God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved

I interpret that as God is being patient towards giving the saints justice, because He desires salvation for all. I have applied this verse into my tragedy of a life. When prayers for justice go unanswered, I know there is the salvation of my enemies in the balance. I do pray for my enemies salvation and that they are blessed. So, when they go unpunished for grievous sins I remember to have mercy and grace until His patience is exhausted.

 

Looking carefully at the language in the verse, I clearly see that the new birth is of God...not by blood, by the will of men, nor by the will of the flesh.

I don't understand it any other way.

With respect, my theological position was developed strictly from reading God's word.

I agree.
To me, the Bible actually says that God chooses sinners to salvation ( 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ), that believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world ( Ephesians 1:4 ) and that only the foreknown will ever experience the benefits of being predestinated as conformed to the image of Christ, being called by the power of the Spirit, being justified by His grace, His blood and by faith, and someday being glorified with new bodies that do not sin ( Romans 8:28-30 ).

Therefore, if God truly desired all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, as the passage in 1 Timothy seems to say when isolated to the exclusion of other Scriptures which speak to the same subject, then God's will is split between being selective in who He saves ( Romans 9 ) and not being selective.
I for one cannot dismiss "unconditional election", because to me, there are far too many passages that describe it in no uncertain terms.


I've said all that I think should be said.
I wish you well.

 

In every verse listed,only the elect are in view. Now you are getting it.

 

LOL

 

It seems to better support us who are nor born again in Christ though!

 

1. I think you mean POTENTIAL salvation ("pontential" isn't listed in the dictionary, but this is the second time I have seen it spelled that way).
2. Setting spelling aside ... If God wants to save the entire human race, then why doesn't God save the entire human race?

 

All of us are born as sinners, and already in the Kingdom of darkness, so we need God Himself to intervene to save us, as we cannoli decide that by ourselves!

 

God COULD have prevented the fall if God really wanted to prevent the fall. The angel with the flaming sword that prevented return to Eden, could have prevented access to the tree. Since God DID NOT prevent access to the tree, I do not claim that it was God’s plan that people not access the tree.

Since God chose not to save all, I do not claim that it is God’s plan to save all.

God CAN do anything, so what God DOES do must be what God intends to do.

 

I believe that I am still waiting for that generation that CHOSE to obey. All the generations that I can remember reading about CHOSE to be unfaithful and disobedient.

That said, I have no disagreement with the quoted verse. I do not think that God delights in evil or draws pleasure from punishing sin. I think that people are VERY VERY stubborn and only an act of God will change a heart of stone into “good soil”. IF a God will give the gift of faith, then the wicked person will turn from his sins.

 

Sigh, I have already pointed out why Ezekiel 18 is not about salvation of the soul, nor is it a message to the non-elect. You are misinterpreting Ezekiel 18 and thus your prooftext is a false assertion by you.