Christ - a success or a failure? What did he come to do and did he actually accomplish it?
Well, he's the Son of God, isn't he!? Don't refuse to accept the truth that is the grace of God -
if righteousness does not come from Christ's work then Christ died for nothing.
www.studyshelf.com
It’s all well and good to concentrate on a couple of passages of scripture, as if that is the entirety of truth....but these verses do not cancel out what else the Bible says, which are of equal importance.
If Christ’s sacrifice automatically covers “all men” who inherited sin from Adam, what was the point of Jesus ministry? What was the point of the preaching work that he commanded, which divided people into two categories....those saved because they accepted Jesus as their savior, and those who refused to do so, like the Pharisees whom Jesus condemned to “Gehenna” (the second death. Matt 23:33).
How can it be “all men” when Jesus himself precluded those he condemned to eternal death?
You see what argues against this ‘universal salvation’ or the ‘once saved always saved’ mentality? That “we don’t have to do anything because Christ did it all for us.....so it doesn’t matter what you believe, because God will not demand anything from you.....and it doesn’t matter what you do...you cannot lose your salvation.”
Both of these are false assumptions. The work Christ did in redeeming us, offers us the choice of salvation or not.
Live a life in imitation of Christ and be rewarded with life everlasting......or choose the easy road where you can do whatever you like, and believe whatever you like....because it doesn’t matter....the latter is absolute unscriptural nonsense. We have to prove our worth to God by the way we live our lives. Sin does not have to rule over us. Satan can use our sinful inclinations to tempt us into sin, but he cannot force us disobey God’s commands....we do that ourselves.
What is the point of Jesus’ words concerning the “two roads” (Matt 7:13-14) or the “sheep and the goats” where one is approved for everlasting life but the others condemned to eternal death?
According to Jesus, the “goats” will be sent to the place that is reserved or ”prepared” for satan and his angels. (Matt 25:41) They actually go there before those villains do.....a place of no return.
Nothing adds up with this man’s claim..... If Jesus’ death saves everyone without them having to make a choice to become a Christian, and actually choose a difficult path that leads to life, then he could have slipped in quietly, had his life ended without fanfare or pain, and bingo! Salvation is assured for everyone.....is that how it took place?
Results.
Romans 5:18 NIV
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,
so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
The “all people” in that verse is all who
choose to become Christ’s disciples......those who think otherwise are just looking for a way to take the easy road, which Jesus said leads to death. The two roads have two opposite directions, and destinations....you can’t just brush theses things aside and pretend that God has no standards to hold us to....he always has.
Right from the start, life was conditional....it depended on man’s obedience to his Maker’s commands.
“Obey and live....disobey and die”....were pretty straightforward choices. The choice to obey God is no less today than it was in Eden before the fall.....and the devil is still trying to get humans on the wrong side by presenting his lies as truth. Jesus said that the majority are on the wrong road, but they will be the last to know it. (Matt 7:21-23)
We don’t have to be one of the dupes trying to make a difficult path into an easy one. It’s difficult for a reason.
