Not willing that any should Perish, But that All should come to Repentance
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; But is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Jesus promise is:
John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Christ Jesus came to save all who would come to Him.
Salvation is four fold:
First, from the love of sin. (Conviction)
Second, from the guilt of sin. (By being Born Again)
Third, from the power of sin. (Called Sanctification, or the Natural man becoming Spiritual)
Fourth, from the presence of sin. (In Heaven)
And we are saved by the Word of God, believing and receiving what Christ has said, in the Bible.
1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”
Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”
John 3:7 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
Now this was said to a very religious Pharisee.
He had come to Jesus (although at night, for he was concerned what others might think), to understand His message; for he knew it was of God.
John 3:1-2 “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”
And Jesus got right to the point: If you want to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again.
Nicodemus asked what that meant, exactly.
So Jesus begins to teach this very religious Pharisee, exactly what God requires from the man who would have everlasting life.
John 3:5-8 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily,(or Truth, truth), I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.”
In other words, Nicodemus, you must be born of the Holy Spirit from above to enter into the kingdom of God.
It is not natural birth, even for a Jew (though they had the oracles of God, they refused to honor and obey God).
It is the “birth” of the Holy Spirit within you, in your heart and life, that makes you a subject of God’s Kingdom. This new birth gives you a new nature (desires, and attitudes) for it is Christ’s life in you.
And, Nicodemus, like the wind which blows; it is shown by it’s effects within you (you can not see the wind: but you can see the leaves and things blowing around).
“So is everyone that is born of the Spirit”: they will show it, by changing into His character, and doing His Will.
John 3:9 “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?”
Under the Law, it was your own power which was at work. And Nicodemus wondered how could he do such things!
But here, Jesus was saying that God would, by His Spirit, work within each man, who came to Him, to be born again.
This was something wonderful. So much so, that at first Nicodemus did not understand it. (It had been spoken of in the Old Testament, but for the future.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
That they may walk in my statues, and keep my ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”)
So Jesus again explains exactly what would happen, and how this life could be; but first He corrects Nicodemus:
John 3:10 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?”
“Are you a ruler of religion, a Pharisee, which ought to know the Scriptures; and yet do not know these things I am speaking about? This life was foretold in the Scriptures, do you not know them?”
John 3:14-18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
And whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
(Condemnation from God is a horrible thing: To hear “Depart from Me” will sink a man to Hell.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19)
Jesus is saying here, quite plainly, that He was going to be “lifted up” (on the cross),
and that all who looked to Him and believed on Him as the Son of God, would be saved.
(Moses “lifted up” or put on a pole, a serpent. He placed it high above the camp of Israel, when they were in the wilderness.
He did this by command of the Lord, because the people had spake against God, Moses, and the manna God had given them.
He , therefore, sent fiery serpents among the people; which when they were bit, died.
Repenting, the people came to Moses to pray for them; and the Lord told Moses to place a serpent of brass on a pole.
Anyone who was bitten by a serpent, and would looked up to the Brazen serpent, believing in God’s promise, would live.)
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
We are to receive Him into our heart and lives.
And How do we receive Him?
Romans 10:8-13 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
We receive Him, by coming to Him in belief, and calling on Him with our mouths to save us from our sins.
“God, be merciful unto me, a sinner; and save me for Jesus sake. Amen.”
The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Have you received Christ Jesus?
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 