The following is an edited correspondence.

I agree that what you call the "effective specific atonement" is biblical. How do I respond to objections against it based on 1 Timothy 2:3-6 and 2 Peter 3:9?

Please refer to my Systematic Theology, p. 142-146. These pages assume as their background the previous several pages, so it will be helpful to read p. 137-142 as well. I am not sure if I have addressed these verses elsewhere also.

I have discussed the doctrine in various places and in different ways. Although I do not always deal with these verses, I present principles of interpretation that apply to all similar verses and the objections based on them. For example, look up what I say about the topic in Born Again and in Commentary on Ephesians.

Proponents of universal atonement assert that we should read these verses in their plain sense, but by that they mean that "all" and "every" must mean "all" and "every" without exception, qualification, or limitation. However, "all" and "every" rarely refer to boundless universals whether in everyday conversations or in technical materials.

"All the passengers arrived safely." Really? Do you mean all the passengers on the Titanic? Do you have in mind all the passengers on all transportation devices in the history of humankind, including those in the future? Or are you talking about only one busload of people, or even just the three or four friends that you drove home? "Everybody knows that Tom likes Ann." Really? Everybody in Tibet knows? The panda at the zoo knows? How about all the men and women of the past and the future? Or do you mean just the fifteen or so classmates in your high school who gossipped about it?

So they think that we distort the plain sense of Scripture to fit our theology, but we are merely trying to honor the text and its author. "All" and "every" are always defined and limited by the context — they mean "all" and "every" within the boundary specified or implied by the context of the discussion. Therefore, to begin with the assumption that "all" and "every" mean "all" and "every" without exception, qualification, or limitation also means that the person has too little respect for the one making the statement to acknowledge the context. The implication is that proponents of universal atonement who ignore the contexts have no respect for God. To read the Bible as they do is to make a mockery out of his Word. Such irreverence is to be harshly condemned.

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