"He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John ii. 2). The magnificent superabundance of Our Lord's Redemption is shown in this, that He did not die for the elect only, but also for the reprobate; He suffered the penalties not only of the sins that we shall repent of, but of those which will remain unforgiven through our perverse obstinacy. No sinner, however atrocious, is excluded from Christ's love and the benefit of His death. He desires the salvation of all, and provides them with the means of obtaining forgiveness and eternal life. "He will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. ii. 4). Some labour under particularly adverse conditions, but there is more abundant grace and more generous allowance for them. However great the disadvantages of a man's surroundings, however handicapped he may be by the prejudices of a bad education and an heredity of evil, he has, somehow, compensation for all this, and the means of saving his soul. So much has been done for us, that nothing remains undone which might have been done. We are saved almost in spite of ourselves. Nothing can outweigh Our Lord's propitiation except a man's own full and deliberate rejection of it. Only by persevering ill-will on our part can we fail of salvation. What immense confidence in Our Lord you ought to have for yourself and others.
