What did Jesus Christ accomplish for the world?
Did He DO something for us?
Or did He merely make an OFFER to do something for us, provided ... , or if ... ??
The Samaritans were right when they declared Him to be “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). He already is—not might be, or maybe, or perhaps, or if ...
And yet it’s the honest truth that the great majority of earth’s inhabitants do not receive Him as their Savior—at least not yet.
Romans 5 has the answer: the Lord Jesus accomplished for “all men” a “judicial verdict of acquittal” which makes it possible for the heavenly Father to treat every man as though he had not sinned (vss. 15-21; cf. NEB). This is because Christ died for the world; anything that happened on the cross is universal; the thief who was crucified with Jesus was promised “today” a place in the Lord’s eternal kingdom (Luke 23:43). So will everyone be promised “today,” who comes to Jesus and repents and makes of Him the same request.
That involves humbling your heart, to put yourself in the thief’s place! But it’s worth it. —Robert J. Wieland
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