Who did Christ die for? Everyone or Some?

by Nick "slick" Herring
This topic is not talked about much in churches today, because most people believe that Jesus died for every person in the world. Does the Bible really say that or not? The term that is most used by most Calvinists is "limited atonement.” What does that mean and why do we use that word?

Many say that is not a good word to use since it seemingly limits Christ’s work on the cross. Well, whatever people may call it, Christians need to know what the Bible says on this topic and examine the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are true. Limited atonement doesn't mean that the atoning work of Christ was limited in its power to save sinners. Rather, it means that the blood of Jesus was limited in the amount of people it atoned for.

There are many verses that tell about whom Christ died. For example John chapter 10, Jesus says that He lays His life down for "the sheep" and He also says that He has "other sheep" that are not of this fold, and that He must bring them also. Christ died for His "sheep" and not for the whole world. If He died for every person in the world, then everyone to heaven, and most would agree that the Bible does not teach universal redemption.

We need not to trust in our feelings, but in the Word of God. Everyone should think about the concept of "limited atonement" by searching the Scriptures and determining if the Bible says it is true or not. Here are a couple of questions to ask when thinking it over;
Did Christ try to make salvation possible?
Or
Did Christ actually save those for whom He died?

Jesus actually atoned for the sins of those the Father chose. He actually propitiated the wrath of God toward His people by taking their judgment upon Himself, and actually redeemed them. In John 17, Jesus didn't pray for the whole world, but only the ones who the Father gave Him out of the world. I know that this is a strange thing to believe, but as I said before, we need not to trust in our feelings but we need to trust in the Word of God alone. If someone went to hell, then Jesus didn't die for that person, but if He did die for that person, yet they ended up in hell due to lack of faith (as some say), that would be double jeopardy, meaning; Jesus and that person both took on the wrath of God, and that just doesn't make any sense.

There is so much more to say on this, I just hope all who have a problem with limited atonement will read their Bibles to see if this is true.