Matthew 26:28
"This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Did the LORD Jesus come into the world to save every single sinner? This is the popular message contemporary preachers are declaring. They misinterpret John 3:16 to mean that the LORD Jesus laid down His life to save everyone, based on the idea that God loves everybody in the world and that Christ died for everyone in the world.
In John 3:16, the word "so" means "in this manner." It's the same word used in John 3:14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so [ in this manner] must the Son of man be lifted up. Therefore in John 3:16, In this manner, God loved the world—both Jew and Gentile—without specifying every single person in the world. The rest of the verse makes a distinction between those who believe and those who do not. It says that He died so that "whosoever believeth" should have everlasting life, not whoever does not believe. John 3:36 states that those who do not believe have the wrath of God abiding on them. They are vessels of wrath and therefore will not and cannot believe, being given over to their reprobate minds (Romans 1:26-32).
Matthew 26:28 states that the LORD Jesus shed His blood for "many." In Romans 5:15, they are called "THE many," with a definite article in the Greek. The "many" is not everybody, but uniquely for those for whom He shed His blood. They exclusively enjoy the blessing of the remission of their sins because He shed His blood for them. Christ’s death is not just the ground of the sinner’s salvation; it is all their salvation!
The truth is that if you believe the Lord Jesus laid down His life to save every single person in the world, and yet not everyone is saved, then what does the death of Christ have to do with salvation? It must not have anything to do with it if it does not effectually save anyone for whom He died. Furthermore, if you say that God loves every single person in the world, and yet not everyone is saved, then what does the love of God have to do with the salvation of sinners? It must not have anything to do with it because, despite loving them, they remain unconverted and condemned.
When faithful preachers of the Gospel declare what the Scriptures teach—that the LORD Jesus did NOT come to save every single sinner, but only those that the Father gave Him from eternity (John 17:10)—the opponents decry this doctrine, saying it limits the death of Christ. However, the doctrine of Christ's particular redemption for the elect only limits the death of Christ in its design, not in its power. It is those who say that He died to save everyone who limit His death in its power to save. Why? Because not all are delivered from guilt, which would make Christ’s death less than effectual.
A ransom that does not redeem is no ransom at all. A propitiation that doesn’t satisfy is no propitiation at all. The Scriptures teach of a ransom that is unlimited in its power to save, but limited in its design to those whom God purposed to save by it. In other words, His blood was shed for many for the remission of sins. Christ died for many, a number that no man can count: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Revelation 7:9).
Yet, this "many" is limited to as many as the Lord has ordained to believe: "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). And as many as the Lord God shall call: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).
For whom then did the LORD Jesus die? Every sinner that was given to Him by God the Father, before the foundation of the world, for whom He came into the world and redeemed them. When He had finished paying their sin debt on the cross, there remained nothing but God's righteousness to impute to their spiritual account, which the Father did there at the cross. In time, the Spirit of God, through the preaching of the Gospel, draws to Christ each one for whom Christ died. Christ therefore has effectually saved each one for whom He died, who God the Father appointed. Of ALL of them, He will lose none (John 6:37).
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