The Offence of the Cross: Much of what the world calls Christianity – and parades around as such – presents the death of Christ as a vague message of love and acceptance, coupled with a general invitation for sinners to save themselves with a little help from someone they call Jesus. Yet scarcely anyone seems interested in seriously examining what Scripture actually means by redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation, or what was truly accomplished by the death of the Son of God. The more carefully we follow the language of Scripture itself, the more clearly we are forced to confront the exclusivity of Christ’s death and the certainty of the salvation it accomplished.
“But are you really saying that Christ did not die for every individual without exception?”
Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. And more importantly, it is what Scripture itself declares when it speaks plainly about Christ laying down His life for His sheep, redeeming His people from their sins, obtaining eternal salvation for His people, and actually saving those for whom He died. John 10:11. The modern church world has become so accustomed to speaking about the cross in vague and universal terms that many scarcely stop to ask whether the cross actually saved anyone at all. And perhaps that is precisely where the real offense begins to surface. Because once the death of Christ is honestly considered in the light of Scripture, men are stripped of their vague notions about Jesus “trying” to save everyone alike.
The matter really is that simple: No, Christ did not die for every person in the world. If He actually satisfied divine justice for every sinner without exception, then none could ever perish under the wrath He removed. And if His death itself does not actually save, reconcile, redeem, and secure the salvation of those for whom He died, then what does His death ultimately have to do with anyone’s salvation at all? Hebrews 10:14. And the more plainly this truth is spoken, which I believe is very much connected to what Paul called “the offence of the cross” – the more uneasy men tend to become, and the more unavoidable the objections become. Galatians 5:11. For the offense of the cross is not merely that man is a sinner, but that salvation is entirely of grace, bestowed according to the sovereign good pleasure of God, leaving man with no claim before Him except in Jesus Christ. “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” Romans 9:16.
“Do you mean to tell me that I have to believe that Christ died only for the elect in order to be saved?”
No, I’m not telling you that you have to believe anything in order to be saved. Salvation is not by faith, but by Christ. Nor am I telling you that a man must force himself into believing some doctrine in order to “obtain” salvation. Salvation is not suspended upon mastering theological formulations or learning the “truths” of the Bible. Only the Spirit of the Lord can bring a sinner into the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4:21.
But this much I will say plainly: when the Spirit of the Lord begins to deal with an individual in truth, He unsettles them deeply. He unsettles old assumptions, easy religious phrases, and careless thoughts about the gospel. Things once casually accepted suddenly become matters of life and death. Someone who once spoke lightly about the death of Christ, without ever seriously considering what Christ actually accomplished there, begins to realize that if God was truly satisfied by the death of His Son, then the cross did not merely make salvation possible – it accomplished it. Romans 4:25. Such a one begins to realize that if righteousness before God is found only in Christ, then everything depends upon whether His death actually saved those for whom He died. Isaiah 45:24.
What once seemed like mere doctrine becomes a matter of desperate necessity as we are increasingly brought to see that if Christ does not save entirely, there is no salvation at all. The longer I walk with all my weakness, inconsistency, and sin before me, the more clearly I see that my salvation must stand wholly upon Christ alone. Psalm 3:8. And this perhaps touches something of why these truths become so weighty to those exercised by them. Only the Spirit of God can bring a man into the reality those expressions are meant to describe.
When God reveals His Son, He reveals Him as successful. He reveals the Christ of Scripture – the One who finished the work the Father gave Him to do. John 17:4. Not as One who tried to save every man without exception and failed, but as the Son of God who redeemed His people by His blood and secured their eternal salvation. Isaiah 53:11.
Those taught of God will believe that the Son of God actually saved His people by His death, satisfied divine justice, and obtained eternal redemption. John 6:45. In the end, the issue is not whether someone embraces a label or system, but whether he believes what the Scriptures declare concerning Jesus Christ and salvation. It really is that simple. MPJ