There is a great division among religious people over the doctrine of redemption. I am truly sorry that the division exists; but it does. Christ and his doctrine have always caused division among religious people. The great majority of religious people believe what is called UNIVERSAL, GENERAL REDEMPTION. They believe that Christ shed his blood for every person in the world, and that the intention of Christ in his death was the salvation of every person in the world. It seems evident to me that three, inescapeable conclusions must be drawn from such doctrine: (1) If it was our Lord's intention to redeem and save all men, and yet all men are not saved, then the purpose of Christ tn his death is frustrated. (2) If the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for every person in the world, and some of those for whom he died go to hell anyway, then, in that measure, Christ died in vain. And (3) if Christ died to make an atonement for all men, and some men yet perish under the wrath of God, then Christ has failed in his mission; his work of redemption is a failure.
These are blasphemous absurdities which we cannot and will not endure. They rob Christ of his glory tn redemption, destroy the foundation of our hope, and call into question the eternal Godhood of our Savior. (It must be concluded that, if Christ could fail in anything he attempted to do, or in anything he intended to do, he could not be the Almighty God!) If the commonly accepted doctrine of Universal, General Redemption is to be believed, these shocking conclusions must be accepted.
There are some, however, who believe the Bible doctrine of PARTICULAR, EFFECTUAL REDEMPTION. Among these people I am glad to be numbered, though we may be a despised few. We believe that the shed blood of Christ was of infinite value, but that the intention of Christ in his death never was the salvation of all men. Without question, if Christ had intended to save all men by his death, if that had been the purpose and object of his atonement, all men would have been saved. But the redemption and salvation of all men never was his purpose. We believe, according to the Scriptures, that THE INTENTION OF OUR LORD'S ATONEMENT AND THE EFFECTS OF HIS ATONEMENT ARE THE SAME. IT WAS HIS INTENTION TOO REDEEM GOD'S ELECT BY THE SHEDDING OF HIS BLOOD; AND BY THE SHEDDING OF HIS BLOOD ALL OF GOD'S ELECT ARE REDEEMED. This is clearly the doctrine of Holy Scripture. The Bible never says, nor does it anywhere imply that Christ died to redeem every person in this world. The Word of God never speaks of these people for whom Christ died as being made redeemable, pardonable, justifiable, or saveable by his death. The Bible declares that, by the death of Christ, we are redeemed, pardoned, Justified, and saved. Holy Scripture plainly reveals two essential facts about the death of Christ: (1) The Son of God voluntarily laid down his life as a Substitute for a particular people. And (2) by his death at Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ effectually accomplished the eternal redemption of all God's elect, those people for whom he died.
What Christ intended to do in his sacrificial death he has done. He has effectually redeemed us from the curse of the law, put away our sins, and brought in an everlasting righteousness. He has purchased to himself a people. The Son of God has perfected forever those who are sanctified, or set apart in God's eternal election as the objects of his love and grace. We reject as heresy any doctrine that denies, or diminishes in anyway, the efficacy of our Lord's atoning sacrifice! There is no good news, no gospel in the idea that Christ has tried and done his best to redeem. This is the gospel, this is good news, Jesus Christ "by his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us". Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, "Blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross!"
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