|
THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF CHRIST ON THE TREE With Apologies to John Owen
What did Christ accomplish by His death?
Christ said that He came, “...to give his life
a ransom for many,” (Mark 10:45). In John
10:15 He said, “...I lay down my life for the
sheep.” Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus,
was told, “...thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins,”
(Matthew 1:21). So it is evident that Jesus came to
accomplish a specific thing for a specific people.
Christ could have died for all the sins of all
men. If He died for all men, then all men are saved. Or Christ could have died
for only some of the sins of all men. If Christ had died only for some of the
sins of all men, then all men are lost because all men have some sins for which
they must be judged and punished. Or Christ could have died for all the sins of
some men. If that is the case, then only some men are saved. And that is the
truth. That is the case for all men are not saved, but only some men are.
Someone says, “Christ died for all men, it is
their unbelief that keeps them from being saved.” “Well, we answer, is their
unbelief a sin or is it not?” “Yes, it is a sin.” “Ah, then Christ died for it.”
If as some say, Christ died for all the sins of all men, then He died for their
unbelief. If He died for all the sins of all men, then no man has any sins for
which He must answer. If Christ died for all the sins of all men, then He died
for the sins of Judas the betrayer
and Judas has no sins for which he must be
judged. If no man has sins unpaid for by Christ, then God unfairly sends men to
eternal punishment for all their sin debt was paid.
Someone says, but men must repent or pray the
sinner's prayer or some other such work in order to be saved. We ask just where
in the Bible does it say that salvation comes as a result of man's work? Paul
wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast, (Ephesians 2:8-9). Will you
believe God's Word or the ideas of mere men? Will you admit that God never told
us in His Word that a man could do something and bring about his new birth?
Consider the words of Jesus to Nicodemus:
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again,” (John 3:6-7). All men are
shut up to this: “...it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy,”
(Romans 9:16).
|
