God’s Will for All People

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  II Peter 3:9

God wants all people to be a part of His family, but He cannot accept any who have refused to repent of sin and believe on His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior.  The prophet Habakkuk (1:13) wrote that God’s eyes are too pure to behold evil, and He cannot look on iniquity.  The blood of Christ that was shed on the cross acts as a covering over the sin of those who repent and trust Christ for salvation.  When I accidentally make a small cut in my finger, the blood spills out and forms a little puddle over the cut.  Blood is opaque, that is, it is not transparent.  One cannot see through it.  So it is with the blood of Christ which covers the sin of believers.  God cannot see their sin through Christ’s blood.  As far as sinners go, God doesn’t have to see their sin to know that they commit sin because all people are born with the sin nature.

Believers are still sinners but are justified by Christ’s blood that was sacrificed on the cross.  Those who reject God’s offer of forgiveness are not covered by Christ’s blood, and their sin is exposed.  God cannot look on their exposed sin and thus cannot welcome them into His kingdom.  Before we attempt to judge God for His very righteous standard, we would have to admit that we would agree with His standard in that, we would welcome a trusted friend into our home, but if a stranger, who was rather ominous in appearance, knocked on our door, we would certainly not let him into our family’s home.  We might give him a sandwich or call someone for him, but in no way would we let him intrude into our home.  Depending on how he was acting, if he was belligerent or threatening, we would call the police.  We would not want him to disrupt the peace and security of our home.

God is no different in that respect.  His home is one of peace and security, and He will not allow sin to disrupt it.  Parents set the rules for their households.  God is our Father, and He sets the rules for His house.  A good father will do whatever is necessary to protect his family.  God gave fathers that instinct when He created man in His image, and thus God has the prerogative to separate Himself and His family from those who would bring harm and chaos upon those who love and serve Him.

Those who reject God want nothing to do with Him, yet they expect Him to welcome them into heaven.  Instead, He allows them to experience the separation from Him for all eternity that they desired on earth.  That is not what God desires, yet He cannot violate His own word, and neither will He ignore it.  He stands ready to forgive anyone who sincerely asks Him as he or she turns from his or her sin and places faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why do so many people fail to take advantage of the greatest privilege in life, that of being a child of God, having Jesus as One who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), having the Holy Spirit as a helper throughout our lives, having a life of joy and peace the world knows nothing of, and spending eternity in paradise with the Lord and our believing loved ones?  This is what God wants for all people, yet all people apparently do not want this.  Actually, they do, but not the way that God designed it.  However, that is the only way to be a child of God and experience the joy of the Lord.  Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one would ever see God except by coming through Him (John 14:6).

I don’t know what is so hard about believing what Jesus said.  God created people, eternity, heaven, and hell.  Does He not have the right to determine how a person that He created can be made acceptable by Him?  If I was an artist and painted a picture, do I not have the right to do with that painting what I desire?  If it doesn’t meet my usual standard that is acceptable, then I can toss it.  God is sovereign and has the right to set the standard for eternal life.  He gave folks a choice, free will, to either accept His standard or reject it.  No one can say that God isn’t fair.  Because of His love and mercy, He gave His most precious Son to suffer and die so that folks could make the right choice.  If they do not, then that’s on them.