Hebrews 9:26"But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
Hebrews 1:3"When He had by Himself purged (wiped out) sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
In Chapter 1, we understand God arranged us under sin, the law, and unbelief, therefore, under futility and emptiness. We didn't choose this being of powerlessness, we were subjected to it through Adam. We played no causl role in our nature being separated (sinful) from God.
The good news of Chapter 2 is God rescued all of humanity (past, present, and future) from this separated, sinful, empty state through the death and resurrection of Jesus. "Christianity" falsely claims God's justice results in eternal suffering for sins, unless you repent, confess, commit your life to Him, etc. The New Testament, on the other hand, proclaims God's justice eradicated sin forever for everyone.
Redemption for everyone was Gods plan before creation, and was fulfilled (past tense) through His primary expression of love for us; the death and resurrection of Jesus. You Had Nothing To Do With It
In His infinite wisdom, God solved the problem of sin BEFORE it entered the world through Adam.
Now, before we get to the Scriptures revealing the above, allow me to provide some context.
- More than anything, I'm writing this Chapter to establish the truth, not explain the implications. The contents of this Chapter must be understood for the rest of the NT to be rightly discerned. (I can't emphasize this enough.)
- I'm not removing faith from the experience of redemption. How faith fits in is answered in Chapter 3 and beyond. The earth is round, and we believe that it is, but it's not round because we believe it is. In the same manner, what God accomplished in Christ was for everyone, whether we believe it or not. Our faith had nothing to do with the purging of all sin on the cross.
- Hebrews 2:8 reads, "All things have been made subject to Jesus (past tense), but we do not yet see all things made subject to Him," and in Romans 4:17, we read, "God calls those things that don't exist as if they do exist." These two verses, and dozens more like them, tell us God calls things completed that aren't yet completed. Take the apparent contradiction of 1 Tim 1:10 and 1 Cor 15:26 as a prime example. One verse states the last enemy to be destroyed is death, and the other tells us death has already been destroyed. Therefore, in the language of the NT, just because we don't see something finished YET doesn't mean it's not finished. The same principle applies to the redemption of all humanity. He obtained redemption for us all, even though we don't see it yet. (Hebrews 9:12) Perhaps the best example of God calling things done before they're done is found in Revelation 13:8, which tells us Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
- If you think the referenced texts only apply to believers, because Paul was writing to believers, please reread them in light of all Scriptures listed. (I trust we agree understanding subjects only occurs in the full context of everything said about them.) For example, Romans 4:25 states, "…Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses and raised because of our justification." Yes, Paul was writing to believers, but was Jesus delivered up for the offenses of believers only? Of course not. Romans 6:10 and many other Scriptures tell us, "The death He died, He died to sin once for all." Therefore, we can rightly conclude both the first half of Romans 4:25 "delivered up for our offenses," and the second half "raised because of our justification," refers to everyone, not just believers.
- In proving the truth of "redemption for all," I've referenced 66 Scriptures requiring little or no explanation. Consider that number for a moment. Not 2 or 3…66! If I included those that require a significant degree of interpretation, there would be many more.
Redemption for everyone is everywhere in the New Testament.
Redemption for ALL in/by Christ was God's completed plan before the creation of the world, and we had nothing to do with it causally.