Bible Truth #258 - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

14  For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

15  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Here is one of the passages the Arminian will use to claim that Christ died to redeem every human ever born. But at the same time they will claim salvation is monergistic, i.e. a work of God and God alone. Their claims leave a lot of contradicting theories. The first is this - if Jesus died to redeem every person ever born, why is anyone in Hell? If Jesus’ death on the cross is all that is needed and He died to redeem everyone, should not “everyone” be saved? But yet, most Arminians are not Universalists.

The Arminian will respond, “Yes, Jesus died to redeem everyone but to be saved you must believe in Jesus and accept His free gift of salvation.” To which I reply, “Oh! Then Jesus’ death on the cross is not all that is needed? A lost man MUST believe and accept Jesus as their Savior BEFORE God will save them? To be saved, a lost man must cooperate with God in his redemption?” In that case, salvation is not monergistic but synergistic, the belief that the human “free will” cooperates with the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration.

Synergism is false and the Arminian knows it. That is why they claim that believing and repenting are not considered works. Sorry, anything required of man BEFORE God saves him negates the complete work Christ did on the cross. Before Christ gave up His Spirit on the cross He said, “It is finished,” EVERYTHING that needed to be done was done. There is nothing required of man to gain salvation. There are, however, many things he will do as the result of God quickening his dead spirit. Things like believe and repent.

For a greater in-depth reading of the difference between monergism and synergism, please click here.

Finally, there is a word in verse 14 that many simply overlook. The word is compel, or the KJV uses constraineth. The Greek word is synecho and there is no way it can be understood as anything other than what it means. Please look it up, it’s Strong’s 4912. There is no “free will” found anywhere in those definitions. There are however some sub-definitions that can be misinterpreted that the Arminian will cling to. Sorry, compel means God’s love made us believe which is exactly what Jesus said in John 6:29.

Bottom Line - Jesus did NOT die to redeem everyone, He loved His church and died to redeem her (Ephesians 5:25), and her alone. Jesus Himself said that His Blood will be shed for many, not all (Mark 14:24). Salvation is the sole work of God and God alone, there is no cooperative effort between God and man.