Scrapping for Jesus.

After this I beheld, and, lo,

     a great multitude,

     which no man could number,

        of all nations,

        and kindreds,

        and people, 

        and tongues,

stood before the throne,

and before the Lamb,

     clothed with white robes,

        and palms in their hands;

        And cried with a loud voice,

          saying,

Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,

and unto the Lamb.        Revelation 7:9-10 KJV

 Apparently Jesus is outrageously favorable to people throughout the world and so many of them will be saved that no one can count all of them.  No one who is human.  Isn’t it interesting that calvinists insist on being able to determine how many humans will be included in what they call the elect or saved.  Calvin followers are prepared to do what the Holy Spirit says is not possible: they, as humans, are prepared to count the number of available slots for those who were pre-packaged with salvation by applying their imaginative notions of Limited Atonement.  

Limited Atonement pretends to explain that God pre-selected certain lucky humans in advance and, since heaven only has room for a few of them, then the blood of Jesus only atoned for a tiny fraction of humanity.  There is no consideration in the foolish picture of Limited Atonement for the extraordinarily prolific supply of blood from Jesus’ atoning work on the cross that is available as the laundering fluid for an uncountable number of white robes (Revelation 7:14). 

The stupidity of the calvinist notion of Limited Atonement calls into question the validity of the miracles Jesus performed when He fed the multitudes (5000+ Matthew 14:17-21, 4000+ Matthew 15:34-38).  How is it that, in dealing with something as simple and transient as bread for man’s hunger, the calvinist easily accepts the ability of Jesus (Jesus IS God) to provide an abundant supply with leftovers?  How is it that, in dealing with something as pervasive and complex as humanity’s sin, the calvinist foolishly swallows the nonsensical idea that Jesus has only enough blood for them as the elect?  Did Jesus cease to be God and cannot supply more blood than is needed?

How is it that calvinists are so blinded by their foolish doctrines and the back-slapping congratulatory fun they have being correct in their own eyes that they cannot see the biblical truth about the mercy of Jesus?  Jesus thoroughly demonstrates that He is not devoted to the foolish lie of Limited Atonement when He is moved to love and save the daughter of the Canaanite woman.  She appeals to Him on the basis of dog scraps that are left behind (Matthew 15:22-28) and is declared to be a woman of great faith.  Amazing…a woman and an outcast can obtain salvation on the basis of scraps and crusts that she was not invited or pre-programmed to have.

The obvious truth that we see in these verses from the Revelation is that salvation and the blood of Jesus are inextricably bonded together.  We as human witnesses to the truth of salvation in Jesus must not become sidetracked from telling others that salvation begins at the cross.  The blood of Jesus was not available before the cross.  God invests Himself in time and expects humans to acknowledge the work He can do through them in time.  What He will do with us or may have done for us in the eternal realm outside of creation must not distract from the truth that the cross of Jesus is central to Christianity.  We are better off with dog-scrap theology than trying to tune our palates to heavenly bread that is not yet offered.

Come to Jesus.

Come to the Cross.