Christ died for all peoples: how definite atonement adds more fuel to the fight against racism

I've been wanting to write this for a couple of years but never got round to it. Seems like now is a good time.

This is the basic argument: if the verses in the New Testament that seem to suggest that Christ died for absolutely everyone without exception are actually all about Christ dying for people from absolutely every different people group without exception then it makes those verses all the more beautiful and sharp and powerful - they are verses that show that the very intent of the atonement was to win a fantastically diverse multicultural Bride.

Definite atonement 

Definite atonement or 'limited atonement' as it has been more traditionally called (that Christ died for the elect) is not what all Bible believing Christians see when they read the Scriptures. And I don't think for a moment that I'll be able to convince anyone to change their minds in 400 words. But just to sketch out what I'm talking about here is a brief presentation of definite atonement.

Definite atonement is wonderfully captured by the title of a 2013 book on the subject, From Heaven He Came and Sought Her. Christ came to save his people from their sins (Matt 1:23), to lay down his life for his sheep (John 10), to pay a bloody dowry and carry off a bride (Eph 5:25 cf. John 3:29; Titus 2:14).

The key issues are:

• When is the crucial (literally) moment of atonement? There's a sense in which we are 'saved' when we call on the name of the Lord in repentance and faith but it is the sacrifice of the Lamb that takes away our sins. It is by his stripes we are healed. Long before we believed, 'Christ died for us.' Our conversion is us being plugged into the death of Christ. That was the key moment. 
• Was the death of Christ effective? This is what John Owen really pushes on in his classic work on the Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Did the great high priest achieve what he wanted to achieve by his offering of the perfect sacrifice? Did he actually propitiate the wrath of God? Did he actually save his people? Or did he only make possible their salvation, contingent on their believing? Owen argues the former. In the ultimate rescue mission (like an SAS mission to rescue kidnapped journalists) Jesus didn't do half a job - no, he tied up Satan and carried off his plunder (Mark 3:27).
• Is there a just punishment for every sin? In his justice he won't pass over sins or punish them twice - every sin is punished either in Christ's body on the tree or in the lake of fire (Rom. 3:25-27; 1 Pet 2:24; Rev 20:15). See Pierced for Our Transgressions for more on this.
• Do the persons of the Trinity have the same will? This is perhaps the strongest point of all that I heard made recently by Robert Letham. The Father has chosen a group of people (not everyone) before the Creation of the world (Eph 1:4). The Spirit will bring life and faith to a group of people (not everyone). Is the Son of God working on a different plan? Surely not. He has the same will and purpose and work - to save this same group of people - the ones that the Father has 'given' to him and the Spirit will draw (John 6:37). 

Applying definite atonement to the 'all' texts

Now try reading the familiar 'Christ died for all / the world' texts again with definite atonement in mind.

the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim 2:5-6)
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)
he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for all (Heb 2:9)

However we look at things these should be staggering verses. That the Son of God would become man and die for any should be amazing to us. That he would die for many (Mark 10:45) is fabulous grace. But easily, if we've been believers for a while, these verses can become 'wash over' verses. But try reading them afresh not as all-universal but all-manifold. 

you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every [all] tribe and language and people and nation (Rev 5:9)

As John Piper has pointed out, God is not just interested in quantity. He doesn't just want a billion people from one people group. Christ is most glorified when thousands of different cultures all recognise the beauty and worth of the Son and say, 'This is my beloved, he is altogether lovely' (Song of Songs 5:16).

Now, like twisting the lens of an SLR camera those 'all' verses come into sharp and staggeringly beautiful focus. Christ gave himself as a ransom for all peoples. He was slain to take away the sins of people from every language group. He took the sting of death for men and women from every people group under heaven. Not just Jews (as the first Christians were often surprised to discover) but across the globe. Not just Europeans. Not just Africans. Not just Asians. 

What I find staggering is the all-ness of the all peoples. Rendille, Somali, Boran, Gabbra, Orma, Boni, Kikuyu, Akamba, Meru, Embu, Tharaka, Mbere, Gussi, Kuria, Luhya, Mikikenda, Swahili, Pokomo, Segeju, Taveta, Taita, Maasai, Samburu, Teso, Turkana, Elmolo, Njemps, Kalenjin, Marakwet, Tugen, Pokot, Elkony, Kipsigis, Luo. And that's just in Kenya. There are 7,353 known spoken languages in the world. 17,297 people groups. A myriad of subcultures, dialects, classes and clans. Christ died for, ransomed and secured for eternity people from every group without exception.

Christ is going to be glorified by a superbly diverse gathering around his throne. Christ is glorified by diverse gatherings of his people right now in local churches. And he's massively dishonoured when churches are culturally exclusive and racist.

Now I'm not saying that you need to believe in definite atonement to embrace the multiculturalism of the church. There are a ton of other massive biblical reasons to fight racism, repent of prejudice, work for genuinely welcoming and multicultural churches and to push forward with cross-cultural mission. We all come from one man. There is only one human race. We are all created in the image of God. Racism is an insult to and rebellion against the creator. The Bible is a radically anti-racist text.

And I'm not saying in any way that believing in definite atonement solves all the problems. Of course not. There's huge work to do in repentance and reformation, relationships and reconciliation. 

But I think definite atonement adds some fuel to the fight against racism and a sharpness to the glory and beauty of what Christ has done.

he died for all (2 Cor 5:15)

Further resources:

• Joseph Oyegoke on Limited Atonement from Ephesians (Part 1) (Part 2)
• Jason Roach on Ethnicity and Covid-19
• Richard Coekin on George Floyd
• Anthony Bradley (ed) Aliens in the Promised Land
• Rebecca McClaughlin, 'Doesn't Christianity Crush Diversity?' in Confronting Christianity
• Duncan Forbes on Why the gospel is not for all and Making the gospel for all
• Felix Aremo on Building truly diverse gospel communities
• Ian Paul on the Bible, Race and the Kingdom of God
• Joshua Project
• Wycliffe Bible Translators