Not willing that any should perish

2 Peter 3:9

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.

Over the decades, across the years, and through the centuries, many have derived comfort from this verse alone that speaks of God’s care for the lost and perishing. It obviates the views of Calvinism, and destroys the extreme doctrines of election. There are many things that we do not understand about the workings of God, and many things unable to be comprehended or grasped. However, there is a truth here that cannot be ignored or passed over. To pass over it is to ignore the Scriptures. For here, we see that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. No one! Not willing! It is not within His divine will for one person to be eternally and irrevocably lost! This is not His desire, nor is it His pleasure. There is no joy in the loss of a soul, only sorrow. On the contrary, there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth! Anyone who is saved brings joy to God! And everyone who is lost brings sorrow to Him. For it is not His will that they perish; it is His will that they should come to repentance.

For you see, we are told here that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise. Some think He will never come back as He promised, or that things will not get better as He promised, or that there is no victory as He promised. Since they have not seen it, they do not believe it. But look, friends! The Lord is not slack concerning His promise! It will come to pass in due time! The coming of Christ is imminent! It is incipient! It is inevitable! It is on its way. Just because we haven’t seen it does not by any means show that it will not happen. We must wait patiently for it. For He is not slack. Because, instead, He is longsuffering to us-ward. Why has the Lord not returned yet? Where is He? What is He doing? Why has He not come to save the vast world from its vast wickedness by destroying all evil? Why has He not taken out His bride, the church? What is He waiting for? My dear friends, He is waiting for the souls that have yet to be saved to come to repentance. He is waiting for those many who will believe on Him to come unto the knowledge of the truth! For there are many more! He will not come prematurely! He will not come as an untimely birth. He will not come before those that are to be saved will be saved. Souls are continually turning to Him! And if I was one of those souls that had not yet turned, how I hope He would wait for me! And He is waiting! He is waiting for the lost to be saved! He is longsuffering to us-ward! He is not willing that any should ever perish!

Beloved, we can see that God’s desire is for all to be saved by coming to repentance. And I must ask, is this my desire? Is this your desire? Are we working toward this desire, as the Lord is actively working now to bring souls to Himself? Are we simply waiting for His return, or are we occupying till He comes? The Lord is not slack…and not willing that any should perish. And so we should also be unwilling for any soul to perish without the knowledge of the Lord. Will you be a servant, a herald, a messenger? Will you be a watchman to warn of the coming of Christ? Will you help to fulfill His will that none should perish? We must be willing, as He is, that all should come to repentance.

“Dear Father, we thank you for your eternal and immutable promises, one of the greatest being the promise of the return of Christ. You will not slack on that promise, but we know that you are waiting for many souls to come to the faith of Christ. Thank you that you wait to fulfill your ultimate will until poor sinners come to repentance. And if you are not willing that any should perish, we ask that you would infuse that same love into each of us for the lost, that we would desire that all men would be saved. Help us to be busy about your business, occupying in the harvest fields until the great promise is actualized. We look forward to that Day, and thank you for your great longsuffering. Give us this same longsuffering and desire for sinners to be saved. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”