The definition of atonement is the work of God in Christ on the cross whereby He canceled the debt of our sin, appeased His holy wrath against us, and won for us all the benefits of salvation.
The term "limited atonement" asks the questions: "For who did Jesus Christ die for?"
Right out of the gate you must understand that everyone limits the atonement. You will either limit it by scope, or by power. To limit it by scope just means you limit it to who it was for. To limit it by power just means you limit it to what it accomplished.
If Jesus Christ only made it possible for men to be saved, then what did that accomplish if it did not indeed save them?
The Bible does tell us that people do go to hell for their sins. So if Jesus died for all sins of all men then why do the people that go to hell have to pay for the sins that Jesus should have already paid for? That is saying His work was not enough.
I don't believe in universalism which says that Jesus died for all sins and all men are saved and no one goes to hell. The Bible says something different, and only a heretic would say something like that.
The Bible teaches that Jesus died for the sins of His people, namely, the elect. That His death paid for the sins of His people in full. His work completed the salvation of those saints. Now the Holy Spirit just needs to apply it at the time that was appointed before the foundation of the world.
John Piper shares some truths from God's Word about this.
There are many Scriptures which say that the death of Christ was designed for the salvation of God's people, not for every individual. For example:
John 10:15, "I lay down my life for the sheep." The sheep of Christ are those whom the Father draws to the Son. "You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep." Notice: being a sheep enables you to become a believer, not vice versa. So the sheep for whom Christ dies are the ones chosen by the Father to give to the Son.
In John 17:6,9,19 Jesus prays, "I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to me...I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom Thou hast given me, for they are thine...And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth." The consecration in view here is the death of Jesus which he is about to undergo. His death and his intercession us uniquely for his disciples, not for the world in general.
John 11:51-52, "[Caiaphas] being high priest that year prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." There are children of God scattered throughout the world. These are the sheep. These are the ones the Father will draw to the Son. Jesus died to gather these people into one. The point is the same as John 10:15-16, "I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice." Christ died for his sheep, that is, for the children of God.
Revelation 5:9, "Worthy art Thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for Thou wast slain and by Thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." In accordance with John 10:16 John does not say that the death of Christ ransomed all men but that it ransomed men from all the tribes of the world.
To say that Jesus made it possible for man to come to salvation would mean that Jesus didn't complete the work of redemption on the cross. If Jesus didn't go all the way we are in big trouble.
If His death was not enough to pay for our sins, then that is saying God couldn't finish the work dead men like you and I so desperately needed. Dead man can't reach out and grab faith, he can't see it, and he doesn't even know he is going to hell. The only way man can be saved is if God moves in him first by giving him faith to believe the gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that God had a point to the death of His Son, and the main point was to secure the salvation of His people, namely, the elect. On the cross this work was finished and completed.
Bring honor, glory and praise to God. Don't limit the power of the cross, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
My heart is singing because of His grace! and I hope yours is too.
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