Thursday, March 22, 2012

Did Jesus Die For All Men?

Here is an analogy of my own: 50 people are in a large body of water drowning. I jump in and, through my greatest efforts, am able to rescue 10 people. Perhaps I even give my own life in the process of rescuing them. The other 40, despite my efforts, die. How many people did I rescue? 10! I may have tried to rescue the other 40, but I cannot be called the rescuer of the 40 because they were never rescued. I tried but failed.

If you are the kind of person who believes that Jesus died for each and every man and woman who has ever lived, this is precisely what your belief about Jesus does. Your belief says that Jesus tries but fails in His attempt to save at least some. You quote verses such as 1 Timothy 4:10 and 2 Peter 2:1 as your proof texts, taking them at face value, but ignoring the other 500 verses that, at face value, say quite the opposite thing.

In John 6:37 it says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” Not some. Not most. All! The giving precedes the coming. He says in verse 44 that, “No one can come unless the Father who sent me draws him” and in verse 65 “no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” If all men were drawn, then they would all be raised up unto eternal life on the last day because, according to the Greek grammar of the text, the "him" being drawn in verse 44 is the same "him" being raised up in verse 44. They are one and the same. So if they are being drawn, then they are being raised unto life.

Scripture says, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). This includes salvation. Further, when the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied by saying, “With men it is impossible” (Mark 10:27). Salvation is a gift given by God (Ephesians 2:8-9) that has nothing to do with our profession of faith. Do you want to see what your profession of faith amounts to? Look at Matthew 7:21-23. Salvation has nothing to do with us because “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).

In order to be a Saviour of a thing, it implies that that thing must be saved. The Greek word translated “Saviour” in 1 Timothy 4:10 is sōtēr, which is properly translated as “preserver,” because God’s kindness reaches “all men, but especially those who believe.” His salvation does not. If it did, then all men would be saved, which is Universalism. Although you would deny it, the belief you ascribe to contains elements of Universalism. It cannot be said that Jesus is the Saviour of men residing in hell. It is impossible and a contradiction in terms. Think about it. If He is the Saviour of all (each and every) men, then all men must be saved. When He died on the cross, was He dying for those already in hell? No! Was He dying for those who will be in hell? Of course not. For Scripture states that these men "were before of old ordained to this condemnation" (Jude 1:4; cf 2 Peter 2:3).

You would quote 2 Peter 2:1 in an attempt to claim Jesus bought each and every man and woman with His blood, but the immediate context and the context of the entire chapter contradict your understanding of this verse. Immediately after “denying the Lord who bought them” it says “bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” But wait a minute. I thought Jesus bought them. The purchase by blood is redemption. So if Jesus redeemed them, how is it that destruction befalls them? Hebrews tells us He secured an “eternal redemption.” Since being “bought” implies redemption, how is it that your position makes invalid the “eternal” claim of that redemption? We are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Your understanding is flawed. Verses 20-21 shed some light on the issue. These men professed to be bought by the Lord, but their actions (Titus 1:16) and the passing of time proved otherwise (1 John 2:19).

Regarding 2 Peter 2:1, Simon J. Kistemaker has this to say:
DOCTRINAL CONSIDERATIONS IN 2:1
The clause who bought them presents difficulties for the interpreter. Can those whom Christ has redeemed ever be lost? Did the false teachers lose their salvation? Some commentators assert that "Christ bought them at the tremendous price of his blood to be his own forever." but the fact that the teachers faced swift destruction contradicts this interpretation.
Commenting on this clause, Henry Alford confidently states, "No assertion of universal redemption can be plainer than this." But if Jesus had given these teachers eternal life, they would never have fallen away. Scripture clearly teaches that those people to whom Jesus has given eternal life "shall never perish" (John 10:28; also see Rom. 8:29-30, 32-35; Eph. 1:3-14).
Although Christ's death was sufficient to redeem the whole world, its efficiency comes to light only in God's chosen people. Were the false teachers recipients of God's saving grace? Apparently not, for they repudiated Christ. If we look at the words "denying the sovereign Lord who bought them" in the light of the broader context, we discover a clue. We notice that at one time these false teachers professed the name of Christ, for they said that they knew him and the way of righteousness (2:20-21). They made it known that Jesus had bought them, but they eventually rejected Christ and left the Christian community. As John writes, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us" (1 John 2:19; and see Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-29). Hence, their denial of Christ showed that they were not redeemed.
Matthew Poole said:
This is spoken not only of their pretences, that they should profess themselves redeemed by Christ, but in the style of the visible church, which should judge them to be so till they declared the contrary by their wicked actions; and it likewise holds true in a forensical or judicial style, according to which whosoever professeth himself to be redeemed by Christ, and yet denies him in his deeds, is said to deny the Lord that bought him; it being alike as to the greatness of the crime, whether he be really redeemed, or, professing himself to be so, denies his Redeemer.
Ephesians 1:4 says that “[God] chose us in [Jesus] before the foundations of the world.” Scripture says that Christ was “slain from the foundations of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Before God ever began the foundations of the universe, Jesus’ blood had purchased a people for Himself. Time just had to wait for the revealing of that purchase, just as it waits to reveal each believer in his/her time. Revelation states clearly that there are those “whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundations of the world” (17:8; cf 13:8). Before the foundations of the universe were laid, there were certain individuals whose names were written in the book of life and certain individuals whose names were not written in the book of life. The price Jesus paid was, as Hebrews states, “once for all time.” Each believer is not purchased separately. We were all purchased at the same time at a single point in time. Time waits to reveal each one, which is what 2 Peter 3:9 is teaching. God is long suffering so that each and every believer appointed to believe (Acts 13:48) comes to belief. And they will (John 6:37)!

Further, Acts 20:28 and Ephesians 5:25-27 tell us that Jesus shed His blood and gave Himself for the Church—His bride. In John 10:11 and 15b, Jesus declared that he lays His life down for the sheep. What about the goats? Jesus never laid His life down and shed His blood for the goats. Scripture never mentions mediation for any other except His own! Jesus said, "You do not believe because you are not part of my flock" (John 10:26). Take extremely careful note of the fact that it does not say, "You are not part of my flock because you do not believe." He also said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me" (John 6:37a). Again, take extremely careful note of the fact that it does not say, "All that come to me the Father will give me." Those who believe were already given to Jesus before the foundations of the universe (see Eph. 1:4). Jesus also declared, "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours" (John 17:9). He only prays for those who belong to Him!

If Jesus purchased each and every individual, then they would belong to Him because He paid the price for them. To say, as you do, that He purchased them but they chose not to come says (a) that we are sovereign over God, and (b) that the price He paid was not sufficient enough to truly purchase them. This is what your position advocates, which does great harm to Jesus and His redeeming work. If we get to choose whether or not we come to Jesus by our supposed "free will" (which isn't free: see Jonah and God's will overriding his; see Nebuchadnezzar and God making him act crazy and eat grass for 7 years; see Romans and the fact our will is slave to sin until we come to Jesus where it is slave to God), then Jesus' words in John 6 are false. Then we can affect the outcome. We can decrease or increase the number saved. That means that it should read "some" or "most," but Jesus said "all" that the Father gives Him will come to Him. No ifs, ands, buts or maybes about it. They will come to Him. If we get to choose, and we choose no, it says that Jesus failed in what He came to accomplish. Either He set out to save "all" (each and every) and He fails to do so, or He set out to save “all” of a select few and He succeeded.

In the Old Testament, out of all the nations that were in existence, God chose Israel and left all the others to themselves. Within Israel, God chose a remnant for Himself and left the others to themselves. The amount of Gentiles God chose to save in the Old Testament can be counted on two hands. He chose one nation and left all the others to themselves. This is the undeniable reality with which God worked in the Old Testament, yet, when it comes to the New Testament, you ignore this information and want that God should choose nobody but that everyone should have the chance to come to salvation. Scripture is crystal clear on the fact that "no one seeks after God," so how do you figure they will come to salvation apart from Him? You think that for God to choose who He will save is unfair, but you forget that that is what He did with Israel as a nation and the remnant of Israelites within that nation. How is it unfair, when we do not seek Him and would only reject Him anyway? If you want fairness, then tell God to send you to hell because that is all you deserve. There is nothing fair in a sinner receiving salvation for which he did not earn himself - and you could never earn it with a thousand lifetimes. God grants salvation according to His good pleasure and purpose for His glory alone.

You see, your position says Jesus must try and fail in His attempt to save whereas my position (that of the Bible) says Jesus achieved exactly 100% what He set out to do. Romans 9:19-23 bears this fact, a chapter you struggle with accepting and will try your hardest to wiggle around and deny in any way, shape or form that you can. The thing you need to grasp hold of is the reality that not one of us deserves anything other than eternity in hell. If God decided to send all of us there, He would be just in doing so. He is under no obligation to save any, and He is by no means obligated to save all! He is free to save whoever He chooses. If, out of the billions of humans, He only chose to save 10, He is just in so doing. He does so for His glory. No other reason.

I love you as a brother or sister in Christ, but you are wrong in your position. It is noble to want to think that way, but it is not logical nor is it reality. Whether you like it or not, limited atonement is a biblical doctrine supported by Scripture (as seen from the numerous passages dealt with in this article). If I asked you, “If God was going to send you to hell anyway, would you still worship Him?” I am almost certain your answer would be “No,” which is very telling. Whether you end up in hell or not, you should still worship Him because He is worthy. To say “No” shows how little you understand and/or know about God and His holiness and us and our wretchedness. It is engulfed in the idea that we are better than we really are and that we deserve anything but hell. But you and I are only worthy of hell 100 times over. Why did God save you and I? For His glory! Nothing else!