To those who oppose the Doctrine of Election based on the sovereignty of God, an appeal is made to the words of Peter which plainly states God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The text seems simple and plain. God does not want any person to be lost. It is the will of God that all should come to repentance. After all, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
What is generally agreed on by all Christians is that not everyone will actually come to repentance.
But how is that possible since the will of God cannot be thwarted. “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Ps. 46:10).
If it is the will of God that no one perishes for all eternity, if it is the will of God that every one should come to repentance and faith, on what basis do individuals die without Christ, without hope, without eternal life?
There are two options.
First, God is not sovereign but must respect and yield to a person’s free will. The freedom of the will is defined by the secular world as a person doing what they choose to do without any compulsion or constraint.
The problem with this understanding of the will is that it does not exist. The will is not a neutral facet of the soul.
The will is not the engine that dominates the soul. The will is the caboose that responds to the greatest influence brought to bear on it. The greatest influence on the will reflects what a person believes is in their best interest at the moment. Nothing else matters when the impulse of pressure is placed on a person’s will to act in a certain matter. There is no fear of God, man, or consequences when the will is pressured to act in what is perceived to be one’s best interest.
No one acts contrary to their will.
Therefore, when a person rejects Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior it is because they believe such faith is not in their best interest at that moment. No one is saved against their will, but then, no one rejects Jesus against their will.
When Eve saw “the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6).
Eve, and then Adam, freely ate of the forbidden fruit because they decided it was in their best interest to do so. That they were deceived or mistaken makes no difference; they freely choose to sin against God, despite being warned that the soul that sins shall die.
Second, the text is misunderstood. When 2 Peter 3:9 is read in context, it is evident the apostle was writing to believers. Peter has something to say to the Church. “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you” (2 Pet. 3:1). The “you” of verse 1 is the same as the “usward” in verse 9. Peter is writing to Christians.
What Peter is saying is that God is long-suffering to the elect, “to us-ward,” not willing that any of “us” should “perish but that all of us [believers] should come to repentance.”
The evidence bears this out and is consistent with the words of Jesus who said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).
Not one soul whom the Father has given to the Son shall perish. Jesus gives eternal life; “and they shall never perish” (John 19:28).
Rather being a verse supporting a phantom free will, or autonomous salvation, 2 Peter 3:9 testifies to the sovereignty of God, and His infinite mercy and patience, while affirming His patience and long-suffering with individuals who struggle with the world, the flesh, and the Devil. By being long-suffering, God extends His grace on the wings of a dove.
On the wings of a snow-white dove
He sends His pure sweet love
A sign from above (sign from above)
On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove)~Bob Ferguson
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm:
His power and wisdom will fulfil
The utmost counsel of Hs will.~William Cowper
The opposition to the Biblical Doctrine of Election is emotional, not logical for the doctrine is woven through Romans 9, John chapter 6, and Ephesians 1. While honest questions surround this doctrine, the concept is valid: God has a people of His own choosing. This choice was not based on foreseen faith or merit but upon the Sovereign’s choice to have mercy on whom He will have mercy.
One of God’s great mercies is His patience with willful and wicked individuals as He gives them time to reflect, repent, and be restored to Him through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).
I stand amazed in the presence of
Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me
A sinner, condemned, unclean.Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden on Calv’ry,
And suffered and died alone.~Charles H. Gabriel
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 