Does God Desire Everyone To Be Saved?
The title of this blog is a question probably every Christian has, or continues to, struggle with in some sense. Now, some Christians may say they have no struggle with this question, that they already know the answer, that God desires to save everyone. They believe the answer to this question is, “Absolutely yes!” Let me challenge that quick “yes”, by asking a few more questions. Why doesn’t God save everyone then? Is God not powerful enough to save everyone? Is God not wise enough to figure out how He could save everyone? Is God limited in His saving power and wisdom? We know that God can do anything that He desires to do, so if God desires to save everyone, then why does He not just do it? I know the answer many would give is, “But people do not want to be saved, and God will not save them unless they want it.” Hang on to that thought, we will come back to it.
Before we dive into the question itself, let’s get some sound doctrine on the table. First, God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and therefore, He can do with all things as He pleases. As the Potter, God has absolute right over the clay. Second, man is in complete and whole rebellion against God. Man eats God’s food, drinks God’s water, breathes God’s air, and man only expresses hatred and rebellion toward this kind, good God, while God continues in kindness to provide man with all that he needs despite his rebellion and hatred toward him. Third, the extent of man’s rebellion and hatred must be understood, and Romans 3 gives us a better understanding of that extent. Read Romans 3:10-18 and we see “There is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is none who does good, there is not even one,” “there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Legacy Standard Bible). Ephesians 2 describes man as dead in trespasses and sins, and that is the case, in Adam we are all spiritually dead to God.
What we need to understand is that no man, woman, or child, comes to God. Now, Ezekiel 33:11 reveals that God does indeed desire, in some sense, for everyone to be saved. He commands Ezekiel there to communicate to His people, “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” Here we see that God desires that all men should repent, turn from their wicked ways, and live instead of die. Yet, as we have already seen, not one individual responds favorably to this message. Of our own volition, we will keep going our own way, chasing our own desires and will and lusts. Every man, woman and child, left to their own devices, are heading for an eternity in hell. This is the fate of all people, unless God changes something.
What Scripture teaches us, then, is that God in His great kindness, according to His great mercy and grace, chose to save some. Ephesians 1:3-6 is clear, that for those who are in Christ, God chose us before the foundation of the world, God predestined us to adoption as sons. Those who are Christians are saved, not by our own volition, but by God’s volition, by God’s choice. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2:8 that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Every Christian believes this verse, that they are saved by God’s grace, and by God’s grace alone. We may struggle, though, to define how this plays out, and what it means for others who are not saved.
Let me ask a couple of questions here, do you believe you are saved because you were smarter and wiser to figure it out than someone else who is not saved? Do you believe you are saved because you had a stronger will to leave your sin and hope in God than others who are not saved? Do you believe you are saved because you are more humble than those who are not saved? I think every true believer in Jesus Christ, in answering these questions, would not claim they are saved by anything in them, but only saved by the kindness and goodness of God. It was nothing in ourselves that saved us, it was all the grace of God. It was not our wisdom, our willpower, our humility, or anything else of us that saved us. It is God who saved us, in Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit, by His grace and kindness. As Ephesians 2 says, God made us alive in Christ, and that is how we were saved, by the work of God, and God’s work alone.
But then we have to ask, what about the unsaved individual? If we are saved by the sovereign grace, sovereign power, and sovereign choice of God, then that means, logically that the unsaved individual has not been saved by God’s grace, power, and choice. Therefore, it leaves us believing that in some fashion, God does not desire that everyone be saved. Now, we go back to that thought I told you to hang on to, where some say, no, they are not saved because they do not want it, but we must not fail to recognize that we did not want it either. If we are saved because we wanted to be saved, and they are not saved because they did not want to be saved, then we are better than them, then we are saved because of our own desire, and not by the grace of God. It is either all of grace, or it is of me, but it cannot be both. As soon as I try to include my will, my desire, my wants, my choice, in the reason that I am saved, it is no longer grace, it is no longer all glory to God, but rather some glory in my salvation is reserved for me. No true Biblical Christian believes that, we all know it is of God’s grace alone.
Does the unbeliever, then, have a complaint with God? Are they hell-bound because God did not give them His grace, and therefore it is God’s choice and not their own choice? This is where many Christians have trouble with the mercy of God, why is it not extended to everyone if God is the One who chooses? A number of truths may help us here, first, the wicked go to hell of their own choice and volition. As we said earlier, God extends the mercy of the call of repentance to all, and the unbeliever rejects that call, and therefore because of their sin, they will suffer the wrath of God. God did extend a call, they refused, and they will all be without excuse.
Second, is God obligated to treat all men equally? We think equality is justice, but that is not the case. If I treat my children to ice cream, am I now obligated to treat every child in the world to ice cream? What if I treat a stranger’s child to ice cream, am I now obligated to treat all stranger’s children the same? Can I not, with my own money, show kindness to some and not to all? Have I wronged all children by being kind to some? This is exactly what we accuse God of doing when we say He is wrong to choose some and not others. We reserve the right for ourselves to do with what is ours, but we do not wish to extend that same right to God, who is more worthy of that right than any human. It is God’s mercy, He can give it to whomever He wills.
A third point, if God is obligated to give mercy, it is not mercy. If mercy can be demanded of God, it is not mercy, it is not grace, is not a gift, rather it is now the duty of God. We would not be saved by grace, but by God’s obligation to us. In order for mercy to be mercy, we cannot demand God give it to all, and if God gave it to all, how would we know it is mercy in first place? The fact that God gives His mercy to some confirms to us that this is only of His mercy, His grace, His goodness.
Ultimately, though, the reason we struggle with these truths from God’s Word is because we are still so man-centered in our thinking. We have only a human perspective in our natural minds, but we are called to put on God’s perspective in all things. We think people are not so bad, after all, we are one of them, and we do not think we are really all that bad. We tend not to think about all that God does for us, and His holiness, and our rebellion against Him. We drink God’s water, we breathe God’s air, we eat God’s food, we enjoy God’s world, and we do not give thanks to Him, instead, we scorn Him and tell Him we will do it our way. We reject His Word, reject His call to repentance, to obedience, and tell Him we do not need Him. And yet God continues to be gracious, continues to give us more water, air, food, and life. Is it really possible for God to wrong these creatures who are so full of hatred toward Him when all He has done is be kind and good and gracious to them?
Oh, beloved, put on the mind of Christ, see things from God’s perspective, realize that it is not about human salvation, it is about God’s glory, which is what it all should be about. All things were made by Him and for Him, and so let us remember that, that He is God, and we are not, He is sovereign, and we are not. Rather than concern ourselves so much with the rights of man, let’s instead concern ourselves with the rights of God to do as He pleases with what He made for Himself.
