Limited Atonement Arminius believed that Jesus died and atoned for the sins of all mankind, but the Reformers did not believe that Christ atoned for the sins of those who will go to hell. The Reformers believed that Christ did not pay the price for their sins - they will. Why would we doubt this? Again, why would we doubt the fact that the reason some will go to hell is to pay for their own sins? The prudent Christian will at once understand the falsehood taught by Arminius. But this is still a part of popular Arminianism. Some will produce what they consider to be triumphant passages, which while they hope to prove their point, goes much further than they intended if they hold to their interpretation. One such is 1 Timothy 2.1-6 - "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" What the Arminian hopes to prove here is that God does not elect (as He wrote He did in His Word) and that Christ was a ransom for all. We must use the Word of God here to define itself. Is God contradicting Himself? Let us first look at the desire that God has for all men to be saved (as the verse seems to imply). It is often taught that God wants to save everyone and that this is according to His heartfelt desire, but that He does not necessarily fulfill this desire. But the Bible, His revealed will, distinctly says that He fulfills all His desires. "He does whatever He pleases" (Psalm 115.3), "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah 46.10), "He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth" (Daniel 4.35), "Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1.11), and "Whatever the LORD pleases He does" (Psalm 135.6). Holding to the position that God does not elect but desires all to be saved must, and Scripturally must, mean that all mankind will be saved! Do you believe in a universal salvation, that all will be saved? Arminian doctrine, while intending to put the choice for life or death in the hands of man, only is teaching universal salvation by producing this verse. We must also look at the second part, that Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all. First we must look at other verses which tell us something different - "and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20.28, Mark 10.45) and "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26.28, Mark 14,24). Which are we to believe? If we throw out the 'many' in favor of 'all', than again we are believing and teaching universal salvation. What does 'ransom' mean, but to pay the price to buy back or to redeem by satisfying the cost. In this passage in 1 Timothy the Reformers saw no contradiction in Scripture. Paul the Apostle is telling Timothy to pray for all men, even the kings and rulers, though they both put Christ to death and had continued to persecute the New Testament church. Even these men God may redeem through His Son's work on the cross, and Timothy was not to disallow any class or order of men to hear the Gospel - all classes of men make up the kingdom of God. The Reformers did not doubt the work that Christ did. They believed He fulfilled His purpose perfectly. They would never teach that the work of God was in vain, or that His Son's blood was to be taken so casually so as to not fully satisfy every sin His Father sent Him to atone for. And they appreciated His life and death too much to disregard Scripture, which tells us that Christ died for His Church. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10.11) "I lay down My life for the sheep." (John 10.15) "You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him." (John 17.2) "I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours." (John 17.9) "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20.28) "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9.15) "He said, 'It is finished!' And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." (John 19.30) But again, Arminius would not accept the teaching of Scripture, and why, but to give man the right to choose eternal life at his pleasure, so we must go to our next doctrine: