The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in 1 John 2:2,
"He [Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
Popular theology today claims that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ did not pay for the sins of the whole world, but only for a relatively few people. Of course all those who hold to this view also see themselves within that few. It is often referred to as "limited atonement". They would explain the above verse's reference to the "whole world" as meaning only certain individuals from all parts of the world, as if God got on board with our culture's recent fascination with "diversity". My Bible speaks of something different and frankly, it grieves me when I hear this faulty teaching passed along. Let me explain why.
A few years ago a buddy of mine and I went to go bail a third buddy out of jail, for some traffic tickets or whatever. His bail was $150 and so the two of us split it, $75 apiece as our mutual buddy didn't have money to bail himself out. We paid the bail and home we all went. $75 wasn't too painful to help a friend. Now, I don't want to put a price on friendship, but what if the bail had been $750? What if it were $7,500? That is painful. Maybe at that amount he might need to spend some time in jail to consider his transgressions...
My point is, the greater the bail I would be willing to pay, the greater expression of love it becomes. The more pain it causes, the greater expression of love the payment is. My Lord died on the cross for my sins. Not for some of my sins but all of my sins. Not only did he die for my sins but he also died for your sins as well. He died for everybody's sins. As the above verse tells us, he died, paying for the sins of the whole world. That is payment for all the sins of all people who have ever lived. This was a very painful payment our Lord made. A payment he made with joy, we are told in Hebrews 12:2. The enormity of this payment speaks to the enormous love our Lord has for us. To pass along faulty teaching that has as its consequence the misperception of the full expression of the love of our Lord is what grieves me. I struggle when anyone attempts to diminish our understanding of the fullness of the love our Lord has for us.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that just because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins, it doesn't provide us automatic entry into his kingdom. He requires we embrace him in faith and trust. What a deal that is! What a bail payment that was! What an expression of love that was… to suffer for all the sins of all people that ever lived! What a Lord!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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