I have been asked by someone to try to explain what John Owen was getting at in the following.


Quote
FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?
"The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:
1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

a. That if the lst be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so none are saved.
b. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the whole world and this is the truth.
c. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?

You answer, Because of unbelief. I ask, Is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins."

Dr John Owen, Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and Vice Chancellor of Oxford University.

Particularly the first point: To quote this person:
Quote
If all sins have been paid for, why does that imply that no one is saved?

Although I understand what Owen is saying, I am having trouble writing down in coherent words an explanation that is understandable. I thought perhaps if I posted this here I might get a response that would help me in this regard.

Thank you in advance.
Tom

Last edited by Tom; Thu May 15, 2008 2:38 PM.