I'm not sure why you wouldn't hold to scripture as being the only spiritual authority for believers, (maybe you're a roman catholic?) so I'll let someone else tackle that one with you.
I will, however, lay some groundwork for particular redemption.
First lets get some misconceptions out of the way.
Both Calvinists and non-calvinists (read: Arminians) believe the following statement:
"The death of Christ was sufficient for all, but efficient for some."
The death of Christ was sufficient for every man, woman, and child that ever lived in the history of mankind, no one argues that. However, his death is only efficient for those that believe, right?
Only those who repent and believe the gospel receive any benefit of the atonement, is this not true? (the benefit being declared just in God's sight, God's wrath and justice is appeased and satisfied in Christ's punishment and not the man's)
The Calvinist merely sees that this was God's intention all along: to save some. To save the believers alone, not the unbelievers.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He sent his son so that the believers would never perish, but have eternal life.
This already rules out universalism, so the atoning work of Christ is already limited this much.
However, the Arminian claims that God's intention all along was to save every single person, or merely make salvation possible for all. However, in this view, God fails over and over and over again to bring a great majority of people to faith and repentance, making The Father's election, the Son's atonement, and the Spirit's work in regeneration (born again) all frustrated and overthrown.
The Calvinist believes that God failed at nothing - He saved every single person He intended to save. Not a single one is lost, all of them will repent, and be glorified.
Lets tackle these claims step by step.
Many people can quote Romans 8:28, but most do not understand how the following set of verses relate to it.
Verse 28 says that all things work together for good for God's people, and God's people are described as "those that love God" and "who are the called according to His purpose"
Verse 29 and 30 explain 5 steps that God does, that God's people experience:
1) Foreknown
2) Predestined
3) Called
4) Justified
5) Glorified
First, notice that all 5 are linked together like a chain:
Every single person foreknown is also predestined
Every single person predestined is also called
Every single person called is also justified
Every single person justified is also glorified
In short, every single person foreknown is glorified. This is why Paul is so confident that all things eventually end up good for God's people, because this chain of events is so certain and absolute that there is no possibility of frustration or failure, which results in a promise from God that cannot be broken.
If some of the predestined were not called, for example, and somehow a portion of those people slipped through the cracks, then they would not end up glorified. Thankfully this is not the case -therefore Paul can make such a promise with no fear of the promise being broken.
Secondly, notice the order of events.
1) foreknown 2) predestined 3) called
It is important to note that being foreknown and predestined precede being called, not vice versa.
This rules out the idea of conditional election in that God foresaw that some would respond to the calling, so then He reacts by foreknowing and predestining them.
This is why election is called "unconditional" election, because there was nothing good in the sinners that God saw to make them worthy of being elected (all were dead in sins, enemies of God, enmity against Him) - rather, He elected them out of pure, free love and grace. (by grace are you saved)
If conditional election were true, the verse would read the opposite:
"Whom he called, and then saw they would respond, he foreknew, and whom he foreknew, he predestined"
Thirdly, look at the word "foreknow". The passage does not say anything about certain actions being foreseen, but rather, certain people being foreknown.
"Whom He did foreknow"
Split the word into two parts:
Fore - before hand, before the world began, before creation
Know - to know someone in a personal relationship sense
Foreknow - to enter into a relationship before time began
Fourthly - Verse 32 is a powerful argument that gives assurance beyond description. The argument is simple. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? In other words, if God literally "delivered" up his Son unto the death of the cross, and he did, will he not do everything necessary to protect the investment for which he paid such a high price? If God has already given us the best gift of all, his blessed Son, will he keep back the second and third things? Do you see the logic of Paul's great assurance.
"will he not do everything necessary to protect the investment for which he paid such a high price?" - Does this not prove the doctrine of limited atonement/particular redemption
If Christ was delivered up for every single individual, then God would likewise provide all other things for all men for free as well, but He does not - he only provides faith and repentance to some (the elect, the believers, the church, the bride)
Rather, Christ was delivered up for the people in Romans 8:28 - those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose!
John 6, 10, and 17 deal with the atoning work of Christ as well, many times in His own words.
John 6:37-40
In verse 37 Christ declares that every single person who the Father gave to the Son will come to Him. There is no ifs, ands, or buts here. Salvation is a sovereign work of God. It is not said that only some of those given to the Son will come, but all of them. 100%.
In the next verse Christ explains the reason He came from heaven - to do the Father's will.
In verse 39, He defines that will - That of all that the Father gives the Son, the Son will lose none of them, but raise them up again at the resurrection.
Yet again Christ declares that every single person for whom the Father gave him, for whom He will atone for on the cross, will absolutely be saved and glorified at the end. There is no chance of some of them a) not coming to Christ and b) being lost and not raised up at the last day
Finally in verse 40, He offers another attribute or description for the people discussed in the previous 3 verses: They will look on the Son and believe in Him and receive eternal life.
In John 10:11, 14-16
In both verses 11 and 15 Christ declares that He will lay down his life for the sheep.
In verse 16, Christ explains that there are some sheep that are not yet saved - they are not yet in His flock - but He will find them, and they will hear his voice, and be saved, and follow him.
In John
In John 24-25 the Pharisees still did not believe even after being eyewitnesses to Christ's miracles, and in verse 26, Christ explains why:
"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. "
The reason for their unbelief is because they were not His sheep. Notice it is not said that they are not sheep because they do not believe, but rather, Christ said the opposite. They do not believe BECAUSE they are not His sheep.
If they are not sheep, then everything said of the sheep in verses 11-16, and 28-29 does not apply to them!
1) Christ was not laying down his life for them (v11, v15)
2) They will not inherit eternal life (v 28)
3) Christ will not go after them to seek and find them and bring them to the flock (v16)
4) They were not given from the Father to the Son (v 29)
Finally, in John 17, Christ is praying a priestly prayer as mediator for God's people whom He is about to atone for, bearing all of their iniquities in full (It is finished, paid in full!)
In verses 2-3 it is said that Christ will secure eternal life for "as many as the Father had given him"
And last but not least, for Christ to atone for every individual on earth would make God unjust. Observe:
If Christ atones for every single human being, then every single human being would be declared just before God, and be saved. Yet we know many will perish into hell.
This provides a problem of double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is when a person is tried twice for the same offense, which is unjust.
I'll let Charles Spurgeon say it in much better words than I could:
Thanks for reading this rather long winded post. I look forward to hearing back from you. If you are interested in the topic, the book "The Death of Death" by John Owen is the definitive work on Christ's perfect and substitutionary atonement.
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lol
