Part 1
What does the NT say God accomplished in Christ, and for whom?
- He ransomed/redeemed us ALL from our separated, sinful condition.
- He eradicated sin once for ALL.
- He reconciled us ALL to Himself.
The seven texts below confirm this. (The remaining fifty-eight, along with my commentary, are in the Chapter 2 Appendix).
The Scriptures:
John 1:29 – “The next day John (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’"
Hebrews 9:26 – “Now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Hebrews 9:12 – “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Jesus obtained (past tense) eternal redemption for all. Teaching redemption is conditional and requires you to do something first (choose to believe and/or be baptized for example), is an offense to the blood and cross of Christ; it is anti-Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive.”
"All shall be made alive in Christ," does not mean "only the few who believe" are made alive in Christ. All who died in Adam are the same all made alive in Christ. Who uses the word all in reference to a few?
Christian/Catholic orthodoxy tells us the word all cannot mean all (only in this context, not surprisingly) because most of humanity ends up in hell for their sins. Does it never occur to them, that perhaps no one ends up in hell because the word all means all? Ask a pastor or priest if all die in Adam, and the answer will be "Absolutely." Ask them if all are made alive in Christ, and the answer will be "Absolutely not!" (The time has come to start thinking these contradictions through.)
Romans 3:23-24 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
If the first half of the verse refers to all, so does the second. Current Christian teaching, across all denominations, interprets 23 to mean all, but 24 to mean "only those who believe," which is nonsensical. Paul is telling us ALL fall short of the glory of God, and likewise, ALL are justified freely by His grace.
Every one of us knows intuitively we were born sinners (through no fault of our own), so why is it crazy to believe God will redeem us ALL from this subjected state? Are you aware the current representation of God in "the church" insists He allowed us to be born sinners knowing billions would suffer forever as a result, and this suffering is an expression of His justice? (Note: To categorize this line of reasoning as absurd is an understatement. Beyond all doubt, these doctrines are anti-Christ.)
Romans 5:18 – “Therefore, as through one man's offense [Adam] judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life.”
Condemnation came to all men through Adam. Likewise, justification of life came to all men through Jesus, and just as we played no causal role in our condemnation, we played no causal role in our justification.
1 John 4:14 – “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”
God sent Jesus as the Savior of the world, not the potential Savior of those who . (Fill in the blank according to what you have been incorrectly told.) Therefore, He is the Savior of the world. Isn't it fascinating this simple, straightforward claim - Jesus being the Savior of the world - is heresy in Christian/Catholic culture? (“And the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it” ( John 1:5 YLT).
Life in Jesus, because of Jesus, for everyone, was accomplished (past tense) through His death and resurrection. Reconciliation and redemption for all is truth, and not because we believe it; It is the truth because it happened; You Had Nothing to Do With It.
This is the gospel of our salvation.