FOR ONLY ONE

It is the Sunday after Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus is still fresh in my mind. I am still rejoicing over the empty tomb and the words, “He is not here, He is risen.” A thrill courses through my being when I hear or quote John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. That whosever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:17 says further “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 8:12 speaks again of the whole world “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The Bible tells us that sin entered into the world by one man and because of one man’s sin Jesus died for all. I John 2:2 And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. There are many scriptures that tell of God’s love for the whole world, but I am so thankful that the whole world is made up of individual people.

God loves individual people. Today in his message Steven reminded us about the value of ONE soul to the Lord. The Gospel of Mark gives us the account of the demon possessed man at Gadarene. Jesus was preaching to the multitudes on one side of the sea. He left, got into a boat, went across the sea, cast the demons out of ONE man and returned back to the multitudes. He gave a parable of the Good Shepherd who would leave the ninety and nine to go seek after the ONE lost sheep. Many times Jesus was moved with compassion for ONE person out of the crowd of people surrounding Him. I am reminded of this song by Ray Boltz:

For only one, He would have suffered and given up His life
For only one He’d have born the shame and made the sacrifice
For God so loved the whole world, He gave His only Son
But I believe He’d have done the same for only one.

There are false teachings declaring that because Jesus died once for all and since we can do nothing to earn our salvation, all mankind is saved. Repentance, faith, and surrendering our life to Him do not enter into this teaching and cheapens His sacrifice on Calvary. Jesus died for the whole world; however, salvation is not corporate but available through obedience on an individual basis. He truly is a personal savior who desires a personal relationship; ONE on ONE.