Reformedguy
Well-known member
Does this include those who died lost before the cross?Do you not know what all means ?
The opposite of some
Christ camne to sdave all that are in the world
John 12:47 (KJV)
47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Issue #5: Did Christ Die for “All without Distinction” or “All without Exception”? 21 Calvinists who want to limit the atonement only to the elect have major difficulty with the many NT passages that say Christ died for “all” people or for “the world.” In order to maintain limited atonement and explain away the universal language of “all” in texts like 1 Tim 2: 4– 6, they are forced into an exegetical straitjacket and say something along these lines: “The word ‘all’ in these verses doesn’t mean ‘all people without exception’ but rather ‘all people without distinction.’” Is this a valid argument? No. Attempting to force the meaning of “all without distinction” on the universal texts is to explode them with “grammatical gunpowder,” as Spurgeon said in his critique of John Gill. 22 The “all without distinction” concept gets converted to mean “some of all without distinction.” Thus, “all” becomes “some of all sorts,” an exegetically and hermeneutically unwarranted and, in fact, illegitimate move. With respect to the NT atonement texts that use universal language, the bifurcation of “all without distinction” and “all without exception” is ultimately a distinction without a difference. If I speak of all people without racial, gender, or other distinctions, am I not speaking of all people without exception? Whatever the distinction is and whatever is the scope of the “all” must be supplied by the context. The two phrases simply cannot be compartmentalized linguistically. The distinction is artificial. All Calvinists who want to maintain limited atonement essentially convert the “all” in texts like 1 Tim 2: 6 to mean “some.”....
1 Timothy 2:1-6 (KJV)
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
In 1 Tim 2: 4– 6, Paul’s intent is to say that Jesus is the Savior of all people without distinction, which simply also means all people without exception. 23
Allen, David L.. The Atonement (Kindle Locations 5223-5235). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
