Disproving Election

Proof that the concept of "the elect" is a lie!

⁸ Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9).

There you have it, in plain black and white. It is God's will to save all. How can anyone think that God chooses to save some? Is "all" all or not?

I've been fascinated by this matter-of-fact approach to this passage, as if it's "clear as day." So very, very few seem to recognize the problems. There are a couple of difficulties here. First, we have the problem of a Sovereign God who wills to save all ... but cannot, for some reason or another. It cannot be that He will not because we've already determined that it's His will to save all. So it must be something preventing Him. This, in fact, is a skeptic's dream. Either God is unable or unwilling to save everyone. Apparently He is willing, so He is unable. Therefore, God is not sovereign or not omnipotent. So the nature of God is in question.

Second, there is the problem of the language. Note that the passage doesn't say that God is "not willing for anyone to perish." It is a blank "any". There is no explanatory term after the "any". Now, we can assume that the "all" is in terms of the "any" -- that is, "all" of the "any" are part of God's will to come to repentance. But people are randomly filling in the descriptive to "any" without any examination of what should go there. Here, let me see if I can explain. In the absence of a definitive term, people are filling in "one" or "men" or some such. But why can't I make it "cats" or "pigs" or "trees"? God is "not willing for any dogs to perish" is just as possible as anything else, isn't it?

Well, of course this isn't the case. The "any" is determined by the context. You can't just fill in whatever you want for "any"; you have to do it from the context. I'm not allowed to fill in "dogs" because it's not in the context. So what is the context? Peter is saying that God "is patient toward you." "You" is the context. Who is "you"? It is the ones to whom this is written. It is the "beloved" of verse 8, the "beloved" of 2 Peter 3:1. And who is the "beloved" of 2 Peter 3:1? "This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you ..." It would be the same people to whom 1 Peter was written. Who is that? "To those who are elect." Now we can go back to the "any" and fill in a descriptive term to explain it. Just as we couldn't insert "dogs", we must not insert "one". We can only insert what the context requires. So it would say that God is "not willing for any of you (the elect, the beloved) to perish but for all (of that same set of people) to come to repentance."

Now, those who are in denial of the doctrine of Election will still stand there shaking their heads and saying, "No!" So, if context doesn't help, is there any other reason to think this is the case? As it turns out, there is. As it is with any passage in question, it is good to look at the language used, so let's look at the language used here. The first word in question is "any". The Greek word used here is tis. The dictionary says this word means, "a certain one, some one". Now, that's interesting, isn't it? Apparently it isn't intended as much of a catch-all, but as a separator. So the word here would say, "God is not willing that certain ones perish." That's very much like "any of you" versus "anyone at all." The second word in question is "all". The Greek word here is pas. Strong's says it means "collectively, some of all types." Oh, my, that's too close to one of the popular Calvinist interpretations in which "all" means "some from all types of people." Let's see if we can avoid that. Strong goes on to illustrate ways in which the term is used without meaning "each and every one."

"the whole world has gone after him" Did all the world go after Christ? "then went all Judea, and were baptized of him in Jordan."Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem, baptized in Jordan? "Ye are of God, little children", and the whole world lieth in the wicked one". Does the whole world there mean everybody? The words "world" and "all" are used in some seven or eight senses in Scripture, and it is very rarely the "all" means all persons, taken individually. The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts -- some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile

It seems as if this "all" may not mean "each and every individual" after all. It does, however, fit into the "all of the elect" reading.

What is the ramification of this passage if this be so? Going back to the first problem -- the question of the nature of God -- we are able to reinsert a sovereign, omnipotent God. It is His will, then, that each and every one of His elect come to repentance, and being the sovereign, omnipotent God that He is, they will. This verse, instead of weakening God's character and giving a blanket "wish" that all be saved, provides instead assurance to "the beloved" that every single one whom God intends to save will indeed be saved. That is what we are waiting for ... which is the intent of the passage in the first place. The Lord is not slow about His promise; He is waiting until every single person He intends to save is indeed saved. Instead of disproving Election, then, it seems as if this passage defends Election and Eternal Security. Now, that's not a bad thing.