For Whom Did Christ Die?

Rev. Angus Stewart

For whom did Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, die on the cross? This foundational question must especially be asked and answered in our day because many believe that the Lord shed His blood for everyone head for head, excluding no one. This view, universal atonement, is preached in many pulpits and widely promoted as if it were gospel truth. But this position must be analysed very carefully. Is it really true that Christ gave His life to save everybody without exception?

This short pamphlet presents 19 simple arguments against this popular error. First, it shows that the view that the Son of God died for all men absolutely is foolish and contradictory. Arguments 1-8 are stated in the form “Did Christ Really Die for …?” Argument 9 lists antithetically biblical names given to those for whom the Saviour shed His blood. Second, universal atonement is ruled out by considerations from the Holy Trinity, the Old Testament sacrifices and the truth that Christ’s death actually atones and saves (arguments 10-13). Third, five well-known and pertinent biblical chapters are expounded proving particular redemption, that Jesus laid down His life for the elect alone (arguments 14-18), which is the teaching of the Reformed creeds on the basis of the Word of God (argument 19). Readers are urged to look up and study the Scripture texts cited throughout this pamphlet; this is especially important for arguments 14-18.

1. Did Christ Really Die for Those Who Were Already in Hell?

How could the Triune God, who is possessed of infinite wisdom and understanding, send His dearly beloved Son to ransom from sin and hell those who were already in hell, a place of torment from which the damned have no way out (Luke 16:26; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 14:10-11)?

2. Did Christ Really Die for Those Who Had Already Committed the Unpardonable Sin?

In His public ministry, Jesus spoke of the unpardonable sin: “Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matt. 12:32). Nor was Christ speaking here merely in the abstract; some of His hearers that day had committed that sin (22-37). The Lord knew, therefore, that some people, including the Pharisees before Him (24), could not be forgiven. What sense then is there in the Saviour dying for the redemption and forgiveness (Eph. 1:7) of those whom He already knew could not be forgiven?

3. Did Christ Really Die for Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?

God sent His Word to only one people, the Israelites, during the Old Testament age, and “He hath not dealt so with any [other] nation” (Ps. 147:19-20; Acts 14:16). Moreover, Jehovah does not send the gospel in the New Testament age to everybody either (Matt. 24:14; Acts 16:6-8). Why then would God send His Son to die for those who never hear the gospel and hence could never be saved (Rom. 10:14, 17)?

4. Did Christ Really Die for Judas, the Son of Perdition?

The Bible teaches that Judas was “the son of perdition” (John 17:12), that is, a man wholly characterized by perishing, ruin and eternal destruction. Did the Lord really die for Judas when He knew that the Old Testament had already prophesied that Judas would betray Him (Ps. 41:9; 109:6-19) and “go to his own place,” namely hell (Acts 1:25; John 17:12)?

5. Did Christ Really Die for Esau Whom God Hated?

Scripture states that God hated Esau (Rom. 9:13) but repeatedly the Saviour’s atonement is spoken of as the fruit of God’s love (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; I John 4:10). How then could God send His Son in His infinite, eternal and boundless love (Eph. 3:18-19) to die for Esau whom He hated?

6. Did Christ Really Die for the False, Harlot Church?

Since the Lord’s sacrifice is motivated by His love for those for whom He died (John 15:13; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:25), if He laid down His life for absolutely everybody, then he also loved and died for the false church, the whore, and the multitudes who fornicate with her in her corrupt worship (Rev. 17:1-2, 15)! But Ephesians 5:25 teaches that the Son of God “loved the church, and gave himself for it.” No mention is made here of a love of Christ or a death of Christ for that which is not the true, elect church which is sanctified by God’s cleansing Word (26) and presented spotless at the last day (27).

If the Lord Jesus loved and died for everyone head for head (which necessarily includes the false church), then He must have “loved the church [and the false church], and gave himself for [both of them].” Then husbands would be commanded, “love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church [and the false church]” (25). Thus husbands would have to love their wives even as Christ loves His bride and a harlot, the false church.

But Scripture teaches that our Saviour has one bride, the church of all ages (Rev. 21:2). He loved her and gave Himself for her alone. This—and not the theory that the Redeemer loved and died for everybody—is the truth of the cross and the biblical model for Christian husbands who are not to love and give themselves for harlots.

7. Did Christ Really Die for Antichrist and His Followers?

If the Lord Jesus died for all men, then it follows that he was crucified to save Antichrist, the “man of sin” (II Thess. 2:3), who “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is God, or that is worshipped” (4). This man is the culmination of the working of the “mystery of iniquity” (7), the one who works with “all deceivableness of unrighteousness” (10), whose “coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (9). Is it possible that the Father gave Christ to die for Antichrist? Did the One who is God and man really go to the cross for Satan’s man, the “man of sin” and “son of perdition” (3), the one wholly characterized by iniquity and eternal destruction? Did the eternal, omniscient God really send His Son to reconcile the lawless one whom He has ordained to be destroyed by the “spirit of [Christ’s] mouth” and “the brightness of his coming” (8)?

II Thessalonians 2 also speaks of Antichrist’s followers. They reject the truth and the son of perdition deceives them; therefore, both parties are guilty (10). But we also read that “God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned” (11-12). If God loved them and gave His Son to die for them and wants to reconcile them to Himself, then why does He send them strong delusion in order that they should believe the lie in order that they all might be damned (11-12)?

Similarly, a death of Christ for absolutely everybody presents the Lamb of God as offering Himself as a sacrifice for the beast and the false prophet whom we are told shall be “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20). Moreover, “whosoever was not found written in the book of life [will be] cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). If the Son of God died for them, His ransom did nothing to free them from eternal punishment.

8. Did Christ Really Die for Other Reprobate Individuals and Groups?

If the Lord died for all absolutely, He must have died for Cain as well as Abel, Nimrod as well as Noah, Jezebel as well as Elijah. This holds for nations too. Christ must have redeemed not only Israel but also the Amalekites, against whom God swore to fight for generations (Ex. 17:14-16); the Amorites, including Sihon whose heart Jehovah made obdurate that He might destroy him (Deut. 2:30); the Canaanites, whom God hardened that they might go to battle with Israel and be slaughtered (Josh. 11:20); and the Philistines, including Goliath; as well as the homosexual Sodomites, upon whom the Most High rained down fire and brimstone (Gen. 19:24); and the Edomites, whom He hated and devastated (Mal. 1:2-5).

The incarnate Son must even have offered Himself a sacrifice for Pharaoh, whom God raised up in order to show His power in drowning him (Ex. 9:16; Rom. 9:17), and the Egyptians whom He crushed at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:26-28), even though no provision was made for the application of lambs’ blood upon their lintels (Ex. 12).

9. Christ Died for His People, Friends, Etc.

The truth is that Jesus Christ died for His “people” (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 2:17) and His “friends” (John 15:13-14). The “people” whom He redeemed are further described as “his seed” (Isa. 53:10) and not the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15); His “sons,” “children” and “brethren” (Heb. 2:10-14) and not “bastards,” i.e., the illegitimate (Heb. 12:8); His “sheep” (John 10:11, 15) and not “the goats” (Matt. 25:33); His “church” (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25) and not the “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9); and the “many” (Isa. 53:11-12; Matt. 20:28; 26:28; Mark 14:24; Heb. 9:28) and not everybody head for head.

10. The Truth of the Trinity Rules Out Universal Atonement

The orthodox teaching of the Holy Trinity militates against the notion that Christ died for everyone head for head. The Father chose to save the elect alone and not the reprobate (Rom. 9:6-24; Eph. 1:3-6), the Spirit applies redemption to the elect alone and not the reprobate (Rom. 8:1-27; Eph. 1:13-14), but the Son (allegedly) died for the elect and the reprobate. Thus there is a radical disjuncture between the extent of the saving work of the Father and the Spirit (elect but not reprobate) and the extent of the saving work of the Son (elect and reprobate). Where then is the unity between the three Persons of the Godhead? They are not all of one mind and they do not all have one purpose. In fact, one Person of the Trinity (the Son) is working for a goal (the salvation of the reprobate) not shared by the other two Persons (the Father and the Spirit). The Father elects His people to be redeemed, the Spirit applies this redemption to the same elect people, but the Son (allegedly) dies to redeem some whom the Father chose not to redeem and some to whom the Spirit wills not to apply redemption.

Thus the teaching of universal atonement is forbidden by the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity and runs counter to scriptural statements regarding the unity of the extent of the saving work of the Father and the Son (John 10:15-17; Rom. 3:25-26; II Cor. 5:18-19; Eph. 1:4-7); the Son and the Spirit (Gal. 4:4-6; Heb. 9:14); and the Father, the Son and the Spirit (Isa. 59:20-21; Eph. 1:3-14; II Thess. 2:13-14; Titus 3:4-6; I Peter 1:2; Rev. 1:4-6).

11. The Old Testament Sacrifices Were Not Universal

Scripture, especially the book of Hebrews, makes it very clear that the Old Testament sacrifices were types and shadows of our great high priest’s death on the cross. If the Lamb of God offered Himself for the sins of everybody, then one would expect this to be reflected in the sacrificial system. Leviticus 1-7, the central passage on the Mosaic sacrifices, speaks of the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering. Always these sacrifices are particular, for Israel, the church (Lev. 1:2; 4:13; 7:36, 38), and nowhere do we read of universal atonement, an offering for every individual Jew and Gentile.

Similarly, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest made atonement for the Israelites, not the Moabites nor the Jebusites (Lev. 16:16, 17, 19, 21, 34). Moreover, the high priest bore “the names of [the twelve tribes of] the children of Israel”—not the names of the children of Esau—on the breastplate “upon his heart, when he [went] in unto the holy place,” speaking of his representative and intercessory work for them (Ex. 28:29).

Lest it be said that the Old Testament sacrifices speak of an atonement for every member of the nation of Israel, we recall that fact that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6) and that the true Jew is not one circumcised in the flesh but one circumcised in the spirit (Rom. 2:28-29). Our Lord shed His blood for the true Israel and the Old Testament types point to His redemption of the spiritual “Israel of God,” consisting of elect Jews and Gentiles (Gal. 6:16).

12. Christ’s Death Actually Atones

Universal atonement is contradicted by the biblical presentation of Christ’s sacrifice as a work which actually atones and blots out sin. The Son of God delivered us from the kingdom of the devil (Heb. 2:14-15). He propitiated God’s wrath against us by bearing God’s righteous indignation against our sins (I John 4:10). He reconciled us (Rom. 5:10), redeemed us (Gal. 3:13) and ransomed us (Matt. 20:28).

Scripture does not teach that Christ merely made atonement possible by His death. Nowhere does it say that. The Bible teaches that Jesus actually delivered, reconciled, redeemed and ransomed us by His cross. He did not merely make it possible for all men to be delivered, reconciled, redeemed and ransomed. On the cross, the Messiah turned away God’s punitive wrath against us for ever. It is not true that Jehovah’s wrath is only potentially turned away from all men so that all can be saved if they, by an act of their “free will,” choose Jesus. This view would make entrance into God’s kingdom depend on man’s decision and not on God’s election!

If the Son of God paid the price for all men yet some men perish in hell, then His cross does not save all for whom it was made. Then too it is not substitutionary, for if He bore the punishment of the reprobate—in their stead!—why do they perish? If some end up in hell for whom Christ died, then God punished their sins twice, once on the Lord Jesus and once on them. How can the infinitely just God require payment for sins twice? How can He demand punishment of the sinner in hell when satisfaction has already been made for his sins by Jesus? And how can some whom the Saviour delivered, reconciled, redeemed and ransomed dwell forever as God’s enemies in everlasting darkness in the bottomless pit of hell? Remember, there is no condemnation for those for whom Christ died (Rom. 8:34)!

So far is the Son of God from shedding His blood for everybody that His death is actually “the judgment of this world,” for it is the casting out of Satan, “the prince of this world” (John 12:31), bringing destruction upon the devil and his “seed” (Gen. 3:15).

13. Christ’s Death Actually Saves

If the Lord Jesus died for absolutely everybody, then why are not all actually saved? Romans 6 makes it clear that those who are united to Christ in His death are dead to sin (6-7) and “alive unto God” (11), and will be raised bodily to glory (5). But many spend all their days “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and will rise in the “resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29). We can only conclude that they were not united to Christ in His death (i.e., He did not die for them), for if the reprobate were united to the Son of God in His death (i.e., if He died for them), they would die to sin and live unto God (Rom. 14:9; II Cor. 5:14-15).

Scripture teaches that both faith (Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29) and repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18; II Tim. 2:25) are gifts of God’s grace. Faith and repentance are instances of “spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). God’s blessings in Christ come through the cross (Rom. 8:32; Gal. 3:13-14). But “all men have not faith” (II Thess. 3:2) nor do all repent (Rev. 16:11). Thus faith and repentance were not purchased for everybody head for head on the cross and so the Saviour did not die for all.

Titus 2:14 explains that the Son’s purpose in His redemption on the cross is the sanctification of His own “peculiar people” that we would be purified and be “zealous of good works.” But many die impenitently and are “filthy” (Rev. 22:11) because of their “ungodly deeds” (Jude 15). Since the purpose of the omnipotent God always stands (Rom. 9:11) and can never be resisted (II Chron. 20:6), it was not the Lord’s purpose to sanctify and redeem the reprobate by the cross. Thus Christ did not die for them.

14. John 10 Teaches Particular Redemption

In John 10, Jesus teaches that He, the good shepherd, died for His sheep: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (11); “I lay down my life for the sheep” (15). Just as every earthly shepherd has his “own sheep” (3, 4), Christ refers to His “fold” or flock (16) as “my sheep” (14, 26, 27). Later, the Lord told some people that they were not His sheep and that this was the reason why they did not believe: “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep” (26).

The argument is simple: Jesus died for His sheep (11, 15), knowing exactly who they are (14, 26, 27); He told certain people that they were not His sheep (26); therefore, He did not die for them. The Lord also said that His sheep were given to Him by His Father (29). The Father gave the sheep to the Son in His eternal purpose of election so that in time He would die for them and gather them out of all nations (16). Since Christ died for His sheep (and some are not His sheep), and His sheep are the elect, Christ died for the elect alone.

15. John 17 Teaches Particular Redemption

In His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus states, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine” (9). The “world” here is the world of the reprobate or non-elect for whom the incarnate Son of God does not pray, as opposed to the elect (“them which thou hast given me”).

If the Lord did not do the lesser thing (pray for the reprobate world), did He really do the greater thing (die for the reprobate world)? Intercession is one of the two main aspects of Christ’s priestly work. If Jesus did not pray for the world (one aspect of His priestly work), is it possible that He died for the world (the other aspect of His priestly work)? This would destroy the unity of Christ’s priestly office, for He would be dying for those for whom He did not (and does not) intercede. Furthermore, the Saviour prays on the basis of His finished work of redemption (Isa. 53:12; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25-27; 9:24-26). Therefore, if He did not pray for the world, it is because He did not die for the world.

In John 17, Jesus is praying just hours before the cross and with a view to His sacrificial death, for He says, “Father, the hour is come” (1). Throughout John 17, Christ’s prayers and, therefore, His redeeming work are particular, only for the elect, those whom the Father gave Him (2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24). Our Lord’s prayers that the Father keep (11-16), sanctify (17-19), unite (20-23) and glorify (24-26) “as many as thou hast given him” (2) are powerfully answered, for we are granted “eternal life” (2-3).

Jesus says, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified” (19). Christ’s sanctifying Himself is His consecrating and dedicating Himself to do the will of Him who sent Him. Our Lord especially set Himself apart as our willing sacrifice on the cross. This, He tells us, was “for their sakes,” for those whom the Father gave Him, the elect. Thus Christ’s prayers and sacrifice are not only particular—”for them which thou hast given me” (9)—but also exclusive, “not for the world” (9).

16. Isaiah 53 Teaches Particular Redemption

Isaiah 53 is the greatest chapter in the Old Testament, and possibly in the whole Bible, on our Saviour’s substitutionary atonement. The “us” for whose sins Christ was “wounded” (4-6) are given specific names: “my people” (8), “his seed” (10), and the “many”—not all men head for head (11-12). They are the “pleasure of the Lord” who “prosper in his hand” (10). God never made the reprobate “prosper in his hand” and He was never pleased with them (Ps. 2:4-5; Prov. 3:32-34). They are not His “seed,” “people” and “pleasure,” so Jesus did not die for them.

Those for whom Christ died “are healed” by “his stripes” (Isa. 53:5). It is not merely that they might be healed if they believe, but they really are healed. Those whose sins the Son bore are also justified: “my righteous servant [shall] justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (11). God’s elect “people” (8) are declared perfectly righteous for Christ bore our punishment (11). The reprobate are not justified, thus He did not atone for them. It is for the “many” whose sins He bore that the Saviour intercedes (12). Remember, Jesus said, “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me” (John 17:9). The “many” for whom Christ suffered and for whom He prays are the elect, not the reprobate world.

In this way, Jesus is perfectly “satisfied” (Isa. 53:11). If some for whom He was “stricken” (8) and for whom He intercedes (12) are not healed (5) and justified (11) and do not “prosper in his hand” (10) and do not receive a share in His spoils (12), Christ would not be “satisfied” (11). If even one soul perishes for whom He died, Christ’s purpose is not fully realised, His atonement is not totally successful and He is dissatisfied. The notion that Jesus shed His precious blood for everybody head for head presents the cross as an abject failure with regard to most of those for whom He died and contradicts the Bible’s teaching that Christ is “satisfied” with the fruit of His death (11).

17. Ephesians 1 Teaches Particular Redemption

Ephesians 1:3 declares that we have been blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” These blessings come to us “according as he [i.e., God] hath chosen us in him [i.e., Christ] before the foundation of the world” (4), that is, we receive all these blessings according to our eternal election (4) and predestination (5). Ephesians 1 enumerates some of our spiritual blessings: holiness (4), adoption (5), acceptance with God (6), redemption (7), the forgiveness of sins (7), the knowledge of God’s will (9), the sealing of the Holy Spirit (13) and an eternal inheritance (11, 14). Not only are we blessed according to our election (4, 5) but all the elect have “all spiritual blessings” (3). On the other hand, the fact that the reprobate are not blessed with any of these spiritual blessings is also according to the eternal “purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (11).

One of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ is “redemption through his blood” (7). Thus the Son’s redemption or atonement is an instance of those spiritual blessings which come to us “according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (4). Therefore, the Lord redeemed, shed His blood and died for the elect and not for the reprobate. Thus the elect are forgiven (7), adopted (5), accepted (6), made holy (4) and sealed with the Spirit (13) for their eternal inheritance (11, 14) on the basis of our Saviour’s cross. The reprobate do not receive any of the spiritual blessings of Christ’s sacrifice, for He did not die for them.

18. Romans 8 Teaches Particular Redemption

Romans 8 is also contrary to universal atonement. Verses 28-30 speak of a people whom God foreknew, predestinated, called according to His purpose, justified, glorified and conformed to the image of His Son. The apostle draws the following conclusion: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (31). “Then” or “therefore” indicates that this is a logical inference based on his preceding statements, here called “these things.” The “us” can only be those predestinated (or elected) and called according to God’s eternal purpose (28-30). Paul’s argument is this: If God is “for us” (31) in predestination, calling, justification and glorification (29-30), then “who can be against us?” (31). In other words, if God in His eternal decree has chosen us to everlasting bliss, called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, acquitted us of all our sins and reckoned us righteous with the very righteousness of Christ Himself, and glorified us in conforming us to the image of His Son, then “who can be against us?” (31).

The apostle reinforces this already compelling argument with another: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (32). Who are the “us” referred to twice here for whom God sent the Saviour to die? Again, they are those predestinated and called according to God’s eternal purpose (28-30). The only conclusion is that Christ died for the elect.

If it is objected that the Lord Jesus also died for the non-elect, then we reply that the passage gives absolutely no hint of this. In fact, this would make the passage teach that God sent His Son to die for those who are not predestinated and not called, justified, glorified or conformed to Christ. Moreover, if it is argued that the Saviour died for the reprobate, this would make the passage teach that the reprobate will receive all the blessings of His cross, for verse 32 teaches that God freely gives “all things” to those for whom Christ died. The “all things” include freedom from the law of sin and death (2), life and peace (6), adoption as God’s sons (14), the witness of the Spirit (16), an eternal inheritance (17), the redemption of the body at the resurrection of the just (23), the ability to pray in the Spirit (26), etc. Furthermore, the “all things” would also include the blessings of justification, calling, glorification and conformity to Christ according to God’s eternal predestination (28-30)! To read universal atonement into Romans 8:32 would mean that God freely gives the blessings of calling, justification and glorification to the reprobate, those whom He never calls, justifies or glorifies. This verse teaches an absolutely inseparable connection between those for whom Christ died and all these spiritual blessings. Some do not receive these blessings; therefore, the Saviour did not die for them.

Next Romans 8 declares that no charge (33) and no condemnation (34) can be laid against those who are justified (33), those for whom Christ died (34). But many charges are righteously made by the God of heaven against the reprobate wicked so that they are condemned! This is the case because they are not justified (33), for Jesus did not die for them and does not intercede for them (34).

19. The Reformed Creeds Teach Particular Redemption

On the basis of the Word of God and in keeping with the biblical arguments in this pamphlet, the creeds of the Reformed churches—in the British Isles, in continental Europe, in N. America and all around the world—teach that the Lord died for His elect church alone. The Canons of Dordt (1618-1619), produced by an international assembly of Reformed Protestants, clearly affirm that the Son of God redeemed the elect “and those only” (II:8) and that those who teach that He died for absolutely everybody speak “contemptuously of the death of Christ” and “bring again out of hell the Pelagian error” (II:R:3). American Presbyterian B. B. Warfield writes that the Canons were “published authoritatively in 1619 as the finding of the Synod [of Dordt] with the aid of a large body of foreign assessors, representative practically of the whole Reformed world. The Canons … therefore … [possess] the moral authority of the decrees of practically an Ecumenical Council throughout the whole body of Reformed Churches” (Works, vol. 9, p. 144).

The Westminster Confession states, “Neither are any other redeemed by Christ … but the elect only” (3:6; cf. 8:1; 11:4; 13:1). These articles were included in the Congregationalist Savoy Declaration (1658) and the Baptist Confession (1689). Thus the creeds of Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists all teach limited atonement or particular redemption. All who recite the Westminster Shorter Catechism confess that Jesus Christ is the “only Redeemer of God’s elect” (A. 21). The Reformed creeds simply set forth the Bible’s teaching on this subject. Let us believe and hold fast to scriptural truth, spread it near and far, and honour the crucified and victorious Christ who laid down His life for His beloved sheep (John 10:15)!

A lecture on “For Whom Did Christ Die?“ is available on-line in audio and video.

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