One of my favorite hymns is “Were You There?” It asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” If you have come to Jesus Christ in faith, wanting to obey His Word and seeking to glorify Him, you were there. You weren’t there physically, but you were crucified with Him vicariously. As Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Christ died specifically for His elect – His Church.


Did Christ die for the sins of everyone without exception? While His sacrifice is sufficient, if that were true, then He only made it possible for some to be saved, depending on their own decision. But God is absolutely sovereign, rescuing His chosen ones, and His will cannot be frustrated. He says, “I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass” (Isaiah 48:3).