The Scriptures set forth this fact in the following statements:
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Christ's
death was the ground on which God, who is absolutely holy, could
deal with the whole race of men in mercy, and pardon their sins.
John 1:29--"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world." Not the sin of a few individuals, or of an elect race,
like Israel, but the sin of the whole world. This was a striking
truth to reveal to a Jew.
1 Tim. 2:6--"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in
due time." It is for this reason, as the context of this passage
shows, that we may pray for all men. If all men were not capable
of being saved, how then could we pray to that end?