In his recent book, Does God Desire All To Be Saved?, John Piper's answer to the titled question is yes and no. Yes, God would like all to be saved. No, God does not will the salvation of all.
What of the scriptures that say God loves all and desires all to be saved? Like, God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” that God is patient with us, "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance,” that he doesn't desire that any should perish but that they "should turn from his way and live? . . . I have no pleasure in the death of anyone."
Piper says that all doesn't mean all, at least not all the time.
Such are the fascinating perplexities of Calvinist theology. As someone who appreciates Piper's sermons, who finds them emotionally satisfying, intellectually enriching, and character-forming, I found this essay an exercise in mental gymnastics.
What of the scriptures that say God loves all and desires all to be saved? Like, God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” that God is patient with us, "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance,” that he doesn't desire that any should perish but that they "should turn from his way and live? . . . I have no pleasure in the death of anyone."
Piper says that all doesn't mean all, at least not all the time.
"It is possible that careful interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:4 would lead us to believe that God’s desire for all people to be saved does not refer to every individual person in the world, but rather to all sorts of people..." (emphasis added).Ah. Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. So God just means he wants a few from all sorts of groups not to perish. He wants all sorts of people to know the truth. He doesn't desire that any sort (dwarves, hobbits, elves, Mets fans) be left out; he wants a few representatives from all groups to turn from "his" way and live, and doesn't have pleasure in the death(s) of an entire sort of people dying.
But what's keeping God from wanting everyone to be saved? What could better than God having a father-child life-giving relationship with all those made in his likeness and image?
The glorification of the full range of his perfections in exalting his sovereign grace? What does that mean? And how does that prevent God from saving everybody? Here, at perhaps the most important part of the argument, the part where we are told why God doesn't save everyone, the book ends....God’s will to save all people is restrained by his commitment to the glorification of the full range of his perfections in exalting his sovereign grace.
Such are the fascinating perplexities of Calvinist theology. As someone who appreciates Piper's sermons, who finds them emotionally satisfying, intellectually enriching, and character-forming, I found this essay an exercise in mental gymnastics.
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