"The Sin Of
The World"
John 1:29
Christ's effectual
atonement for sin was made for a specific, though innumerable, multitude of
sinners. When an Arminian reads that the Lamb of God "taketh away the sin
of the world," he says, "There is the proof of universal redemption.
Christ died for the whole world and took away the sins of everyone in the
world." To those who have no knowledge of the gospel and the glory of God
in redemption that sounds good. But the Arminian has a big problem. Such an
interpretation of the text contradicts the plain statement of Holy Scripture.
There are many in hell whose sins Christ did not take away (Matt.
Some say,"Christ
took away all the sins of the world except the sin of unbelief."If that
were the case, Christ would be no Savior at all. Man would be his own savior,
because man by his free-will, not Christ by his blood, would be the one who
takes away the sin of unbelief.
If Christ died to take
away the sins of those who yet suffer the wrath of God in hell, then we are all
without hope, there is no Savior, the Bible cannot be believed, and faith in
Christ is a vain delusion! But, thank God, it is not so! Christ is an effectual
Savior! Those sins which God charged upon his Son, for which Christ suffered
and died, are forever gone. He took them away! And those sinners for whom
Christ died shall never be charged with sin. They shall never be condemned.
They are forever justified (Rom. 4:8; 8:1, 32-34). The blood of the Lamb was
not shed in vain, as the worshippers of free-will would have you believe.
What does the text mean
then, when it declares that Christ, the Lamb of God, "taketh away the sin
of the world?" It means exactly what the Bible universally declares.
"Christ died for sinners." "In due time Christ
died for the ungodly." Every sinner in the world who believes on
the Lord Jesus Christ has this assurance from God in the gospel - Christ took
your sins away (Isa. 40: 1-2). God will never charge any believer with sin (
Don Fortner