By His uplifted cross and on-going priestly ministry, Christ is drawing "all men" to repentance. His gracious love is so strong and persistent that the sinner must resist it in order to be lost.
The Bible Teaching
(a) All the life and happiness which the world enjoys is the purchase of Christ's sacrifice. Every loaf of bread is stamped with His cross (John 6:32, 33, 35, 50-53; cf. The Desire of Ages, p.660). This truth of total indebtedness to Him is the basis for all genuine Christian experience.(b) If Christ had not died for the world, we would all have perished. The Father laid the trespasses of the world on Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19; Isaiah 53:5, 6). Thus, in a very real sense, Christ's sacrifice has justified "all men" by giving them a legal "verdict of acquittal" in place of that "judgment" of "condemnation" "in Adam" (Romans 3:23, 24; 5:15-18, NEB). When the sinner hears and believes the truth, he experiences justification by faith (Romans 4:25; Ephesians 2:8-10).
(c) The lost deliberately negate this justification Christ has effected for them, and take the "condemnation" back upon themselves (Hebrews 10:29; 2 Corinthians 6:1; cf. Steps to Christ, p. 27).
(d) Believers in Christ can say that "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins." But it is "not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish" (John 3:16). Since He paid the price for all our sins, the only reason anyone can be lost is refusal to believe, to appreciate, the gift already given "in Him" (verse 18). God does not put us in double jeopardy, for "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). How then can He lay that iniquity on us again? Paul asks (Romans 8:33-39). The lost take it back on themselves.
(e) All this adds up to a judicial "verdict of acquittal… and life for all men," just as surely as Adam's sin brought "a verdict… of condemnation for all men" (Romans 5:16-18, NEB). The one who believes this Good News is motivated to total consecration of his all to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15).
How Waggoner Grasped This Concept
"'By the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.' There is no exception here. As the condemnation came upon all, so the justification comes upon all. Christ has tasted death for every man. He has given Himself for all. Nay, He has given Himself to every man. The free gift has come upon all. The fact that it is a free gift is evidence that there is no exception. If it came upon only those who have some special qualification, then it would not be a free gift."It is a fact, therefore, plainly stated in the Bible, that the gift of righteousness and life in Christ has come to every man on earth .There is not the slightest reason why every man that has ever lived should not be saved unto eternal life, except that they would not have it. So many spurn the gift offered so freely…
"The text says that 'by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.' Some may ask, 'Why are not all made righteous by the obedience of One?' The reason is that they do not wish to be. … The free gift comes upon all, but all will not accept it, and therefore all are not made righteous by it. … Death has passed upon all men, because all have sinned, and the gift of righteousness has come to all men in the life of Christ" (Waggoner on Romans, pp. 101, 102; 1896).
Jones' Message Was In Full Harmony
"Who is it that the Lord justifies? [Congregation: 'The ungodly.'] If it were otherwise there would be no hope for me. If He justified people who had only a little good about them, that would leave me out. But thank the Lord, He is so good. Because He justifies the ungodly, therefore, I have the perfect security of His everlasting salvation. Can you imagine anything that is going to keep me from being glad?" 'To Him that worketh not.' If it required works I could not do enough. But oh, as we read the other night, ye have 'sold yourself for naught' and 'ye are redeemed without money.' But not without a price. But lo, He has paid the price. I have heard brethren say, 'I thank the Lord I have the confidence in Him.' I thank the Lord He has confidence in me. It is little enough for a man to have confidence in the Lord, but His confidence in me I cannot grasp. And I am thankful that the Lord had that much confidence in His risk upon me.
"'Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.' Are there some in this house who know only the distressedness of that man, who tries to get it by works?
" 'That blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.' When we as a people, as a church, have received the blessing of Abraham, what then? [Congregation: 'The latter rain.'] What is to hinder, then, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? [Voice: 'Unbelief.'] Our lack of the righteousness of God, which is by faith-that is what holds it back" (General Conference Bulletin, 1893, sermon No. 16, condensed).
Christ did His work, long ago. " 'He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.' When did He do that? [Congregation: 'Before the foundation of the world.'] He did it all before we had any chance to do anything-long before we were born-long before the world was made. Don't you see that the Lord is the one that does things, in order that we may be saved and that we may have Him?
"Then we can be sure that He has chosen us. He says He has. "We can be sure that He has predestinated us unto the adoption of children.
"We can be sure that He had made us accepted in the Beloved.
"We can be sure of all these things, for God says so and it is so. Then isn't that a continual feast itself?" (ibid., No. 17, condensed).
"… All that were in the world were included in Adam; and all that are in the world are included in Christ. In other words: Adam in his sin reached all the world; Jesus Christ the second Adam, in his righteousness touches all humanity. …
"Here is another Adam. Does he touch as many as the first Adam did? That is the question. … It is certainly true that what the second Adam did, embraces all that were embraced in what the first Adam did. …
"The question is, Does the second Adam's righteousness embrace as many as does the first Adam's sin? Look closely. Without our consent at all, without our having anything to do with it, we were all included in the first Adam; we were there. … Jesus Christ, the second man, took our sinful nature. He touched us in all points.' He became we and died the death. And so in Him and by that, every man that has ever lived upon the earth, and was involved in the first Adam, is involved in this, and will live again. There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. Every soul shall live again by the second Adam, from the death that came by the first Adam. …
"When Jesus Christ has set us all free from the sin and the death which came upon us from the first Adam, that freedom is for every man; and every man can have it for the choosing.
"The Lord will not compel any one to take it. … No man will die the second death who has not chosen sin rather than righteousness, death rather than life" (General Conference Bulletin, 1895, pp. 268, 269).
Ellen White's View
"[Christ] took in His grasp the world over which Satan claimed to preside as his lawful territory, and by His wonderful work in giving His life, He restored the whole race of men to favor with God" (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 343). "He redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall, and saved the world" (My Life Today, p.323)."Every member of the human family is given wholly into the hands of Christ. … Every gift is stamped with the cross and bears the image and superscription of Jesus Christ" (MS. 36, 1890).
"Jesus, the world's Redeemer, stands between Satan and every soul. … The sins of everyone who has lived upon the earth were laid upon Christ, testifying to the fact that no one need be a loser in the conflict with Satan" (Review and Herald, May 23, 1899).
"As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew that He would have to suffer, yet He became man's substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented Himself as surety for the human race, with just as much power to avert the doom pronounced upon the guilty as when He died upon the cross of Calvary" (ibid., March 12, 1901).
"You may say you believe in Jesus, when you have an appreciation of the cost of salvation. You may make this claim, when you feel that Jesus died for you on the cruel cross of Calvary; when you have an intelligent understanding faith that His death makes it possible for you to cease from sin, and to perfect a righteous character through the grace of God, bestowed upon you as the purchase of Christ's blood" (ibid., July 24, 1888).