2Pe_3:9 - The Lord Is..."Not Willing Any Should Perish."
21. 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord Is..."Not Willing Any Should Perish."
"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" (i.e. A change of mind).
Those who endorse predestination and election to salvation will have to accuse God of lying in this verse. Yet God is so clear and precise in His teachings that there is no excuse for a misunderstanding. These verses reveal to us the direct mind and will of God concerning salvation. The predestinationalists say they believe this verse, but the doctrine they endorse reveals otherwise. Instead of accepting the Word of God for what it says, they insert their meaning, their doctrine, and then justify it by declaring "We cannot understand the mind of God." This is the same double-talk that is used by cult religions. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses say they believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. What they mean by what they say is entirely different from what the Scriptures teach. When they declare that they believe Jesus is the Savior of the world, they mean that He is a good man, not that He is God in human flesh. Therefore, He is the Savior of the world by the example He sets for us to follow. This double-talk is nothing more than following the example of Christ and by good works we can merit our salvation. Of course, this is contrary to the Word of God because no one will ever go to Heaven on their own righteousness. The point we want to make is, they make the same claims as we do, but their meaning is entirely different.
Predestinationalists say they believe these verses, but their meaning is entirely foreign to the Word of God. Again, I want to emphasize that the doctrine of predestination for salvation is not some "mini-doctrine." It is a damnable doctrine because it attacks the will of God as clearly stated in His Word, it attacks the righteousness of God, it makes God a respecter of persons which is totally against God's Word. When God says in 2 Peter 3:9 that He is "not willing that any should perish," that is exactly what God means!