Not Sparing His Own Son - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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This article is not really about God not sparing His Son, it's about Calvinistic predestination. Dr. MacArthur does spend a little time on the topic contained in his title, but he really wants to discuss his Calvinism.

We are disappointed in Dr. MacArthur's rhetorical manipulation. He makes a series of true statements but follows each with a non sequitur conclusion. This is either dishonest or ignorant.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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This post was first published during January 2020. –ed.

God loves us regardless of the cost. The cross is proof of that. Consider what God’s love for us has already cost Him: He gave His own beloved Son to die in order to accomplish our salvation. Having already paid so great a price to redeem us, He won’t allow the process to stop short of the goal. And if He has already given His best and dearest on our behalf, why would He withhold anything from us now? (Dr. MacArthur sounds like a charismatic here, but he's actually using this premise to go in a different direction.)

Would God redeem sinners at the cost of His own Son’s blood, then cast those same blood-bought believers aside? Having brought us to salvation at so great a price, would He then withhold any grace from us? Won’t He finish what He started? (Still sounding like a charismatic. We are still awaiting his true landing place.)

Romans 8:32 provides us with a clear and emphatic answer: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” 

Christ’s death on the cross demonstrated His great love for sinners. Furthermore, the massive “once for all” (Hebrews 7:27) payment that purchased our redemption was also a profound statement regarding God’s commitment to keep it secure. (Here we can see how Dr. MacArthur is evolving his phrasing into Calvinism, bit by bit. First it was God not stopping "short of the goal," then it became "finish what He started." and now it's morphed to "keep it secure." 

None of his quoted Scriptures speak to these conclusions.)

God gave Christ to die for us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8). He won’t turn His back on us now that we are justified. If He didn’t spurn us when we were rebellious sinners, He won’t cast us aside now that we are His children. “If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10), doesn’t it seem reasonable that He will do everything necessary to keep us in the fold now that we are reconciled? If He gave us grace to trust Christ in the first place, He will assuredly give grace to keep us from falling away. (Here it is at last, "keep us from falling away." Now we have fully arrived at the Calvinistic doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. 

Carefully notice how Dr. MacArthur pursued his logic. He makes a true statement and documents it with a Bible verse. Then he immediately derives a deduction but does not document it. He repeats this process two or three times, pushing a little farther each time, until he has us agreeing with his Calvinism.

But we do not agree with him. We discuss predestination in some detail here.)

Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” God is not stingy with His grace, and the proof of that is seen in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. “But he giveth more grace” (James 4:6, KJV).

God’s Plan from Eternity Past

The sacrifice of Christ is eternally bound up in God’s love for the elect. (These little Calvin bombs continue to color Dr. MacArthur's presentation. Here he implies that God did not love the world, He only loved the Elect [i.e., those who were predestined to salvation]. 

This means He did not "so love the world" [John 3:16], He did not "take away the sin of the world "[John 1:29], He is not the "savior the world" [John 4:42]. 

Nor did He give his flesh "for the life of the world" [John 6:51], and He is not "the light of the world" [John 8:26]. 

He did not "reconcile the world to Himself" [2 Corinthians 5:19] and did not "come into the world to save sinners." [1 Timothy 1:15].

No, He only died for those whom He chose and predestined. Which of course means that Jesus' answer to the wealthy young man should have read,

“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, for I have chosen you for hell, not heaven. [Mark 10:21]

The reader can no doubt see how Calvinism does violence to Scripture.)

Did you know that in eternity past, before God had even begun the work of creation, He promised to redeem the elect? Titus 1:2 says the promise of eternal life was made “before the world began” (KJV)—literally, before the beginning of time. So this speaks of a divine promise made before anything was created. (Ah, Dr. MacArthur has finally produced a Scripture that makes his point, directly mentioning the Elect. But in our opinion the Elect have already lived and died in the first century. The Elect were the firstfruits, the very earliest Jewish believers [Romans 11:16, James 1:18] It isn't possible for us to be the firstfruits, so we cannot be the Elect.)

Who made this promise, and with whom was it made? Since it was made before creation commenced, there is only one possible answer: It was a promise made between the triune members of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit promised among themselves to redeem fallen humanity.

The plan of redemption was made not after Adam fell but before the beginning of creation. This is consistent with everything Scripture says about election. The saved are chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). (Now come some proof texts. The reader should notice how Dr. MacArthur assumes present-day Christians are being discussed in these Scriptures. This is a grave error. Let's examine his first reference:

Ep. 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

A careful Bible student would first ask, "who is 'us'?" Paul tells us who "us" is: 

Ep. 1:12 ...we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Contemporary Christians cannot be the first to hope in Christ. Thus we are not predestined. We know this because in verse 13 Paul turns to the readers of his letter and tells how they became saved:

Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Paul changed pronouns from "us" to "you." Us is not you. The Ephesian church was saved when they believed, they were not predestined. 

We also are not predestined.)

God “called us . . . in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 1:9). (Oh, my. Selective quoting to change the meaning. That is simply dishonest. Let's quote it accurately: 

2Ti. 1:8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time...

We see that God has called us to a holy life by the grace given us in Jesus Christ. He has not “called us . . . in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” This is deception, plain and simple.)

The eternal kingdom is prepared for them “from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Christ was foreordained to shed His blood on their behalf “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). The names of the elect are written in the Book of Life “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8; 17:8). (Three statements, documented with Scripture. The first two are accurate, the last is not. This is manipulative, leading us to a false conclusion. Plus, none of these verses mention the Calvinistic Elect.)

This means the plan of redemption is no contingency. It is not Plan B. It is no alternative strategy. It is God’s plan, the very purpose for which He created us.

Furthermore, it means that the elect are God’s gift of love to His Son. That’s why Christ refers to them as “those whom You have given Me” (John 17:9, 24; 18:9). (Oh my again. Dr. MacArthur is so inured to his doctrine he cannot even see the plain evidence. Or he's lying to us. Let's quote these verses:

Jn. 17:6- 9 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 

Jn. 17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am...

Jn. 18:8-9 “I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” [John 6:39] 

Jesus was not praying for the Elect, He was praying for His disciples. We Christians are not the ones Jesus spoke to [or I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them], we are not the ones the Father gave to Jesus [I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me...], we are not those who were assured not to be lost [I have not lost one of those you gave me]. 

How do we make these assertions? Simple. We think it's easy to discover the context when one does not have a doctrinal agenda: 

Jn. 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message...

Oh, so there are those who will believe "their message." Jesus was clearly praying for the disciples, then He prayed for those who would believe from their message.

We don't know if it's intentional, but Dr. MacArthur is not telling us the truth. We must conclude he is not a trustworthy Bible teacher.)

The Father has given the elect to Christ as a gift of love, and therefore not one of them will be lost. Both the Father and the Son work together to ensure the fulfillment of their eternal plan of redemption. This further assures the salvation of all the elect, for as Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. . . . For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:37, 40).

So Christ Himself promises to see God’s plan of redemption through to the end. Having died as a substitute (??? Dr. MacArthur drops this out of the blue. After all his explanation about Jesus' blood, the cross, His sacrifice, and Him dying for us, Dr. MacArthur takes it all back. He makes Jesus into a substitute, taking the Father's wrath.  Jesus' blood isn't enough. His death is insufficient. Dr. MacArthur wants more than this, he wants Jesus to be punished by the Father.

This is inexplicable.)

for those whom the Father gave Him, He promises to see the process through to the final consummation in glory. Likewise, the Father, having already given His Son to die on our behalf, will not now withhold anything necessary to complete our redemption.