Student Devotionals
2 Peter 3:9
God Wants All to Be Saved
Hi! This is David with the National School Project. Today, I want to talk about a very common question in the Christian community: “Does God really want everyone to be saved?” A passage that I have found helpful in answering this question is 2nd Peter 3:9, which says,
“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.”
Notice what it says: that God wishes all to reach repentance. He is delaying judgment, patiently waiting for people to come to Him. This is remarkable considering how little regard many people pay to God. Peter describes such people a few verses earlier, saying,
...knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4)
These scoffers are people who are making fun of God… people who laugh at God and even dare Him to show himself. They are foolish for doing so because God has already proven many times in history that He does, in fact, always follow-through on judgment (for example, see 2 Peter 3:5-7).
I don’t know about you, but when people make fun of me and laugh in my face, I don’t go, “Yes! I want to help you!” Yet God is looking at even those who mock Him and basically says, “I am willing to wait because I want you to come to me for salvation.” Isn’t it awesome how loving and patient our God is?
If this is God’s heart for the world, shouldn’t it be ours as well? We need to share the gospel with everyone we know. Of course you can start with people you are close to, but don’t stop there! Maybe there are others that you think you don’t know them enough, or maybe they hurt you in the past. Maybe they are not the nicest people, or maybe they don’t seem super interested. But God is waiting for them all... every single one. As long as this season of patience continues, we should strive to invite them all to Jesus as best we can.
Not only should we invite everyone, but we should invite everyone urgently. We should be in a hurry! If Covid-19 has shown us anything, it’s that we don’t know what tomorrow will look like. What can we do today? We shouldn’t say, “I’ll talk to them tomorrow or invite them to an outreach next time.” There might not be a tomorrow!
The Bible promises that one day, all of us will run out of “tomorrows.” We will stand before God. On that day, God will reveal His awesome majesty, power, and judgment. It will be one day too late to repent. Today, right now, is God’s gift to us to repent and urge others to do the same!
Are you waiting to share or talk about Jesus? Are you waiting for a better time? Friends, have an urgent heart. Have that heart for everyone. Invite them today, even though they might say no. Text or call today, even though they might not pick up. Pray for them today, even though you might not see change right away. You are planting seeds and only God knows when and how they will bear fruit.
If you have stuck with me all the way to the end here, I’ll even give you an easier way to immediately share the gospel with others! Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5pm PST, there is a great digital gospel outreach tomorrow.The link is nationalschoolproject.com/digitaltour. Invite your friends and family. Invite those who are not your friends and not your family. Invite everyone and invite them urgently!
Through the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to make a difference. Now that you’ve read this devotional, why not close your browser and spend five minutes texting people to check out the outreach tomorrow? Or maybe send a text to one non-believing friend just asking how they are doing. Let’s do our best to share the Kingdom this week!
-David Kim