2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 — "Not Wishing for Any to Perish"

The Text

"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (NASB)

The Context: Why Has Christ Not Returned?

Peter addresses scoffers who mock the promise of Christ's return (v. 4). His answer is not that God is slow but that God is PATIENT — and the reason for that patience is His desire that none perish. The delay of judgment is itself evidence of God's universal salvific will.

"Not Wishing for Any to Perish"

The Greek μὴ βουλόμενός τινας ἀπολέσθαι expresses God's genuine desire (βούλομαι — to will, wish, desire). "Any" (τινας) in the negative construction means "not... any" = none. God does not wish for ANY to perish. This is a direct statement of God's universal salvific will — He desires the salvation of all people, not merely a preselected group.

"But for All to Come to Repentance"

The positive counterpart: God's desire is that ALL (πάντας) come to repentance. The scope matches: not wishing ANY to perish = wishing ALL to repent. If "all" here meant only "all of the elect," the verse would be trivially true and provide no explanation for the delay — the elect will inevitably repent on the Calvinist view, so there would be no reason for patience.

Connection to God's Character in Drawing and Hardening

This verse anchors the theology of drawing and hardening: - Drawing (John 12:32): Jesus draws ALL men to Himself because God does not wish any to perish. - Hardening (Romans 9:18): God hardens the proud — but this is a judicial response, not His desire. His desire is repentance. - Giving over (Romans 1:24-28): God gives people over only after they have suppressed the truth He freely gave — because His desire is that they receive it.

2 Peter 3:9 establishes the baseline: God's heart is for universal salvation. Whatever hardening, judicial giving-over, or discipline God exercises is a response to human rebellion, not an expression of His ultimate desire.

Theological Significance for the Sovereignty Debate

If God genuinely does not wish for any to perish, then: (1) He cannot have unconditionally decreed the damnation of the non-elect, (2) His drawing must be genuinely universal (consistent with John 12:32), and (3) the delay of judgment is an act of mercy toward all, not merely a delay until the last elect person is saved.

Source: 2 Peter 3:9 exegesis; connected to Cheryl Schatz's framework from articles 375, 379, 374, 384 (The Giving blog)

Greek Analysis: 2 Peter 3:9

Key Terms

βραδύνει (bradynei) — present active indicative of βραδύνω ("to be slow, to delay"). "The Lord is not slow concerning his promise." Peter addresses the scoffers' objection that the Lord's return is delayed. The Lord is not slow — He is patient.

μακροθυμεῖ (makrothymei) — present active indicative of μακροθυμέω ("to be patient, to be longsuffering"). "He is patient toward you." The patience is directed at a specific audience — ὑμᾶς ("you"), which in context refers to the believing community (the letter is addressed to believers, 1:1). Calvinists argue: "toward you" means toward the elect — God delays until all the elect are saved. But this narrows the verse artificially, because Peter immediately universalizes.

βουλόμενος (boulomenos) — present middle participle of βούλομαι ("to will, to wish, to desire, to intend"). This is a strong volitional term — stronger than θέλω in many contexts. βούλομαι implies deliberate intention, not a mere wish. "Not wishing/intending any to perish." God's deliberate will is that none perish.

μή τινας ἀπολέσθαι (mē tinas apolesthai) — "not any to perish." τινας is the accusative plural of τις ("any, anyone"). The negative μή with τινας = "not any" = no one. God does not wish for any to perish. The Calvinist must restrict τινας to "any of the elect," but nothing in the text signals this restriction.

πάντας (pantas) — accusative plural of πᾶς ("all"). "But all to come to repentance." This directly parallels μή τινας — not any to perish, but all to repent. The scope is universal. If πάντας meant only "all the elect," Peter's argument collapses — the scoffers would have a point, since God could save the elect instantly without delay. The delay makes sense only if God is giving time for people who are genuinely in danger of perishing to repent — which requires that their repentance is not predetermined.

εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαι (eis metanoian chōrēsai) — "to come to repentance." The aorist infinitive χωρῆσαι (from χωρέω, "to make room for, to come to, to proceed to") indicates a decisive act — coming to the point of repentance. God wants all to reach this decisive turning point.

Grammatical Observations

The logical structure of the verse: (1) The Lord is not slow about His promise. (2) He is patient toward you. (3) His patience is because He does not will anyone to perish. (4) He wills all to come to repentance. The reason for the delay is God's universal salvific will. If God had already determined exactly who would be saved, there would be no reason for patience — the decree would simply unfold on schedule.

The verb βούλομαι is particularly significant. This is not a weak wish but a deliberate desire/intention. When God βούλεται something, it reflects His moral will — what He truly wants. If God truly desires all to repent, but only the elect are able to repent, then God desires something He has deliberately made impossible for the majority. This creates a contradiction in the divine will that non-Calvinists find incoherent.

Debate Application

The Calvinist restricts "all" and "any" to the elect, arguing: God is patient toward "you" (the elect), not wanting any of you to perish. The non-Calvinist responds: (1) The shift from "you" to "any" and "all" is deliberate universalization — Peter moves from the specific audience to the universal scope of God's desire. (2) βούλομαι describes genuine divine intention, not a mere unfulfilled wish. (3) The delay argument requires universal scope — if only the elect are in view, the delay serves no purpose, since the elect will inevitably be saved. (4) This verse aligns with 1 Timothy 2:4 (God "desires all people to be saved"), Ezekiel 18:23, 32, and 33:11 — a consistent biblical witness to God's genuine desire for universal repentance.

For the full argument analysis, see the Argument Library entry.

Summary: 1. The context is about scoffers and the delay of judgment for the world, not the gathering of the elect. Peter is explaining why the second coming has not yet occurred — and his answer is God's patience toward humanity generally.