From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective

by David Gibson

The sufficiency of the cross shows the sinner outside of Christ the one place where refuge from God’s wrath can be found. It assures him that there is no sin too evil to be forgiven, no sin too bad for the blood of Christ. It is then, as the sinner is united to Christ and believes, that he actually finds the comfort of forgiveness. The believing sinner can be assured that Christ died effectively for him because he bore the punishment for the specific sins of his particular people, among whom he is now numbered. Definite atonement does not undermine the powerful preaching of the cross of the Scriptures. On the contrary, it alone can sustain the liberating assurance of penal substitutionary atonement: “Christ bore the punishment for your sins.”