The Atonement: Did Jesus Die for Everyone?

Every Christian tradition needs to have an answer to the question: 

"How does the death of Jesus bring about my salvation?"

In a previous post I began looking at a theory of the atonement known as "Penal Substitution".  This is the majority view in the non-Catholic / Protestant world.  And some Catholics, being unaware of their own tradition's understanding of the atonement, will default to this one.

They really shouldn't. 

There are different ways of looking at the atonement, and many compliment each other.  But Penal Substitution cannot be part of that ensemble.

Today we're going to further explain why, by looking at one of the implications of the theory:  The Limited Atonement.

A Short Review:

Let's first review what we mean by "Penal Substitution".  It works like this:

1: God is obliged by His own justice to punish sin.  And if nothing were to intervene, this would result in the damnation of every human being.

2: However, God – in His mercy – desires to save a certain subset of humanity.  These people, who are destined for heaven, are called “the elect”.

3: Jesus, the son of God, took upon Himself the guilt of the elect, suchwise that God regarded Jesus as guilty of their sins.

4: Jesus was then reprobated by God and takes the divine punishment in their place.

5: The wrath of God having been satisfied in the punishing of His son, the elect can escape the punishment due to them.

Alrighty, onto the implications...


The Double Jeopardy Problem:

Now, up above I mentioned the theory says Jesus suffered on behalf of "the elect" - or those who will eventually go to Heaven.  Why is that?

It's a problem called "Double Jeopardy".  This is a legal term referring to a court trying a defendant twice for the same crime after being acquitted on the first attempt.  This applies to Penal Substitution when you think about the fate of people being punished for their sins in Hell.

The question is:

If Jesus already absorbed the punishment for their sins... why are they being punished for their sins in hell?

The problem is best stated by this one Baptist blog I found (yeah, I Googled it):

"If Jesus’ sacrifice was truly penal and substitutionary, and if Jesus died for every single human being, then by necessity every single human being will be saved (i.e. universalism).  

To deny this is not only to be inconsistent, but to bring into question the justice of God.  Why?  If God already punished Christ for everyone’s sins, then everyone must be pardoned/forgiven of those sins.  For God to send to hell people for whom Christ died is an affront on God’s justice.

Further, it places a disconnection between the work of Christ and the work of the Spirit.  After all, the Spirit applies the redeeming work of Christ.  So, if Christ died for all, and yet not all are saved, then there must be something lacking in the Spirit’s application of Christ’s work.

[]The only acceptable position here is limited or particular atonement; for limited atonement teaches that all those for whom Christ died will inevitably come to saving faith."

So the only logical solution is that Jesus only died for certain people.  Which means there are people whom Jesus doesn't want to be in Heaven.  There are people whom He doesn't love.

That's the logical implication of Penal Substitution.  And this is really important because this doctrine paints a very different picture of the God whom we worship.


The Bible Issue:

The problem with that philosophy becomes apparent as soon as one examines the text of the New Testament.  You'll start to see - especially in the letters - statements which make it clear that Jesus died for all human beings.

For instance, in 1st Timothy, Paul says God desires the salvation of all people:

“First of all, then, I ask that [prayers] be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in high places. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Tim 2:1-4

We also see statements from Paul and John which insist Jesus died for all and is the savior of all.  In fact, they include little qualifications in their statements which specifically point to Jesus dying for unbelievers:

“We have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.” – 1Tim 4:10

“[Jesus was] for a little while was made lower than the angels, that by the grace of God he might taste death for every man.” – Hebrews 2:9

“Jesus is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for those of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:2 

Most notably, Saint Peter specifically points to a group of people (false teachers) whom he insists are hell-bound ... and insists that Jesus ransomed them:

“There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.” – 2 Peter 2:1

Following this data, the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus died for everyone... and not just those who are bound for Heaven:

"The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: 'There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer.'" - CCC 605

And therefore any philosophy which would lead one to conclude Jesus DIDN'T die for everyone... must be false.

Which means a Catholic cannot go along with Penal Substitution.