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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: Are we ever "worthy" of God's love? |
Bible Note: Dear Tim, Iron sharpens iron, but it can take quite a few licks before the edge grows keen. 2 Pet 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward YOU, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. Note: It should also be kept in mind that the topic is not salvation but the return of Christ. It is my intention to prove that the "you" in verse 9 can only refer to those Peter is addressing. 2 Pet 3:1-3 "This is now, BELOVED, the second letter I am writing to YOU in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that YOU should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with THEIR mocking, following after THEIR own lusts," NOTE: Peter is addressing elect people. He refers to them as "beloved" and "you". He then refers to mockers in the 3rd person "them". But everywhere else he speaks to his audience as "beloved" or "you". This is a very important distinction to make! Your assumption is that the "you" in v.9 says the Lord is "patient toward you" that this "you" refers to every person universally. This interpretation cannot be supported from the context in which every other place in the passage "you" means those he earlier identifies as "beloved". The same is true for the terms "any" and "all". As you saw from my example in the previous post, once my audience was identified, the use of "any" and "all" as pertaining to my audiance only, was perfectly justified and grammatically correct. My conclusion is that the interpretation that you defend is not supportable by the context. If you can show me where I err, you will have my gratitude. Your Brother, John |