Isa 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
On the face of this verse, it certainly could be argued that this is universal. Everyone certainly has turned away. Who would argue that point? The questions however is one of scope and purpose and context of the text. Is God really saing that every person ever has their sin to "fall on Him"?
Let's read more of the text.
Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Isa 53:2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
Isa 53:3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Isa 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
Isa 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
Isa 53:10 But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
Isa 53:11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
What does verse 8 mean when he says, "For the transgression of my people" Is this meant to be taken universally? Is everyone "His people"?
What does verse 11 mean when he says that he will justify many?
Does Jesus intercede for every single person ever in verse 12? Does His intercession fail to save millions? What difference is there in this kind of intercession than the Jesus of Mormonism or the Jehovah's Witness or even Roman Catholicism?
If the sin of unbelief is the only sin by which men go to hell, do men that have never heard of the Gospel go to hell? Do they get a chance to "unbelieve" the Christ never heard of at a later time?
Since 1684, in his work The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, John Owen's question still goes unanswered. "Is unbelief a sin?" If so, then did Jesus forgive it on the cross? If not, then why do men go to hell if all of their sins are already pardoned and satisfied at the cross?
Inconsistency is the sign of a failed argument.
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