Gordon H. Clark on 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
————

“If it had been fully realized that Peter was addressing Christians, a great deal of theological confusion would have been avoided. Arminians have used the verse in defence of theory of universal atonement. They believe that God willed to save every human being without exception and that something beyond his control happened so as to defeat his eternal purpose.

The doctrine of universal redemption is not only refuted by Scripture generally, but the passage in question makes nonsense on such a view.

Since God has made and appointed the wicked for the day of evil, as [2 Peter] 2:3, 4 have already said, as 2:9 virtually implies, and as is distinctly stated in Romans 9:17-22, 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, or as Proverbs 16:4 says, “The Lord has made everything for its own end, yea even the wicked for the day of evil,” it follows that God does not will the salvation of every member of the human race. It is not his will that every man without exception should repent. Repentance is a gift of God, and if God willed to, he would give everyone repentance. But obviously he does not. So much for the Scripture in general.

The verse 3:9 would make no sense otherwise. Peter is telling us that Christ’s return awaits the repentance of certain people. Now, if Christ’s return awaited the repentance of every individual without exception, Christ would never return. Already many have died unrepentant, and their number grow larger every day. The only time when evey individual had come to repentance was when Adam and Eve repented and were clothed with skins. The Arminians, unwittingly o b sure, imply that Christ should have returned them — his second advent antedating his first.

This is no new interpretation. The Similitudes viii, xi, 1 in the Shepherd of Hermas (c. A.D. 130-150), which because of the date serves as evidence for the epistle’s authenticty, says, “But the Lord, being long-suffering, wishes [thelei] those who were called [ten klesin ten genomenen] through his Son to be saved.” This quotation shows how the verse was understood in the second century. It is the called of elect whom God wills to save.

Peter therefore is saying simply that Christ will not return until every one of the elect has come to repentance.

Gordon H. Clark, New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter, The Trinity Foundation, 1993, p231-232
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*Note. I have not copied the entire portion from Clark’s commentary here on 2 Peter 3:9, just the section (which is most of it) that most are interested in here. Refer to the book, for the full commentary.

The Lexham English Bible: John 3:16 and Titus 1:1

I am often asked why I primarily use the ESV and LEB. Most are familiar with the ESV, but few are familiar with the newer, Lexham English Bible. The Lexham English Bible (LEB) began as an interlinear translation before the full English translation was released in 2010. (The LEB works very well with LOGOS Bible Software as it has the Greek interlinear together with the English translation together, so if you have LOGOS Bible software, make use of this translation.) The translation is very accurate–especially when it comes to the New Testament. I find it wanting in the Old Testament in a few places, and usually defer to the ESV on the Old Testament most of the time.

Consider the translations of these two well known verses: John 3:16 and Titus 1:1

John 3:16 (LEB)
For in this way God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.

Compared to:
NASB — For God so loved the world . . . that whoever believes
ESV –For God so loved the world . . . that whoever believes
NIV –For God so loved the world . . . that whoever believes
KJV — For God so loved the world . . . that whosoever believeth
NKJV — For God so loved the world . . . that whoever believes

In John 3:16 (LEB) above, those who know their Greek will recognise that this is the direct translation of the verse. It avoids taking the verse out of context as many an Arminian have done, by taking the word “whosoever” as a reference to unlimited atonement. interestingly, the word “whosoever”, is not even in the Greek text. It is better to translate it as “all the believing ones”, or “everyone who believes”.

Likewise, the first part of the verse, “For God so loved the world”, gives the impression that this is talking about the extent of God’s love– look how great is God’s love. In reality, the Greek actually reads, “In this way God loved the world”. This is so much clearer, and much more precise than what many more popular translations have done.

John 3:16 is very well translated in the LEB, and it conveys a meaning that is very different from what many people have come to believe by only using other English translations. As far as I am aware, none of the commonly used English bibles translate John 3:16 as well as the LEB.

Titus 1:1 (LEB)
Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of the chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth that is according to godliness,

Compared to:
NASB — Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .
ESV — Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .
NIV — Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .
KJV — Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .
NKJV — Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .

The Greek word doulos, is actually, slave, not servant. There are a number of words for servant in the New Testament– doulos is not one of them. Doulos is slave. Having studied Greek in Singapore, Australia and USA, one thing all my Greek professors have emphasized is that if we translate doulos as servant in our exams, we would be marked wrong. This is basic Greek. Yet, we see many modern bibles committing this error by either translating doulos as servant, or sometimes, bond-servant. This is probably because the translator wants to avoid giving its readers the wrong ideas by using the word slave. But the text does indeed say “slave” and not servant. It is not the right for a translator to change a biblical text he is not comfortable with. Rather, the faithful translator should strive to provide the most faithful translation of any given text.

A servant is very different from a slave. A slave is the property of his master, and Paul, being a slave of God (doulos), having been transformed from a slave to sin to a slave of righteousness, is now fully committed and owned by his master, Jesus Christ. As a slave of God, Paul strives to serve God with all his being, and he, being a slave, does whatever the Lord tells him to do.

None of the more popular bibles like the ESV, NKJV, KJV, NASB, NIV, etc., get this translation correct. Perhaps, the NASB, with “bond-servant” come closest, but it is still wanting. A couple of lesser known bibles get the translation correct and translate it as slave, but they are in the minority. The LEB is one of the very few versions that correctly and consistently translates doulos as slave.

If you are looking for a highly accurate English translation of the bible to use, I highly recommend the LEB. The reading is a bit wooden at times, but those who are seeking to engage in serious bible study (and who are not familiar with biblical Greek/Hebrew), would find the LEB really helpful.

Avoiding Sugar-Coated Eloquence: The mark of an effective preacher. Evangelism technique: 101

Question: What is the best technique to use when preaching to an unbeliever?

Answer: Avoid sugar-coated eloquence in your preaching: The mark of a faithful preacher is one who faithfully preaches the full counsel of God and who does not depend on eloquent speech. He does not shrink from preaching things that may sound unpleasant to the ears of his hearers, nor does he use all kinds of worldly entertainment to make church more appealing to unbelievers. Rather, the faithful preacher depends on the Holy Spirit to move and to save those who are his. Consider what Paul says in 1 Cor 1:17, “ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Why would eloquent wisdom empty the cross of its power?

Until a preacher/evangelist understands this, he has not grasp the essence of effective biblical evangelism. In contrast to all the worldly gimmicks used in modern day evangelism, we read: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (c.f. 1 Cor 1:31) The person who accepts the Lord’s teaching concerning this has “the mind of Christ.” (c.f. 1 Cor 2:16), while the one who disagrees with this is given a rebuke by the Apostle Paul–effectively asking him who he thinks he is to instruct God concerning effective evangelism (c.f. 1 Cor 2:16)

1 Cor 2:14-16 (ESV) The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

In preaching the full counsel of God in its plainness, the preacher moves not “in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (c.f. 2 Cor 5). In direct contrast to the seeker-sensitive movement, the Apostle Paul taught that sugar-coated preaching of eloquent words, empty the cross of its power. (c.f. 1 Cor 1:17). In short, if you want to avoid making false converts, and if you want to be faithful in preaching the word of God; if you want to be an effective evangelist pleasing before God; and if you want to see God move in the Spirit to convict hearts, preach the full counsel of God in its plainness. The Lord will save those who belongs to him, and the Spirit will convict hardened hearts. Remove unnecessary gimmicks in your preaching and focus on the word. The modern day preacher only has a short amount of time to teach a whole list of biblical truths. Use that time wisely. Preach the word with clarity and as plainly as possible, and pray that the Lord moves in power to save those only he can save. Do not water down your sermons, but preach the deep things of God. It is the Spirit who illuminates the eyes and ears of your hearers and give them understanding, not you.

There is also a popular trend to limit the preaching of a sermon to only three points. In some churches, they now limit this to one point! These preachers claim that if we teach more than three points in a sermon, people are not able to absorb what is being taught. To be an effective preacher and communicator, they say, a preacher should limit his sermon to only three points. How tragic. By those standards, we must conclude that Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets must have been the worst preachers. They preach ten… even twenty point sermons. Preach the word in its entirety. It is the Lord who brings understanding to them, not you. And if the Spirit so wishes, he is able to cause your hearers understand everything you preach to them, and cause them to remember it all, and even reveal truth to them through your sermon that you might not have thought about. Three point sermons are nothing more than a disguised attempt at manipulating the sermon with eloquent wisdom. No. Seek to preach the text in its entirety to the best of your ability. It is God who gives understanding and discernment of his word. You want to know how to move in the Spirit? Begin first by getting rid of all these gimmicks. Trust the Lord to illuminate their minds. Preach the word plainly, and the pray.

This my friend, is the most important lesson an evangelist/preacher must learn. Preach the full counsel of God in its plainness. Sadly, this simple truth is one of the most neglected teaching in evangelism/mission course.

Consider what the Apostle Paul says on this very subject:

1 Cor 1:17-25;1 Cor 2:1-5 (ESV)

1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Misused verses: Habukkuk 1:5

Habakkuk 1:5 is a verse that is often misused by churches to stir their respective congregation towards a “church vision”, or as a promise how God is promising them that their respective congregations will experience great and magnificient things in the near future. This is not what Habukkuk 1:5 says.

Habakkuk 1:5 (ESV)
““Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.”

The verse is not a positive verse at all. Read the context: It is speaking about God sending the Chaldeans to kill and conquer them.

Habakkuk 1:5-11 (ESV)
“Look among the nations, and see;
    wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
    that you would not believe if told.
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
    that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
    to seize dwellings not their own.
They are dreaded and fearsome;
    their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
Their horses are swifter than leopards,
    more fierce than the evening wolves;
    their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
    they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
They all come for violence,
    all their faces forward.
    They gather captives like sand.
At kings they scoff,
    and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
    for they pile up earth and take it.
Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
    guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

Questioning the assumption that unbelievers would rather be in hell than in heaven with God.

It is common in some circles, to hear preachers teach that without the Holy Spirit, an unbeliever would rather suffer in hell, than to enjoy the presence of God in heaven. Some would even go as far as to suggest that in hell, God is giving unbelievers what they desire–to be away from the presence of God.

I disagree.

First of all, the bible is clear in Rev 14:10 that those in Hell are tormented in the presence of God and his Holy Angels. It is not as if unbelievers are hell are hidden away from God’s presence. They will always be in the presence of God. Therefore, it does not make sense to say that God is giving them their desire to be away from the presence of God.

He also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.–Rev 14:10 (ESV)

Second, the view that without the Holy Spirit, unbelievers would rather be in hell than in heaven, is not a teaching that can be derived from the scripture. With the Parable of Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), it is clear that Lazarus wanted to get out of hell but was not able to (v.26) do so. He wanted to prevent his relatives from ending up there (v.27-28), and he seeked relief from his torment (v.24, 27). He was just not able to escape. 

Now, perhaps, one might say that Lazarus did not ask to be in heaven, he just wanted to get out of hell.

This argument seems to be nothing more than an argument from silence. It could easily be explained that there was no mention of his desire for heaven, because there is an underlying presupposition that there was no way for his to escape. It certainly make sense to say that he certainly prefers to be in heaven considering that the Rich man in the Lazarus parable required that someone be send to warn his relatives: for what purpose? So that they might not be in hell, but in heaven.

It is more reasonable in light of what we read about in the bible to believe that unbelievers are not cast into hell because that is that they would prefer, but rather, they are cast into hell against their will, as punishment for their sins.