This is from another thread with the same question.
I wrote it so that we can see the PHILOSOPHY behind the OSAS view
I guess it would be helpful to look at OSAS Justification, to best understand what is being said.
Much of the Reformed Protestant view is a courtroom setting and I think that may be the view of the Baptist guy, you are trying to refute.
I would rather not speak for him, but this is a typical Reformed view. I am Catholic re-vert and do not hold to this but, once did. Forgive me for my inability to explain it, but If I remember correct it went a little something like this!
God is Just, Perfect and Holy. A just judge cannot let law breakers go. It would be unjust of Him. I’m a law breaker, I should be punished under God’s Penal Code. The wages for sin is Death! I sinned I deserve Death.
I am a sinner, but a sacrifice was made in my place to take away my sins. The unblemished Lamb of God Jesus Christ.
God demands that satisfaction is made to the Law! He must punish sin!
My sins and the punishment that they deserve are taken from me, and imputed to Christ on the cross!** The Punishment that we deserve, was taken by Christ on the cross in my place, a substitutionary atonement, when the Father poured His Wrath upon His Son**. Since Christ Suffers the equivalent of an eternity in Hell in payment for my sins which He took upon Himself! God’s Penal code, His Wrath has been satisfied in a penal substitution! Christ suffered God’s Wrath in my stead!
Since sin has been dealt with, it is dead, so to speak, it cannot be punished again! It is finished! You can’t send a dead man to prison, It’s done
Now did Christ die for the sins of the world!
- If the Answer is Yes, then one must be a universalist and posit that NONE will go to hell
- If the answer is no, than the ATONEMENT of Christ was LIMITED to the ELECT.
If a Person tries to say that the Sacrifice on Calvary was sufficient to Save ALL men, then ALL men are now without sin! There, you can point out a flaw in logic. Either the sin was taken and judged or it wasn’t! So did the Sacrifice on Calvary pay for and judge the sins of ALL men or not, if you hold to a Penal substitution? No, it must only be the Chosen, THE ELECT!
Now since MY sin was JUDGED at the cross, the cannot be held against me! Is that enough to enter heaven?
No, ALL I have is my righteousness that doesn’t amount to squat, being that I’m still a sinner. That just puts me back to Zero so to speak. Only the righteous will enter heaven. How do I get enough righteousness to get into heaven?
The Resurrection conquered sin and death and Christ righteousness is triumphant!
God is Perfect and Holy. I couldn’t possibly be righteous enough to enter heaven, because my works are but filthy rags before Him.
In the same manner my Sin was imputed to Christ, His righteousness is imputed to me.
Only perfection can stand before God, since I have received the Perfect righteousness of Christ, by imputation, I can now stand before God blameless and holy.
How did this transaction transpire? When I was born of the Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit was the gift of God to ME His elect!
I won’t even bother on the how because many Protestants have different views on HOW!
But in the Reformed world, I was drawn and received the Spirit, so that I could believe. One is regenerated prior to belief!
The fact that the others besides me did not have their sins payed for and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is not unjust of God. They were all on death row, guilty of sin, the fact that we ELECT were pardoned is a gift of mercy. God will have mercy on who He will have mercy, we are His Creatures and He can do with us as HE pleases!
This should give you an overview of a Reformed view of Justification! I am Catholic, so this is not part of my belief! If I misrepresented Reformed Theology, my apologies, and I ask that you revise where needed!
I think it would be beneficial to lay out the Catholic position next, but I’m tired. I would like to present the Latin Rite Satisfaction Theory of Atonement, but it’s a little late for me. An Orthodox Christus Victor Theory of Atonement would be great as well. I feel that I may be under equipped to do that without a bit of research, so all you Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholics feel free to chime in
