Does the Doctrine of Limited Atonement Undermine Evangelism? - by R.C. Sproul

Found here. Our comments in bold.

It is refreshing that a Bible teacher actually quotes some Scripture. But if Dr. Sproul quoted them to prove his doctrine, these Scriptures do not do that.

And, the question to answer from the title is about how the doctrine might come to bear on evangelism, not if the doctrine is true.
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A frequently cited objection against the doctrine of limited atonement is that it undermines evangelism. (Dr. Sproul doesn't tell us why this might be. The argument is that if only the elect are predestined to be saved then evangelism doesn't matter. )

All orthodox Christians, Calvinists included, believe and teach that the atonement of Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed to all men. We are to say that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The misconception exists that because Calvinists believe in the doctrine of limited atonement, they have no passion to go out and preach the cross to everyone. Calvinists have been careful since Augustine to insist that the gospel is to be offered to all men—even though we know that not everyone will respond to it. (??? Calvin was born in 1509, but Augustine was born in 354. How is it possible that Calvinists did things before Calvin was born?) 

Many Calvinists have been zealous evangelists. (Yes, of course. But the behavior of Calvinists does not speak to the doctrine.)

The doctrine of limited atonement, in reality, is helpful in evangelism. The Calvinist knows that not everyone will respond to the gospel message, but he also knows with certainty that some will respond to it. By contrast, the Arminian doesn’t know that not everyone will respond. In the Arminian’s mind, it’s a theoretical possibility that everybody will repent and believe. However, the Arminian also must deal with the possibility that no one will respond. He can only hope that his gospel presentation will be so persuasive that the unbeliever, lost and dead in his trespasses and sins, will choose to cooperate with divine grace so as to take advantage of the benefits offered in the atonement. (Let's set aside the false dichotomy of Calvinism vs, Arminianism and untangle this. Dr. Sproul writes that a Calvinist knows not everyone will respond, but an Arminian doesn't? We have never met anyone of any doctrinal persuasion who is under the impression that everyone will respond to a Gospel presentation. 

Further, an Arminian is not uniquely under a burden to accept the possibility that no one might respond. The Calvinist also has no guarantee that his gospel presentation will have any positive result.

Dr. Sproul seems to have some private knowledge about Arminians and the processes of their evangelism he isn't sharing. But beyond that, his paragraph opened with an assertion that Limited Atonement is helpful in evangelism. He never did explain why.)

If we can get past such perceived problems with the doctrine of limited atonement, (Well, we would be happy to get past the perceived problems if Dr. Sproul actually addressed them.)

we can begin to see the glory of it—that the atonement Christ made on the cross was real and effectual. It wasn’t just a hypothetical atonement. (Who teaches "hypothetical atonement?"

At this point Dr. Sproul abandons the topic and moves on to defending the doctrine.)

It was an actual atonement. He didn’t offer a hypothetical expiation for the sins of His people; their sins were expiated. He didn’t give a hypothetical propitiation for our sins; He actually placated God’s wrath toward us. By contrast, according to the other view, the atonement is only a potentiality. (Several "hypotheticals" with no explanation. Why is the effect of the sacrificial death of Jesus required to be hypothetical if one disagrees with Calvin? Why would the atonement be only a potentiality?)

Jesus went to the cross, paid the penalty for sin, (He did not pay the penalty for sin. There is no verse that says this. His spilled blood cleansed us from sin as a sacrificial offering. His death was required to spill His blood. He paid no penalty, because no one was owed anything.)

and made the atonement, but now He sits in heaven wringing His hands and hoping that someone will take advantage of the work He performed. (Total nonsense. No one, including Arminians, believe this.)

This is foreign to the biblical understanding of the triumph and the victory Christ achieved in His atoning death.

In His High Priestly Prayer in John 17:6–9a, Jesus said:

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. . . . They have . . . known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them.

This was Jesus, the Savior, speaking here. Notice that He said He was praying for His disciples—not for the world. In the most poignant prayer of intercession He offered in this world as our High Priest, Jesus explicitly said He was not praying for everybody. Instead, He was praying for the elect. (??? Dr. Sproul term switches from "His disciples" to "the elect." This is dishonest.)

There is a plan of God designed for your salvation. It is not an afterthought or an attempt to correct a mistake. (**Sigh** Who thinks this?)

Is it conceivable that Jesus would be willing to die for the whole world but not pray for the whole world? (Yes, it is conceivable. Mt. 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... Our enemies are not the saved, they are part of the world.) 

That doesn’t make sense. He was being consistent. He had come to lay down His life for His sheep. He was going to die for His people, and He made it clear here that those were the ones for whom He was about to die. (His people and His sheep were the Jews:

Ps. 74:1 Why have you rejected us for ever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 

Mt. 10:6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 

Mt. 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

His mission was to recover the lost sheep. Therefore, Jews who were saved are the elect. But He does have other sheep, who when they hear His voice will come: 

Jn. 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

But importantly, Jesus said that the sheep must enter through him to be His:

Jn. 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

This of course means that His sheep are not the saved [Ps. 49:14].

Jesus always intended to attract the whole of humanity, not just the elect: 

Jn. 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.

Jn. 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Jn. 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Mt. 13:23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 

Jesus' sacrificial death was to save the whole world, but only some will receive it. That is a fact of the Gospel.)

There is no question here of indiscrimination. Jesus was about to make atonement, and that atonement would be effective for everyone for whom He intended it to be effective.

If you are of the flock of Christ, one of His lambs, then you can know with certainty that an atonement has been made for your sins. You may wonder how you can know you’re numbered among the elect. I cannot read your heart or the secrets of the Lamb’s Book of Life, but Jesus said: “‘My sheep hear My voice’” (John 10:27a). If you want Christ’s atonement to avail for you, and if you put your trust in that atonement and rely on it to reconcile you to almighty God, in a practical sense, you don’t need to worry about the abstract questions of election. (A refreshing admission. Though obsessed with the doctrines of Calvin, Dr. Sproul admits they don't matter.)

If you put your trust in Christ’s death for your redemption and you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then you can be sure that the atonement was made for you. That, more than anything else, will settle for you the question of the mystery of God’s election. Unless you’re elect, you won’t believe on Christ; you won’t embrace the atonement or rest on His shed blood for your salvation. (How does one know that he is not a false convert?)

If you want it, you can have it. It is offered to you if you believe and if you trust. (No, if the atonement is limited, it cannot be offered, for it is pre-ordained.)

One of the sweetest statements from the lips of Jesus in the New Testament is this: “‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (Matt. 25:34b). (This verse tells us the Kingdom was pre-prepared, not that its occupants are pre-ordained.)

There is a plan of God designed for your salvation. It is not an afterthought or an attempt to correct a mistake. Rather, from all eternity, God determined that He would redeem for Himself a people, and that which He determined to do was, in fact, accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ, His atonement on the cross. Your salvation has been accomplished by a Savior Who is not merely a potential Savior but an actual Savior, One Who did for you what the Father determined He should do. He is your Surety, your Mediator, your Substitute, your Redeemer. He atoned for your sins on the cross.