"...that is, to ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE. The grammar and syntax of the text (esp. in the Greek) does not allow for the possibility of Jesus being understood as saying, "I came to make salvation possible for all who would be my people". Rather, a definite purpose is defined (to save) for a definite category (His People).
Part II deals with what the Scripture say that the atonement of Christ actually accomplished. I note three things that are described in the Greek as past tense, completed actions (aorist tense). The first is Redemption. The understanding is that all that was intended to be redeemed was actually redeemed through the atonement. Second, is reconciliation. The understanding is that the enmity that existed between God and His People because of their sins has been put aside and ACTUAL reconciliation on the part of God has taken place. This reconciliation is possible because of the third thing, propitiation. Christ was the propitiation that was offered to the Father on behalf of sinners.
Thus, in wrapping up the meaning of "tetelestai" Jesus was proclaiming the accomplishment and finality of redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation all done on behalf of sinners. "It is finished" means that the work of Christ is completed. There is no adding to it. Neither is there subtracting from it. To quote from SCripture, Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Christ Jesus (hebrews 7:25). Thus, no one is able to snatch them out of my hands, says Christ (John 10:28) because it was the purpose of the Father and Christ to ACTUALLY ETERNALLY REDEEM (cf. Hebrews 5:9; 9:12) and no one for whom Christ died, can be eternally lost but they MUST - to use the emphatic terms that Spurgeon did in his sermon on Limited atonement - be saved and cannot run the risk of not being saved. They are redeemed. It is finished.
Now, having said that, I must admit that I am a bit hesitant to give you my material because I don't believe that you - as an Arminian - are warranted in proclaiming these great truths of SCripture. Indeed you cannot if you are consistent with your Arminianism. For instance, you believe that Christ died for every single individual that has lived, is living and ever will live till Christ returns and they have the option of "accepting" or "rejecting" the atonement of Christ. If they do, then they are redeemed; if they don't and persist in unbelief, then they are damned. This atonement is a hypothetical universal atonement. Now, there is no avoiding that it is hypothetitcal since you must, as an Arminian, say no one can be saved if they don't accept Christ by their own faith, and secondly, because all men are potentially redeemed upon the basis of their faith. Also, it is a general atonement in the sense that Christ really didn't come for "His People"....in fact, Arminian theology must acknowledge that Christ came for no one in particular but merely to have a basis in the atonement to make salvation possible for all who will trust in Him. This is the universal aspect of the Arminian rendering of the atonement.
Friend, I want you to reconsider using my information if you are not going to present it with the clear teachings of Scripture that are laid out in this outline, and with the entire study that I have done to prove FROM SCRIPTURE that CHRIST ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED SALVATION (REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION, PROPITIATION, JUSTIFICATION [Romans 3:25], SANCTIFICATION [I Cor. 1:30]) FOR HIS ELECT PEOPLE. I know that you cannot say that you believe the above statement and mean it.
Personally, I think that you either need to abandon your current theology (repent) OR you need to find a way to find out what Christ meant by "it is finished" with your view of the atonement. You even have to take into account this question: "how is Christ atonement "finished" (perfect?) , if it is possible for a sinner to undo the work of the atonement and lose their salvation (lose redemption, reconciliation, propitiation)?" This you can only do apart from my work and through your own personal study. In any regards, here is the outline. I hope that God through His Holy Spirit will use it for His fullest glory
ok, Friend....here is the outline to my study on the Atonement of Christ and the significance of the word from the Cross, "tetelestai". Part I deals with what the Bible says was the Intention of the coming of Christ and his work on the Cross. Most of the words are from Jesus himself as he frequently alluded to the intended outcome and purpose of his coming. To be brief, Matt. 1:21 states plainly, that Christ came "to save His people". There is no getting around the intentional language that Christ came with a specific purpose that was given to him by the Father and that was "to save"...that is, to ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE. The grammar and syntax of the text (esp. in the Greek) does not allow for the possibility of Jesus being understood as saying, "I came to make salvation possible for all who would be my people". Rather, a definite purpose is defined (to save) for a definite category (His People).
Part II deals with what the Scripture say that the atonement of Christ actually accomplished. I note three things that are described in the Greek as past tense, completed actions (aorist tense). The first is Redemption. The understanding is that all that was intended to be redeemed was actually redeemed through the atonement. Second, is reconciliation. The understanding is that the enmity that existed between God and His People because of their sins has been put aside and ACTUAL reconciliation on the part of God has taken place. This reconciliation is possible because of the third thing, propitiation. Christ was the propitiation that was offered to the Father on behalf of sinners.
Thus, in wrapping up the meaning of "tetelestai" Jesus was proclaiming the accomplishment and finality of redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation all done on behalf of sinners. "It is finished" means that the work of Christ is completed. There is no adding to it. Neither is there subtracting from it. To quote from SCripture, Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Christ Jesus (hebrews 7:25). Thus, no one is able to snatch them out of my hands, says Christ (John 10:28) because it was the purpose of the Father and Christ to ACTUALLY ETERNALLY REDEEM (cf. Hebrews 5:9; 9:12) and no one for whom Christ died, can be eternally lost but they MUST - to use the emphatic terms that Spurgeon did in his sermon on Limited atonement - be saved and cannot run the risk of not being saved. They are redeemed. It is finished.
Now, having said that, I must admit that I am a bit hesitant to give you my material because I don't believe that you - as an Arminian - are warranted in proclaiming these great truths of SCripture. Indeed you cannot if you are consistent with your Arminianism. For instance, you believe that Christ died for every single individual that has lived, is living and ever will live till Christ returns and they have the option of "accepting" or "rejecting" the atonement of Christ. If they do, then they are redeemed; if they don't and persist in unbelief, then they are damned. This atonement is a hypothetical universal atonement. Now, there is no avoiding that it is hypothetitcal since you must, as an Arminian, say no one can be saved if they don't accept Christ by their own faith, and secondly, because all men are potentially redeemed upon the basis of their faith. Also, it is a general atonement in the sense that Christ really didn't come for "His People"....in fact, Arminian theology must acknowledge that Christ came for no one in particular but merely to have a basis in the atonement to make salvation possible for all who will trust in Him. This is the universal aspect of the Arminian rendering of the atonement.
Friend, I want you to reconsider using my information if you are not going to present it with the clear teachings of Scripture that are laid out in this outline, and with the entire study that I have done to prove FROM SCRIPTURE that CHRIST ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED SALVATION (REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION, PROPITIATION, JUSTIFICATION [Romans 3:25], SANCTIFICATION [I Cor. 1:30]) FOR HIS ELECT PEOPLE. I know that you cannot say that you believe the above statement and mean it.
Personally, I think that you either need to abandon your current theology (repent) OR you need to find a way to find out what Christ meant by "it is finished" with your view of the atonement. You even have to take into account this question: "how is Christ atonement "finished" (perfect?) , if it is possible for a sinner to undo the work of the atonement and lose their salvation (lose redemption, reconciliation, propitiation)?" This you can only do apart from my work and through your own personal study. In any regards, here is the outline. I hope that God through His Holy Spirit will use it for His fullest glory
posted by prchdaword at 6:46 PM
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