Unwilling

In yesterday's passage from Matthew we read, "It is not the will of My Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." I commented that it must not mean that it wasn't God's will that children should perish because they do. I offered an alternative. Not revisiting that, I think it begs the question. Is it ever God's will that any humans at all should perish?

If you have the slightest smattering of Bible knowledge, you have already pounced on the parallel passage.

God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Popular verse. Lots of people know it. It says right there that it is never God's will that anyone perish. Right?

Well, hold on there a minute. First, did you know that the ever popular sentence above is only a half sentence? The correct reference would be "2 Peter 3:9b" because it is only a piece of a verse. In fact, the phrase "God is" is added above to make a complete sentence. Second, yanking this out of context like that can be very misleading. Let me give you two examples to demonstrate.

Example 1: I saw an old movie recently in which the oldest daughter wanted her father to save the trees on their farm. He wanted to sell them. You see, she was unwilling that any should perish, but that all should be saved.

Example 2: We've all heard stories about some elderly rich lady with too many cats. She bequeaths all her wealth to her cats when she dies because she was unwilling that any should perish, but that all should be saved.

Now, consider these two examples. You will note (I hope) that there is a repeated phrase. In the first example, did anyone read it to mean that the daughter was unwilling that any humans should perish? Of course not. It was clear from the context that she was unwilling that any trees should perish. In the second example, did you think she was concerned about people? Obviously not. She was unwilling that any cats should perish. No, that's not accurate. She was unwilling that any of her cats should perish. Is it clear, then, that the context of the phrase determines the reference to "any"?

So what is the context of the phrase from 2nd Peter?

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

There's the complete verse. You see, in the Matthew reference Jesus was quite clear about "any" -- any of "these little ones". Whether or not you agree with me about who "these little ones" are, He wasn't saying "anybody at all." It was a limited statement. In this verse, we require the surrounding elements to determine what "any" is referring to. The context (starting in verse 1) is that there were scoffers who were saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." Peter was trying to reassure them that God was not slack in keeping His promises. He would return. Don't listen to the scoffers.

So, when he says that God is "not willing that any should perish", what is that context of "any"? Well, clearly it's not "trees" or "cats", but is it mankind? That would be a leap given the context. You see, he says that God "is longsuffering toward us." "We" are the context. Who is "we"? Well, it would be those to whom he was writing, "those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours" (2 Peter 1:1). It would be believers.

Now, look again at the content in context. God is now slack in keeping His promise. He is just being very patient toward believers. Why? Because He is not willing that any believers should perish. Now, since the existing believers were already in repentance, to whom would Peter then be referring? Who was he referencing that were delaying Christ's return? What was/is God waiting for? To me, the answer is clear. You?