Did Jesus Die to “Benefit” Everyone EQUALLY or to “Benefit” Mainly the Elect?
The literal essence of the Gospel Message conveyed by the Bible is that Jesus died to:
- Give the UNELECT (sinners who are unbelievers) an OPPORTUNITY to be saved. They can still be damned and eternally condemned at the final judgment by their own works and not by Jesus personally. This punishment is determined at the White Throne Judgment.
- Save the ELECT (believers) so that at the final judgment, the judgment will determine their REWARD rather than their punishment. This rewards is determined at the Bema Seat judgment.
For details on the above, see:
God sovereignly chooses us, we don’t choose him. This choice exclusively by God is called “divine election” and it happens even before the world came into being. Because God sovereignly chooses us and we don’t choose Him, then He “monergistically” produces salvation without our will or participation. If this were not true, then faith would be a work and synergistic salvation in which we steal the Glory from Christ and boast would be the result, in violation of Romans 3 and 4.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a Great City with Streets of Gold as described in the Book of Revelation. Those who are not sovereignty chosen by God to enter or choose to reject him, may not enter this Great City or receive the protection of its Great King. They instead receive the following punishment:
“Blessed are those who do His commandments [LAWS], that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
[Rev. 22:14-15, Bible, NKJV]
Therefore, not everyone receives an EQUAL “benefit” of Jesus dying on the cross. UNBELIEVERS are second class citizens who only receive PUNISHMENT, and BELIEVERS receive mainly reward in the Kingdom of Heaven at the final judgment and the judgments will be DIFFERENT. Thus, the Cross at Calvary establishes a franchise with unequal rewards. Those who are chosen by God alone participate and get Salvation, those aren’t chosen or reject God damn and condemn themselves by their own works. HOWEVER, “faith” or “belief”, in this scenario, does NOT count as a “work”.
Real law (Form #05.048), on the other hand, treats EVERYONE equally. Franchises don’t have to, because they behave as contracts, compacts, or private law that only apply to a SUBSET of “all people”.
Government Instituted Slavery Using Franchises, Form #05.030
https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/Franchises.pdf
We can therefore say that the cross and the salvation it produces creates a competition and adversarial relationship between the “HAVES” and the “HAVE NOTS”. This inevitably will bring division for the same reason that all franchises do, as explained below:
“Where do wars and fights [in the ballot box and the jury box] come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure [unearned money or “benefits” from the government] that war in your members [and your democratic SOCIALIST governments]? You lust [after other people’s money] and do not have. You murder [the unborn to increase your standard of living] and covet [the unearned] and cannot obtain [except by empowering your de facto THIEF government to STEAL for you!]. You fight and war [against the rich and the nontaxpayers to subsidize your idleness and dependency with a STOLEN Social Security retirement check]. Yet you do not have because you do not ask [the Lord, but instead ask the corrupt and deceitful government]. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures [“benefits”]. Adulterers and adulteresses [harlots, Rev. 17]! Do you not know that friendship [or STATUTORY citizenship] with the world [or the governments of the world] is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend [a STATUTORY “citizen”, “resident”, or “taxpayer”] of the world [or the governments of the world] makes himself an enemy of God.”
[James 4:1-4, Bible, NKJV]____________________________
Christ Brings Division
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set[j] a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
[Matt. 10:34-39, Bible, NKJV]
These brutal realities of Christianity are Third Rail issues for most pastors. This subject matter is off limits because it would attract criticisms of discrimination on the part of God and Christianity against UNBELIEVERS. But of course, you can’t be a religion or any kind of group without some aspect of restricting members to those who meet certain criteria, or else the First Amendment Right of freedom of association would be violated. For more on Third Rail Issues, see:
What is a Third Rail Issue?, Nike Insights
The Reformists 1615 believed in “limited atonement”; that, the benefits of the cross are available to all, but limited to those who believe. All have an opportunity to believe and be saved, but only the elect believe.
Jesus came to save His people from their sins . . . NOT to help them save themselves.
Calvinists believe this; Armenians hate these statements. See TULIP in theology.
There is all the difference in the world between being saved by law, and being saved in order to keep the law. RC Sproul of Ligonier Ministries would agree with this statement; Dispensationalists do not. Dispensationalists/Pentecostals, Charismatics are antinomian.
More at:
- Did Jesus die for the sins of every person or only for the elect? (OFFSITE LINK) -Ligonier Ministries. Notice that several pastors try to answer the question of this article and tip toe around the issues in this article. Its a hot potato
https://youtu.be/fljTboXk8K8 - Did Jesus Die for All Men or For the Elect Only? (OFFSITE LINK)- Bible Knowledge
https://www.bible-knowledge.com/did-jesus-die-for-all-men-or-only-the-elect-only/ - Why We Can’t Choose God-R.C. Sproul
https://youtu.be/b0C8AArEk3E - Can We Choose God? -John Macarthur
https://youtu.be/BM34_TwmWRg - The Unlimited Liability Universe, Rousas Rushdoony
https://famguardian.org/Subjects/Spirituality/Articles/UnlimitedLiabilityUniverse.htm - Why I Think Calvinism Is Unbiblical-Mike Winger. This video is rebutted by this article
https://youtu.be/oxakEl8BYBE - An Introduction to the Sovereign Gospel-John Macarthur
https://sedm.org/an-introduction-to-the-sovereign-gospel/
Item 2 above tries to sidestep these realities by saying that “belief” is not “a work” but an ACTION. Thus, Christianity is not a “works” religion, because actions are not a product of LAW but BEHAVIOR. They say that “a work” and “works righteousness” can only come from obeying “law”. This may be true, because we concluded in Form #05.048 that franchises and “benefits” are not “law” in a classical sense, just like salvation is a franchise and therefore not a “work of the law”. Salvation is “all carrot” and no stick. YOU make the stick and smack yourself with it by CHOOSING to reject God and salvation.
All of this is consistent with what the secular courts call “law enforcement”. Only police officers enforcing the CRIMINAL law are actually “enforcing law”. Franchises are civil rather than criminal, so enforcing them doesn’t count as “law enforcement”. See:
What is “law”?, Form #05.048
https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/WhatIsLaw.pdf
Conclusion
In conclusion:
- The default condition all men are under is condemnation for their sin under their law and damnation. If they are NOT saved ONLY by God and not our own works or choice, they will inherit this curse.
- Faith and the salvation it produces is:
2.1 A gift from God.
2.2 Never a work.
2.3 Never meritorious.
2.4 Never depends on our free will or choice.
2.5 Constitutes a divine election by God Himself. - Salvation happens monergistically.
- We contribute NOTHING to our own salvation. All credit and glory for our salvation goes ONLY to God. Romans 3 and 4.
- Any attempt to make salvation synergistic is an attempt to:
5.1 Make Christianity into paganism.
5.2 Turn faith into a work and a choice.
[…] Did Jesus Die to “Benefit” Everyone EQUALLY or to “Benefit” Mainly the Elect?–John 3:16 DOESN”T mean what most Christians THINK it means. God may love ALL, but the REWARD or “benefit” of that love is DEFINITELY not EQUAL between believers and unbelievers. Like most of what government does, the “Kingdom of Heaven Inc” is a private corporate FRANCHISE (Form #05.030), and the rewards of that franchise are not available to those who don’t consensually participate. But the PUNISHMENTS for disobedience are felt only by the unbelievers.https://sedm.org/did-jesus-die-to-benefit-every-one-equally-or-to-only-for-the-elect/ […]