Galatians 1:4
‘Who gave himself for our sins’
Read Psalms 40:1-17
Our Lord died as a vicarious sacrifice in the place of God’s elect, his sheep, all who believe. Had he died in the place of every man in the world and borne all their sins, every man would be saved. But, in as much as all men are not saved, one of two conclusions must be drawn. Either Christ failed in his efforts to redeem some of those whom he represented, which is blasphemy; or he actually died as the Substitute only of those who are in fact redeemed and saved by him, which is the truth of Scripture. ‘For the transgression of my people was he stricken’, saith the Lord.
And our Lord’s once-for-all sacrifice for sin was an effectual atonement. That is to say, he did actually put away the sins of his people, redeem us from the curse of the law and secure our everlasting salvation by his death and resurrection in our place. He did not make the pardon of sin, redemption and salvation possibilities for all men; he actually accomplished those things for some men. ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.’ ‘By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’ He has ‘put away sin by the sacrifice of himself’. The believer’s faith does not give merit to the blood of Christ and make it effectual. The blood of Christ gives merit to the believer’s faith and makes it effectual.
If Christ died only for a specific people, how can I know that he bore my sin and died for me? I know that Christ died for sinners and I know that I am a sinner. I know that he died for every sinner who believes on him and that all who believe on him will be saved, because God said so. Now as a guilty sinner I do with all my heart trust the Lord Jesus Christ as my only and all-sufficient Savior. Since I trust him, I know that he died for me. Will you trust him too? If you can, then he died for you!