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\u00a0[Note:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Because of His abundant love for mankind, God extended His grace universally through the death of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son: \u201cFor the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men\u201d (Tit. 2:11). God does not desire that only some be saved, but He \u201cwould have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth\u201d (1 Tim. 2:4). He is longsuffering, \u201cnot wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance\u201d (2 Pet. 3:9b). To this end, the Christ \u201cgave himself a ransom for all\u201d (1 Tim. 2:6a). Accordingly, John reminded the saints to whom he wrote that \u201cJesus Christ the righteous…is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world\u201d (1 John 2:1b\u20132).<\/span><\/p>\n In His promise to Abraham, God first revealed that He planned to bless all men: \u201cAnd in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed\u201d (Gen. 22:18a). This was no generic promise that the patriarch\u2019s descendants would somehow be a source of blessing. Rather, the promise had a very specific End: \u201cNow to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ\u201d (Gal. 3:16).<\/span><\/p>\n God\u2019s gracious and loving gift is His Son, through Whom everyone (\u201cwhosoever\u201d) may have the opportunity to be saved (\u201chave eternal life\u201d) (John 3:16). Every spiritual blessing is in the Christ (Eph. 1:3). The power necessary to save the souls of all men is in the Gospel (Rom. 1:16). We should therefore not be surprised that Jesus\u2019 final instructions to His apostles involved the universal proclamation of the Gospel of grace. He ordered them to take it to all the nations, all the world, the whole creation, and the uttermost part of the earth (Mat. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).<\/span><\/p>\n Jesus did not \u201ctaste of death\u201d for only a few or even for many, but \u201cfor every man\u201d (Heb. 2:9). The Calvinistic doc-trine of the \u201climited atonement\u201d is palpably false; God ex- tended grace through Jesus\u2019 atonement to all mankind. However, one errs exceedingly to conclude that all will <\/strong>be saved just because all have the opportunity <\/strong>to be saved.<\/span><\/p>\n One can only marvel that the one true and living God, Who displayed His omnipotence in creating the universe and our very selves, is so generous, gracious, and loving.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, <\/em>weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, October 25, 2015, of which I was editor.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong>\u00a0 From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0\u00a0[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 1\u00a0 page.] Because of His abundant love for mankind, God extended His grace universally through the death of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son: \u201cFor the grace of God hath appeared, bringing…<\/p>\n