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The Particular Atonement
Whose sins did Jesus Christ pay for by going to the cross? A popular view is that Christ died for the sins of everyone, and so everyone will become saved. This however, is entirely un biblical because the Bible teaches again and again that many will go to hell. Jesus says in Matthew 25:41 "Then will he say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." So to say that Christ died for everyone and everyone will be saved does not come from the Bible, but the minds of men who like it because it means they can live however they want to.
Another way to answer question "Whose sins did Christ's death pay for?" Is that Christ paid for the sins of everyone but only those that believe will be saved. Verses used to prove this are verses such as John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2. This view, however, is a mixture of truth and error. While it is definitely true that all who truly believe will be saved, it is not true that the sins of everyone who has come into this world have been paid for. The truth is that Jesus death paid only for the sins of those that would believe in him. Jesus says in John 10:15 "I lay down my life for the sheep." Not everyone in this world can be called Christ's sheep. Jesus says in verse 26 "you do not believe because you are not my sheep." And Mat. 1:21 says, "...you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." And Gal. 1:4 says "[He] gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." And Titus 2:14 "[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." So the Bible distinctly teaches that Jesus paid for the sins of his people, not for the sins of believers and unbelievers alike.
One of the differences between the two positions is the one that Christ paid for everyone's sins makes Christ's death on the cross valueless for the person who rejects it. Its value depends on man's accepting it or not. It is like a check that is worth nothing unless it is signed. God wanted to save these people, but failed due to their neglect, according to this idea. This is not saying that God does not desire that the unsaved turn from their sin. He wants and expects them to repent. This is clear int the account of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem in Mathew 23:37, and in 2 Peter 3:9 "He is... not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance."
To teach that God is trying to save all people, but is not able to, does injustice to the nature of God because it portrays God as not able to save those whom he is trying to save, but failing at an alarming rate! Think of it, most of the people in this world are not saved and will never become saved. Also, it puts God into a position in which he is dependent upon man. He wants to save man, but cannot unless man lets him. Again, this does injustice to the nature of God because this teaching portrays God as frustrated and thwarted in what he purposes. This is not an accurate representation of the God of the Bible who is all-powerful, whose will is always done. The Bible says in Eph. 1:11 that God "...works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." Nothing ever happens that God does not want to happen. Even evil deeds of wicked men upon the innocent. These things God permits to happen while holding the person entirely accountable for their sin (because they did it of their own wickedness, not by the moving of God's spirit). God decreed beforehand that it would happen, and that it would happen as the result of the individual's own evil wicked desires. The cause of the event therefore is not the decree of God, But the wicked intent of the offender that comes out of his own sinful heart, his nature being depraved. The affliction on the innocent is no evil to them, because God will use this maybe to punish someone who was doing wrong, bring someone closer to him and thus to salvation, or use the affliction to strengthen them and make them into a better, stronger person. Whatever happens to them, we can be sure it will be just. So the scenario that is brought about by the teaching that God has paid for the sins of all mankind makes him thwarted, frustrated, and not able to carry out his will and is therefore incorrect.
What actually happened is that God paid for the sins of a limited number of people whom God foreknew would never choose to follow him unless he did something. So he paid for their sins and as a result of that cleanses and forgives their sins, giving them a new nature that desires to follow him. This view treats Christ's death not as a check that is potentially valueless and valueless for a large portion of mankind, but it shows it to provide actual payment for sin, like cash. The check may or may not bring payment, but cash makes payment every time. All for whom Christ died will be forgiven of their sins, given a new nature, and choose to follow him.
The teaching that Christ died to pay for the sins of all mankind also runs contrary to the biblical teaching that salvation is by grace, not of works. This is because, according to this teaching, God has equally paid for the sins of all, and draws all to himself. He is trying to save all, giving everyone potential grace. The effectiveness of this grace does not depend on God, but man's response. God winds up saving those who are better in themselves than those who are not saved. This is because God worked in all with the intent of saving them, and the only other thing that could make a difference is the human response, the amount of believing. As said before, this runs directly contrary to the biblical teaching that salvation is by grace alone, not by human efforts. We read in Eph. 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith -- and this NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." And so it can be easily seen that this teaching puts the cart before the horse.
If it is true that God tries to bring all to himself and the only thing that makes a difference is the human response, God cannot say that faith is not of ourselves. And it can not say that it is not by works, since the human response is the thing that determines whether we are saved or not. This is not to say that we don't need to respond, just that we do not respond under these spiritual circumstances. The correct view is that God paid for the sins of some, draws some and causes all of these to believe and follow him.
An objection often given for this is that this makes God cruel and unjust. This objection comes from a very carnal, man-centered perspective. Man by nature thinks he deserves fairness, and if we were all sinless, that would be so. However, we have all sinned against an infinite God who is absolutely pure and without sin -- and justice demands that rebellion against a sinless, infinite God deserves infinite or eternal punishment. We do not deserve an equal chance, we deserve punishment for sin.
Another objection is that God is often spoken of as full of compassion and mercy and that he would have mercy and save only some undermines that. But actually, when we realize that we have all become rebellious against God and do not desire to live for him and would rather live for ourselves and our own sinful pleasures, it is amazing that God would save any of us and amazingly, he has! He has been compassionate and merciful to those who would never of themselves want him and this far exceeds the "mercy" and "compassion" of rewarding only those who were good enough, the spiritual elite. The best news for us is that we don't have to get on the good works treadmill trying to gain favor with God. We can confess our lack of desire for him and pray and ask him to have mercy on us and to work in us and save us giving us a desire to love and serve him as we use the means through which God saves by reading the Bible, listening to pastors and teachers, and attending church.
Related Bible verses: Luke 1:77, Luke 7:6-10, Acts 13:48, Galatians 6:3, Philippians 1:29, Collosians 3:12, 1Thessalonians 1:4-5.