T B Hoover on Adams and Limited Atonement

In his thesis T B Hoover writes 

Calvin's principle of limited atonement is found in the religious thought of Adams as might be expected in view of his doctrine of election. As he holds that not all are saved by eternal decree, so does he hold that Christ's atonement was limited in effect to the elect rather than extending to all men. This is not to say that Adams denies the fact that salvation is universally offered in the gospel. He readily admits this to be true and states that "the offer of salvation is general ..." (II, 43) But this admission in no way alters his belief that universal salvation is impossible. He speaks of the blood of the crucified Jesus as being effectual for the pardon of "none but those that bleed in soul for ... sins" (I, 164) and all "that will apprehend it faithfully." (II, 430). In "A Cruelfix" or a "Sermon upon the Passion," Adams' use of personal pronouns to signify the objects of Christ's atoning sacrifice might leave the impression that Christ's atonement was made for all people. Such an erroneous impression is corrected when the context of this usage is understood. Like the writer of the Scripture text of this sermon, it is Adams' intention to teach that those for whom Christ died consist only of those who either have or will appropriate Christ's death by faith. He thought of Paul's words to the Ephesians: "He hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour" as being relevant only to God's elect. It is with this limitation that he makes redemption apply to the pronoun "us." He further shows that atonement is limited by Christ's words "I give my life" being qualified by the other words "for my sheep" and draws the conclusion that for some there is no more mercy than if there were no Saviour. (II, 366.)  This Calvinist doctrine is most explicitly seen to be Adams' in his discussion of the Covenant of Grace in his discourse upon "The Creed." Here he states that God's promise of reconciliation to raise up forlorn man from his misery is found in a covenant not with all men "but only with those to whom the free mercy of God hath given faith." (III, 205.) Here he says further: "That doctrine is repugnant to the Scripture, and unsound, which teacheth the redemption by the Second Adam to be as universal as the sin of the first; it is so, indeed, for value and sufficiency, it is not so for communication of the benefit." (III, 206.) This same thought is expressed in his treatment of a preceding portion of "The Creed" - "As the first Adam did not sin only for himself, but for all that should come after him; so the second Adam did not die at all for himself, but for all [not everybody] that should come unto him?" (III, 88) Adams finds in Christ' s words "I pray not for the world" (John 17:9) conclusive evidence for limited atonement on the grounds that redemption and intercession are related parts of Christ's mediatorship, and deduces that Christ's exclusion from his redemption follows his exclusion from his intercession. "... for whom he does not pray, he did not die: he did not open his side, if he will not open his mouth for them." (III, 208)

In summing up Adams' thought with reference to a doctrine of limited atonement, it can be said that he accepted atonement as extending in its effects generally to all men as an act of providence, and at the same time being limited in effects whereby it could be enjoyed by some and not by others as an instrument of salvation.