God's Will in Salvation

In Scripture we have two stories that coincide closely in time. Two people have visitations from an angel and receive wildly unexpected, even similar news. One was a priest named Zacharias (Luke 1:1-20) and the other was a betrothed virgin named Mary (Luke 1:26-38). Both were told there would be a child in their futures. Both questioned the news. Zacharias asked, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years" (Luke 1:18). Mary asked, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). Very similar responses ... very different outcomes. Zacharias was rendered mute until his son was born and Mary responded, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). What was the difference? Zacharias was questioning the angel's veracity, and Mary was inquiring about the method. Zacharias assumed it was too unlikely and was skeptical while Mary assumed it was true and allowed an unlikely explanation. In the discussion of Man's sin condition, God's choice of who to save, and all that, we will always have dissenters. For the most part, the dissension is civil and, even, biblical. "I don't see how what you're saying coincides with what I see in Scripture." All well and good. But it often degenerates from there to an unkind and unnecessary battle. What we need is more Marys and less Zechariases. What we need is believers who say, "I will abide by God's Word whatever it really says -- all of God's Word -- and change my understanding accordingly" rather than "That can't be, because it violates my thinking."

Let's look at an example. One text I see so very often in that discussion to "prove" that God doesn't choose whom He will save is an oft-quoted text from Peter's second epistle. His readers, apparently, were concerned about when the day of the Lord would come, and Peter was trying to calm them down. So, he wrote that there would be scoffers,

But 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. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

There it is, clear as day. God wants everyone to be saved. Undeniable, right? But ... is it?

Notice the word "wishing" in that sentence. The word is the one used for "will". So some translate it "desire" and some translate it "will" and some translate it "want" and some translate it "wish." The Green's Literal Translation (LITV) says God has not "purposed any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). We're not speaking here of mere "wishful thinking." In fact, putting together an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Sovereign God who indulges in "wishful thinking" seems like a silly concept. So what is Peter saying? He's not saying, "God really, really wants everyone to be saved ... but just can't pull it off." No, this is a matter of God's will. What is God's will? That there would not be any that perish.

What shall we conclude then? Does God fail? Does He not get His will done? We know that Jesus said, "The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt 7:14). We know that Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt 22:14). Clearly not all will be saved, much to the outrage of self-styled universalists. And clearly that's God's plan (Rom 9:18). If God planned to save everyone, He could accomplish it. He hasn't. So what is Peter saying?

It's interesting how we all seem to "fill in the blanks" on our own on this text. "God is not willing that any should perish," it says. Any what? We all assume "any humans." But why? It's not in the text. So the "any" is defined somewhere else in the text. Where? Right in the same verse. "God," he says, "is patient toward you." Inserting "all mankind" as the subject of "any" in that text is arbitrary. Peter was talking to "you," to believers, to the people of God, to Jesus's sheep, if you will. Jesus said He had many sheep "not of this fold" and He would bring them in also (John 10:16). Peter isn't talking about all mankind; he's talking about the elect. "God is not willing that any of you perish," not "all mankind." And God never fails, so Peter is assuring his readers that all the elect will indeed be saved before Christ returns.

In truth, the common interpretation that it means that God's will was to save everyone and just couldn't pull it off is a serious problem. It undercuts His Omnipotence. It undercuts His Sovereignty. It undercuts His character. It subjugates the Supreme Father to being essentially a butler working hard for His masters, the human race, but, doggone it, just not being able to take care of them all. He tried, but He couldn't do it. And, of course, that ends the reliability of Jesus and the reliability of Scripture and ... well, say farewell to any reliable Christianity. If Peter intended to tell us that God willed to save everyone and failed, we're in real trouble.