Does God Really Want All People to be Saved?

 

Interesting short clip from an interview of the late R. C. Sproul by Pastor Mark Driscoll which apparently happened a long time ago. The original video can be seen on Vimeo here. The question being discussed is whether God really wants “all people to be saved,” as taught in 1 Timothy 2:3–4 (also 2 Peter 3:9). The conversation goes as follows:

Driscoll: “Okay, here is the first one. It is from Matt ask Varrick, Facebook guy. He says, Okay, here is my shot, this is the theological question: Does God desire all people to be saved? The question is not about anything but desire concerning all humans, since I am not asking about being predestined, election. I understand John Owen’s teaching, and the smart seminary types. I am wondering though about all people, does God really want all people to be saved—not God’s sovereign decree and determination, but does he really want everyone to be saved? And his question is out of first Timothy two: three and four, ‘This is good, pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.’ A classic Calvinistic question. God sovereignly decrees salvation, does he really want everyone to be saved? What would you say?”

Sproul: “Well, when we talk about God’s ‘want to’—excuse me for being a theologian here for a second, but you said it was a theological question! We are looking at the the biblical concept of the will of God; and if you look at it, there are two different Greek words that are translated by the English word ‘will,’ thelo, my, for example; and yet if you examine those words etymologically, you will see that they are very nuanced. There may be seven or eight distinct ways in which the Bible speaks of the will of God, one of which is his sovereign will, that you have mentioned. Another will is his preceptive will, his law that he gives us. But there is also what we would call his will of disposition, that is, what pleases him. And when the Bible says that God is not willing for example, or he takes no delight in the death of the wicked, it tells us something I think about the the character of God; that even though he is committed to justice, even though he is committed to judgment, he doesn’t get his jollies by subjecting people to punishment, like a sadistic tyrant would. And I think that is the vein in which the Bible says he takes no delight in the death of the wicked. God doesn’t enjoy in a certain sense sending people to hell; but he does it.”

Except that is not a true and honest representation of the Calvinist theological position. If God has decreed, predestined, and predetermined from creation, by an irrevocable and arbitrary choice, who will be saved and who will be damned, without regard to any foreseen merit or demerit on their part—and all of that “for his own glory” (according to Calvinism); then God certainly does get his “jollies” from sending them down to hell. He rubs his hands with pleasure for sending them down to hell; and for all the “glory” that he supposedly gets for doing so (according to Calvinism). That is the only logical conclusion from the theology of Calvinism.

And how could they have any hope of salvation and redemption if God hasn’t even atoned for their sins; so that they couldn’t have any chance of being saved (according to Calvinism)? And wouldn’t that make God a hypocrite to “grieve” over the loss of those whom he has not even atoned for, and therefore denied them any chance of being saved—by his own eternal decree?

R. C. Sproul is also not drawing the right inference from the verses of Ezekiel that he is referring to. These are the verses:

Ezekiel 18:

23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his [evil] ways, and live?

• • •

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Ezekiel 33:

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

The implication of those verses is not what Calvinism would put on it. The implication is not that they are “predestined” to be damned (over which they have no control). The implication is that they have the choice to repent, and thus to avoid the punishment. God wants them to repent so they will not have to suffer the punishment. The choice to repent or not is theirs, which means that they are not predestined (according to Calvinism).

It also means that God has atoned for their sins (contrary to Calvinism), otherwise they wouldn’t have a choice in the matter. The only way that God could be “grieved” over their condemnation would be if the choice is theirs whether to be redeemed or not. If the choice is God’s, over which they have no control, then God would be a hypocrite to “grieve” over what he has himself decreed and determined “for his own glory”—which he could have avoided if he had wanted to.

The whole idea behind the Ezekiel quotes is that God prefers people to repent of their sins and avoid damnation, which would be impossible if he had already predestined them to damnation, and hadn’t atoned for their sins to ensure that outcome. Then the conversation continues:

Driscoll: “But there is grief.”

Sproul: “There is, but yet but if we are going to attribute human emotions to God, that would be … I think about a judge who is sitting on the bench, and up before him comes his son, and his son is guilty, and the law requires that he be sent to prison, and the judge is supposed to do what is right, and he does what is right, he sends that boy the prison, but he does it in tears; and I think that is what it is telling us about the character of God, you know, that his disposition is one of loving kindness; but that loving kindness does not annul his concern for righteousness or for justice.”

Two issues with that: (1) If they are “predestined” to be damned (according to Calvinism), God would be a hypocrite to be “grieved” over what he has predestined “for his own glory,” and which he could have avoided if he had wanted to. (2) That does not square with the Ezekiel quotes, which suggest that they are not predestined, but have the choice to repent, and thus avoid the punishment.

The invitation to repent to avoid the punishment, implies not only that they have the choice to do so, but also that they are able to do so; which in turn implies that their sins have been atoned for—otherwise no amount of “repentance” could save them. It would be very hypocritical of God to exhort them to “repent” of their sins to avoid the punishment, if he knew all along that they had no chance of doing so because their sins had not not been atoned for (according to Calvinism). If there is any scripture that falsifies Calvinism more than anything else, it is the Ezekiel quotes. Then the conversation concludes as follows:

Driscoll: “It is a great answer.”

Sproul: “I hope it helps.”

It doesn’t help Calvinism, for sure!