1Timothy 2:4 by CH Spurgeon

DD2008

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1 Timothy 2:4 KJV
[4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

What then? Shall we try to put another meaning into the text than that which it fairly bears? I trow not. You must, most of you, be acquainted with the general method in which our older Calvinistic friends deal with this text. "All men," say they,—"that is, some men": as if the Holy Ghost could not have said "some men" if he had meant some men. "All men," say they; "that is, some of all sorts of men": as if the Lord could not have said "all sorts of men" if he had meant that. The Holy Ghost by the apostle has written "all men," and unquestionably he means all men. I know how to get rid of the force of the "alls" according to that critical method which some time ago was very current, but I do not see how it can be applied here with due regard to truth. I was reading just now the exposition of a very able doctor who explains the text so as to explain it away; he applies grammatical gunpowder to it, and explodes it by way of expounding it. I thought when I read his exposition that it would have been a very capital comment upon the text if it had read, "Who will not have all men to be saved, nor come to a knowledge of the truth." Had such been the inspired language every remark of the learned doctor would have been exactly in keeping, but as it happens to say, "Who will have all men to be saved," his observations are more than a little out of place. My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than be inconsistent with the word of God. I never thought it to be any very great crime to seem to be inconsistent with myself; for who am I that I should everlastingly be consistent? But I do think it a great crime to be so inconsistent with the word of God that I should want to lop away a bough or even a twig from so much as a single tree of the forest of Scripture. God forbid that I should cut or shape, even in the least degree, any divine expression. So runs the text, and so we must read it, "God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

Link: Salvation by Knowing the Truth
 

mlqurgw

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1 Timothy 2:4 KJV
[4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.



Link: Salvation by Knowing the Truth


What Spurgeon said before the part you quoted:

Spurgeon said:
It is quite certain that when we read that God will have all men to be saved it does not mean that he wills it with the force of a decree or a divine purpose, for, if he did, then all men would be saved. He willed to make the world, and the world was made: he does not so will the salvation of all men, for we know that all men will not be saved. Terrible as the truth is, yet is it certain from holy writ that there are men who, in consequence of their sin and their rejection of the Savior, will go away into everlasting punishment, where shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There will at the last be goats upon the left hand as well as sheep on the right, tares to be burned as well as wheat to be garnered, chaff to be blown away as well as corn to be preserved. There will be a dreadful hell as well as a glorious heaven, and there is no decree to the contrary.

As much as I love Spurgeon he was not always right. If you read the whole of the sermon you will find that his intent wasn't to answer controversy but to seek the salvation of souls. His explanation of it being a wish, which immediately follows the part you quoted, is an attempt at compromise.
 
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DD2008

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What Spurgeon said before the part you quoted:



As much as I love Spurgeon he was not always right. If you read the whole of the sermon you will find that his intent wasn't to answer controversy but to seek the salvation of souls. His explanation of it being a wish, which immediately follows the part you quoted, is an attempt at compromise.

I've read the entire sermon and I agree with Spurgeons position. In some way God desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

I imagine you disagree however, as you stated before you are either an ultra high or hyper calvinist and I am a low to moderate calvinist. The main difference between us is the well meant offer that I believe in and you reject. I believe that 1 Timothy 2:4 is clear on that well meant offer. I also believe that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
 
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DD2008

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So if Christ did not die for your sins and you want to be saved then your just out of luck?

The idea is that you wouldn't want to be saved if you were a reprobate.

However, I believe as John Macarthur states in his study bible, the atonemnet is "sufficient for all but just effective for the elect." So, it is only limited in it's application, but it is still limited in some way so TULIP holds true, but not in the hyper Calvinist way that some try to make it sound like when they say Christ only died for the elect. That is not biblically correct. He died for everyone but only applies the atonement to the elect.
 
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mlqurgw

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and so it begins....
The Gospel of Christ is not a matter of opinion or debate. I am not going to debate these things. I will do my best to be as clear as I can in declaring the Gospel but I am not going to argue it. I will try to answer any sincere questions but I am not going to debate it.

The atonement of Christ is the crux of the Gospel. Either He did what He intended to do or He didn't. There is no middle ground or gray area in it. Either He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself or He didn't. Either He purged our sin or He didn't. Either He made an atonement or He didn't. If He did then all for whom He made an atonement are saved. If He didn't then none of us are.
 
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DD2008

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The Gospel of Christ is not a matter of opinion or debate. I am not going to debate these things. I will do my best to be as clear as I can in declaring the Gospel but I am not going to argue it. I will try to answer any sincere questions but I am not going to debate it.

The atonement of Christ is the crux of the Gospel. Either He did what He intended to do or He didn't. There is no middle ground or gray area in it. Either He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself or He didn't. Either He purged our sin or He didn't. Either He made an atonement or He didn't. If He did then all for whom He made an atonement are saved. If He didn't then none of us are.

He made atonement but applies it through faith. We are saved by grace through fatih. The atonement isn't applied without faith. One must have faith to be saved.
 
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mlqurgw

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I've read the entire sermon and I agree with Spurgeons position. In some way God desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

I imagine you disagree however, as you stated before you are either an ultra high or hyper calvinist and I am a low to moderate calvinist. The main difference between us is the well meant offer that I believe in and you reject. I believe that 1 Timothy 2:4 is clear on that well meant offer. I also believe that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
I believe that all who call on the name of the Lord is saved. You will believe what you will and I am not going to try and convince you otherwise. If you wish for me to explain why I believe what I do I will but I do not want you to believe anything simply because I say it or can come up with a convincing argument for it. What I believe is either truth or it isn't. If it is then you ought to bow to it as truth. If it isn't then disregard what I say. But I am ready to stand before God with the truth I preach.
 
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mlqurgw

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So if Christ did not die for your sins and you want to be saved then your just out of luck?
Show me one example in the New Testament where any who came to Christ for mercy were turned away. If Christ died for your sins then you will come to Him for mercy. He will have what He purchased. If you go to the store and pay a great price for something you love would you not take it home with you?
 
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mlqurgw

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He made atonement but applies it through faith. We are saved by grace through fatih. The atonement isn't applied without faith. One must have faith to be saved.
If that is the case the atonement of Christ doesn't save us faith does.
 
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mlqurgw

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Faith is the conduit through which we who are saved receive the atonement of Christ. By faith it is applied to our hearts but not to our account. It was applied to our acount in the purpose of God before the foundation of the world, in time when Christ actually accomplished it by His sacrifice and to our hearts when we are given life and faith in Christ.
 
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RobertZ

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Show me one example in the New Testament where any who came to Christ for mercy were turned away. If Christ died for your sins then you will come to Him for mercy. He will have what He purchased. If you go to the store and pay a great price for something you love would you not take it home with you?


Thats a good Biblical sound answer and I appreciate it. :) Just for the record I dont ask these questions to be annoying or difficult I ask them because I am concerned with knowing the truth and am concerned about my soul.
 
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98cwitr

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I believe that all who call on the name of the Lord is saved.

You're wrong.

Matthew 7

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Will a farmer purchase a fig tree that bares bad fruit? Will God purchase men who will not do His will?
 
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mlqurgw

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You're wrong.

Matthew 7

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Will a farmer purchase a fig tree that bares bad fruit? Will God purchase men who will not do His will?
Saying Lord Lord is not the same as calling upon Hs name. His name is much more than a moniker He goes by. Calling on the name of the Lord is calling upon Him according to His character and Person. His name is who He is and declared Himself to be. That why reciting "in the name of Jesus" at the end of prayer is meaningless unless you understand what His name means. I rarely recite that but normally say from my heart when I make my requests known in prayer " for Christ's sake."
 
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mlqurgw

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Thats a good Biblical sound answer and I appreciate it. :) Just for the record I dont ask these questions to be annoying or difficult I ask them because I am concerned with knowing the truth and am concerned about my soul.
The truth is that Christ came into the world to save sinners. He came to save those who are described in the Scriptures as ungodly, full of iniquity, haters of God and wicked. He came to save the very worst of men not the very best of men. He never saved a good man.
 
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mlqurgw

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98cwitr said:
Will a farmer purchase a fig tree that bares bad fruit? Will God purchase men who will not do His will?
No He didn't purchase any who will not do His will. He makes those whom He purchased do His will. He does so by making them new creatures in Christ. He sets up His throne in their hearts and rules there. This is the mystery that has been made manifest to his saints which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Col. 1:26-27
 
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student ad x

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This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV)

I love Spurgeon, but I'm kinda wondering why he didn't address the whole passage.

[1]First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3]

Seems to me that Paul was exhorting Christians to not exclude kings etc (NERO!) from their prayers/petitions ........ that they too can come to the truth. We are to pray for those like Nero and Saul (Paul), who persecuted others, that they may be enlighted by the Gospel, right?
 
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mlqurgw

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This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV)

I love Spurgeon, but I'm kinda wondering why he didn't address the whole passage.

[1]First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3]

Seems to me that Paul was exhorting Christians to not exclude kings etc (NERO!) from their prayers/petitions ........ that they too can come to the truth. We are to pray for those like Nero and Saul (Paul), who persecuted others, that they may be enlighted by the Gospel, right?
He does address it when he speaks of all sorts of men but he does a poor job of it.
 
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mlqurgw

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Normally Spurgeons expositions that he gave before he preached during the reading of the Scriptures is even better than his sermons. He rarely gave full expositions of a whole text in his sermons. He usually took a verse of Scripture and built his message from it. While I believe it isn't wrong to do so I do believe it is better to not have it as a steady diet. But his day was much different than our day. In his day men knew the Scriptures and didn't need the expostion of whole passages like we do today.
 
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