Beloved radio friends, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus, our beloved Savior, who died to redeem us, we welcome you to the broadcast today. We thank God for the privilege, and we counted a holy one, sacred, a sacred privilege to bring the Word of God to your heart. We have no greater joy than lifting up the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We make no apology to any man. nor to any demon, for lifting up the person of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our prayer and the desire of heart is this, that you may think of Christ more than you ever have done, whether you know him as Savior or if you know him not as your Savior, may he become precious to you. We are dwelling upon that great theme of the atoning death of the Son of God, We shall not be able to finish it in this week's messages, but, oh, we continue to consider that death of Christ. We'd like to raise a question regarding the extent of that death. Here's the question. It's a controversial one in the minds of some, though not in my own. Did Christ die for the whole world, or did he only die for the elect? Can I ask the question again? Did Christ die for the whole world, or did He only die for the elect? For I am confident, as well as sad to state it, there are some that only believe the Lord Jesus died for those who are God's elect ones who have answered the call and received the Savior. But if He died for the elect only, Let me raise the question, would God be just? Let me meditate again on that. Think it through, my friend. Did Christ die for the whole world or only for the elect? Now if some teach, and some do, that He died only for the elect, what are you going to say about the justice of God? Would it be just of God to give His Son to die only for a select few? Doesn't sound right, does it? But if he died for the whole world, you might also raise another question. Why are not all people saved? And if he did die for the whole world, in what sense did he do this? Now let's consider some of the facts. There are some that hold the view that Christ died only for the elect. There are some that hold another view, that Christ died in some sense, not directly, in some sense perhaps, for the whole world. But what does the Scripture say? What does the Scripture say? Well, let me please first of all state this, and this is a fact. Whoever is saved, belonging to what is called in the Word of God the elect, It's clearly taught that Christ died for them without shadow of doubt. Yes, it's clearly taught. Let me quote the words of the Blessed Lord Jesus in regard to what he says himself about those who belong to him. If he's in chapter five and verse twenty five, where Paul writes to the husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, In other words, the Lord Jesus claims, I died for my church. I died for all those who have trusted me as their Savior. How true that is. And also, there are other scriptures. Let me read one. In chapter seventeen of the Gospel according to John, we're in the prayer of the Lord Jesus. You find the Lord Jesus stating in his prayer to the Father. Note the words, in this prayer to the Father, He says, I pray for my disciples. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given me, for they are thine. Now here you can find the Lord Jesus is praying. It's the language of his heart in the presence of God above at the present time. He prays for those belonging to him. May I say, he doesn't pray for the world. He says, I don't pray for the world. Now, you may ask the question, why does not the Lord Jesus Christ pray at the present time, in heaven above, for the world? Well, let me suggest to you, he's done all that he could for the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He's done all he can for the whole world. He died for the whole world. But when he comes to praying, he prays in heaven for those who trust him as their Savior. They need his prayers to help them through this world. And surely we value that. So he does. We know he died for the elect, for those who belong to him. Thank God for those who do belong to him. not only making salvation possible for them, but, oh, in the sense of even helping them and keeping them when they have believed upon him. But then we must go further. Yes, we want to go further. Christ did die for the whole world. This is clearly the teaching of the Scripture. And I want to prove it. The scripture is very clear. Yes, every believer in the Lord Jesus, every member of the body of Christ, every member of the church of God, every member in the family of God can say, Christ died for me. Christ died for the elect. But may I also tell you, Christ died for sinners. God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. But let me please give you another scripture. First of all, By his death, the Lord Jesus takes away before the holiness of God and the righteousness of God, the sin of the world. I quote John I in verse twenty-nine. John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Now I raise the question, was it just the elect? Was it for the whole world? not according to John the Baptist. He died for the whole world. John one twenty nine. I think of another scripture in second Corinthians chapter five and verse nineteen. Oh, what words are these? As the beloved apostle Paul speaks and reveals that great work of reconciliation which Christ has wrought. And listen to these words in chapter five of second Corinthians and verse nineteen. And God's saying that through Jesus Christ, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Listen, when Christ died upon the cross, he did a work that can reconcile the whole world to God. In other words, may I suggest it in this particular phase? When Christ died upon the cross, He did a work not only for those who believe upon him, but for all within the world. May I go to First Timothy chapter two and verse six, where we read that by his death he gave himself a ransom for who? The elect? No, further, more for all. My beloved friend, you that may not be saved, What think you of Christ? May I point out He died for your sins. He paid the ransom. He paid the debt. And are you willing to receive the benefit which He offers to you? The forgiveness of sins through His blood, through faith in His sacrifice? Yes. We are told in First Timothy chapter four in verse ten that by his death he became the Savior of all men. You'll read First Timothy chapter four in verse ten. You'll read Titus chapter two in verse eleven. By his death he brought salvation within the reach of all men. By his death and then he called Hebrews two in verse nine. He tasted death for all. And by his death he made propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Writes John, first John two in verse two. He is the propitiation for our sins who believe, but not for ours only, but for the whole world. Beloved, do I need to prove, does not the word of God tell Christ died for the whole world? Beloved, are you one of those? Who still refuses to believe. Now may I say. In closing there is a necessary responsibility. To obtain salvation. Now the scriptures teach as we've already seen. The extent of the death of Christ. To us for the blessing and the salvation of the whole world. But why. Are not all men saved. Well let me say why. First of all, a man must believe that Christ died for him, before he can appropriate the benefits of Christ's death for himself. You've got to believe that Christ died for you. You must be reconciled to God by faith in the precious work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we conclude that Christ by his death is the Savior of the world. He's called then in the Word of God, the Savior of the world twice. in John four in the first epistle of John and yet by his death he is delaying the execution of God's judgment upon the sinner he provides time for man to repent and is removed from the mind of God and the heart of God every obstacle that God is not prevented from pardoning the penitent and believing sinner and there's only one thing in the way of sinners not getting saved it's because they won't if their willful rejection of God's Son and their opposition to his love and to his grace. I think of the words of dear Spurgeon. As he divided the human race and said, There are those whom he called the whosoever wills and the others the whosoever won't. My beloved friend, if you're unsaved, let me play, please make it very clear and explicit. There's only one reason that you're not saved if it's because you will not come to Christ. said Jesus when he was on the earth of the Pharisees, you will not come unto me the chill night of life. And may I sadly state then sorrowfully, there are many today that will not get saved because they refuse to come. Oh, my friend, don't be one of those. Join the whosoever wills, and come to the Savior now and make him yours. Oh, beloved, the tremendous extent of the death of Christ. I raise the question, what pinky of Christ? Is He your Saviour? Are you covered before God eternally by His atoning death? Oh, Father, what can we say? May the Holy Spirit do His work in bringing sinners to Christ. In Jesus' name, amen.