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SALVATION IS UNIVERSAL All men may be saved is clearly taught throughout the Bible. Let us begin by reading and carefully considering several scriptures. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”—Mark 16:15–16. The gospel message is for all the world, every creature, not for a select few. Salvation is conditional. The man who is saved must believe; the man who is lost, is himself to blame. “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. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”—John 3:16–17. The world and whosoever, show the universal extent of salvation as provided by the love of God. Again, salvation is made conditional. “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life”—Rom. 5:18. In this scripture Christ and Adam are compared. No one will deny the universality of sin. The free gift of salvation is likewise for all men. “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”—2 Cor. 5:14–15. The universality of spiritual death is again compared with the atonement of Christ. He died for all. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”—1 Tim. 2:3–6. It is God’s desire that all men be saved. Therefore, it can not be that he has chosen to save only a select few or that one soul shall be lost because of God’s decree. Again we are told, Christ’s death was for all. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man”—Heb. 2:9. “And he (Christ) is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of whole world”—1 John 2:2. The purpose of Christ’s incarnation was to taste death for every man. These scriptures are so explicit that no possible room is left for a limited atonement. The principal views of the extent of the atonement are (1) Universalism, which teaches that all men shall be saved. (2) Calvinism, or predestination, which holds that God has chosen to save a select few. (3) Arminianism, or the doctrine that salvation is provided for all who will accept it. We will note details of these views.
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