I Need More Gospel (11): Building the Structure of the Gospel February 15, 2009

I Need More Gospel! (Sermon 11)

Building the Structure of the Gospel
The Four Corners: Limitation (cont.)

Selected Scriptures

Church in the Boro

Sunday Morning
February 15, 2009
Rob Wilkerson

“Christ died for our sins…”

Summary:

There’s this universality to the reconciling work of God. It doesn’t mean that every person will be reconciled to
him through the death of Jesus. We already saw that wasn’t true. But it does mean that everything, material
and rational, will be united and reconciled to God. The death of Jesus enacted not only the redemption of God’s
elect, but also the redemption of planet earth. That work of bringing all things under the authority and rule of
King Jesus is said to be a reconciling work, a redeeming work. And my point to you here this morning is that this
particular reconciling work of God toward the universe extends many, many benefits to the lost. This plan of
God to reconcile a certain number of sinners to himself also includes a plan to reconcile all things in heaven and
earth, or the universe as a whole. Therefore, what was a plan to reconcile the church ends up being a plan to
reconcile the universe which causes benefits of saving grace to spill over to those who will never be saved. In
other words this reconciling work of God extends toward the church and out to the whole universe. That’s the
key you can’t miss here. The church is the extension of God’s reconciling arm to the universe. Be the Church!

Introduction

It was my every intention to head into our last corner of the gospel this week, honestly. But something similar
to what happened three weeks ago happened again this week. You’ll remember that our first corner of the
gospel was propitiation, and we dealt with that doctrine. But there was a specific application of that doctrine
that needed to be dealt with. And that was because it was inseparably connected with the doctrine itself, which
therefore makes it inseparable from the message of the gospel. So I figured that if we were all about building a
structure of the gospel in this series, I ought to leave no part of that structure out of our view.

I’m reminded again, as I’ve often reminded you before, no doubt, that this is the responsibility of the pastor,
according to Paul, in Acts 20. Twice he told the Ephesian elders that he had not shrunk back from declaring

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anything to them that was profitable or that was a part of the whole counsel of God. And I can do no different.
Time is not of the essence here. For in the same way that a builder pays meticulous attention to detail in his
building plans, because he wants the structure to be sound and solid and stable, so also the pastor pays
meticulous attention to theological details about the gospel on which a sound, solid, and stable life are built.
That’s my effort this morning, then. So while part of me wants to apologize for taking a week longer on our
series, the other part of me…that pastor part of me…tells the other part to shut up and get to work!

For those who are visiting, pardon that part of our introduction. I came on as the pastor of this church plant last
year, and the very first and most important thing a pastor should do for a new church is to teach them what the
gospel is. That, and that alone, is the foundation on which all biblical churches are built. And so we started a
series a while back called, “I Need More Gospel.” The motif was simple. People know there’s something missing
in their lives, but many Christians and churches and pastors don’t tell people why. They talk about the gospel as
if it were simply a “get out of hell free card” like something you’d get from the luck of the draw in a spiritual
monopoly game. Christians are busy throughout their lives building their own little kingdoms, buying and selling
and flipping and negotiating and trading and on and on, primarily motivated out of that three letter word called
“sin.”

Sin is woven into a person’s soul as deeply as are the muscles, bones and veins in a person’s physical body, if not
more so. It controls every decision we make, every thought we think, everything we say, every action we
perform. But for the Christian, they’ve been set free from this kind of life that leads to utter misery here on
earth, and eternal punishment in hell after a person is dead. The problem we have is that too much of
Christianity here in America is all about allowing people to call themselves Christians and yet continue pursuing
the same things they were before they ever met Christ. And my question as a biblical Christian, and as a pastor,
and our question as a church is, how in the world can that happen?! How can you ever possibly be the same
after meeting Jesus Christ? After conquering your sin and saving your soul from misery, and filling you with joy,
you don’t want the same things you loved and pursued before.

The work that accomplishes this change is what we call the gospel. Gospel is a biblical word for “good news,”
and the good news is that all the sin that controlled my life and made me a slave to its desires was conquered
and defeated through the death of Jesus on the cross. God’s was justifiably angry at me because of my
sinfulness, sinful decisions, sinful words, sinful thoughts, sinful habits, etc. And instead of waiting on me to
come to him and get my life right, he did it for me by sending his Son, Jesus to become God’s punishment for
me. That means that my sins are forgiven and no longer separate me from God. I was once his enemy, and he
took the initiative to make me his friend! He punished his Son Jesus so he wouldn’t have to punish me! All my
sin was put on Jesus’ account, so that God treated him as if he were the sinner. Then God turned around and
treated me as if I were Jesus! What an incredible deal! How can a person’s life be the same after that deal?!

Yet this is precisely the problem, I contend. Churches and pastors can not continue to teach that things can stay
the same. That’s not the gospel. The gospel says things must change. And they do in fact change. And
therefore, this series is entitled “I Need More Gospel” because we do need more of it! It is the air that a
Christian breathes. That news controls me now, including what I say, where I go, how I do what I do, how I
spend my money, what I buy, how I talk to my wife and treat my children, how I work, etc. It changes everything

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because it changes people. And to the extent that this air is not being breathed in a person’s soul is the extent
to which they struggle with sin, with disobedience, depression, guilt, marital problems, child raising problems,
job problems, etc. When the gospel is not filling your mind and your soul, something else is. And that something
is always sin. You will either be killing sin in your life by the power of the gospel’s work in you, or sin will be
killing you by virtue of the world’s influence in your soul.

Now, all of that was simply an introduction to what we’re talking about in this series, and hopefully a vigorous
exhortation at that. What we’ve been after last week and also today is this concept of the limitation of the
atonement. And what we said last week was that all of the work of the gospel I just talked about has a limited
focus and intent in its design. Simply put, it’s designed for those who believe in it. Yet, those who believe in it
will do so only by virtue of having their sins propitiated by Christ on the cross. And that can only happen if Jesus
Christ is their personal substitute, dying on the cross in their place, for the forgiveness of their sins.

And truly this is what every Christian believes, or else they cannot be a Christian at all, in the biblical definition of
the word. But what I pointed at last week was that God had a limited design for the death of Jesus on the cross,
and that design was to be the substitute only for believers and Christians, and not for unbelievers. That’s where
things get sticky for many Christians, and they want to part ways. We will not part fellowship, even though they
want to part ways. This is not an issue over which to divide, I don’t think. However, I will say that viewing the
design of the atonement by the Father as limited to a particular group of people is the most biblical and logical
view when we understand propitiation and substitution properly. It is only when we fail to fully embrace what
theologians call “penal substitution” that we also fail to see the design and objective of Christ’s death from way
back before God even created the world. What we concluded last week was that if Jesus Christ was truly the
punishment of God for our sins which satisfied God’s anger against our sins, and if Jesus Christ was that in our
place, then those for whom He died have their sins forgiven. Therefore, those who die with their sins not
forgiven are not among those for whom Christ died. In short, Jesus Christ died only for the church, His bride.
Or, put another way, if a person does not come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he dies in that state,
then it is clear that his sins are not forgiven, and that Jesus Christ did not die for that person. Conversely, when
Jesus Christ died in the place of a sinner, God forgave the sin of that sinner, and he will never be held
accountable for those sins. But if and when a sinner is held accountable for his sin in eternal punishment, it is
because Jesus Christ did not die in the place of that sinner, and God did not forgive the sin of that sinner.

Now, again, this is brutal and tough to accept. For scriptural proof on this, go back and either listen to last
week’s message at www.churchintheboro.com or get a copy of the sermon manuscript and read through it. Be
a Berean Christian on this matter and do what they did in Acts 17. They studied every day to see whether or not
what Paul was saying is true. And I want you to do the same to ensure I’m representing the Apostle Paul, the
prophet Isaiah, Jesus, and everyone else I’m quoting in these messages.

Now my purpose, as I explained at the end of the sermon last week, was not to cause division in the body of
Christ over this sort of thing. Rather, it is teach that there is a consistency among all these corners of the gospel
that makes them a cohesive unit. And every element and part and makeup of each of these corners is therefore
significant to you in your salvation and walk with King Jesus. The doctrine of propitiation, for example, is clearly
applied in places like Romans 8 and is the complete basis for being assured about the love of God for you and

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the inability of God to condemn you now based on the work of His Son in your place. The doctrine of
substitution is also clearly applied in places like Isaiah 53, where a human being is melted and humbled at the
love of God in sacrificing His only son in the place of his enemies. So also here, the doctrine of particular
redemption, or limited atonement as some call it, has the clear application of pointing us to the absolute
necessity of a holy, devout, blameless and separated life for the glory of God. Every doctrine has multiple facets,
each of which shine a reflection of the glorious love of God on the soul of the Christian. Miss a facet, and miss a
reflection of God’s glory. That’s what I’m trying to show us here.

With all that said, however, I would be doing an injustice to the doctrine of particular redemption if I didn’t go
back and do with this what I did with the doctrine of propitiation and add a follow up message to keep the
biblical balance in motion here. Too many Christians get locked into one side of the coin and rant and rave
about the one side of the coin they are most in love with, while totally forgetting that there’s another side to it.
And we all do it, don’t we? It’s so easy. Our emotions are so depraved, that our brains don’t operate the way
they should. Our broken emotions tell our brains to love one side and eliminate any arguments and truths that
cause us to see that there is another side to the coin. It’s almost like for many of us we stomp around, throw
our coin down, point to the side we love, then stand on top of it, refusing to allow anyone to come and flip it
over and show us there’s another side. And that’s just what I get the privilege of doing here this morning. If
you’re standing on your coin of limited atonement and you’re a “ranter and raver” then get ready to be pushed
off your coin and see the other side, cause it’s there big as you please. Don’t let your pride control what you
believe about anything in the Scriptures, and don’t let your pride control how you hold what you believe. What
you believe should be held in an attitude of humility, realizing that you are a human being, your brain doesn’t
work perfectly, your thinking isn’t God-like, and therefore you may be putting the pieces of your puzzle together
wrongly. Remember, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Now let’s move on to the
substance of what I’m after for us this morning.

What We Should All Agree On

There are things that all Christians should agree on when it comes to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and
how it relates to our sins. Regardless of whether you believe Jesus Christ died for every person in the entire
world throughout all history, or you believe Jesus Christ only died for believers, His church, we should all agree
that…

1. All men are not and will not be saved. Universalism is an unbiblical teaching, for it teaches that all
mankind will eventually be saved from eternal punishment in hell, regardless of what they have done or
whether or not they have disobeyed God and rejected Jesus Christ. All Christians agree that an
innumerable number of people will be saved and an innumerable number of people will not be saved in
the end.
2. The death of Christ is suitable and sufficient to save every man. Since the man Jesus Christ was God, His
death was infinite in its capabilities.
3. No man can be saved by any other means other than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. The gospel must be preached to all persons. And ever Christian should agree that the sad fact is that the
gospel is in fact not preached to all persons.
5. The Holy Spirit must work a work of faith in the unsaved.

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6. Ultimately only the elect will be saved, though they may disagree about how one becomes elect.
7. Whatever Christ did, whether for elect or non-elect, the ability of the unsaved to partake in what Christ
did is suspended until they comply with the conditions of repentance, faith, belief, conversion, etc. That
is, no person can be forgiven of their sins unless they put their faith in Christ.
8. No person is ever born forgiven for their sins or justified in the sight of God.
9. God provides salvation at least for the elect to the end that those elect will be saved.

I’ve never met a Christian who understood the simple gospel of Jesus Christ who didn’t also agree with all nine
of those presuppositions. These are orthodox fundamentals of our faith, regardless of your view of the
limitation or universality of the atonement. Now, assuming we all agree on these elements, there are really only
four possible views of extent of the death of Christ.

1. Christ died for all the sins of all men.

2. Christ died for all the sins of some men.
3. Christ died for some of the sins of all men.
4. Christ died for some of the sins of some men.

Now, it’s not my intention to deal with all four of these views here. I’ve written an article on that and made that
available to you. It’s entitled “In What Sense Can It Be Said That Jesus Died For The Whole World.” I write there
that the death of Jesus Christ offers a temporary propitiation for the sins of unbelievers. Let me try to explain
that concept here briefly, for some of the things I’m about to say here are not in that article.

I believe that the death of Jesus had a spill-over effect, if you will. It allowed God to continue holding back the
hand of just judgment against the world, and every sinner in it. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:10 that God’s plan
“for the fullness of time” is “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (ESV). I hope it’s
evident by the plain language Paul is using here that God is a God of reconciliation. Paul used the same
language in 2 Corinthians 5:19.

“…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against
them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

Now, what you plainly see in this passage is that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, this was an act of God
reconciling the world to himself. But clearly in this text, the word “world” is defined by the clause that follows:
“not counting their trespasses against them.” The pronouns “their” and “them” are modifying “world.” This is a
text that teaches this particular redemption view, or limited atonement.

But when we come to other texts like Ephesians 1:10 that I just quoted, the case is different. There’s this
reconciling God in action once more, but in this text he’s taking action toward “all things,” and then Paul defines
all things with the modifiers, “things in heaven” and then “things on earth.” That’s a reference to the whole
universe, people, trees, plants, rocks, cities, dirt, water, sky, buildings, grass, animals, fish, you name it! God is
interested in reconciling all of it to himself because he desires to reverse the effects of sin which started way

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back in the Garden of Eden. Now, I’m so excited about all of this that I want to stay on track, cause I can sense
myself about to get caught out on a rabbit trail. So let me stay on track.

Immediately there seems a disconnect for some of you, and that’s normal. If I just said last week and here again
this morning that God’s intent in the death of Jesus was to reconcile the church to himself, how can God also be
said to reconcile the universe to himself, when the universe clearly includes people for whom Christ did not die?
Good question. In fact, GREAT question. And here’s where we get down to the nitty-gritty of our theology on
the atonement of Jesus Christ. There are two ways in which God is working out his plan of reconciliation in the
universe.

Two Ways in Which God is Working out His Reconciling Plan in the Universe.

1. First, God is working out his plan of reconciling all things in heaven and on earth by redeeming planet
earth. In Romans 8:19-22, Paul explains,

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the
creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom
of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning
together in the pains of childbirth until now” (ESV).

Now, what you see in this verse with striking clarity is that sin has caused creation to experience nothing but
futility. This has happened ever since Garden of Eden. But Paul teaches here with equal clarity that there is this
expectation that the creation itself will be set free one day from its bondage and corruption and obtain the
freedom of the glory of the saints. Now this teaching is a part of what we call eschatology, which is the teaching
of end times. Perhaps you’ve heard of various churches around town and even where you grew up having “end
times” conferences and seminars and the like. Well, the doctrine of the restoration is a part of eschatology and
it comes from the Old Testament, though we’re not quite sure where, as weird as that sounds.

In Matthew 17, after Jesus went up to a mountain one day with Peter, James, and John he manifested himself to
them in a way they had never seen before. Verse 2 tells us that “he was transfigured before them, and his face
shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and
Elijah, talking with him.” After they came back down from the mountain, the disciples were asking him about
Elijah, for it had been prophesied in Malachi 4:5,6 that before the Messiah would come, the prophet Elijah
would also come and exercise a ministry of reconciliation among spiritual family. Jesus, however, expanded this
teaching Malachi and answered the disciples in verse 11 of Matthew 17, “Elijah does come, and he will restore
all things.” Immediately following, the disciples figured out that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist, using
Elijah in a figurative way. But my point here is that Jesus took from Malachi a prophecy about Elijah which was
referring to John the Baptist who was pointing to Jesus as the ultimate one who would bring about the restoring
of all things.

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Well, when we turn to Acts 1, just before Jesus ascends back to heaven, we see the disciples around him and
what do they ask him? In verse 6 they ask, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And Jesus
responded by telling them not to worry about it. “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has
fixed by his own authority.” So there’s definitely this sense that there’s a future work of restoration coming and
only the Father knows about it.

Then we turn to Acts 3 where Peter is preaching after healing the lame beggar. At the end of his sermon, in true
biblical form, Peter calls for repentance from his hearers.

“19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed
for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about
which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago” (ESV).

So there it is again. This idea of restoring all things. John Stott says of this text that the Greek word for
“restore” (apokotastasis) is “naturally understood of the eschatological ‘restoration’ which Jesus called a
‘regeneration’ when nature will be liberated from its bondage to pain and decay and God will make a new
heaven and earth. This final perfection awaits the return of Christ” (The Spirit, The Church, and the World, pp.
93-94).

Let me connect some dots here for you, so we don’t get lost. Paul said in Ephesians 1:10 that God is uniting and
reconciling all things to Himself in heaven and on earth. Part of that reconciling work is reconciling or restoring
or regenerating the earth, the planet, or nature itself one day when Jesus returns. And that work of reconciling
nature was initiated in time when Jesus died on the cross. So the death of Jesus on the cross necessarily
includes this reconciling work toward the universe, the earth, toward nature. That’s the first way God exercises
this reconciling work in the universe. But there’s a second way.

2. Second, God is working out his plan to reconcile all things to himself in heaven and on earth by coercing
sinners for whom Jesus did not die to submit to His authority. There are two texts I want you to see here.

First, turn with me to Colossians 1:19-20. Here’s what Paul wrote.

“19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to
himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (ESV).

All the fullness of God was inside Jesus Christ. And through that God-man Jesus God is reconciling all things to
himself, again whether they are on earth or in heaven as we saw in Ephesians 1. But notice something

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additional added here we don’t have in Ephesians. It’s that last phrase, “making peace by the blood of the
cross.”

Now, there are two kinds of peace going on here. I think Paul intends to show us the first and most obvious
peace that occurs when God and man are made friends again by the blood of the cross. Sinful man was an
enemy to God until the death of Jesus Christ made peace, by propitiating the just anger and wrath of God
against that sinner. That’s clear and we’ve talked about that a lot here at Church in the Boro.

But what we haven’t talked about before is the other peace that God is working out through the death of Jesus.
Here’s the way the study note in the ESV Study Bible puts it. This is so awesome!

“As the ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isa. 9:6), Jesus will ultimately quell all rebellion against God and his
purposes. For believers, this means present reconciliation to God as his friends. As for
nonbelievers and the demonic powers, Christ’s universal reign of peace will be enforced on
them, for their rebellion will be decisively defeated by Christ as conquering king (cf. 1 Cor.
15:24-28; Rev. 19:11-21; 20:7-10) so that they can no longer do any harm in the universe. The
basis for Christ’s reign of peace is the blood of his cross. The cross is truly the pivotal point in
human and cosmic history.”

This same teaching is repeated in another epistle of Paul. Here’s how it reads.

“8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11, ESV).

Pretty clear, wouldn’t you say? The death of Jesus Christ and his shed blood on the cross makes peace, whether
a sinner wants it or not. The death of Jesus has the effect of reconciling rebellious sinners to the authority of
God even against their will. So there are some God brings to himself by changing their will - taking out their
heart of stone and giving them a new heart of flesh – and there are others whom God brings to submission by
coercing or forcing them to acknowledge his authority and the authority of his Son Jesus.

The Means by Which God is Reconciling the Universe to Himself

Now, I’ve already pointed to the person by whom God is working out this reconciliation. It’s Jesus Christ. But
what I want to point out to you next is the other means by which God is working out this reconciliation of all
things in heaven and earth. Let’s turn back to Ephesians 1 to see this in action. The end of chapter 1 reads as
follows.

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“…20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and
above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put
all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all” (ESV).

This is the ending of a long prayer Paul is praying for the Ephesian saints, and really all saints who might read this
letter. Jesus has been put at the position of authority in the universe. He is set far above all other rulers and
authorities and powers and reigns. As a result of this place of authority, God put “all things,” and there it is
again – this concept of universal reach and focus – under the feet of Jesus. This is figurative language for making
everything come under the rulership and submission to King Jesus. But what I want you to notice specifically is
what comes next.

God put all things under the submission of King Jesus, and then turned around and gave King Jesus to be the
head of the church. The NLT translates verse 22 this way. “God has put all things under the authority of Christ
and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.” In short, the Father gave King Jesus to the
church, and then calls the church the body of Jesus, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Does that language
sound familiar? We just read it a minute ago in Colossians. It was in 1:19 where Paul wrote, “For in him all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” And then we come to Ephesians 1:22 where that same fullness that dwelt
in Jesus Christ is now made to dwell in the church.

What Paul is after here in this grand demonstration of wonderful theology is that that God is reconciling the
universe to Himself through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And part of that design is that the church
would be the dwelling place for Jesus Christ on earth. Therefore, God’s intention is that through Jesus Christ the
church would be doing part of that reconciling work, at least, throughout the earth.

This whole work of reconciliation rests on the authority of King Jesus. God made Jesus a king. But God invested
the church with that authority of King Jesus. And just as God has handed over the work of reconciling the
universe to King Jesus, Jesus carries out that work in and through the church. The church then, is a major means
whereby God gets this work done of uniting all things to Himself, reconciling all things in heaven and earth to
himself, and of restoring all things to himself. What a glorious duty we have as the body of Christ. Now do you
see why Paul prays such a long and deep prayer for us in Ephesians 1? There’s a humongous task in front of us
and if we miss the plan and the purpose of the plan, then we’ll never get to the actual work God has saved us to
perform!

Now, I said that the church is a major means whereby God does this work of reconciling the universe to
himself. But the church isn’t the only means. Another means is the Holy Spirit. But even in this means, it is one
given to the church. Back in Ephesians 1, Paul wrote that, “

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“13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (ESV).

Not only did God invest the church with the fullness of Jesus Christ, but he has also invested each believer in the
church with his own fullness in the Holy Spirit. And what is the job of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told us that among
many things, a few of his tasks would be the following.

“8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness,
because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world is judged” (ESV).

Now, if these are the tasks of the Holy Spirit toward the world, which is obviously a reference to unbelievers
here in this text, and if the Holy Spirit is invested in each believer by God, and if therefore the Holy Spirit
empowers the church to do the work of ministry, then the Holy Spirit will indwell believers and empower a
church to impact the world concerning sin and judgment and unbelief and righteousness. All of this was
planned by God as a purpose of the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. So here’s my question for you: Would you
say that this work of the Spirit through the church toward nonbelievers is part of God’s plan for the cross of
Christ? Of course you would! If Jesus sent the Spirit to have this affect on the world and accomplish this
ministry in the world, and if God sent the Spirit to do it through the church, and if this work was initiated at the
death of Christ on the cross, then surely the ministry of the Holy Spirit toward the world, toward sinners, toward
unbelievers is part and parcel of the plan of God in the atonement of Christ.

Now, it may seem I’m going to deep for some of you. Please hang with me. I’m really trying to keep it simple.
What I’m trying to say here is that the death of Jesus Christ didn’t have only the elect or the church in view. It
certainly had the church in view when it came to propitiating God’s just anger. But it also had the world in view
when it came to conviction of sin, judgment, righteousness, unbelief etc. In other words, Jesus Christ died on
the cross in order to put into effect the ministry of reconciling the universe to God, through the Spirit and
through the church.

The Time Frame in Which God is Working Out This Reconciliation to Himself

Let me point your attention toward something else just briefly here, because it’s a key to this whole argument in
helping you understand the wider scope and purpose of the atonement. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:22 that,
“[God] put all things under [Christ’s] feet.” This is a direct reference to Palm 8:6 where David says,

“You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet…”

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This same text is also quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:27 where Paul, in defending the doctrine of the resurrection,
wrote the following.

27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put
in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When
all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all
things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

So here’s what’s going on, then. God made Jesus a King. As King of the universe everything is subject to him.
But there is this time period here when all things will be in the process of being put under subjection to him. To
be sure, all of it already is subjected to him, no doubt. But there is an external, public, visible outworking of it all
so that it looks and smells and tastes and feels like it is subject to him. Right now, as the writer of Hebrews says,
again quoting Psalm 8:6,

“Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present,
we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
Remember the eschatological truth about the restoration of all things? That’s in the process of happening. God
is right now reconciling the universe to King Jesus. That’s everything whether it’s in heaven or on earth. It will
be finally accomplished when Jesus comes back to earth again. But in the meantime, there’s been since the
death of Jesus this ongoing process of reconciling, uniting, and restoring all things back to God. And it’s been
happening through the church by the power of the Holy Spirit who works this ministry of conviction on lost
people. And that brings me to the synthesis of all these important building blocks.

The Benefits of God’s Universal Reconciliation Towards Those Jesus Did NOT Die For

How can we look at this unifying and reconciling work of God in the universe, and see it’s outworking through
the church, see it’s outworking through the Spirit, clearly see it connected to the blood of Jesus on the cross, and
miss the benefits the cross of Christ has for unbelievers, or for the non-elect? Yet this very point I’ve been trying
to build for you this morning is missed so very often by people who call themselves reformed or Calvinistic, or
something similar. There is an obvious purpose of this saving work of God in Christ on the cross for sinners who
will form the church. The text obviously says Jesus died for the church. Yet here we’ve seen this other work of
reconciling that God is doing through the cross of Christ for the world, the universe, nature, and in specific
unbelievers. And that category of unbelievers must include those unbelievers who will die in their sin.

And there it is, friends. I believe that the death of Christ has a very specific effect and purpose toward non-
believers that we must not and can not forget. If we forget it we are not being faithful to the doctrine of Christ’s
death, and how do you think God will feel about that when we meet him face to face?

Here are the benefits of God’s work of universal reconciliation toward those Jesus did not die for. This is a
summary of those benefits. We don’t have time to unpack each of them.

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1. Many of them will get to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. When they do, Jesus says that the work of
the Holy Spirit will be to communicate to them about the righteousness of God which brings with it a
conviction of sin, and ends with a warning about the coming judgment. Just getting to hear that and
learn about that is a huge benefit, don’t you think? Even if they never submit to it, it’s still a benefit to
them.

2. This ongoing process of all things in heaven and on earth being subjected to King Jesus is by
God’s design intended to provide nonbelievers with an opportunity to repent.

This is God’s kindness! Surely the kindness of God is a benefit of God’s reconciling work that flows directly from
the cross of Christ! Here are some key texts to consider, and then I’ll make a few comments.

 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient
toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

 Romans 2:4 – “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not
knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and
impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous
judgment will be revealed.”

 Acts 17:29-30 – “30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising
him from the dead.”

Based on Acts 17:30, part of the gospel proclaims that “He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in
righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from
the dead” (Acts 17:31). Those who continue willfully sinning, despite Christ’s coming and offering of salvation,
will find, according to the writer of Hebrews, that, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain
terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26-27).
The point the writer of Hebrews makes here is that if OT Israelites were put to death without mercy for ignoring
the law of Moses, how much more severe will the judgment be for those who trample under their feet the Son
of God (10:29). The writer concludes, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31).

With this day of judgment on the horizon, and with the opportunity of salvation at hand since the death of
Christ, God’s wrath towards all men is temporarily delayed or suspended in the gracious and merciful display of
His divine patience. 2 Peter 3:9 clearly teaches this. On the heels of the Lord’s promised day of judgment, Peter
reminds the dispersed Christians: “The Lord is not slow about His promise…but is patient toward you, not
wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” Because of the death of Christ, God is patient, not

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wanting any to perish, but for all to come to a saving knowledge of Christ. This patience was demonstrated by
Christ Himself toward the Church of Thyatira in Revelation 2:21: “And I gave her time to repent…” Indeed, Peter
considers “the patience of our Lord to be salvation” (2 Peter 3:15).

For Paul, Christ’s death was that unbreakable link between God’s day of judgment and God’s patience with all
men until that day of judgment. Paul delineates this twice in his letter to Timothy: “It is a trustworthy
statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am
foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy
1:15-16).1 He continues this vein of thought in 2:3-6: “This (entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings
made on behalf of all men) is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all…”2

Paul’s letter to the Romans was written partly to help the Romans understand this patience of God toward their
sinful lives: “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things…Or do you
think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God
leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:2-4). This is by no means a different God from Old Testament times. This is
certainly the same God of Exodus 34:6 (“The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate a gracious, slow to anger…”),
and the same God of Noah’s days, which Peter recounts in 1 Peter 3:20 (“when the patience of God kept waiting
in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…”).

In conclusion, it is in this sense that we could see the death of Christ as having a sort of temporary propitiating
effect toward God. While the blood of Jesus atoned for, propitiated for, substituted for, and actually forgave the
sins of the church, it seems to have this ripple effect toward the rest of the world. God’s wrath is storing up, but
the fact that it is not being unleashed right now in the present seems to be connected with the work of Jesus on
the cross which somehow, mysteriously so, holds back the judgment of God. It’s as if the death of Jesus bought
not just a particular people, but also purchased time for the nonbelievers so that they would be without excuse
when he returns.

There’s one more benefit I want to throw at you here, before we close. And it’s this.

3. The death of Jesus on the cross in actually saving sinners has a sanctifying effect on the lost.

1 Note the context of the verse. Christ came into the world to save sinners. He came to show them mercy. But the passage specifically raises and
answers the question, “which sinners?” He “came into the world to save…those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

2 The context of this verse lends itself to a common usage of “all” in which it doesn’t necessarily mean “all, each, every, each and every, etc. 2:1
speaks of requests, prayers, and intercessions being made for everyone. But that “everyone” is specifically named in 2:2 – “for kings and all those in
authority…” So the everyone is not each and every single individual on the face of the earth. Instead it is for everyone in authority. This is the
grounds for interpreting 2:4 correctly. “God our Savior” wants “all” men without distinction to be saved. “Christ Jesus…gave Himself as a ransom
for all men” without distinction. Why the issue about distinction? Because Paul himself distinguished “kings and all those in authority.” He himself
makes a distinction in 2:1-2, concerning his exhortation to pray and therefore this same distinction must be kept in mind in 2:4 and 6. If God wants
us to pray for everyone in authority then He must also want those in authority to be saved also.

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If God delays His divine judgment on the non-elect so that they will have more time to come to faith in Christ,
then that waiting period will, more often than not, contain many experiences and encounters with the gospel, in
one form or another. Our hope is that through preaching the gospel, that experience will be one of salvation
through an encounter with Christ. Sometimes this is not the case, however. But even where it is not the case,
even where those who do encounter the truth of the gospel do not come to faith in Christ, there is still an effect
the gospel has upon them which is a direct result of the death of Christ. 1 Corinthians 7:14-16 teaches that
there is a sense in which Christ’s propitiation of God’s anger towards the non-elect is appeased. That
propitiation shows itself in the “sanctification” of the unbelieving spouse and children in marriage. God
temporarily delays His divine judgment so that the believer can be used to either bring the unbeliever to Christ
or to morally affect the unbeliever in a more peaceful, positive direction.

In chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians, Paul is dealing primarily with the issue of marriage and divorce. Concerning the
saved spouse who is married to an unsaved spouse, Paul exhorts that the saved spouse cannot just leave the
unsaved spouse just because he/she isn’t a Christian. He exhorts in verse 13: “And a woman who has an
unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, let her not send her husband away.” Why? “For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing
husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy” (v. 14). He then appeals to both
parties that “if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or sister is not under bondage in such
cases, but God has called us to peace” (v. 15). Paul’s final case for his exhortation is made in an appeal to the
logical: “For how do you now, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband,
whether you will save your wife?” (v. 16). Now appropriately, verse 16 should be interpreted in light of verse
15. Paul is advocating in a logical fashion why the believer should accept divorce if the unbeliever should initiate
it: Because the believer cannot know for sure if that he will be able to lead the unbelieving spouse to Christ.
That’s the point Paul is making. Since the believing spouse cannot know for sure that the unbelieving spouse
will come to Christ, the believer therefore should accept a divorce when and only when initiated and strongly
insisted on by the unbeliever, for after all, “God has called us to peace” (v. 15). But as A. T. Robertson points
out, concerning this verse, in his Word Pictures in the New Testament, “Surely the believer ought to be sure that
there is no hope before he agrees to break the bond.”

Now the flip side of that interpretation is equally true. How does the believing spouse know for sure whether or
not he will be able to lead his wife to Christ, or the wife lead the husband? They don’t know that they will and
they don’t know that they won’t. Paul’s point is that the believer should remain in the marriage if the
unbeliever is willing to remain married. If that is the case, then there remains that possibility that that believer
truly might have that hope of leading his/her spouse to Christ. This is especially the point in 1 Peter 3:1-6 where
the wife is taught how to win an unbelieving spouse to faith in Christ.

His case is equally conversely clear if the marriage remains in tact. It is most desired that both parties would
stick it out together for two reasons: (1) because the unsaved is sanctified in some way, and (2) because of the
possibility of the salvation of the unsaved. This second reason fits more closely with the first effect of Christ’s
death mentioned above, namely that of a delay of God’s judgment. The parallels are clear.

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 If God is waiting with patience, withholding His divine judgment, so that the unsaved may
repent and come to faith in Christ, then we are act no differently, even if it is in marriage. The
saved are to follow and imitate God’s patience.

 If God is more angry with that unsaved spouse than we could ever possibly be, and yet He
withholds His punishment, so also should the saved spouse withhold any anger he/she has
against the unsaved spouse.

 If God is willing to wait for the unsaved to respond to the free offer of the gospel, then the
saved spouse should also be willing to stick it out in marriage in hopes that the unsaved spouse
will respond to the gospel.

 If the unsaved spouse is willing to stick it out for the wrong reasons, then most certainly should
the saved spouse be willing to stick it out for the right reasons!

But in what way is the unsaved spouse “sanctified through” the saved spouse? First, we must understand what
the word “sanctified” means in this passage. It is noteworthy to point out that in every other place where Paul
uses this word (Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Eph. 5:26; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Tim. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:21) it means the same
thing: to make holy or to set apart.3 Specifically in 1 Corinthians 7:14, the word refers to “an unbelieving
partner in a Christian home set aside for God’s purpose, consecrated, accepted, or acknowledged by God”
(Friberg’s GNT Dictionary, a`gia,zw). The verb here in the verse is a perfect passive verb. This means two
things: (1) as a perfect it implies that the sanctification was an act which occurred in the past at one point in
time, with results still happening in the present; and, (2) as a passive it implies that this person played no part
himself in that sanctification but was sanctified by someone else.

In the context of this verse, the interpretation is really quite simple: the moment that a spouse becomes a
Christian, the marriage is sanctified by God, unto God, as a holy marriage before God as long as they are both
married. All it takes is one person in the marriage to become a Christian for the marriage to be considered
“sanctified” or holy. If the marriage is holy, then the Christian need not think that his/her being yoked in
marriage to an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14) is somehow unpleasing to God. Paul is referring to those marriages
which were begun with both husband and wife as unbelievers. During the course of that marriage, one may
have come to faith in Christ while the other had not. In the minds of the Corinthians, they thought this was
grounds for divorce. Paul urges that it is not, but that it is actually the opposite. Rather than thinking that they
need to set aside that marriage, Paul comforts the Christians with the knowledge that God has already set apart
that marriage as holy to Himself.

Now how does this fit in with Christ’s temporal propitiation for the non-elect? Simply, as long as the unbelieving
spouse remains married to the believing spouse, there is more opportunity for the unbelieving spouse to be
affected by the life and ministry of the believing spouse. Christ’s death for the believer will ultimately overflow
through that saved spouse into the home to all who live there, including any unsaved family members.

3 Usually in regards to setting one apart from sin to salvation in Christ, except in 1 Tim. 4:5 where things are referred to rather than people. Here
the meaning is more akin to the meaning in 1 Cor. 7:14.

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Unbelieving spouse and unbelieving children cannot escape the effects which are had upon them by the
believing spouse/parent. This is most certainly an effect of Christ’s death for the unsaved. Most any believing
spouse married to an unbeliever can attest to this factor. The marriage is surely more peaceful in most (though,
obviously not all) cases: the unbeliever often feeling the need to curb his/her sinful actions or speech, the
children often coming to faith in Christ, etc. These and many other effects and benefits of the atonement of
Christ are experienced by the non-elect in any family where there is a believing spouse or parent.

These Benefits are Rooted in the Universal Love of God

In closing let me say perhaps the most important thing I’ll say all day. Yet it’s something that if I were to have
said it initially, you would have nodded your head, said “amen”, wrapped up your thinking, and started planning
for home later today. It’s often spoken and taken as such a trite thing that we really don’t stop to understand its
depth. It’s the love of God.

Friends, the primary reason why God designed these benefits for lost people in the death of Christ on the cross
is because God loves them. That’s as plan and simple as I can make it. God actually loves lost people. He has a
special saving love for those Jesus died for. But he has a love for the others, nonetheless. It is not a love which
eventually saves them. But it is a real, genuine, authentic, compassionate, kind, merciful, and loving love
nonetheless.

You don’t have to have it figured out, folks. You don’t have to have figured out the differences and implications
and applications between God’s saving love and his general love. You just have to believe it because it is taught
everywhere throughout the Bible. You have to believe it, cherish it, and preach it with all your might. It is this
doctrine, and this doctrine alone, which drives your evangelism. God loves sinners! He loves them. He LOVES
them! He loves THEM! They are his creation! He made them with his own hands! He formed them in their
mother’s wombs. He designed their conception and numbered their days. He has numbered the hairs on their
head too! He provides for their needs too! He gives them food and clothing too! He has given them jobs and
money too! He loves them so much!

God loved the world, the cosmos, the universe and everything in it – whether in heaven or on earth. He loved
the world and all the lost people in it! He loved it all so much that He gave his only Son! There’s the meaning of
the text, I think, as we attempt to draw all this together this morning. Will you believe it? If you don’t, then you
do not believe the God of the Bible, and it is not that God you are presenting to the lost, but another God, a
different God. And that in turn means you’re preaching a different gospel. And you know what Paul said about
that in Galatians 1. He said, “let them be accursed!” Let them go to hell! Any doctrine or teaching or
presentation of the gospel that does not include the love of God for sinners, including those sinners for whom
Christ did not die, is false doctrine, false teaching, and a damnable presentation of the gospel!

This brings me to my conclusion, and it’s really very simple. Here’s what these benefits of the love of God in the
death of Christ for sinners, save and unsaved alike, mean for you and me.

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What These Benefits Mean

First, it means you must preach the love of God to yourself. I challenge you to make THIS your subject of study
more than anything else you study. Paul prays in Ephesians 3,

“14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family [1] in heaven
and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be
strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength
to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and
to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God.”

I pray the same things for you! I want you to know how broad, long, high, and deep the love of God is for you in
Christ Jesus! It surpasses anything else you can possibly know. ANYTHING! Other studies are superbly
beneficial to you. But nothing else is SUPREMELY beneficial like this doctrine!

Second, when and only when you have preached this doctrine to yourself over and over again so that it is woven
into the very fabric of your soul…only THEN will you be able to rightly preach the love of God to everyone!
THAT, my dear friends, is real evangelism. Begging and pleading with them to come to Jesus Christ as the
supreme expression of God’s love for the world. Explaining, presenting, informing, admonishing, exhorting,
encouraging, and then starting all over again, doing it again and again and again because you desperately want
them to know the same love you know.

Knowing the real love of God really drives you to a deeper, more intimate, more earnest, and fervent, and
desperate sort of evangelism that you read about in your favorite biographies of missionaries and pastors and
Christians. Do you want to be like them?! Then know what they knew! Know the love of God for the world, for
sinners, and even for unbelievers who will never be forgiven. After all, how do you know who they are?! You
DON’T! So leave your homes and jobs and go tell them ALL!

Amen.

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