A huge debate in the Christian community today is whether or not Jesus Christ died for every single human being or only a specific group of people that the Bible calls "God's Elect." Those who claim that "God is love" and ignore all of his other attributes will always say that a loving God must have died for everyone. There are a vast number of problems with this belief if one is to claim to believe in the Bible and wants to remain consistent.

First and foremost, the Bible teaches what is known as "Substituted Atonement" which teaches that when Jesus Christ went to the cross he literally took on the sins of all those whom he meant to save. God poured out his wrath on Christ when he was on the cross and Christ paid the price for all such sins. If we are to believe that Christ substituted atonement and paid the price for the sin of every single individual human then why are there currently and will there be for eternity countless individuals experiencing punishment in hell? You might say they are being punished for the sin of "Unbelief," but would this not also be included as a sin that Christ paid for on the cross? The question is if Christ has paid for the sins of everyone on the Cross then why is not everyone saved from hell and God's punishment? What sin remains for God to punish them for?

Next we must confront the fact that the Bible talks about God's elect people. Ephesians says these elect people were predestined in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love. Christ is described as being the one who will save "His people" from their sin. Is everyone considered "God's people?" Jesus Christ said that his sheep hear his voice, and the reason some to do hear him is because they are not of his sheep. Is every single human being a part of Christ's flock of sheep?

Some people will attempt to say that while Christ did not die for everyone, he did die for all those which he foresaw would believe in Him in the future. This presents the idea of free will and the idea that it is the choices of men which determine whether or not they are saved, rather than the choices of God. This is once again wrong, as Ephesians says that God is the one who predestined the believers and also says that Faith is a gift from God and does not come from our own selves.

The fact of the matter is that the Bible presents Jesus Christ as a perfect savior. This means that he went to the cross the secure the salvation of His people and he did so without failure. To suggest that Christ died for everyone and yet the majority of people reject Christ and are not saved would present a savior which tries to save everyone but fails over and over again. Surely our perfect savior Jesus Christ would never fail to accomplish what he sets out to do.