For whom did Christ die?

Special Revelation said:

Will of desire
Will of decree (His eternal purpose)

Will of desire: This does not mean that God sovereignty wills every human being to be saved. It may refer to God's general benevolence in taking no delight in the death of the wicked, or to God's desire to that all types of people to be saved.

SJ...you are the ultimate cafeteria christian..lol.

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1. Matthew 12:7
   If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' [ Hosea 6:6] you would not have condemned the innocent.
2. Matthew 12:37
   For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
3. Matthew 12:41
   The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one [ Or something; also in verse 42] greater than Jonah is here.
4. Matthew 12:42
   The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
5. Matthew 20:18 (Whole Chapter)
   "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death
6. Matthew 23:33 (Whole Chapter)
   "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
7. Matthew 27:3 (Whole Chapter)
   When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.
8. Mark 10:33 (Whole Chapter)
   "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,
9. Mark 14:65 (Whole Chapter)
   They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.
10. Mark 16:16 (Whole Chapter)
    Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
11. Luke 6:37 (Whole Chapter)
    [ Judging Others ] "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
12. Luke 11:31 (Whole Chapter)
    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one [ Or something; also in verse 32] greater than Solomon is here.
13. Luke 11:32 (Whole Chapter)
    The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
14. John 3:17 (Whole Chapter)
    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
15. John 3:18 (Whole Chapter)
    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. [ Or God's only begotten Son]
16. John 5:24 (Whole Chapter)
    "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
17. John 5:29 (Whole Chapter)
    and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
18. John 7:51 (Whole Chapter)
    "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
19. John 8:10 (Whole Chapter)
    Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
20. John 8:11 (Whole Chapter)
    "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
21. John 12:48 (Whole Chapter)
    There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
22. John 16:11 (Whole Chapter)
    and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
23. Acts 13:27 (Whole Chapter)
    The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
24. Acts 25:15 (Whole Chapter)
    When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.

Special Revelation said:

1. Matthew 12:7
   If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' [ Hosea 6:6] you would not have condemned the innocent.
2. Matthew 12:37
   For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
3. Matthew 12:41
   The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one [ Or something; also in verse 42] greater than Jonah is here.
4. Matthew 12:42
   The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
5. Matthew 20:18 (Whole Chapter)
   "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death
6. Matthew 23:33 (Whole Chapter)
   "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
7. Matthew 27:3 (Whole Chapter)
   When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.
8. Mark 10:33 (Whole Chapter)
   "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,
9. Mark 14:65 (Whole Chapter)
   They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.
10. Mark 16:16 (Whole Chapter)
    Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
11. Luke 6:37 (Whole Chapter)
    [ Judging Others ] "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
12. Luke 11:31 (Whole Chapter)
    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one [ Or something; also in verse 32] greater than Solomon is here.
13. Luke 11:32 (Whole Chapter)
    The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
14. John 3:17 (Whole Chapter)
    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
15. John 3:18 (Whole Chapter)
    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. [ Or God's only begotten Son]
16. John 5:24 (Whole Chapter)
    "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
17. John 5:29 (Whole Chapter)
    and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
18. John 7:51 (Whole Chapter)
    "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
19. John 8:10 (Whole Chapter)
    Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
20. John 8:11 (Whole Chapter)
    "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
21. John 12:48 (Whole Chapter)
    There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
22. John 16:11 (Whole Chapter)
    and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
23. Acts 13:27 (Whole Chapter)
    The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
24. Acts 25:15 (Whole Chapter)
    When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.

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1. Romans 2:1
   [ God's Righteous Judgment ] You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
2. Romans 2:27
   The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the [ Or who, by means of a] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
3. Romans 3:7
   Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?"
4. Romans 3:8
   Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.
5. Romans 5:16
   Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
6. Romans 5:18
   Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
7. Romans 8:1
   [ Life Through the Spirit ] Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [ Some later manuscripts Jesus, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit,]
8. Romans 8:3
   For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, [ Or the flesh; also in verses 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 13] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. [ Or man, for sin] And so he condemned sin in sinful man, [ Or in the flesh]
9. Romans 8:34
   Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
10. Romans 14:3 (Whole Chapter)
    The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
11. Romans 14:22 (Whole Chapter)
    So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
12. Romans 14:23 (Whole Chapter)
    But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
13. 1 Corinthians 4:9 (Whole Chapter)
    For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
14. 1 Corinthians 11:32 (Whole Chapter)
    When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
15. 2 Corinthians 3:9 (Whole Chapter)
    If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
16. 2 Corinthians 7:3 (Whole Chapter)
    I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.
17. Galatians 1:8 (Whole Chapter)
    But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
18. Galatians 1:9 (Whole Chapter)
    As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
19. 2 Thessalonians 2:12 (Whole Chapter)
    and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
20. Titus 2:8 (Whole Chapter)
    and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
21. Titus 3:11 (Whole Chapter)
    You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
22. Hebrews 11:7 (Whole Chapter)
    By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
23. James 5:6 (Whole Chapter)
    You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
24. James 5:12 (Whole Chapter)
    Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
25. 2 Peter 2:3 (Whole Chapter)
    In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

1. 2 Peter 2:6 (Whole Chapter)
   if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
2. 1 John 3:20 (Whole Chapter)
   whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
3. 1 John 3:21 (Whole Chapter)
   Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
4. Jude 1:4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about [ Or men who were marked out for condemnation] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5. Revelation 19:2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

sojourner said:

And yet, God says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." We have to trust that God will get God's way, in then end. And God's desire is for a relationship with all of us.

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slabbey06 said:

I do not deny that God will have mercy on whom He chooses to, that He is sovereign, or that He desires a relationship with us. However, I do not see in Scripture it stating that every person who ever was born or ever will be born will go to heaven because of what Christ accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection. I think the Bible is pretty clear that if one puts their FAITH in Christ alone, they are saved. If they do not, they are not.

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:18

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:12

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sojourner said:

Too much meat will:
a) give you heartburn
b) raise your cholesterol
c) promote hypertension
d) all of the above.

Jesus said, I am the Bread of life. Not the meat.

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sojourner said:

There are 64 occurrances of "condemnation" (and its derivatives) in the Bible. There are 405 occurrances of "love" (and its derivatives).

Wonder which one is more important int he grand scheme of things?

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sojourner said:

And yet, God says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." We have to trust that God will get God's way, in then end. And God's desire is for a relationship with all of us.

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jringer04 said:

Why would God desire to be in an eternal relationship with those who categorically deny his existence and choose to have no part of Him? Maybe this was stated already but if we were all going to heaven anyway regardless of our actions on earth, whats the point of creating earthly entites? Why weren't we just all created in heaven?

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jringer04 said:

And because love is streesed more in the bible over condemnation means that everybody is going to heaven, why?

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jringer04 said:

Why would God desire to be in an eternal relationship with those who categorically deny his existence and choose to have no part of Him? Maybe this was stated already but if we were all going to heaven anyway regardless of our actions on earth, whats the point of creating earthly entites? Why weren't we just all created in heaven?

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Special Revelation said:

Proclaiming a gospel of love without condemnation from the law is a false gospel. It is a false gospel that the world wants to embrace. Please read "The Gospel by RC Sproul". God demonstrated His love for us (believers), in that while we were still SINNERS, Christ died for us. Why did Jesus Christ have to die? Because we are condemned guilty sinners under the wrath of God. - SR

The Gospel

"There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, 'you can have a purpose to your life', or that 'you can have meaning to your life', or that 'you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.' All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel is called the 'good news' because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity."

— R.C. Sproul

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slabbey06 said:

Some thoughts on God's grace, heaven, and hell, that I read and thought others might find interesting. I'll post part of it. It's from Randy Alcorn's website, but I'm not allowed to post the URL yet because I haven't made enough posts yet

I'm concerned that your treatment of the doctrine of hell is an attempt to choose between grace and truth rather than embracing both. I remember you affirming that you believe so much in God's grace, you cannot believe in hell. This has, if I understood correctly, led you to universalism, believing men cannot go to an eternal hell, because Jesus purchased the world's redemption. Therefore, all people will end up in heaven regardless of their choices in this life. "I love people too much to send them to hell," your logic goes. "And surely God loves them more than I do!"
If logic was my authority, I might agree. But since Scripture's my authority, I can't. I remember asking you if you believed heaven was eternal. You said yes, you did. Then I quoted Matthew 25:46, "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The words translated "eternal" are the same Greek word—aionos. If "eternal" means heaven lasts forever, it can only mean hell lasts forever. There's just no way Christ would change the meaning of that word a heartbeat (six words later) after saying it the first time

As I was studying recently I saw that Jesus, full of grace, spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture. Twelve of the fourteen times the main New Testament word for hell is used, it's by Jesus. He spoke of being in danger of the fire of hell (Matt. 5:22), being thrown into hell (Matt 5:29), said people should fear God, "the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28). He asked the Pharisees, "How will you escape being condemned to hell?" (Matt 23:33). He depicted hell as a place men are "in torment," without hope of relief (Luke 16:23).
God's grace faces straight-on hell's reality, and offers full deliverance. Denying hell takes the wind out of grace's sails. If there's no eternal hell, the stakes of redemption are vastly lowered. What did Jesus die to rescue us from? And if you say the answer is that Jesus rescued all men from hell despite whether they accept Him, what is the point of Jesus depicting the rich man in hell crying out for mercy which he clearly is not being granted? Surely we don't know something Jesus didn't, do we?
Grace is God's work to deliver us from the full extent of our depravity, and its full punishment (eternal hell). By understating depravity and denying eternal hell we lower the cost of our redemption. We cheapen grace. By diminishing the truth that demanded the ultimate price for sin, we diminish the grace that paid that price.

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Grace is God's work to deliver us from the full extent of our depravity, and its full punishment (eternal hell). By understating depravity and denying eternal hell we lower the cost of our redemption. We cheapen grace. By diminishing the truth that demanded the ultimate price for sin, we diminish the grace that paid that price.

Click to expand...