A Case for Universal Grace and Unlimited Atonement, Part II

In part one of this article, the doctrines of universal grace and unlimited atonement were defined and defended against Calvinist objections. In part two, which is presented here, I briefly discuss the practical significance of these doctrines for Christians today.

Application of the Doctrine of Universal Saving Grace Today

The extent of God’s saving will, the scope of the atonement, and the limits (if any) on the Holy Spirit’s desired application of redemption are among the most practical issues in Christian theology. The Augsburg Confession teaches that the “greatest consolation” comes from a conscience that, “by faith,” takes “the sure ground that for Christ’s sake they have a gracious God” (AC XX:15).[i] Such consolation is possible only when one is certain that Christ has indeed died for him, namely, when one is certain of a universal atonement.

A Calvinist cannot take objective comfort in the Sacraments, even if he believes them to be efficacious in some way, for a consistent Calvinist can only acknowledge sacramental efficacy for the elect. Similarly, the Gospel message in Calvinism is not that “Christ died for all” but that “Christ died for the elect,” whose number and identity will only be known on the Day of Judgment. Therefore, neither a general Gospel proclamation nor a particular, individualized absolution can comfort the consistent Calvinist who doubts if he is among the elect for whom Christ’s promises are intended.

Where, then, does this leave the Calvinist who seeks consolation? Boettner claims that “The mere presence of faith, no matter how weak it may be, provided it is real faith, is a proof of salvation.”[ii] In the same section of his book that describes the grounds for assurance of salvation in the Calvinist system, Boettner makes frequent use of qualified statements (e.g. it is the “truly saved” and those with a “true desire for salvation in Christ” who can have assurance).[iii] Boettner thereby takes away with one hand what he gives with the other. For what Christian has never grappled with the genuineness of his faith, the genuineness of his conversion, or the genuineness of his new, Spirit-formed desires? Without a doctrine of an objective, universal atonement, the man who desires assurance is forced to look at himself, in which the “body of death” (Rom. 7:24) still dwells alongside the new man in Christ (cf. Eph. 4:22-24).[iv]

The result of this inward-facing quest for assurance is an assumption of the same position adopted by Roman Catholics who seek assurance in the “infused grace” they have received through the Church. Pieper writes, “Whoever denies the universal gracious disposition of God proclaimed in the Gospel must necessarily direct those who seek grace to the effects of grace in man, that is, to the gratia infusa.”[v]

As if such a thought weren’t damaging enough to the doctrine of salvation sola fide and sola gratia, Boettner even acknowledges that a genuine Christian may lack assurance, “for it can only properly arise from a knowledge of one’s own moral resources and strength, and the one who underestimates himself may innocently be without it . . . [assurance] cannot always be made the test of a true Christian.”[vi] One wonders what indeed may be the test of a true Christian in the Calvinist system if even the inward assurance of faith and election is lacking.

The answer, Pieper would argue, is that those who have intellectually assented to the doctrine of a limited and particular saving will in God nevertheless “comfort themselves in the terrores conscientiae [terrors of conscience] with the gratia universalis [universal grace].”[vii] In other words, a Calvinist who seeks spiritual comfort and assurance in the midst of the spiritual torments that inevitably afflict all believers must rely not upon the doctrine of the limited atonement but upon the Scriptural doctrine of the universal saving will of God in Christ.

While Calvinists may bristle at this bold claim, even Charles Spurgeon, a formidable Particular Baptist, nevertheless appealed to an implicit belief in universal saving grace in his sermon on “Particular Redemption”: “Your only question is, ‘Did Christ die for me?’ . . . Are you a sinner? That felt, that known, that professed, you are now invited to believe that Christ died for you, because you are a sinner.”[viii] While Spurgeon’s statement above is orthodox and therefore highly comforting to the troubled soul, it stands in direct contradiction to Spurgeon’s own professed belief that Christ did not, in fact, die for all sinners. In this instance, Spurgeon was among those men who “‘keep a double set of books’” and are safeguarded from spiritual destruction through the “‘felicitous inconsistency’” that allows one whose theology turns him inward to nevertheless take “his stand on a foundation outside himself.”[ix]

Conclusion

This article has demonstrated the strong foundation of Scriptural support for belief in an unlimited redemption, refuted counterarguments raised by those who seek to limit the extent of the atonement, and explained the consolation found in this article of faith. The fact that God the Father genuinely desires the salvation of all men, God the Son genuinely died for all men regardless of their future belief or unbelief, and God the Holy Spirit genuinely works to apply the merits of this redemption through the gift of faith is of literally infinite comfort for those who struggle in their sins. In the hour of spiritual darkness, the doubt raised by belief in limited atonement must either lead to despair or else give way to assurance in God’s universal saving will in Christ. This alone provides the comfort that the soul longs after.

[i] Paul Timothy McCain et al., eds., Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, 2nd ed. (St. Louis: Concordia, 2006), 43.

[ii] Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 267.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Eph. 4:22-24, emphasis added: “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

[v] Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 2:51-52.

[vi] Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 270.

[vii] Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 1:29.

[viii] C. H. Spurgeon, “Particular Redemption,” in New York Street Pulpit, 6 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1981), 4:136, quoted in Allen, The Extent of the Atonement, 213.

[ix] Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 1:114-115, footnote 167.

Since 2022, Andrew J. Aulner has been a seminarian with the American Lutheran Theological Seminary (ALTS). By day, he works remotely for Fidelity Investments from his home in Omaha, NE. He serves as vicar at Mighty Fortress Evangelical Lutheran Church (AALC) in Seward. Andrew has been married to Samantha since 2020, and the two of them were joined by a daughter, Latisha "Tish" Kay, in April 2025. When he isn't working, vicaring, husbanding, parenting, or chasing down his kitten Lego, Andrew enjoys reading, writing, and hobbies related to 'The Strenuous Life' adult enrichment program.