2 Peter 3:9 Notes, compiled by David Brewer
We must distinguish between two different senses in God’s will. There is a decretive will of God and a desired will of God. God desires the salvation of all in one sense, but he does not ultimately ordain that all will be saved. Many think this approach is double-talk and outright nonsense. Again, space forbids us from answering this question in detail, but this view has been recently and convincingly argued by J. Piper. He demonstrates that such distinctions in God’s will are not the result of philosophical sleight of hand but careful biblical exegesis.
Having said all this, 2 Pet 3:9 may not relate to this issue directly anyway. The “anyone” and “all” in the verse may be an expansion of “you” (hymas) earlier in the verse. Peter did not reflect, according to this view, on the fate of all people in the world without exception. He considered those in the church who had wavered under the influence of the false teachers. God desires every one of them to repent. But even if this solution is correct, it does not solve the issue theologically, for Peter probably reflected on God’s desired will instead of decreed will in this instance. That is, he was not teaching that all of those in the church whom God desires to repent will actually repent. Even if the verse is restricted to those influenced by the false teachers, Peter referred to what God desires, not to what he ordains.
It follows, then, that Peter spoke of the desired rather than the decreed will of God. God has not ordained that all will be saved since many will perish forever. Still, God genuinely desires in one sense that all will be saved, even if he has not ultimately decreed that all will be saved. Many object that a desire that is not decreed is nonsense and theological double-talk. I would reply that such a view is rooted in biblical exegesis, that the Scriptures themselves, if accepted as a harmonious whole, compel us to make such distinctions. Such complexity is not all that surprising since God is an infinite and complex being, one who exceeds our understanding. In other words, such exegesis is not a rationalistic expedient but an acknowledgment of the mystery and depth of God’s revelation. Neither dimension of the biblical text should be denied. God really and truly desires that every person repent and turn to him. We should not retreat to God’s decreed will to nullify and negate what the text says. Nor should we use this verse to cancel out God’s ordained will. Better to live with the tension and mystery of the text than to swallow it up in a philosophical system that pretends to understand all of God’s ways. God’s patience and his love are not illusions, but neither do they remove his sovereignty.
According to Green, “The plain meaning is that, although God wants all people to be saved, and although He has made provision for all to be accepted, some will exercise their free-will to exclude God. And this He cannot prevent unless He is to take away the very freedom of choice” (Green, 148).
The words not wanting (mē boulomenos) anyone to perish do not express a decree, as if God has willed everyone to be saved. Universal salvation is not taught in the Bible. Instead those words describe God’s wishes or desires; He longs that all would be saved (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4) but knows that many reject Him.
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.
The verse could hardly exhibit more pristine clarity. God does not want any human being to go to hell. Hell was made for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), not for men. But He will allow sinners to perish if they persist in their willful hatred of Him. There are very many things that happen that are not according to God’s perfect will, but He nonetheless permits them to occur (e.g. Jer. 19:5). For all that, the LR cannot let it stand. R. C. Sproul follows Owen in his handling of the text. His case rests upon the restrictive term “us” in the verse. The “us” are believers. So, “[since 2 Peter is written by a Christian believer to Christian believers and for Christian believers,”7 the true meaning (in our paraphrase), is that, “God is longsuffering to the elect, not willing that the elect should perish, but that all the elect come to repentance.” To put it another way, Peter was assuring his Christian readers that He did not wish those He had elected to perish. Instead, God wished all those whom He had already elected to come to repentance! That is, at the hands of a Five-Point Calvinist, 2 Peter 3:9 is turned into a tautology. Quite why such a non-profundity as this would be allowed entrance into the Canonical Scriptures is hard to conceive.