Did Jesus die for the sins of those who die in unbelief?

This is a most critical question. If Jesus died for the sins of those who die in unbelief, then Jesus' death for them was ineffective. Why? Because in the final analysis to die in unbelief is to perish, forever separated from God. If Jesus died for your sins, that means he paid your sin debt on the cross - He was punished for your sins. That means your sins can never be counted against you, ever! That is wonderful news.

The common belief is Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, without exception ( I John 2:2). Even those who go to hell. I have mentioned this before, what good is an atonement that does not save the sinner? It is only a potential or virtual atonement where the person is potentially savable if he or she has the willingness to believe.

God is not going to leave it up to us to determine if His plan of salvation is effective or not. In other words, He did not send Jesus to the earth to die the most horrible and tragic death ever and leave the final decision to man to cast the deciding vote - that is say yes to the call of gospel and actualize salvation. God is the one who ultimately determines who is saved and who is not. 

Those who God chose before the world was created according to Ephesians 1:4 are the ones who will be given the willingness by God to believe and be saved once they hear the gospel message.

Jesus did not die (in the same way or salvifically) for the sins of those who die in unbelief. A person who dies in unbelief did not have any of their sins forgiven. How do I know that? If you say that all their sins were forgiven except unbelief, then one has to admit that Jesus did not die for all sin. One would also have to say that unbelief is not a sin which is untrue. Why would Jesus leave the sin of unbelief out?  

Answer? He did not. For those who are His sheep, He died for every one of their sins including the sin of unbelief. This frees those whom God chose to believe. God gives them the right to believe in the name of Jesus (John 1:12-13). 

It is important to realize that not a drop of Jesus' blood was spilled in vain. In other words, Jesus did not die and shed His precious blood for those who would never believe. Jesus said this to the Pharisees, "The reason you do not believe in Me because you are not my sheep" (John 10:26).  Translation, those who do not believe in the Son do not belong to Him. When Jesus died it was a one hundred percent effective atonement. He did not just die for people and hoped they would believe. He literally saved His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)

Who secures our Salvation?

Another way to phrase the title question is The preservation of the Saints. It should be obvious that God secures our salvation. Since that is true, then why do so many people believe and teach that man has to secure it? 

I have said this before in previous articles, but it bears repeating if God leaves it up to us to secure the salvation that he provided to us as a gift, then He might as well have thrown it in the trash. Why such harsh language? Because man cannot secure what God has already secured. The moment man was adopted into the family of God, that was a permanent adoption. We do not get in, and then get out when we choose to. 

Why?

Remember the Bible says we (the elect), were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesian 1:4). Meaning that God pre-determined that some of fallen mankind would be recipients of His saving grace. Why? Because it pleased the Lord to do so (Ephesians 1:5).  Those that know the wonders of God's grace in saving them and keeping them saved would not dare desire to leave the security of God's loving arms. It just doesn't make sense to believe that man's sin is greater than God's grace (Romans 5:20).

The absurdity of teaching the loss of salvation 

Think about it for a moment what benefit is there in believing and teaching that God's salvation can be lost or given up? There is nowhere in scripture that teaches this heresy.  I want to point out some problems this presents for believers who are young in the faith or struggling with their walk with Christ:

1. It destroys the grounds of a person's assurance

If someone believes that every time they sin that God is going to revoke His love toward them and kick them out of the kingdom, then they cannot live the Christian life with any confidence. They are in constant looking-over-their-shoulder-mode. In other words, they are in perpetual fear of losing what God promised them. It is important that we have a fear and awe of God in that we honor and worship Him. God does not want us to have a paralyzing fear of Him though. That paralyzing fear should be reserved for non-believers. 

2. Lack of assurance produces a joyless experience

This amounts to legalism. This is a false man-made religion. A Christianity that requires works to produce joy and appease God is not Biblical Christianity. This is modern day Pharisaism. True salvation is never based on works. How many works would it require to appease God? There aren't enough. That means that works can never be the means required to have joy in Christ. Remember, we do not perform good works to get saved, we perform good works because we are saved (Ephesians 2:10). 

3. Teaching the loss of salvation makes God out to be a liar

This is the most offensive indictment. Why? Because it assaults the Lord's holy and perfect character. The scripture tells us, "Let God be true and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). God is not capricious - meaning that just because we sin after we are saved, God decides to revoke our salvation and decides that we are hell bound after He promised to save us. Remember, those of us who are God's children are punished when we sin (Hebrews 12:5-11). Any loving parent will discipline their wayward children to make sure they get back in line and on the right track. A good parent, of course, will never disown their children and neither will our Heavenly Father disown us. Remember what the writer of Hebrews said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5b). 

To those of you who doubt your salvation you need to examine yourselves to see if you are truly in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5). You need to get back to the basics - immerse yourself in the Word. Trust the Word of God and not your feelings about it. What God said in His Word is always true no matter what our emotions are screaming at us. If you are in a Church where the preacher believes that you can lose or give up your salvation, then leave that Church. Pray earnestly that God will lead you to a Bible teaching Church. That is something that you can guarantee God will do for it honors Him.

Finally, I'll add this, salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). It is God's gift from heaven to man. We have to remember the pains and lengths the Father went through to deliver this precious gift to us. Before time began, the Triune Godhead devised the plan on how mankind would be saved from their sins.  The Father would send His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to come to earth as a man to die for those whom the Father identified to Him to save - these are His sheep. When Jesus was crucified according to the Father's will (Acts 2:23), and raised Him from the dead, all those who put their trust in Christ receive eternal life in time and space. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell within our temples (our bodies). It is an invisible reality, but we know the Spirit is there because those of us who are saved are not the same. It is impossible for one to remain the same because we are new creations in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). We can not serve sin anymore for we have been delivered from its mastery. This is where a lot of Christians miss it. Many believe they can continue to live the unholy lifestyle they lived even after professing Christ. Why would you want to frustrate God's grace like that? Remember what Paul said in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" 

Answer? We can't! 

The Holy Spirit abides within the believer so we MUST serve God and hate our sin. We can not be comfortable with it anymore. We must struggle and fight against temptation that often leads to sin. 

If you're truly saved you will be convicted if you continue in sin. Be glad you feel guilt and shame when you sin. That is the check and balance system (i.e. the Holy Spirit) to let us know we can humble ourselves and repent.

Salvation is eternal. It can never be lost.

What does it mean that we wrestle against Spiritual Wickedness in heavenly places?

Paul the Apostle is describing what happens when one engages in spiritual warfare. The verses that discuss this matter is Ephesians 6:12-18. The key word here wrestle comes from the Greek word pale. Pale (pronounced pal-lay) comes from another word Palaestra which was a Greek school to train wrestlers. The objective of the wrestler was to subdue his opponent by pinning his shoulders to the ground.  So now we see why Paul used the illustration of wrestling when dealing with evil spirits - it was so his audience, the Ephesians could relate to his message.

How are we to wrestle?

The answer is we are to wrestle in the Spirit through prayer. Once we put on all the armor of God, the Bible says, "Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding on behalf of all the saints" (Eph 6:18) - Amplified Version. 

The McCabe part about our spiritual conflict is that we are battling enemies we cannot see. Unless the Lord allowed us to see into the spiritual world where the heavenly hosts and wicked spirits reside, we are fighting in an invisible war from the human side, by faith or trust in God that what we are doing is indeed effective. 

This is what it says regarding our struggle in 2 Corinthians 10:4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (or of the flesh) but are mighty through God for the overthrow of strongholds."

Thank God we have help!

Fortunately, we are not alone in this warfare. The Holy Spirit assists as well as Jesus Christ. Let me prove it. 

Romans 8:26-27 declares, "So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weaknesses; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance." 

"And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit because the Spirit intercedes and pleads before God on behalf of the saints according to the will of God."

In verse thirty-four we read that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

Holy Spirit led prayer will always result in victory - we absolutely cannot lose!! Why?

When we are praying according to the will of God, the Holy Trinity is involved. In verses 26 and 27 it says that the Spirit is praying, yearning and groaning to God the Father with an utterance to great for words. We can never know what it is, but you can rest assured it is perfect Holy communication to the Father who knows the mind of the Holy Spirit and will do what needs to be done according to His perfect will.

As an added loving benefit, the Lord Jesus also who sits at the place of authority and honor, the Father's right hand also is interceding on our behalf. 

All of these elements are engaged when we are in spiritual warfare. How do we battle? Through prayer in the Spirit. 

God has promised us eternal peace, but to obtain it we have to go to war for now, in the earth realm against spiritual wickedness in high and heavenly places.

To get a perfect illustration of spiritual warfare in action please read the entire ninth chapter of Daniel.

When God Repents

It is admittedly strange to think of using the word repent when relating to God. For us, repenting has to do with changing one's mind regarding sin - forsaking it and running to the Lord. Obviously, God does not repent in the same way we must repent; that is from sin.  We only hear of God repenting in the Old Testament, not the New. The word repent in Hebrew is the word naham which means to comfort, to relent. 

The word repent appears 40 times and the word comfort appears 65 times.  In Genesis 6:6 we read that God repented (as it says in the KJV) that He made man on the earth and that it grieved the Lord at His heart. Now, that seems like an odd thing for the Lord to say right? Why would God regret that he made man when He knew what man would do before He created him? Scholars say that the writer is describing God in what is called the anthropopathic mode. What that means is that human emotions and characteristics are being attached to God. It helps us as finite human beings understand God better if we describe Him with emotions.

What God actually regretted was man's evil, not the fact that He created man. God said everything He created was very good (Gen 1:31). So, there were no mistakes on God's part. The mistakes are all on us.

We also hear of God repenting when Moses intercedes on behalf of rebellious Israel. When Moses when up to Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the Israelites have Aaron build them a golden calf - an Egyptian deity so they can worship it and have an orgy. This is what the scripture says, and the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way I have commanded them, They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it...Now, therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation out of you. But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, "O Lord why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought up out of the Land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did He bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit forever.' "And the Lord repented (or relented) from the disaster that He had spoken of bringing on His people (Exodus 32:7-8, 10-14).

The reason God did not destroy His people is because Moses interceded for them to spare their lives. God was within His rights to wipe them out because they had violated the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods besides me (Exodus 20:3). Repentance in the form of mercy was extended to Israel due to the prayer of Moses.

Another account of God repenting is in the book of Jonah. We read that the city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. Jonah preached only eight words, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4). The entire city sits in sackcloth and ashes, fasts and repents. Starting with the king to the least of them - even the animals. As a result of their humility and confession of sin, God spared the city (Jonah 3:5-10).

As a reminder, God does not repent because He is cable of wrong. He repents when we repent from our evil ways. When God is satisfied with our reaction toward His judgment upon us, He will relent from the harm that He would bring upon had we refused to obey His commands.  Even after judgment, God is willing to end his punishment if a person or nation is willing to repent as in the case when God through the Babylonians destroyed Judah, Jerusalem and the temple (Jeremiah 42:10).

Who was Darius the Mede?

Daniel 5:31 it mentions that Darius the Mede received the kingdom at age sixty-two. Some believe extrabiblical history supposedly never mentions Darius the Mede.  Not a whole lot is known about the Kingdom of the Medes. The name Darius is a title that means Lord and King.  Others have said Darius is actually a general by the name Gubaru who was with the Babylonians but left them to join the confederation of the Medes and Persians who defeated Belshazzar and his father Nabonidus when Babylon was conquered in 539 B.C.

It is important to determine who Darius is for our own knowledge and peace of mind. Also, it is important to be able to refute the critics who deny the historicity of the book of Daniel, and the actual existence of Daniel himself.

If one is totally captive to the truthfulness of the Word of God such as I am, then you have to believe that Darius the Mede was an actual historical figure just like Melchizedek was although he appears only once in Genesis 14:18, and is mentioned in the following verses: Psalm 110:4, and Hebrews 5:6, 10 6:20; 7:1,10,11,15,17. We cannot allow extrabiblical sources to validate the Bible.  We use scripture to determine if other sources are valid when dealing with Biblical matters and characters. The Word of God tells us that all scripture is theopneustos, that is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Meaning that Daniel recorded the Words of God, not his own. This makes the book of Daniel perfect in its presentation because it is not the word of man, but as 2 Peter 1:21 declares Daniel was carried along by the moving and power of the Holy Spirit. The book of Daniel is an original autograph with no propaganda. So what better person to validate who Darius was than an eyewitness? This is where Daniel comes in. When the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., the Bible tells us Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was sixty-two years old (Dan 5:31).

We also read of the famous true story of Daniel being rescued from the lion’s den in chapter 6. Darius is the king at that time who lifts Daniel out of the den and has Daniel’s accusers thrown in.

Although there are several sources that have written about this time in history, the two main historians are Herodotus (484-425 BC.) and Xenophon (430-354 BC). Herodotus’ work is entitled Histories and Xenophon’s work is the Cyropaedia which means “The education of Cyrus”.

Some the main differences between the two Greek historians are these: Herodotus claims that Cyrus defeated his maternal Grandfather Astyages/Ahasuerus in battle in 550 B.C. Herodotus also claims that Astyages had no heir to receive his throne. As a result, Cyrus’ became the sole ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire. Xenophon tells a different story. He never records that Astyages and his Grandson Cyrus battled. Rather Astyages’ son was a man by the name of Cyaxeres II as the Greeks would call him. We know him by his throne name, Darius. This view is shared by the historian Josephus (37-100 AD) although he never mentions Darius by the name Cyaxares.  An ancient text called the Behistun of Darius Hystaspes (Darius I or Darius the Great, 522-486 BC)[1] also supports the existence of Darius the Mede.[2] According to Herodotus Astyages did not have a son, but a daughter named Mandane who married Cyrus’s father Cambyses I. In Xenophon’s account, Cyaxares II/Darius the Mede is Cyrus’ maternal uncle. When Darius dies in 537 B.C., Cyrus becomes the ruler of both the Medes and Persians with the Persians becoming more powerful as evidenced by the prophecy/vision Daniel receives of the Ram in Daniel 8:3b.

From what I have researched, Herodotus has received praise from it seems many and much criticism from men like Diordorus who accused Herodotus of telling false stories. Strabo (c. 64 BC-AD 21) said Herodotus provided unreliable historical accounts regarding the Medes and Persians. Another harsh critic was a man named Plutarch (c. AD 50-120). He outright said Herodotus was a liar.  A man named Cicero apparently had mixed feelings regarding Herodotus. He called Herodotus “the father of history” which is definitely an overreach.  In the same sentence, he said that Herodotus was a man who’s works “contain numerous fabulous tales”. What a duplicitous statement! The running theme with Herodotus is that he could spin a story. It appears he perhaps wanted to romance the life of Cyrus rather than deliver the cold hard facts.  Herodotus said that out of the four stories regarding the accession and life of Cyrus, he picked the one that is most suitable to him – perhaps the one most dramatic. From the critics, it appears that Herodotus was more interested in presenting drama than historical fact. In reading Xenophon and briefly reviewing his life, I believe responsible researchers would lean toward him. Whether Xenophon knew or cared, his account supports the Biblical account of Daniel’s Darius the Mede. He personally traveled with the Persians and in particular with Cyrus the Younger’s entourage (Cyrus III) who was the Son of Darius II (423-404) who was the Son of Artaxerxes Longimanus or Artaxerxes I (465-424 BC).

It appears the biggest criticism Xenophon receives from modern critics is the person of Cyaxeres II/Darius the Mede. Postmodernists have pretty much abandoned the idea this person really existed. In doing so, they have discredited Daniel as a reliable historical eyewitness reporter guided by the Holy Spirit.  Even worse, they have discredited the Bible – a most serious charge.

One more major disagreement surrounds Cyrus’ death. Herodotus claims Cyrus dies in battle in 530 B.C. Xenophon declares he dies in peace at home. So, his death has been a matter of dispute for over 2500 years.  

Daniel also mentions Darius the Mede in 6:1,6,9, 25, 28; 9:1; 11:1. The name Darius is also mentioned in the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah, but he is a different king; Darius I who is also Darius the Great and Darius Hystaspes (522-486 BC).

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[1] The years listed for the kings are the years of their reign.

[2] It is important for the reader to know that there were four kings named Darius in history: Darius the Mede (559-537 BC, Darius Hystaspes or Darius I (522-486 BC), Darius II (423-404 BC), Darius III (336-330 BC) who was defeated by Alexander the Great. Only the first two kings named Darius appear in the Bible

Speaking things into existence

There are many that believe we can create what we want with our words. Do human words have that kind of power?  The quick answer is no! Those that believe this lie are victims of the positive confession movement, name-it-and-claim-it which is prevalent in Word of Faith Churches. 

The idea is that if you positive confess something enough times and you believe in what you are confessing, then it will come to pass. Actually what this is, is new age mysticism, not faith. This is also called the Law of attraction. In this "law", like attracts like. For instance, if you are uttering negative words in the universe, that is what the universe will bring back to you. Also if you are speaking positive things, then you expect positive things from the universe. This has some similarities to karma that is practiced in the Hindu and Buddhist religions.

Those that believe humans can call things into existence by speaking words have not really taken the time to analyze the serious implications of their thought process. What one is saying without realizing it is that you're like God. Why do I say that? Because God is the only being that can create something out of nothing or what is called ex nihilo. God used the power of his words to create the universe and everything in it. In other words, he spoke it into existence. We do not have that power.

Preachers have misused Romans 4:17 as a proof text for this unbiblical practice. Let's read what it says, "As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations, before him whom he believed. even God, who quickens the dead and calls those things that be not as though they were (KJV)".

This text is used as a sort of magic incantation to confess financial prosperity, healing for one's body, success on the job, etc. The verse in context has nothing do with the name-it-and-claim-it heresy. The writer Paul is talking about the promise of God to Abraham to make him the father of many nations. At the time God made the promise, Abraham was old and so was Sarah his wife. They were past the age of bearing children. But God promised they would have Isaac and at the appointed time they did when Abraham was 100 years old (Gen 21:2-4). God is the one that calls things into existence that do not exist. That is God brought the promise he made to Abraham to manifestation through his faith in the Lord.  

Also, it is also important to bear in mind that when God initially made the promise to Abraham about making him a father of many nations, and when he had Isaac was 25 years. A testament to Abraham's great enduring faith in God (Gen 12:4; Gen 21:5).

Think about it for a moment, if we could create our own reality by the power of our words, we could heal the sick, raise the dead, get rid of crime, prevent all types of abuse, end corrupt politics, and cure world hunger. We could create our own utopia. And if all that were true, we would get rid of God also. 

The ancient people of the world already tried to make a name for themselves with the ancient city and tower of Babel in the land of Shinar. They attempted to build it so they could reach into the heavens. God seeing their evil pride confused their languages so they could not understand one another and the ungodly building project was halted by God as the people were dispersed throughout the earth (Gen 11:1-9).

I use that account to prove that just like those ancient people in Genesis 11 attempted to make a name for themselves and failed, those that believe they can create their own reality with their words will always fail. This positive confession phenomenon is nothing more than abra-cadabra, hocus-pocus!! It is not trusting in God at all. 

The Outward and Inward Call

These are doctrines that speak to the outward and inward call of God toward all of humanity. What I need to discuss are the differences between the two. 

The outward call of God is presented to all of humanity but can be resisted. When we talk about the call of God, we are talking about the gospel invitation and command for man to repent of his sins and believe in Christ. The scripture says. "He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son does not have life (i.e. eternal life), but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36)".  Many respond to the outward call of God and often become members of the visible Church only. I believe these type of people are described in Matthew 13:20-22, "The one to whom the seed (i.e. God's word) was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself but is only temporary, and when persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles and falls away".

That is clearly the attitude of a Church attendee, but not a genuine believer. Once again, they are a member of the visible Church but not the invisible Church.

What is the invisible Church?

The invisible Church are those who have been adopted into God's family through the effective preaching of the gospel. The reason I say invisible is that we do not know everyone that is really in the Church but God does. We see physical bodies, but God knows who are actually his because he can see regenerate hearts - we can't (2 Tim 2:19b). Those whom God has chosen in eternity past for salvation respond to the outward call positively which is the preaching of the gospel by men to repent and believe. The inward call is only performed by God and cannot be resisted. Why? The inward call is what regenerates - brings men to saving faith and baptizes them into the body of Christ. Both the outward an inward call is essential for a spiritual harvest to occur.  

The inward call comes about because of the outward call - the planting of the holy seed, the word of God. In other words, God never saves someone without them first hearing the gospel. If they are good ground and produce a harvest, it was God's doing not ours. Our job is to sow the seed and let 

God do the rest in the heart of the sinner. Remember what Paul said, one plants, one waters, but  GOD gives the increase (1 Cor 3:6). 

The outward call of God is an essential, demanding yet loving call for all to repent and believe. Most reject this call. Some superficially respond to this call and join the visible Church. But due to not having any root or depth in the word, they fall away once persecution comes on account of it. The outward call alone will never produce salvation but is the cause that leads to it.  However, those whom God has predestined in eternity past to be saved in time, they will respond positively to the general call due to being chosen by God to respond to the inward calling.

The general call is performed by believers preaching the gospel and is necessary. The inward call is secret and performed only by God - causing the chosen sinner to become born again so that he/she responds to outward gospel call and be saved.