By: Elder Randy McCarthy

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

This verse is often used by many to teach a universal atonement by God. According to this view, Christ died as a general offering for the sins of the entire human race, and God is now delaying the final judgment, hoping that some of these lost sinners will repent and thereby escape the fires of eternal damnation.

When examined in context, it can be seen that this verse instead teaches a special atonement, which means that Christ died for his particular people (the elect of God), and none of these shall perish or be lost.

Peter in this section of his letter (2 Peter 3:1-13) addresses scoffers who, motivated by their own lusts, mock the promise of the second coming. Peter is writing prophetically by the Spirit to address both his time, and the time in the future (“last days”). These scoffers do not appear to be members of the church so much as critics of it, whether inside or out.

Peter is telling the disciples not to be discouraged by this criticism, but indeed to expect it. Peter reminds the readers of the way that God dealt with the world in the time leading up to the flood – God was angry with the wickedness of the world, promised destruction would come, and yet delayed.

God says in Gen 6:3, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” This may be a reference to a shortening of the lifetime of men which occurred after the flood, although I believe a better construction is that God is announcing a coming judgment that will take place in 120 years from that time. By this God afforded a space for the wicked men to repent prior to this destruction.

The Bible tells us that Christ through Noah preached warnings to the people prior to the flood. 1 Peter 3:19; Heb 11:7. Noah preached this message of the upcoming certain destruction and judgment, both by his words and by his building of the ark. Of course, these evil and wicked men did not repent, and would not by their wicked nature, but that does not make God unjust – indeed, God’s longsuffering and justice are demonstrated by His delaying of the flood during the 100 years of Noah’s labor. The wicked that perished clearly deserved to be destroyed by their perdition, and have no excuse.

God provided other warnings as well – Methuselah’s name means, “He dieth, and the sending forth will come.” He was so named by his father Enoch to give it as a prophecy of the flood. It can be easily shown that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe. Though Methuselah attained the great age of 969 years, he finally died, and then the flood came.

It is in the context of these warnings and judgment that Peter says the Lord is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” In order to understand this phrase, we need to identify who the “any” and “all” are, and to understand what is meant by God not being “willing” that these should perish. There are two possible views, neither of which supports a view of universal atonement.

Decretive Interpretation

One possibility is that this phrase refers to the new birth of all of God’s people prior to the second coming. In this context, “any should perish” means consumed in the coming judgment – the old world “perished,” so then Peter is referring to those who would not see this upcoming wrath of God, and hence, will not “perish.”

This is sometimes referred to as a decretive interpretation, and means that God’s will here is a decree that will be fulfilled. None of God’s chosen elect shall perish; instead, all of the elect shall come to repentance (regeneration).

Support for this first interpretation can be gleaned by looking at the term “us-ward” which can be contrasted with “ungodly men” of verse 7. Thus, the terms “any” and “all” in 2 Peter 3:9 refer back to “us-ward,” which are the elect. 1 Peter 1:1-5; Ephesians 1:3-6.

So, if the subject matter is the eternal preservation of the elect, God is saying don’t worry about it, He will send judgment when He is ready, but He will delay just like before. The purpose of his delay this time is because He is waiting for all his elect to be born spiritually (come to repentance). Since we don’t know who these are, we cannot tell when this judgment will come. But God knows.

If this interpretation is correct, it sets up a very interesting symmetry between the flood and the second coming: the first judgment came after the death of a saint; the second judgment will come after the new birth of a (the last) saint.

Permissive Interpretation

The foregoing is very theologically satisfying. However, an alternative is that the language “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” refers to the wicked (non-elect).

This is in accordance with the so-called permissive interpretation, which means that God’s will in this verse merely reflects His desire that the wicked would repent, but it is not an outcome that He is going to decree. An example of this can be found in Matt 23:37, where Christ laments the unbelief of Jerusalem, but nevertheless pronounces desolation upon it.

“Us-ward” as used in 2 Peter 3:9 is the Greek word “hemas” and means “we” or “us.” When this term is combined with a verb, it provides particular force or emphasis, particularly antithesis (contrast).  For example, in Matt 6:12, the term is used for emphasis (forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors). In this case, the “us” and “we” are the same group.

In 1 Cor 1:18, the term is used for antithesis (the preaching of the cross to them that perish is foolishness, but to us who are saved it is the power of God). In this case, “them” is contrasted to “us” and these are separate and distinct groups.

Hemas is used as a pronoun to identify a definite number or group for which the speaker includes himself, and is never used for all humanity in general. In 2 Peter 3:9, hemas (us-ward) means the elect.

It follows that the “any” (tis) and “all” (pas) in this verse are either a further emphasis of this group (the elect), or a contrast to this group, specifically, wicked and evil men (the non-elect). Just like “us-ward,” the “any” and “all” cannot be read to refer to humanity in general.

To say that the “any” and “all” in 2 Peter 3:9 are specifically directed to the non-elect has a nice “ring to it” – God was “sorry” that He made man in view of his wickedness and delayed the inevitable judgment of the flood. Nevertheless, He did eventually bring it. So Peter may be saying that the present heavens and earth are reserved for certain future fiery judgment and destruction, but God still calls upon wicked men to repent prior to that judgment. Of course they won’t, just like the first time (in Gen. 6).

Whichever interpretation is correct, it is clear that, in this scripture, Peter teaches the special atonement (and preservation) of the elect, not a general universal atonement of mankind. It is wonderful to know that God is longsuffering to us-ward, and will save His elect from His wrath as He saved Noah and his family in the ark. □

Published: 2011-01-30 by RKM

By:  Elder Randy McCarthy

God’s providence, which is His faithful activity on our behalf to supply all of our needs, is unbounded.  We may think of His providence in terms of the great things He has done or will do for us: the redemptive election of His people in eternity past; Christ’s substitutionary offering of Himself on the cross; His promised second coming when we will be resurrected in glory to live with Him forevermore.

But God’s providence to us goes beyond this; it is something that He gives to us day-by-day, hour-by-hour and even minute-by-minute.  It extends down to even the very air that we breathe.  And like the air, we often fail to notice that it is there.  Indeed, at times it may feel like His providence is very far away from us.

In James’ epistle, the author opens the letter with the following statement:

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  James 1:2-4.

James is telling us to rejoice, that is, to be happy and thankful when we experience temptations, which in this context means trials or difficult situations.  On its face this statement may seem rather quixotic.  Contemplating this statement in view of our own experience, though, shows this statement is imminently practical and foundational for our faith.

The temptations under consideration in this text seem to be primarily directed to the types of difficulties, losses, disappointments, infirmities, and problems that are common to the Christian experience.  Such trials and difficulties in this life are assured; our Lord promised it would be so.  John 16:33; Gen 3:16-19.  How we react to suffering says much about our character.

Many people use the existence of suffering in this world as an excuse for unbelief; how often have you heard someone say, “how can God allow this to happen?” or argue that “if there was a God, this would not have happened!” Others waste their lives being caught up in worldly political or social movements which falsely promise to bring about a Utopian paradise here on earth through the reformation of human nature and behavior.  Still others react to suffering by indulging themselves in substance abuse or depraved lifestyle choices in an effort to escape their own feelings of helplessness and despair.  This is the world we live in, and it was the same sort of world in which James penned these words.

The Christian is instructed to take a different view of suffering.  As believers, we are not to deny its existence, or to minimize it, but rather to face it head on and see it as it is: a direct and necessary consequence of the fall of man.  And yet God, in His providence, uses suffering to refine and purify the lives of His people as they journey here below.  God is not the author of suffering in this world, but like all of his creation, He can use it to His glory.  And He does.

When we suffer, James instructs us to count it joy, that is, to rejoice and be thankful.  This seems strange.  But it’s not that we are to rejoice that we are suffering, but rather to rejoice because God has promised to bring good in our lives because of it; that the trial of our faith will produce patience, and patience will better equip us to walk with God no matter our circumstances.  Heb 12:10-11; Job 33:12-30; Phil 1:21-24.

If you think about it, any suffering that ultimately causes us to draw closer to God in dependence upon Him is ultimately a good thing for us to go through, no matter how unpleasant it is at the time.  Heb 12:10-11.  As Joseph told his brothers, what you did in selling me into slavery was an evil act, but God used it for good in saving the people of Israel.  See Gen 50:20.  Christ Himself learned to better serve as our eternal high priest through the things that He suffered during His ministry here on earth.  Heb 5:8-10.  So God’s providence extends even to our troubles, since this is a way in which God brings us closer to him, and makes us more like Christ.  1 Peter 1:7.

I believe this is why James, continuing his thought, says this next:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8.

James recognizes that what we may need most, particularly in times of suffering, is wisdom.  Wisdom, after all, is skill in living; being able to make the right decisions and to see things as they really are.  As Solomon said, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Proverbs 1:7.  God is the source of all true wisdom, and all we need to have wisdom is to ask Him for it.

But James makes a further point that is worth considering: God will only grant a prayer for wisdom if it is asked in faith, nothing wavering (doubting).  We can waver in a number of ways: we can doubt that God is really the source of wisdom, or we can be in a state of mind where we still wish to direct our own course and therefore are not committed to following God’s wisdom, or we may doubt that God really will grant our request.  This is why the perfection (maturing) of our faith, particularly in times of trials, is so important: being thankful is an act of faith, and it increases our patience, which in turn strengthens our faith.  Our strengthened faith leads us to request wisdom from God as we perceive our lack, and with increased wisdom given to us by the providence of God, we are equipped to be even more thankful.

There are many examples of the providence of God in the Scriptures.  Some are open and manifest operations by God, such as the parting of the Red Sea or the feeding of the multitudes in the plains of Galilee.  Others are more hidden, such as the providence of God exhibited in the lives of people such as Esther, Ruth, Job and Nehemiah.  In each case, these examples show that God is always active in the lives of His children, providing for them in whatever circumstance they find themselves.  The lesson that we must learn throughout our life is that God’s grace is, and always will be, sufficient for us.  Let us learn the lesson, and be thankful.

Published: 2010-12-05 by RKM