Charge: Arminianism violates Double Jeopardy by extracting Double Payment.
Calvinist Complaints: Arminianism violates Double Jeopardy
One Calvinist explains: “If Christ did indeed die for every, single human being (i.e. bore the punishment of sin for each and every person), then there would be no need for God to punish anyone else for the same sin. In fact, it would be unjust for him to do so. The very fact that people die and go to Hell is enough proof that the atonement is limited. (Actually, both Calvinists and Arminians teach limited atonement. Calvinists limit the scope of the atonement, whereas Arminians limit its effectiveness.)” (The Contemorary Calvinist, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, R.C. Sproul, explains: “If God accepts payment of one person’s moral debt from another, will he then exact payment of the same debt later by the person himself? The answer is obviously no.” (What is Reformed Theology?, p.166, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, James White, writes: “How will the opponent of a fully substitutionary and effective atonement respond to this argument? Does God the Father actually place the sins of those He knows will spend eternity in hell upon His Son?” (Debating Calvinism, p.173, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, William MacDonald, explains: “Here we should pause to remind ourselves that while these false teachers to whom Peter refers had been bought by the Lord, they had never been redeemed. The NT distinguishes between purchase and redemption. All are purchased but not all are redeemed. Redemption applies only to those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, availing themselves of the value of His shed blood (1 Pet. 18, 19).” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p.2295, emphasis mine)
The universal purchase lays the groundwork for a universal provision, whereby the free gift of Christ’s grace, which abounds to all men (Romans 5:15), may be received by anyone who calls upon Him (Romans 10:13), in order to go from purchased to redeemed. Make no mistake about it, everyone was purchased, just as 2nd Peter 2:1 confirms.
Lutzer explains: “Suppose I were to owe you a thousand dollars but was unable to pay my debt. But a kind friend intervenes and pays you what I owe. But you still elicit a payment from me, asking that I pay ever last cent. Would that be just? I think not. If my friend paid my debt, justice requires that I be free. The analogy is clear: if Christ’s sacrifice was for all men, then either all men will be saved or God will be unfairly demanding from sinners what has already been paid. If Christ died for people who will be in hell, his justice is in jeopardy. How could a righteous God demand a double payment for the same debt? ‘But,’ we protest, ‘the payment is no good unless it is accepted.’ Calvinists point out that the important point is that God has already accepted Christ’s payment on the cross.” (The Doctrines That Divide, pp.183-184, emphasis mine)
Lutzer concludes: “If this was a payment for the sins of the whole world, then the unbelief of the ungodly was also included in the sacrifice. No one should be expected to pay for his sins in hell. If the treachery of Judas was included in Christ’s ransom, which the Father accepted, why should he be required to suffer for his sins?” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.184, emphasis mine)
The “kind friend” in Lutzer’s analogy bought the note of your sin-debt, but you still owe the “thousand dollars,” except now you owe it to the purchaser. However, due to the kindness of Christ, the only currency that He accepts for payment of your debt of a “thousand dollars” is faith in Him. However, without faith in Him, He will enforce the Law upon you (Matthew 5:17-18), so that in default, you will be sent to prison. Five-point Calvinists, like Erwin Lutzer, mistakenly believe that they simply got a free thousand dollars with no strings attached. John 3:16 confirms that receiving the gift of eternal life is conditioned on faith in Christ.
God accepted Christ’s substitutionary payment at Calvary in order to become the new owner of your soul. “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1st Corinthians 6:20) The benefit of having Christ as the new mortgagee of your soul is that He has a special offer, and it’s a really great offer. According to Him, if you will simply place your trust in Him (John 3:16), then He will agree to pay off the full balance of your debt, on the merit of His shed blood alone. If you fail to act on His special offer, then your balance will remain in force and you will have to pay every last cent, and that’s why the Law remains in force until Judgment Day. (Matthew 5:18) With this free gift, Jesus reaches out to the world. However, this is not to be taken to mean that faith is a merit that pays for sin. That’s not it at all. Trusting in Christ is not an act of self-righteousness, but imputed righteousness. When you place your trust in Christ, the merit of His blood is applied to the doorpost of your heart. Christ holds out the free gift of eternal life to all men, and for His part, He willing that all receive it.
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, uses an analogy to explain the Double Jeopardy argument.
Question: Did Jesus die for the sins of even those who end up going to Hell?
Answer: Arminianism affirms a Universal Purchase but not Universal Redemption, insomuch that Jesus died for everyone, having made a universal provision for salvation, so that whosoever believes in Him, will have eternal life.
Consider the analogy of a home mortgage: Have you ever owned a home? If you’ve ever owned a home, then there is a good chance that at some point, your mortgage was bought out by another lender. In effect, that lender has paid off your mortgage note. Now what you should do is this: Write a letter to the new lender and tell them that since you are a 5-Point Calvinist, that you believe that you are no longer obligated to make any further monthly payments since they have already, kindly paid off the mortgage for you, and in having paid it off for you, any additional payments would therefore constitute “double payment.” What you’ll find in response is a legal foreclosure. The old mortgage was satisfied (1st John 2:2), but the new lender expects to be paid every last cent! (Matthew 5:26)
