Hi William,

Thanks for your message.

Quote
averagefellar said:
Maybe these two verses contradict;

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

This verse seems to teach a particular redemption as Jesus would save His people (notice the specific group He came to save),

While this verse does say that He came to save His people from their sins, it doesn't say that He didn't come to save Samaritans or Gentiles. If I say that I have come to speak about apologetics, but also speak about sports, it is still correct if I say I come to speak on apologetics. I never said I wouldn't speak about sports, though. In a similar way, the verse above doesn't say that Jesus will avoid saving non-Jews.

Quote
and this verse;

1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Which seems to teach a universal atonement. Various groups have interpreted the verses differently. Could you help us to understand how they are in agreement, please? Thanks.

The scriptures tell us that Jesus came to the Jew first, then also the Greek. His mission was clearly to the Jews, then to the Samaritans, then to the Gentiles. There is a progression in the gospels because this was His intention. After the Jews rejected Him, He continued His mission to other people.

God bless,
Jason
_________________
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
http://www.jcsm.org
Over 60,000+ web pages! 500+ Israel pictures, Bible lessons, weekly devotions, lots of MP3 files, free email accounts, and much more.