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My Visit to the House of an Atheist

Recently I had opportunity to visit the house of an atheist. On one of his end tables were some papers that caught my attention because the title contained “God.” It was, however, an effort by someone to prove that God does not exist. It had originally been published in one of the major newspapers as an editorial article. In the article, the writer described how he had recently been to a funeral of a man who committed suicide. The person who preached the funeral (a female denominational preacher) knew of the suicide and during the course of the funeral spoke regarding her own fight with thoughts of suicide. However, she proclaimed that God had saved her from suicide. The Atheist who heard her speech inferred that God directly and personally chose to save her whereas God chose NOT to save him (the man who committed suicide). To which he asked the question, “Why would God choose to save her from suicide but not save this other man who died from suicide? What kind of arbitrary God would make a choice of one human life over the other? Why save one but not another?” This is a very good question.

The answer to this question does not lie in God understanding the usefulness of one person over another nor does it involve God’s omniscience of how a person would respond to a given situation verses another. In fact, the argument as stated by the atheist is a good argument. There is only one problem with it. There is a hidden assumption. The assumption is not one made by the Atheist, it is an assumption made by the denominational person preaching the funeral. That assumption is this: God (personally and directly) purposely chooses to save some people, but purposely chooses NOT to save other people. This is in fact what mainline denominational bodies teach. This is known as the doctrine of “limited atonement”–that Christ only died for those whom God predestined to be saved and that therefore Christ did NOT die for all men. If this doctrine were true, then the Atheist who made the above argument would be right. God would NOT be just, righteous, nor worthy of devotion– IF this assumption regarding the character of God were true. Herein lies the problem. The assumption is NOT true.

I have no problem affirming that if a god (personally and directly) purposely chooses to save one man over the other that it would be impossible for a god like that to exist. With this I agree with the Atheist 100%. However, the true God of the universe has no such agenda nor does His word contain any such arbitrary, unjust, unrighteous, and unholy non-sense! The Bible teaches that God wants ALL men to be saved and he has put in place a plan whereby ANY person who WANTS to be saved, CAN be saved. I affirm that this is exactly what the Bible teaches (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16; John 3:16; Acts 10:34; Romans 1:16, 17; 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:11; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 22:17). On this true teaching of the scriptures, the atheist has no ground on which to stand. God is NOT an arbitrary God; God is NOT an unjust God; God is NOT an unrighteous God–he is an “equal opportunity” God Who offers salvation to ALL!!!

The doctrine of “limited atonement” is such a blatantly false doctrine that even Atheists recognize it to be false. The harm that it does to God’s cause is irreparable. There is no telling how many people read this one atheist’s article. How many more will lose their faith because of this evil doctrine? Let us wholeheartedly oppose this teaching and strive to supplant it with the truth of the Gospel. God’s plan for man’s salvation is for ALL MEN who will hear, believe, and obey it!