1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
...just as Christ loved who? Just as Christ loved US and gave himself up for US as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Paul addressed this letter to the Ephesians - but to whom in Ephesus was he writing? Verse 1 of Chapter 1 tells us he was writing to the saints in Ephesus, those who were faithful in Christ Jesus. And since he used the word “US” it is clear he was referring to a group of people of which included himself. Clearly he was referring to Christians as a group - past, present, and future.
Paul was not referring to us “humans” and he was making no implication that Christ loved the human race and gave Himself up for every soul who ever lived or will live. In fact, Paul never writes about, nor does he ever imply that Christ died for everyone. I will admit there is a passage in which Paul seems to say that God wants every man to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) but as I explained in Bible Truth #125, this interpretation does no justice to the context and contradicts many other passages in the Bible. Paul was not telling Timothy God wants each and every individual man to be saved. It is a mistaken assumption of some Christians since there are very few other passages they can use to explain a man-made theory (free will) while there are many passages that say the opposite.
There are other passages of Scripture that Arminians misunderstand and mistakenly interpret. These include:
Other writers may have written certain passages where those who believe man has a free will in salvation incorrectly infer that Jesus died for all but in each case, there is an explanation that reconciles with the rest of the Bible. Meanwhile, I have yet to see an explanation from any believer of man's free will in salvation that explains why the following passages contradict their view:
John 6:29 - it is God’s work in a man that makes him believe,
John 6:37 - those God has given to Jesus will come to Him,
John 6:44 - all those God draws, Jesus raises up,
Acts 13:48 - all those appointed for eternal life believed,
Romans 8:8 - a lost man can’t please God,
Romans 8:29-30 - all those God calls He glorifies,
Romans 9:21 - God created some people for honor (Heaven), and some for dishonor (Hell),
1 Corinthians 1:26 - not every man is called,
1 Corinthians 1:26 - not every man is called,
1 Corinthians 2:14 - a lost man can understand nothing from the Holy Spirit,
Philippians 1:29 - God gives us belief, and those to whom belief is denied will never believe,
Philippians 2:13 - God works in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure and purpose,
2 Timothy 2:25 - a man won’t desire to repent and can’t repent unless God grants it to him,
2 Timothy 3:7 - the lost are never able to acknowledge the Truth,
1 Peter 2:8 - the lost who will never be saved are destined to stumble...
And please understand, these are just a few of the verses that contradict the theory of man’s free will in salvation.
The bottom line: Jesus died for His Elect and His Elect alone. There is no one in Hell for whom Jesus died, for that would mean He failed in His “attempt” to save a man. Jesus failed at nothing and He “attempts” nothing. He does what He wants and He does it completely and perfectly.
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