Deserved wrath or deseved mercy.

But not earned mercy on those God chooses to save?

Surly if its earned wrath it also should be earned mercy to make things fair.

Revelation says we a rewarded according to ”OUR” works.
Not ”GODS” works.

To me someone born a helpless sick sinner and left to be a helpless sick sinner with no ability to save himself and no intention of God saving him in the first place and condemning him to hell.
So how is it this persons fault?
Is it the same for babies as-well who have died? who have had not concept of life and Just find themselves in hell wondering what on earth they did to deserve this.

This Seems to be a unfair unloving sick,sadistic, bullying,God.

Then the ones God does happen to choose for no reason but pure random choice. That’s a Cold choice. not Love. I would feel Just lucky like i had won the lottery. Not love.

Jeremiah 38:20
eccl 9:3
Deut 30:19

These scriptures show clearly we also are involved to Choose salvation. we cooperate with the Grace of God by choosing to believe.

Titus 2:11>Grace of God has appeared.Bringing salvation for All.

So all man can choose to believe. The ones that choose will be chosen.
God knows the Ones that will choose before everything by his foreknowledge. That’s why they are predestined

Per Les’s request, let me try and give your question a few thoughts…and maybe even an answer!
A brief disclaimer: I read the article but *didn’t* read all the comments in light of time and its constraints.

First, since context is the key to reading and interpreting all Scripture, let’s start with a brief word on the context of 2 Peter 3:9 followed by John 3:16.

2 Peter 3:9 is right in the middle of Peter’s encouragement to his audience not to forget (”way of reminder”, 2 Pt. 3:1) that God will fulfill his promise. What is his promise? I take it to mean in this context that the promise is that of the return of Jesus Christ on the final day (2 Pt. 3:4-7,13). That said, we see that the Lord is “not slow to fulfill his promise” (2 Pt. 3:9). Now God’s sense of time, if you will, is vastly different than the way humans perceive and experience time (see 2 Pt. 3:8). I believe (and others may disagree, which I am wide open for correction on this one) that Peter is saying that Jesus is being patient in regards to presently sinful humanity and delaying his coming so that in the grand scheme of redemption, many more will come to repentance and faith in Christ. Naturally, going along with Les’s assertions, God is not tapping his toe and desperately hoping that more people come to repentance before he returns and brings the final judgment, rather, God knows exactly when that day will be and yet he is still bearing with the wretched sinfulness of this entire earth for a while longer as he brings more people to faith. That said, I see this verse as a matter chiefly concerning the Lord’s patience with sinners and corresponding mercy – he is allowing more time to elapse before the final judgment, but lest I under communicate this, God is NOT dependent on passing time and sinners’ repentance.

John 3:16, as you partially quoted, is perhaps the most familiar verse in Scripture in this day and age within the sphere of American evangelicalism (at least). Now, you specifically asked for a discussion on the meaning of the word “world” in John 3:16. I don’t know Greek, so I won’t venture into that realm. But I will look at the verse and the context. Let me first state – and I may find opposition here to this argument…maybe – but I do not believe that it is faithful exegesis to strangle “world” to mean a pointed, specific group of people as some commentators have interpreted (I think John Gill held to this view). Additionally, let me assert however that I *do* believe that God chooses specific people. Just re-read what Les wrote. He did a good job pointing that out. Abram is a great example. Anyways, I digress. Back to John 3:16.

(This is all my own interpretation and rambling on the meaning of “world”…please critique me.) It seems that world encompasses the whole of humanity – sinful humanity. Jesus came to save sinners, and everyone in the world is a sinner. The elect are sinners. The world is comprised of sinners. I will let you find the plenteous Scriptures that assert that Christ came into the world to save sinners.

So what does it mean for God to love “the world”? Well, if Jesus came to save sinners by his life, death, and resurrection, the whole of his salvific work, didn’t he in some way love *sinners*? God loving “the world” and giving Jesus for this sinful world does not equate with any given individual’s salvation. The people who God saves, or those who “should not perish but have eternal life” are indeed part of the “world”, but they are more specifically those who “[believe] in him”. Isn’t that exactly what the text says? God loves the world, he gave his Son in love, and whoever believes in this missionary Son will not perish but have eternal life.

I hope some of that helps. I would love to connect 2 Peter 3:9 with John 3:16, but alas, I must hit the hay.

-Trevor, aka @gottheology

You said a lot in a short comment. You claim:

1.Everyone is guilty
2.God wants everyone saved
3.God can save everyone
4.It would be fine for Him to save everyone
5.It would be consistent with His character to save everyone

Let’s see, 1 is easy. Romans 1-3 makes it undeniable.

3 The value of the person of Christ dying on the cross could save a billion galaxies of people, because God is of infinite worth/weight/glory… so we agree.

4 is right, as well. If Christ took the payment for the sins of every person on the planet, then justice would actually DEMAND that they be forgiven. So everyone who Jesus did die to forgive MUST be in heaven. God can not do otherwise (I say this reverently).

5 It is consistent with God’s loving character and His saving nature to save, I agree. But I’d ask you to consider that love isn’t God’s only characteristic, though He is the ultimate and sole source of it.

God is mainly HOLY, he is just, he is righteous, he is sovereign, and he is, indeed, love.

Now are we saying that because God is love that He must love everything and eveyone equally? I’d say that’s illogical. If I love my son, I hate anything that wants to hurt him. If God loves His glory, he hates those who want to blaspheme it.

So, here’s where we land. You’d need to prove Biblically, in light of my entire article and scriptural support that:

1.God wants everyone saved

2.The Bible shows that it’s necessarily in God’s character to save every person on the planet.

I thought that the revealing of God’s wrath against sin took place on the cross?

Everyone knows everyone is guilty of sin and it would be just if God didn’t save anyone. But let’s remember who God is. Wouldn’t you expect a God like ours to die for everyone anyways? If God wants everyone saved, can save everyone and it still be completely find for Him do so, not to mention it would be perfectly consistent with His character, why wouldn’t He?