Originally posted by standingfirminChrist:
Wow!
My Bible tells me that my Jesus died for my sins, and not for mine only, but for the sins of the WHOLE world.
Well, now, then, if Jesus died for the whole world, then that death means the sins of the Amalekites have been atoned for, the sin of Cain have been atoned for, the sins of the Aztecs have been atoned for, the sins of the Mayas have been atoned for, the sins of
all men have been atoned for, and
all men are heaven-bound.
If not all men are heaven bound, then the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ meant nothing, and He spoke a lie when He told His Father, 'of all that thou hast given me, I have lost nothing, save the son of perdition', and when He said that 'all that the Father giveth me will come to me'.
Last I checked, the word 'whole' meant entire. ... Yep, still does.
So does mine, and so does every Primitive Baptists', and so does every Roman Catholics', and so does every Bible ever printed.
Now, when the Bible said, 'they have overturned the ]b]whole[/b] world, did that mean the
whole world ? Or did that mean, in context, the whole world as they knew in their time, or the whole Roman world, as occupied by the Romans ?
Paul thanked God through Christ (Romans 1:8) that the faith of the Romans is spoken of throughout the whole world. Does this mean the whole wide world as in including the North Pole, the South Pole, and the two Hemispheres, and all lands and peoples in-between ? Or did Paul mean, the whole Roman world, through which news of what is going on travels ?
I believe the same arguments can be said if one insists that the word for world is always kosmos.
Jesus cannot be said to have failed because many choose to reject His free gift of eternal life with Him.
Yes, but it can be implied that His sovereignty and His will means nothing when it comes face to face with the will and consent of sinners.
How do you know you are one of the elect? You may not be. No assurance whatsoever other than your own belief.
Well, then, somebody must have been stupid when He had somebody write under His inspiration that certain people in a certain area in a certain time to 'make their calling and
election sure'. And that somebody's stupidity must have been compounded when He had His words preserved, and allowed men to discover printing and have Bibles become the number one best sellers.
Yet, Jesus said many who claim to be of Him, claimed to do many wonderful works in His name, claimed to cast out devils, will find in the end they never knew Him and He never knew them, and be cast into a devil's hell.
and the same can be said of those whose claim to assurance is some action they did on their part, like tearfully walking down some aisle in some church and having someone read the Roman way to him, and, wonders of wonders, he understood just how much this Christ suffered for him, and he so pitied this Christ and so abhorred himself he said okay to the pleading and wooing and begging of this God who creates things out of nothing.