Yesterday I showed from Scripture that God doesn’t hate anyone, loves the world, wants everyone to be saved, and doesn’t want anyone to perish. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone “will” be saved, but no one is excluded from the offer.

In response, a Facebook friend then asked, “Maybe you would consider a brief comment about the Romans 9:13 passage, “Jacob have I loved; Esau have I hated.”

Here’s what I said…

Robert – there’s nothing normative about that verse, so I wouldn’t worry about it unless your name is Esau. Also, you have picked the single most difficult passage to reconcile with the otherwise unambiguous message of scripture. Make sense?

It does beg the question, though, “Is there anyone for whom Christ did not die?”

And the answer is an unambiguous, “No.” Christ died for the sins of the whole world…

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2).

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Again, not everyone is saved. But everyone and anyone who confesses their sins and puts their faith in Jesus will live with God forever—even if they go off the rails for a season, whether for a short or long time.

So what does this mean to you and me at the gym, at work, at the family reunion, with our neighbors, and so on? The answer is in the next verse…

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16)

We must believe and hope the best for everyone, because Christ died for their sins. And maybe, just maybe, they will come to Jesus because through our love they see a glimpse of who they might become instead of what they now are.

There is no one for whom Jesus did not die.