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"I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me; as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." (Jesus, John 10:14,15)

"...for you were slain and by your blood did ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (Revelation 5:9)

"Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him...I have manifested your name to the men you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word...I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them." (John 17:1-10)

King's Ransom

Living Stones

I offer this simple picture of the atonement because it has been useful to other readers, in helping them understand how the Son of God could "taste death for all" (Hebrews 2:9) and be a "ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6) and yet actually came to redeem only his sheep (not the goats), only those whose names are in the Book of Life, predestined from before the foundation of the world. (1 Peter 1:2; Ephesians 1:4,5; 2:5,8; Revelation 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:17)

Some time ago I stopped in Arizona at one of those roadside rock shops so beloved by North Americans. I too like examining minerals and fossils, because of my father’s mining engineering career and his own collections. There was a fellow in the store sorting through polished stones in a large box, hundreds of them, about the size of playing marbles, all with an exquisite pink and blue swirl in them. They all looked much the same to me. Each one cost the same as any other. He sifted and studied them for ages, knowing what he was looking for, and painstakingly picked out a few. When satisfied he paid for them, put them in his pocket and went out.

Now suppose he had paid enough to purchase the whole box. Better than that, suppose he overpaid, a ridiculous price for the whole box, but still took only the small number he selected. That would a nearly perfect Biblical parable. Intrinsically and by external price tag all the stones have the same worth. He pays enough for all, more than enough, and by rights he owns them all, but he only takes a handful and the rest he leaves behind (or passes by, which is what the word "reprobate" literally means). Clearly he puts much greater value on those he so carefully sought out and put in his pocket.

Just so the Lord says he will select whom he will, choose a Jacob and reject an Esau, as is his Sovereign right. He paid with the life of His Son, enough to purchase the entire world, all the souls in history, but in fact he only redeems a small portion, the remnant saved by grace. Understand this, because most churchmen have no clue in the matter, the Lord God Almighty is not obliged to save anyone at all (other than by His own unbreakable oath, to redeem his chosen ones whose names are in the Book of Life) nor does he wait on fallen man's pleasure or so-called free will to somehow elect himself into Christ's company.

Left to themselves such souls will follow their untouched and stony hearts all the way to the wide gate. The Father sends the Son to gather his sheep as ordained from before creation, and the Son does just that, meticulously seeking them out, not losing or missing one of them, while passing by the goats. As it was prophesied of his mission, Christ came in particular to pay the price for the elect of God: "For the transgressions of My people He was stricken." (Isaiah 53:8) This truth is precious to those "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5) whom He redeems and puts safely in his garment, and greatly despised by those souls whom He does not select, who stumble into darkness as they were destined to do. (1 Peter 2:8) Only a little minority are secure in his cloak. He touches and redeems whom He will and leaves others in their natural state. This is one of the truths most hated by the spirits of churchdom. Synagogue goers literally tried to cast Christ off a cliff when he told it to their faces. (Luke 4:25-30)

For further reading in this critical subject, with complete Scripture references, please see: Chapter 14, Sheep and Goats, in The Truth Which Sets Free, and also Amazing Grace in the Addendum.