Does God will the salvation of the people who come in contact with the gospel, since if they fulfill the obligation to believe the gospel, then they will receive eternal life? Does God desire to save every person who has heard the gospel?

That is a mighty good question that all Christians should take into deep consideration in prayer. The broader question seems to be, "Does God desire that things be otherwise than they are (otherwise than He makes them)?" In the ultimate sense, I'd have to say that God desires only that which He brings to pass. However, since God commands all men to repent, when speaking of His will in a sense synonymous with His commands, we could say He wills all men to repent and thus be saved.

Our God commands us to go out and preach the gospel to all men. The parable of the sower and the seed is an illustration of this fact. The seed is the Word of God and it is to be preached to all indiscriminately, so therefore all men are called who hear this message of hope and promise of reconciliation, conditional that fallen man turns to God in repentence and faith.

However, men cannot answer that call unless God changes their heart by the work of the Holy Spirit, and the holy spirit only acts effectually in the hearts of God's elect. Does this make God duplpictious? (God forbid that we should even consider this question) because the Canons of Dordt say uniqivically that God is genuine and the call is serious. Further than this we cannot go, there is a decion made in eternity whom God will save, His elect and Goid's elect will come, they will persevere, and they will see God. God will do his good work in them and God will complete that work of sanctifiction abnd we who are recipeints of His grace can only say Amen! Praise God. Not for anything we have done, not for the work of our hands but solely by the grace of God.

22:38:14

2009-01-14

1.God SINCERELY, GENUINELY, PASSIONATELY and FULLY Desires the salvation of all sinners who hear the gospel and even those who never hear it like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. The proof if this is found in the example of Christ who is the perfect image of  God ( the one who fully manifested him, JOhn 1:18)., The specific event is his earnest weeping over Jerusalem as he approaches the city in Luke 13:34, 19:41ff " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!  Thus the intensity of his desire to gather the children together and save them from evil is noted in the words " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem" its akin to the words Verily, verily which is used to show the truthfulness of something. And here the thing is the desire to save ( gathering) from judgment, whcih has every semblence to the day of the Lord as matt 24 points out.

2. Another evidence of the stated truth is found in Ezek 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? Again the sincerity and intensity of the desire highlighted  with the repetition of the call to repent, and "O" something which shows the involvment of the affections in the appeal.  But notice here that God does not have any ( an iota) of pleasure in the death of the wicked ( singular sinner). Thus because God does not have nor take delight in the damnation of even one sinner, he sincerely shows us what he desires for the desire ie salvation through repentance. Hence the call of the gospel comes to sinners and must be preached to every sinner as one in which God truly and sincerely desires to save the repenting sinner.

3. Having said the said the above, we know God will damn sinners perhaps more sinners in the lake of fire than will live in the New heavens and earth. ( many there are in the broad way and few inthe narrow way, salvation always to the remnant and not the majority). However from the above we need to realise that it is of necessity that God being just and righteous damns sinners but his attitude to that work is one who is doing that in which he does not take any pleasure.  We could if acceptably says that he grudgingly sends sinners to hell.  It does not bring him joy to send sinners to hell although he does it. Hence the question why does he do it apart from justice?

4. The answer is  that so that he will magnify his mercy to the vessels of mercy. Thus the pleasure and glory which the vessels of mercy bring HIm, seeing how great God's mercy to them is, against the background of this justice on the vessels of wrath is what at least one of the reasons why He chooses to save others and not all. This is a part of what is meant in Isa 53 when it says that the pleasure of the LORD  will prosper in his hand".

5. In this choice to save some and not others, God is not guilty nor can be accused of impartiality because he does not choose to save them because of the heinousness or smallness of their sins, race, color, language, status, Thus there is no partiality. It is entirely out of his own soverign choice to show mercy on whom he wills. As far as we are concerned the things that appear  to be true of believers all the more make them unlikely candidate for a choice  were it to be based on something in them. eg. less famous, lowly, some more sinful than others, poor, etc.  It is not of them and that is why it is mercy for in choosing them God acted freely, without  any influence from anything outside of himself. The same applies to the vessels of wrath which he chose to damn for their sins. There are men and women of all kinds, of all class of sins, status, race etc. Thus on every side ( wrath and mercy) you will see the same kinds of people. Thus we can only like Paul say the depths of  God's wisdom how unsearchable and his thoughts past finding out (inscrutable).

6. The things said so far, conclude that there is at times a difference between the desire of God and his decrees.  Not all desires of God are a part of his decree. Thus eg. GOd decreed sin even the unjust death of his son at the hands of the Jews (Acts 2:23) yet he was displeased with them. Thus AD 70 was the statement of his displeasure for the evil they did against CHrist.  in the same vein a man sins eg stealing, rape, lie etc it is a part of God's decree, although God is not responsible because the man acted based on choice that was his. (personal responsibility). Yet  God's will for that man is that he should do righteousness and not wrong. Thus God desires righeousness yet according to his decree the man sinned.  This is why many theologians talking about the will of God distinguishes between a decretive will and a preceptive will.  THe preceptive will is that which we are talking about us desire and always and immediately brings pleasure to God when accomplished. But the decretive will is that which is done as a part of his plan towards bringing him ultimate pleasure ie. the joy of Exalting Christ his son, his mercy, grace, love.

7. Thus the things God allows which are not " his will" ( preceptive will, immediate pleasure, desire), he does so because they ultimately will add to the exaltation of his mercy, glory, grace, kindness, and love. Thus from that perspective they are good ( ultimate end), however they are not good but really evil from the perspective of being contrary to his  moral nature ( note i said nature and not purpose).  God works according to his ulitmate purpose, which is also according to his nature as well (Eph 1: 11).

8. Because the desires of God are expressions of his moral character, they  speak to us about our responsibility the most. Thus our primary place for learning our responsibility is the preceptive will and not the decretive will.  ( not to say the decretive will does not teach us anythinig about our responsibility, no it does eg our hope, and perseverance under trials, persecution is tied to it ). But its not the primary place for learning our responsibility

9. Thus it is right for the christian to present the gospel passionately, and sincerly desiring to see the sinner repent and believe, as well as pray intensely with desire for the salvation of souls. It is not our business whether God will save that fellow or not ( that is the secret thing which belongs to God). He calls us to plead with them, urge them, and do what ever we can to save them. Thus we are fellow workers together with God. He has given us a true part in the salvation of souls and that is why Paul will say that How can they heare without a preacher" although faith is a gift of God.

10 God has a desire and his desires are not always put into action.  infact i will go to the extent of saying that for him to put all his desires into action all the time, will mean he has to change his decree. and that will assume that his decree is not perfect. But since it is perfect he doesn't. and therefore everyday exercises a desire towards men some of which we never experience.

11. The fact that God does not always manifest his desire in works, somehow suggest that, he has a passion to glorify some of his attributes than others. ( in a comparative way). eg. mercy more than justice.