The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Brenda Rivera of Orlando, Florida from the tape, GC 1301-S, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 21."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1982. All Rights Reserved.

Question

In the passage 2 Peter 3, “God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.” The problem that I have is that Ephesians 1:4 talks about the fact that we are chosen before the foundation of the world; Matthew 7:12-14 also talks about the fact that many will enter that place and a few ones will be with Jesus. The question is that was brought to me was, “What kind of a God is a God that chooses people before the foundation of the world, and at the same time wishes that no should perish and only brings a few with Him?” It is confusing.

Answer

Right, that’s a good question. It’s very confusing. That to see God no matter how you want to define Him it’s confusing. Do you understand that? Because we have this little tiny brain and God is so much more vast.

Now the best way that I can explain this, and it isn’t very good but it is the best that I can explain. You’ve got to understand the character of God. You’re in the same boat that Habakkuk was in. In Habakkuk's prophesy, he cries out to God, he says, “Oh God, oh God bring a revival, God bring a renewal, God bring a revival, revive Your people, save Your people” and all this stuff and God says, “I’m going to come to My people, only I’m not going to save them I’m going to wipe them out”. And his reaction is, "What kind of a God does that? This is the people of Your covenant," and then He says, "Not only that I’m going to use the Caldeans," who were worst than the people. So now he’s not only wondering why God doesn’t bring a revival; two, why is God going to punish people of His love; and three, why is He going to use a worse people to be the executioner. And there is no answer.

So finally he just steps back off the quicksand of his dilemma on to the rock of the confidence of God’s character and he says, “God thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity.” In other words God you are too Holy to make mistakes; you have to react against sin. Then he calls Him the covenant keeping God, he calls Him the mighty God, in other words you’re bigger than history, you’re bigger than any other event, You never break your promises and he goes through this huge recitation of the nature of God and the sum of it is: “The just shall live by what?” "Faith," there’s no answer to that except to trust God. You just trust God, that God is a God of love, and God is a God of justice, and God is a God of grace, and God is a God of kindness and mercy, and God is not willing that any should perish. The Old Testament says, God said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” God didn’t even create Hell for men; Hell was created for the Devil and his angels.

Now the question comes down then to this same old question of predestination and human choice. Don’t call it "freewill" because man doesn’t have freewill, freewill is bound by sin. And you can only understand that if you understand this, and I’ll put it as simply as I can. It is a paradox and it is irreconcilable--it is not reconcilable. For example, and I use this illustration: Who wrote Romans? Who wrote Romans? Paul? It’s a human book written by Paul, his opinions on things, right? Who wrote Romans? God? And they alternate verses? Who wrote Romans? Is it all God’s Word? Is it all Paul? How could it be? You have the same problem don’t you? Let me ask you another question, who lives your Christian life? Who lives it? The Lord? do you just sit back and say, “Go Lord.” Who lives it? Do you beat your body to bring it into subjection? Do you obey? Are you responsible for your obedience? "And yet nevertheless I live…" what’s the rest of the verse? "Yet not I, Christ lives in me," same paradox. Who is Jesus Christ, God or man? Yes, He’s 100% God, and 100% man you can’t be 200% of something but He is, it’s a paradox. Every major doctrine in Holy Scripture has that same apparent paradox because you can not reduce the inconceivable realities of the mind of God and push them into the human brain. It’s impossible.

So when the Bible says we’re chosen in Him before the foundation of the world: elect to be saved, I believe it with all my heart. And when the Bible says you will not come unto me that you might have life, whomsoever will may come and if you don’t come it’s your fault," I believe that with all my heart as well, and the fact that I can’t resolve them proves that I’m not God and that’s comforting. And that’s all it proves, it doesn’t prove anything about God, it only proves something about me, do you understand that? It doesn’t impugn the character of God at all, it only shows that I am limited in my understanding of His character.

So rather than try to figure out what I do not have the capacity to figure out I step back on what I do know and what I do know is the Bible does say that “God is not willing that any should parish.” The same question could be asked if you ask it this way, "If the people who are going to go to Heaven are elect why go and evangelize?" Have you ever wondered that? What’s the answer? Cause He told you to, your job is not to figure out the mind of God, your job is to do what He says. So you only resolve these things in the character of God.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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