Christ Died For Every Person
Christ did die for every person on earth without exception. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Jesus died to save all humanity from the consequences of their own sins, which is eternal death (Matthew 20:28). He atoned for the claims of God’s law (John 3:16; Romans 6:23). The pain, humiliation, and abuse that we deserve, He took upon Himself.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). The fact that it was for us, and not for Himself, that He suffered and died is reiterated nine times in verses 4-6. What Jesus did, He did voluntarily and cheerfully, in order that doomed sinners might be saved.
Being the Creator of all, Jesus’ life was more than enough to atone for the lives of His creation. In taking Adam’s place, Jesus became the head of the human race, and died on the cross as its representative. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45). Thus, in a sense, when Christ died the entire race died with Him. As He represented all men, so His death represented the death of all (1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Romans. 5:12, 18, 19).
One Condition
Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay the penalty for all sins. However, this does not mean universal salvation, for every sinner must accept the sacrifice offered by the Savior in order to make it effective for him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). There is no Bible support for limiting the word “all” to an elect few, with the rest of humanity excluded from receiving the saving grace of the cross and therefore predestined to be lost.
The Bible declares, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:16–21 also Ephesians 1:4–6).
The Death of Jesus Grants Victory
Not only did Jesus die to offer an atonement for sin to free repentant sinners from eternal death (Revelation 20:5, 14). But He also provided for their victory over their sinful corrupted nature and allowed for their walking in the newness of life. The apostle Paul declared, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3, 4 also Galatians 2:19, 20; Philippians 3:10).
As the death of Jesus had the resurrection in view (Romans 4:25), so also justification does not stop with the believer’s death to sin. Rather, this death to sin leads to another powerful and new life. Justification leads to the believer’s complete sanctification and victory over sin. Thus, he can triumphantly declare, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team