The Historic Reformed Position

1. In addition to God’s general, non-salvational love (common grace) for all men, God has a special love that is limited to those whom he has foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29).

2. As a result of this special love of God for a special, definite number of people, God sent his Son to expiate their guilt and theirs alone.

3. Jesus intended to and actually did expiate the guilt of the sins of only the elect.

4. It is not possible to say to all men indiscriminately, “Christ died for you,” and mean by it that “Christ actually suffered for you and in that sense expiated your guilt.”

5. The atonement is a sacrifice, expiation, propitiation, reconciliation and redemption.

6. Those for whom Christ died arc identical with those who are redeemed.

7. It is unscriptural to teach a universal atonement and a particular redemption.

8. A Biblical paradox is that Christ’s atonement is limited to the elect and, yet, that in the sincere offer of salvation God expresses his desire thai all shall come to knowledge of the truth.

9. There is a unity in the purposes of the Father’s election, the Son’s atonement and the Spirit’s indwelling. Those whom the Father elected the Son made expiation for and the Spirit made alive spiritually.

10. The teaching of limited atonement as historically understood by the Reformed churches does not tend to inhibit missionary spirit and activity; but on the contrary is an incentive to missionary endeavor.

Prof. Harold Dekker’s Position

1. God loves all men distributively—both elect and the non-elect—with the same kind of love, a redemptive love.

2. As a result of this universal love of God for all men, God sent his Son to expiate the guilt of all men, including those who are eternally lost.

3. Jesus intended to and actually did expiate the guilt of the sins of all men, including the non-elect.

4. It is possible to say to all men indiscriminately “Christ died for you” and mean by it that “Christ actually suffered for you and in that sense expiated your guilt.”

5. The atonement is an expiation of guilt. 

6. Those for whom Christ died are not identical with those who are redeemed but are a much larger number.

7. It is scriptural to teach a universal atonement and a particular redemption.

8. A Biblical paradox is not that Christ’s atonement is limited to the elect and, yet, that in the sincere offer of salvation God expresses his desire that all shall come to a knowledge of the truth. But the paradox is that, although, on the one hand, God loves all men and Christ died for all, yet, on the other hand, not all men are saved.

9. There is a disjunction between the three Persons of the Trinity in the matter of salvation. On the one hand, the Father loves all men indiscriminately with one kind of love and the Son made an atonement for all of them; on the other hand, the Spirit efficaciously works in the hearts of only some.

10. The historic Reformed position on limited atonement “tends to inhibit missionary spirit and activity.”