Is God really hoping against hope, that people will choose him?

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.
Recently, I had a discussion with someone about election, free will and a few other things in the theological realm of discussions. He was bringing forth the perspective of free will that God doesn’t want anyone to perish and that He sent his Son to die for potentially everyone.
It was a good conversation, a bit of a long one, but a good one. I never back down from these discussions. I know where I stand for most things, might not be able to explain it all, and I don’t always have the verses to support it (never could memorize them), but based on my studies, I’m grounded in the doctrines of grace.
So the conversation started with the election, very controversial, but enlightening nonetheless. When he brought up that God doesn’t want anyone to perish, we both agreed, but where we disagreed was with the fact that God is angry with the wicked every day. He didn’t agree. I told him there were lots of verses highlighting this.
Romans 1:18, John 3:36, Nahum 1:2-6, Psalm 5:5, Revelation 22:11-12 and the list goes on and on.
I pointed out that it’s not that God wants to punish people, but the fact that everyone has sinned, or offended God, and we have to pay for this.
Up until the last few years, there were always consequences to our decisions and actions. If you committed a crime, you went to jail. If you got pregnant, or got a woman pregnant, you had to raise the child, or pay child support or get married. If you touched a hot stove, no one blamed the stove, they always blamed the person touching it.
Now, everyone has a right, but no one has a responsibility. And we wonder why the western world is such a mess. I’m not saying everyone should be a Christian (though obviously that would be my preference), but everyone should own up to the consequences of their decisions.
So when it comes to the aforementioned verse (2 Peter 3:9), about God not being willing that any should perish, he’s not talking to unbelievers. He’s actually talking to believers. Peter was addressing a concern the believers had. When will Christ come back? There may have been some turmoil going on, but there were definitely some false teachers going on, that no doubt were claiming dates for the return of Christ.
Peter had to set a record straight. There were some people that were elected from before the foundation of the world, that had not yet come into the fold.
Look at 1 Kings 19:18, God says he’s got some people in Israel that had not bowed down to Baal. Essentially talking about election.
And again, in Acts 18:10, there were still many in this city who are his people.
In certain times of despair, think of WW2. With an evil man at the helm known to the world as Adolph Hitler. Convincing his own that Jews were not even human. Attempting to eliminate them all. Convincing his own Germans that all other races are inferior.
The only hope that some of those martyrs would have had is “God still has some people that aren’t saved yet”. If one of the prospects the world has seen could have fit the bill to be an anti-Christ as described in the new testament, Hitler could have been one.
There was also Attila the Hun in the first century killing everyone in his path, Maximilien Robspierre in the 1800th century killing 18 000 – 40 000 people.
Ruholla Khomeini – Iran’s leader from 1979 – 1989, he’s the one that implemented Sharia Law and the harsh punishments if the law was not followed. He’s responsible for over 30 000 deaths.
Idi Amin Dada – past president of Uganda, responsible for 80 000 – 500 000 deaths.
Leopold II of Belgium – 3 million deaths.
Joseph Stalin – 10 – 60 Million murdered under his reign.
Then you also have the emperors of Rome during the wake of Christianity. Times were rough. People were burned, killed, persecuted, starved and the list goes on.
The only way this verse makes sense, is if there’s a finite number of people that are to be saved, and we’re not there yet. Otherwise, it’s an empty promise of God hoping people come to him. With our historical research, we see that people did some monstrous, evil, heinous acts, proving we want nothing to do with God.
He is the one that elected people. The only hope we have is in Him, and patiently waiting for the last soul to be saved.
Dear friend, while reading this tonight, don’t think you’re an exception. Doesn’t matter your background, or what your goals are in life. If you don’t have your trust in Christ, your eternity will be long. Trust in Christ, while you still have breath in your nostrils.