| God Wants All Men to be Saved (see Nov. 4, 2002 devo) |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, December 11 2006 00:00 |
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Recently a close friend and his son were in town and came to our house for dinner. After dinner he told me he had several Biblical passages to discuss with me, one of which was 1 Tim. 2:4 which contains Paul’s statement that “God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Below is my written response to the question which my friend asked the next day that I send him. With his permission it is reproduced here in hopes you will find it useful, as it is a question frequently asked: If "all" refers to every single person, everyone without exception, then to say that God "wills" or "wishes" all to be saved, given that God is sovereign, would result in universal salvation. God would be acting contrary to His own will by sending anyone to hell. One interpretation that the Bible would not allow is a God who is wringing his hands in despair because he really wants everybody to be saved, and they are just not getting it. In other words, that would make God a colossal failure. If God doesn't get what He wants, then what hope do we have? That hope would have to lie only in us, not in God. Because of our sin, all of us would be in hell. Thus if "will" or "wish" refers to God's DECRETIVE and SOVEREIGN will, then we have to look again at "all." "All" can mean all without exception or all without distinction. The context suggests all KINDS of men, hence I prefer to see it as saying that God sovereignly wills and decrees that men from all categories, all locations, all ethnic groups, and all standings in society be saved. That would correspond well with Rev. 5:9 (He redeemed men FROM every tribe…etc.). But "will" or "wish" can mean a DISPOSITION in God; that is, that He does not willingly punish people in hell, but he desires that men rather be saved. However, to manifest His justice, He sees the need, from His perspective, of not extending grace to all men. This interpretation would correspond to Rom. 3:25, 26 that establish the principle of divine justice, Rom. 9:22 that establishes the principle of manifesting that justice among men, and Lam. 3:33 and Ezek. 18:23 that states that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. I prefer the former interpretation, but the latter is also in line with Biblical teaching. |
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