There are many Scriptures that directly state or imply for whom Christ died that stress a universal generalization. The point of these universalistic texts is to ensure the readership does NOT limit the death of Christ to an outlook which is smaller than it actually was. Here are various texts which can be included into this discussion, but are not limited to (John 1:29, John 3:16, John 4:42, John 6:33, 51; 1John 2:2; 2 Cor 5:19; 1 Tim 2:6; Heb 2:9) .
It is important to understand how each side in this controversy understands these particularistic and universalistic passages. With no intent to misrepresent either side, I have attempted to demonstrate the meaning that is often unconsciously assumed, depending upon one’s previous religious instruction, when these texts are read.
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O LORD,
Bend my hands and cut them off,
for I have often struck thee with a wayward will,
when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.
I am not yet weaned from all created glory,
honour, wisdom, and esteem of others,
for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.
Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself.
Give me to view a discovered sinfulness,
to know that though my sins are crucified
they are never wholly mortified.
Hatred, malice, ill-will,
vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after
man’s approval and applause,
all are crucified, forgive,
but they rise again in my sinful heart.
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Searcher Of Hearts,
It is a good day to me when thou givest me
a glimpse of myself;
Sin is my greatest evil,
but thou art my greatest good;
I have cause to loathe myself,
and not to seek self-honour,
for no one desires to commend his own dunghill.
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Every Christian must test the accuracy of the gospel he believes and preaches by Scripture alone. Since every true Christian is endowed with a fervent love for God’s word, we are all called to search the Scriptures together in love and in unity. All of God’s people are to do this through fervent prayer and with an openness to learn by careful inspection of their own approach and theology. Acts 17:11 tells us that the Bereans received the Word of God with all eagerness, and examined the Scriptures daily to see if the things concerning Christ were true, and many of them believed. Our goal as believers is to stir up in one another a fervent hunger for truth and wisdom. Unfortunately many in the church today conclude that searching the Scriptures together and arriving at differences of opinion promotes disunity and divisiveness. However, the only real foundation for Christian unity is the truth of Scripture. Charles Spurgeon once said “the best way to promote union is to promote truth. It will not do for us to be all united together by yielding to one another’s mistakes. We are to love each other in Christ; but we are not to be so united that we do not see each other’s faults; and especially not able to see our own. No, purge the house of God, and then shall grand and blessed times dawn on us.”
We at ethea pray that the Gospel would be of the utmost importance to every Christian soldier, because it alone is the power of God for salvation.
We also pray that by revealing the unscriptural tradition of human decisional regeneration we may by God’s grace rescue many from this deception which leads to eternal death. You have often heard it preached or said somewhere in the presentation of the Gospel, “It’s what you do with Christ that matters”, this is human decisional regeneration. The Scriptures teach no such doctrine, but rather we read of the tax collector who would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner! Luke 18:13. He understood the wrath of God was upon him and it was what God would do with him that mattered. Divine supernatural regeneration is rooted in Christ alone, by God alone, to the glory of God alone. Biblical regeneration is a supernatural work of God and not a human work of man.
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