Does God Want "ALL" Men to be Saved?

"...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3

"fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

ALL?

Recently, when talking to an Arminian pastor he smugly announced that “ALL means all that’s all.” It’s a slick statement, but is it true? Let’s then consider this word ‘all’!

1 Tim 2:1-6: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men: for kings and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

In these verses we are exhorted to pray for all men and are told that God wills that all men would be saved. Case closed says the Arminian!

However, not so fast! Concerning praying for all men, we know from John 17:9 that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself deliberately refrained from doing this very thing. He said, "I pray for them (the elect): I pray not for the world but for them You have given Me." So is Paul contradicting Jesus and telling us to pray for all men indiscriminately?

To answer that question, let’s consider what we are being asked to do. The Apostle says we are to pray for ALL men. Does all mean ‘all, that’s all’ in this verse? If it does, that means we are to pray for every individual in the world today? The problem with that is, I don’t know all the people alive on earth today. I neither know their names nor their problems. I can’t, therefore, possibly obey this command if all means ‘all, that’s all’. Also, even if I knew everyone’s names and where they lived I wouldn’t have time to pray for all of them. It’s hard enough to find time to pray for everyone I actually am concerned about never mind every inhabitant of planet earth. If I set out to pray for everyone, in reality, I would end up praying for nobody.

However, the problem is solved when we look at the phrase “all men” in the context and see that it means "for all sorts of men." I am to pray for Kings and people in authority. Without doubt I should also pray for those whom God has brought across my path. In fact, I should not rule anyone out of my prayers because of social standing or ethnic background. I should pray for all men.

The word ‘all’ (‘pas’ in the Greek) is often translated, "all kinds of," or "all manner of." Consider the following passages where ‘All’ means every or all kinds of or all manner of.

Lk 11:42: All manner of herbs
Matt 4:32: All manner of disease
Matt 5:11 All manner of evil

Consider also, Mark 11:32 tells us that all men counted that John was a prophet. But think about it, the people in Ireland didn’t count him a prophet for they were unaware of him. So ‘ALL’ in this passage means all who knew about John. It does not mean every individual in the world.

In John 8:2 it says of Jesus, that "all people came to Him" but we know the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the High Priest refused to come to Him. Therefore, the word ALL in these passages cannot possibly mean every individual in Israel and certainly not every person in the world.

In Romans 5:18, Paul wrote: "Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

Notice how in this one verse, “all” has two different meanings! All, because of Adam are condemned---this is a case of “All means all, that’s all!” But then notice that because of the free gift ‘all’ are justified! Does all mean all that’s all in this thought? Does anybody in their right mind think this means that everybody will be justified? Will every man, without exception be justified? The Bible knows nothing of such things! If it is so that all means all that’s all then Hell, in that case, will be boarded up to everyone.

Does this scripture then mean that all who were lost will be saved? We know better than that for the Bible tells a different story. We know that all people, all individuals, are lost in Adam, but not all will be saved. The truth is, all in Adam are condemned and all in Christ----everyone who is in Christ--- will be saved. So the ‘All’ in Christ cannot possibly mean every individual in the World.

Romans 14:2 tells us how one man "believes that he may eat all things" whereas another eats only herbs. Does the first gentleman eat all and every thing that exist? In that case he would be like Mr. Creosote, the character in Monty Python’s Flying Circus who ate so much that he exploded. ‘All’ in this case means, rather, that he ate all kinds of things. It is quite obvious Paul means that some men allow themselves meat as well as herbs whereas others avoid meat.

In writing to Titus (2:11) Paul declares that "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." Since all individuals are not brought to salvation this then means that grace has appeared to "to all sorts of men." This means that no class of person is excluded from the Gospel. It must be preached to the down and out and to the high and mighty. It must be preached to all of every nation race and tribe.

And in John 12:32, unless we assume that everyone is going to go to Heaven, the text, “If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" means that He will draw all manner of men unto Him. If it means all individuals without exception will be drawn to Him then, according to the word of the Lord, no one will be lost.

When we read, therefore, that He wills that all men will be saved it means He will have men of all sorts to be saved and come unto a knowledge of the truth." If He actually wills the salvation of all men, all individuals, then we must conclude His will is impotent and easily defeated.

Miles McKee Ministries
Box 541, Kingston Springs,
TN, 37082
http://www.milesmckee.com/
milesmckee@comcast.net