Simeon:

SALVATION FOR ALL.

1 Tim. ii. 3, 4. God our Savior . . . will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

IT is truly lamentable to see how men, in every age, have strained and wrested the Holy Scriptures, in order to make them speak the language of their own particular creed. Some, averse to the idea that God should express his good-will to all the sinners of mankind, limit the word “all,” and make it signify nothing more than some of all descriptions and characters; whilst others run to a contrary extreme, and deduce from this expression a persuasion that none shall ever perish. It were well, if, instead of contending for human systems, and especially those of Calvin and Arminius, we were content to receive the Scriptures with the simplicity of little children: for, after all that has been said or written in support of those two most prominent systems, it is impossible to reduce the Holy Scriptures either to the one or to the other of them: for, on both hypotheses, there are difficulties which can never be surmounted, and contrarieties which man can never reconcile. It is by attempting to be wise above what is written, that we involve ourselves in all these difficulties. If we would be content to take the Scriptures as they are, and to leave the reconciling of them unto God, by whose inspiration they were written, we should find them all admirably calculated to produce the ends for which they were designed. How delightful is the truth here intimated! and how strange is it, that, instead of enjoying it, and adoring God for it, men will make it only a ground of acrimonious contention! I thank God, that all the Scriptures, whatever be their bearing, are alike acceptable to me; and that, whether they mark the sovereignty or the mercy of God, I am alike ready to prosecute them, in accordance with their plain and obvious meaning. By attending to the original, we shall often find our way clear, when, from a diversity of idiom, a translation scarcely conveys the precise idea. The passage before us, for instance, does not convey in the original any thing like a secret determination in God, but only a willingness, that all should be saved: it is precisely parallel with what is spoken by St. Peter, when he says, “God is long-suffering to us-ward; not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”¹ And this is assigned as a reason why God would have us pray for all men. Our intercessions for them are pleasing and acceptable to him, because “he is willing to save all” without exception and without reserve.

In the words before us, then, we see,

I. The disposition of God towards our fallen race–

We are not to understand the text as expressing any decree, either in reference to some favored individuals, or in reference to all mankind. We have said, that it imports only a willingness to save; and that in that sense it has no limit whatever; the whole human race being objects of his tender compassion, and equally accepted of him, when they seek him in his appointed way.²

1. For all, without exception, has God given his only dear Son–

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Ford:

Obj. If God be so willing, that men should repent and believe, why do they not repent and believe? “For who has resisted his will,” Rom. 9:19. This we find by ourselves, that if he will do ought, we do it if we can; and if we do it not, it is because we have not power to do as we would.

Sol. For the will the God, as to the salvation of all, I case they do repent and believe, there is no question; and so (as I remember) some understand the Apostle, 1 Tim. 2:4. But that is not the question, but this rather, “How God wills the repentance of men, who never repent. For seeing God can do whatever he will, why are not they converted? And to this I answer, “That God wills the conversion of sinners, so as their conversion is well-pleasing to him, and accepted with him; as on the contrary, he is displeased with sinners, so long as they live in impenitency. “The holy angels rejoice over the sinner that repents,” [Luke 15:10.], and God much more, seeing it is his command, that they repent. And how should God will men’s repentance, otherwise than he does? He declares his will in his command, and in his promise of acceptance, and in his refusing none upon their repentance; and for any other will of God, concerning this or that man’s repentance, who knows it, or where has God revealed it? What! Would you have God to decree and effect the conversion of all and everyone, whether they will no no? If ay say, No; but we would have God to deal with all indifferently, as being all the world of his hands: I answer, “That saving to God but so much liberty, as all men ordinarily take to themselves, his dealings with men are indifferent, and his ways most equal, seeing he has so prepared, as men need not perish, except they will themselves.” And therefore, I say once more, they perish and due in their sins, only because they chose the ways of their destruction. How then dare any man make any further question about God’s will of saving men, when he has so decreed, and so provided, that men may be saved if they will? I mean it thus, “If they do not willingly refuse their salvation, when it is offered them; by an obstinate rejecting the way he commands them to walk in, and to which they are invited and encouraged by his promise, wherein it is impossible that he should lie. And this we affirm still, according to what has been said before.

Obj. Seeing it is God’s will, that men shall be damned, in case they believe not, it does not appear, that there is in God a will of saving, rather than a will of damning, because there is in all men a proneness and inclination to unbelief and impenitency, more than to faith and repentance.

Sol. We grant, there is a proneness and inclination in all men by nature, to unbelief and impenitency, with an untowardness and enmity to faith and repentance. But we say again, as before,

“That men may repent and believe, if they will. For men are not damned, for that they cannot repent, though they never so willing to it; but they are damned only because they will not repent, nor turn from their evil ways, but wilfully go on in them, against all means, and methods used for the reclaiming of them.”

And may not God then say, and swear too, as he does, Ezek. 33:11, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live.’”

Thomas Ford, Autokatakritos, or, The Sinner Condemned of Himself (London: Printed for Edward Brewster, and are to be sold by Giles Widowes, at the Maiden-head, over against the Half-Moon, in Aldersgate-street, near Jewen-street, 1668), 228-230. [Some spelling modernized and underlining mine.]

Latimer:

1) Man is the
cause of his
own damnation.

O what a pitiful thing is it, that man will not consider this, and leave the sin and pleasure of this world, and live godly; but is so blind and mad, that he will rather have a momentary, and a very short and small pleasure, than hearken to the will and pleasure of Almighty God! That might avoid everlasting pain and woe, and give unto him everlasting felicity. For that a great many of us are damned, the fault is not in God; for Deus vult omnes homines salvos fieri, “God would have all men be saved:” but the fault is in ourselves, and in our own madness, that had rather have damnation than salvation. Therefore, good people, consider these terrible pains in your minds, which are prepared for the wicked and ungodly: avoid all wickedness and sin; set before your eyes the wonderful joy and felicity, and the innumerable treasures which God hath laid up for you that fear and love him, and live after his will and commandments: for no tongue can express, no eye hath seen, no heart can comprehend nor conceive the great felicity that God hath prepared for his elect and chosen, as St Paul witnesses. Consider therefore, I say, these most excellent treasures, and endeavor yourselves to obtain the fruition of the same. Continue not, neither abide or wallow too long in your sins, like as a swine lies in the mire: make no delay to repent your sin, and to amend your life; for you are not so sure to have repentance in the end. It is a common saying, Pœnitentia sera raro vera: therefore consider this thing with yourself betimes, and study to amend your life; for what avails it to have all the pleasures of the world for awhile, and after that to have everlasting pain and infelicity? Hugh Latimer, Sermons and Remains of Hugh Latimer (Cambridge: CUP, 1845), 2:192-193. [Some reformatting; some spelling modernized; italics original; marginal references and comments cited inline and location discretionary; and underlining mine.]

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Shultz:

There are three statements in the Pastoral Epistles that describe the atonement as being for all people. The first of these is 1 Timothy 2:3-6, which states, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” In the context of 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Paul¹⁰⁹ is encouraging prayer for all people (v. 1), including kings and those in authority (v. 2), because such prayer is good and pleasing to God our Savior (v. 3),¹¹⁰ who desires all people to be saved (v. 4).¹¹¹ The reasons that God desires for all people to be saved are because he is the one and only God, and because Jesus Christ is the one and only Mediator between God and humanity (v. 5).¹¹² Jesus is the one who was a ransom for all (v. 6), and the one whom Paul was appointed to preach to the Gentiles (v. 7). Therefore Paul desires that all people pray everywhere without wrath or dissension (v. 8).

The primary interpretive issue in this passage that impacts the debate over the extent of the atonement is the meaning of “all” in verses 4 and 6. Advocates of particular redemption argue that “all men” refers to “all sorts of men,” or “all kinds of men”; essentially this passage is stating that God’s desire and Christ’s ransom encompass not only the Jews, but Gentiles as well.¹¹³ On the other hand, advocates of unlimited atonement assert that “all men” means “all people”; God’s desire and Christ’s ransom are for all people without exception.¹¹⁴ In defense of the first option, appeal is often made to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where Paul encourages prayers for all people, and then mentions specifically two groups of people, kings and those in authority.¹¹⁵ First Timothy 2:2 is understood as clarifying what Paul meant in 1 Timothy 2:1.¹¹⁶ Steven Baugh offers three additional arguments for this interpretation.¹¹⁷ First, the mention of one God and one Mediator (v. 5) echoes Deuteronomy 6:4, and demonstrates that God’s salvation is not only for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well.¹¹⁸ Second, the phrase “in his own time” emphasizes the eschatological nature of Christ’s ransom as reaching out to all peoples.¹¹⁹ Third, in Titus 1:1-3 Paul proclaims that his commission to preach to the Gentiles is confirmation of God’s purpose to include Gentiles in salvation through Christ, and this proclamation explains Paul’s zeal in defending his apostolic calling in verse 7.¹²⁰

The second option, that “all men” refers to “all people” and not to “all kinds of people,” seems preferable, however, for four reasons. First, it correctly understands 1 Timothy 2:1 as instructing believers to pray for all human beings, and not various classes of human beings.¹²¹ Second, it makes better sense of Paul’s argument regarding one God and one Mediator. God is the only God and Christ is the only Mediator, and therefore God is the God of all and Christ is the Mediator for all.¹²² These statements are true of all people without exception.¹²³ Third, the focus of Paul’s reasoning in this passage is that Christ is the ransom for all.¹²⁴ Most commentators understand verse 6 as going back to the thought of Mark 10:45,¹²⁵ which emphasizes the immeasurable greatness of Christ’s ransom.¹²⁶ The fourth reason, and perhaps the most decisive one, is that this meaning harmonizes with Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 4:10, which states “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” This statement is similar to the one in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, and it is extremely difficult to understand “all men” as “all sorts of men” in this verse; it seems clearly to refer to all people without exception.¹²⁷ First Timothy 2:3-6 states that Christ’s atonement is for all people without exception because God desires the salvation of the all people without exception.

Shultz, Gary L. “A Biblical and Theological Defense of a Multi-Intentioned View of the Atonement” (Ph.D diss., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008) 131-136. [Bold original, italics original; footnotes and values original; and underlining mine.].

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