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NASB | Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 1:20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense. [Ps 19:1-4; Eph 2:10] |
Subject: Is God somehow responsible? |
Bible Note: Greetings John! I was hoping you would bring up the point about 'all'! :-) There is a difference. The first has to do with context. There isn't any passage of Scripture which deals with salvation where it can be shown that 'all' can mean both 'all' or 'some'. In fact, the only passages where it can be shown that 'all' means anything other than 'all' is where it is modified by a phrase such as 'all believers' or 'all women', ect... In these cases, cleary 'all' is a subset of a bigger set. Or, sometimes 'all' can be used in hyperbole, like 'the whole world came to see Him'. However, these various uses of 'all' can never be demonstrated conclusively in any context involving salvation or the extent of the atonement. It is only assumed because of theological demands. Whereas, 'many' (as I quoted in my previous post) is found in two identical contexts, both dealing with sin and salvation. In Romans, it is clear that 'many' means all, unless you want to argue that not all have sinned! :-) So, your challenge is to demonstrate from Scripture a passage where the text clealy indicates that 'all' doesn't mean 'all' when Scripture says such things as: John 1:7 - "He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe." Romans 11:32 - "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." 2 Cor. 5:14 - " For Christ?s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." 2 Pet. 3:9 - "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." To take these very clear verses and turn 'all' into 'some' is to make language absolutely meaningless. Greek has a word for 'some'. If God had meant 'some', He could have simply inspired the writers to use that word, but He didn't! :-) Concerning John 3:16, I would say that the statmenet that Jesus died for the 'world' does support unlimited atonement. For whom did He die? He died for the world! Finally, concerning John 17. The priestly prayer of Jesus is clearly divided into three sections. In John 17:1-5, He prayer for Himself. In John 17:6-19, He prays for His 12 disciples. In John 17:20-26, He prays for future believers and the world. However, not one of these verses says anything about the extent of the atonement, just the extent of the prayer. In fact, if we want to make John 17 an extent of the atonement passage, then we would have to include John 17:21, where Jesus prays that the world might believe through the witness of the disciples. ;-) Are you and your family ready for Christmas? My kids can't wait! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |