Some comments on these Andrew Bonar excerpts. For the entire article by Andrew Bonar see this link:
http://www.mountzion.org/fgb/Fall01/FgbF6-01.html
<<As He ended the last drop, and cried out, “It is finished,” we may believe angels felt an inconceivable relief—and even the Father Himself! So tremendous was the wrath and curse!—the wrath and curse due to our sin.>>
Chris: “It is finished.” Absolutely. Christ finished the transgression and brought in an everlasting righteousness for all whom He represented in His wrath/curse bearing death upon the cross:
“Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people, and as to your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy” (Daniel 9:24).
Chris: Of course, you will see below what exactly Bonar meant by the ‘our’ in his above comment, “the wrath and curse due to our sin.”
A comment on those–in a sort of random sequence–who say that “faith” is the condition that the sinner must meet before they can benefit from an atonement for iniquity’:
From John Calvin to John Wesley; from John Wesley to John Owen; from John Owen to Jacob Arminius; from Jacob Arminius to Thomas Boston; from Thomas Boston to Andrew Bonar, they ALL DENY that the SOLE CONDITION, the ONLY CONDITION for salvation is to have a perfect and spotless righteousness, a righteous that would SATISFY and answer the demands of God’s Law and Justice. Daniel 9:24 beautifully shows us this aforementioned SOLE CONDITIONALITY of the Work of Christ in the matter of salvation. Daniel 9:24 says that He “finished the transgression” and “made an end of sins.”
So, what must the sinner do, what must the sinner perform or be ‘infallibly enabled’ to perform? Well, if you are a *consistent antichristian*, you will answer: “We must perform–or God must enable us to perform–the condition of finishing transgression, making an end of sins, making atonement for iniquity, and bringing in everlasting righteousness.” But of course, the antichristians are *not consistent* and thus they will say things like this: “Christ met all the meritorious conditions, and He is the meritorious cause of salvation”; while at the same time they will ALSO say things like this: “We must meet the instrumental condition of faith, and faith is the instrumental cause of salvation, etc.” Obviously here, the view is that Jesus Christ performs ‘meritorious conditions’ and yet NOTHING is applied and imputed unless the sinner–who is dead by the way–“does his part” [1] of meeting or being enabled infallibly to meet ‘instrumental conditions.’
[1] That sentiment sounds awfully familiar–like I’ve heard it somewhere before….Think “Stadiums” (i.e., the packed stadiums to hear the overt God-hater, Billy Graham).
Chris: John Owen says regarding ‘elect sinners’ that they must,
“be enabled infallibly to perform the conditions of the new covenant, upon the which they shall be admitted to glory” (John Owen, A Display of Arminianism, emphasis mine).
Chris: I mention only Owen here for a couple of reasons:
1) To some modern (also called “moderate” or “via media”) Calvinists, “Owenism” and “high Calvinism” is very dangerous and has done a lot of damage to the “church”. In view of the conditionalism of living genuine historical Calvinists–and those other genuine Calvinists who are now dead like Baxter, Shedd, Dabney, Douty, and of course let’s not forget Calvin–Owenism or high Calvinism should not be considered “dangerous” at all. For the genuine Calvinism of John Calvin himself asserts conditions to be performed by the sinner just as much as the high Calvinism of John Owen. And in the unregenerate and antichristian mind, what’s so “dangerous” about that?
2) Owen himself was so adamant in his repudiation of Arminianism and their conditionalism, and yet he held to a form of conditionalism as well as they. It is sadly ironic that Owen was condemning himself in his condemnation of the Arminians. Now back to some comments on Andrew Bonar’s comments:
<<He sought from Him all that was needed by justice craved.>>
Chris: In other words, a righteousness that would answer the demands of God’s Law and Justice. The inexorable justice of God was SATISFIED at the cross. Hence the words of Christ, “It is finished.” Christ SATISFIED God’s justice by being set forth as a propitiation. Christ’s blood propitiates. Faith believes that Christ’s blood propitiates. In contrast to the faith of believers, the “faith” of unbelievers and despisers of Christ’s blood believes that salvation is NOT conditioned on this propitiating blood, but on their blood despising “faith”.
<<And so we find in this transaction what may well be good news to us. For Jesus drank that cup as the substitute for “the great multitude,” His innumerable people, given Him of the Father; and thereby freed them from ever tasting even one drop of that fierce wrath, that “cup of red wine, full of mixture,” with its dregs, its unknown terrors. Now, this One, this only One, who so drank the whole, presents to the sinners of our world the emptied Cup—His own Cup emptied. He sends it round the world, calling on mankind—sinners to take it and offer it to the Father as satisfaction for their sins. Come, O fellow-sinner, grasp it and hold it up to God! Plead it, and thou art acquitted.<<
Chris: Bonar says that Christ freed “them” from ever tasting even one drop of that fierce cup of wrath. The cup is empty in Bonar’s mind–Or so it would seem. Oh, “blessed inconsistency!” Bonar is abiding and not abiding in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9) at the same time! Bonar says by the one fork of his serpentine tongue, that the cup is empty and is shown by Christ to be empty to all. But then, by the other fork of his tongue he will say that if the sinner does not hold up the empty cup, it just fills back up again. Bonar believes that Christ drunk the cup of wrath, down to its very dregs for all without exception. This so-called ’empty cup’ is now sent around the world in the hopes that some will hold–or be enabled infallibly to hold–it up for God to see.
But if one for whom this cup was supposedly drunk, does not hold it up, it fills back up and then the sinner who did not lift up the cup has to drink it. But I thought Bonar said that Christ already drank it for him? Yes, Bonar did say that. But guess what? Bonar lied. Now why would he do a nasty thing like that — lie about Christ like that I mean? He is like his father the devil and thus the insatiable desire of lying about Christ he desires to do:
<<Man of God who hast used this cup, keep pleading it always. Ever make it the ground of thine assurance of acceptance. Examine it often and well—see how God was glorified here, and how plentifully it illustrates and honors the claims of God’s righteousness. Full payment of every claim advanced by Justice is here; and so you, in using it, give good measure, pressed down and running over. What then remains but that you render thanks and take this salvation, often singing,—
“Once it was mine, that cup of wrath,
And Jesus drank it dry!”>>
Chris: But Bonar believes that if you don’t lift up the empty cup to the sky, if will fill back up, and thus he lies when he SAYS that Jesus drank it dry.
<<For again we say to you, fellow-sinner, if you accept it not, soon you shall have no opportunity of choice. May I never see one of my people drinking this awful cup! May I never see it put into their hands! The groaning of a soul, dying in sin, is at times heard on this side of the veil, and it is the saddest and most haunting of all solemn and awful scenes; but what is that to the actual drinking of the cup, and wringing out the very dregs, that God “poureth out of the same.” Never may Satan have it in his power to upbraid you with having once had the offer of salvation, an offer never made to him! It seems to me that every Sabbath, especially the Lord takes Gospel-hearers aside into a quiet secluded nook, and there sets down before them the “cup of red wine, full of mixture,” and then the emptied cup of Jesus, earnestly, most earnestly, most sincerely, most compassionately, pressing them to decide and be blessed. Men and brethren, never rest till the Holy Spirit has in your eye so glorified Christ who drank the cup, that you see in Him your salvation and God’s glory secured beyond controversy, beyond even Satan’s power to question or assail.>>
Chris: What an illustration Bonar uses to illustrate his blasphemy! Bonar has his ‘christ’ (but of course Bonar shows himself to be an unregenerate bastard by such an illustration) taking the sinner aside and presenting two cups before the sinner, one full of the wine of the wrath of God, the other cup being empty. Decide and be blessed says Bonar. Decide and be blessed. Well, contrary to Bonar’s blasphemy, we know that all for whom the cup was drunk will be blessed. For in drinking the cup, Christ propitiated the wrath and curse of God and established an everlasting righteousness. And for all those for whom Christ did not drink said cup will be made to drink. If those reprobate, those for whom Christ did not drink the cup for say,
“Well, we don’t want to drink it. We thought that the other ‘christ’ the ‘christ’ of Bonar was much ‘kinder and gentler’ in coaxing us to choose.”
Chris: But surely all those for whom Christ did not drink the cup for are not offered an empty cup, nor are they offered two cups: one full and the other empty. Not at all. On the contrary, the reprobate are those for whom Christ did NOT drink the cup, and since Christ did NOT drink their cup, they are given one fully mixed cup, and they will be made to drink:
“For a cup is in the hand of Jehovah; and the wine foams; it is fully mixed, and He pours out from it; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain its dregs and drink” (Psalm 75:8).
Chris: Now, how on earth could it ever be said that the reprobate are benefited in any ‘common grace’ or otherwise sense from Christ’s drinking the cup that belonged by nature, both them and the elect (Ephesians 2:3)?? For all those for whom Christ did NOT drink, will themselves drink this foaming cup that is fully mixed, that is poured out from the hand of Jehovah. The reprobate wicked will be made by Jehovah to drink this cup and drain its dregs in this life and throughout all eternity.
Agrammatos 