"Jesus Died for You!" Should We Say That?

"Jesus died for you"

Is “Jesus died for you” a legitimate statement to indiscriminately make in the context of presenting the gospel? To answer that question, the following biblical truths must be kept in mind:

FIRST: Because of particular redemption, the truth that Jesus Christ died for a chosen people, whom he calls by name (John 10:3) for the purpose of their eternal salvation (John 10:11,15) and did NOT die for any others (John 10:26), it is completely inappropriate and unscriptural to make the statement “Jesus died for you” indiscriminately to an audience in the context of presenting the gospel.

SECOND: We do not find the statement “Jesus died for you” indiscriminately made as part of a gospel presentation in the bible. This observation alone should give professing Christians great pause with respect to the language they employ in their “gospel labors.” I would assert that “Jesus died for you” is one of the more common phrases used in evangelicalism today. Yet this phrase is foreign to the evangelistic practice of the New Testament. Christians with a high regard for the word of God do well to take notice, lest they make the word of God of none effect through their traditions.

THIRD: If it is inappropriate and unscriptural to say “Jesus died for you” then it is likewise certain that the gospel is not a well-meant offer of salvation to ALL of humanity. That’s because particular redemption establishes that Jesus Christ DID NOT DIE for all of humanity, and apart from Christ’s intercession, there is NO salvation, neither is there the possibility of salvation.

Finally

The gospel is not an offer of eternal salvation conditioned upon faith. The gospel is the proclamation of the finished work of Christ on behalf of his people (I Corinthians 15:3-4), accompanied by the assurance that those who believe this testimony are among them (John 6:47), and the admonition to walk in repentance and obedient discipleship (John 14:15) as one’s reasonable service to God (Romans 12:1). Christians should NEVER indiscriminately say “Jesus died for you” to address those who have no profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That statement may be true of SOME of them, but it is by no means certain that it is true for ALL of them.

- Elder Daniel Samons