Every human being alive is under sentence of death. There is in each one of us a terminal condition called 'original sin' which distorts every part of our nature, cuts us off from God and biases us towards evil. What is on the inside is always there, no matter how much we 'pretty it up'. A pie made of rotten apples can look fine on the outside but it is fit only for the tip; in the same way we are all basically rotten inside and we are all destined to die. God says so.
Even 'innocent' children die, confirming that this judgement is upon what we are by nature and not just what we do as a result of it. But it gets worse; the Bible warns us that there is a 'second death' - an eternal burning - to be feared much more than mere physical death, which follows on from it and from which there is no hope of rescue.
God chose for reasons of His own to save some of humanity and bring them into a special family relationship with Himself. He chose to do this by His Son. Jesus Christ was born into the world just like one of us, but without sin and so not subject to death; nevertheless He chose to pay the penalty for sin on behalf of those He loved, and died on a cross for them. Then he rose from the dead, His shed blood accepted by His Father as full payment for sin. So it was that the Son of God came into the world and as the Son of Man gave Himself 'a ransom for many'.
The barriers down, men could now 'come unto God by Him'. Salvation was then, and is now, a free gift, and Christ declares to the whole world that 'whosoever will may come' to Him. By coming to Him they show that they have been given a new life, a new nature. Once received salvation cannot be lost for 'he that comes to me I will never cast away' and 'those whom He saves He also keeps'. He says 'I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish'. And 'the gift of God is eternal life' - it is a life that simply cannot end!
However, by fallen human nature 'none seeks after God'. We are so bound by our own evil natures that left to ourselves none of us can turn to Christ. As Jesus Himself said, 'no one can come to me unless the Father draws him', so unless God acts sovereignly and draws men to Christ by overruling their own wills, none would feel sorrow for their sin, none would seek Him, none would turn to Him, and so none would be saved.
God graciously acts in just this way. Since 'no man can resist God' all those He has chosen to save will be saved; not one will be lost! Of these the Bible says 'God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance'. And they all will! Being God, He simply cannot fail to bring each and every lost sheep upon whom He has set His love, safely home forever. We have His Word on it. But that is not the end of the story! Christ shall 'present them faultless before His Father's throne'! Is this not a glorious message? Have you not ears to hear? Repent now of your sin, turn to Christ and be saved!
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