| HISTORIC BAPTIST DOCTRINE ____________ World and All Men |
| I understand how some people believe that there are Scriptures that imply free-will. If these Scriptures were understood in the proper contexts, one would see that it is not implied at all.
For example: Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. If the word world here means every single person, then there would be no one condemned for their sin, because the sin has been taken away. That would have to include the sin of not believing. So in this verse, if one is going to hang on to the idea that world means every single person, then to stay consistent, one would have to believe in universal atonement. All will be saved. Here is what I believe that the word world here means. John is saying here that Jesus is not just for the Jews but for the gentiles as well. Most did not understand this until well into the book of Acts. Jews also referred to the Gentiles as the world. Another example: Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. We know that all men does not mean every single person, because God does not draw outside the preaching of the Gospel. There are untold millions of people or more that have lived that have never heard the Gospel and so they were not drawn. All men, again, must mean Jew and Gentile and the kinds of people that make up the Gentile world. All men does not mean all without exception, but rather it mean all without distinction. A good definition of world and of all men is found here. Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And on and on it goes. Posted: Jul 7th 2006, 08:44 AM |