The Scriptures are clear that Jesus came to give His life for the world, anyone, the ungodly, sinners, and He invites all to come to Him. There is more joy over one repentent sinner in Heaven...
The outward call is to all men, and no one is prevented from believing. But the only men who do believe are those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit, according to God's will and not our own.
If Jesus paid the price for all men's sins, there would not be one sin on this earth unaccounted for and no one would be condemned to hell.
But Scripture tells us (and our own eyes confirm) that some men do suffer for their sins which obviously haven't been forgiven and thus, Christ did not die for those men or their sins would be erased and God would "remember them no more."
In this matter, I'll believe Christ...
And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them... Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" -- John 17:9-10;20"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
“The outward call is to all men, and no one is prevented from believing.”
If I create a system whereby all of my creations are going into the dumpster, and I decide to pick up some of them before the giant broom sweeps clean, and I am not responsible for creating a dumpster full of my creations? Shall I blame my creations for being unable to avoid the broom?
“I’m delighted you’re reading the Bible. I hope you’re not just cutting and pasting, but actually reading the verses you posted. They are life.”
Thank you for the compliment. Putting them all together kinda leads to a conclusion does it not?
These verses from John are a mixture of prayers for the individuals, for the disciples and for the whole world. We do need to believe Christ, but we also need to understand who He is speaking to / for in each of the verses.