Tom Ascol on the Will of God

On May 18th of 2006 [in the context of discussing the "debate" with Ergun and Emir Caner], Dr. Ascol said the following on his blog in response to a question I asked. He said:

I believe that God desires for all people to be saved but has purposed to save His elect. I see two (at least two) dimensions in God's will: revealed and decretive. Failure to make this kind of distinction is a failure to read the Bible's teachings on the will of God accurately.

Update #1:

In one of his recent responses to a "non-Calvinist" SBC statement, Ascol said:

I can also affirm "God's desire for every person to be saved" though I suspect that my reasons for doing so would differ from those who have framed this document. In His law God commands everyone to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3) and in His gospel He "commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). This revealed "desire" of God in no way mitigates His eternal purpose as expressed, regarding salvation, in the doctrine of unconditional election. This latter doctrine involves the "secret things that belong to the Lord our God" while the former "desire" is part of "the things that are revealed" which "belong to us and to our children" (Deuteronomy 29:29). God has revealed His will that all people be saved but He has purposed that His chosen people will infallibly be saved.

Update #2:

Recently, on his Facebook page, Ascol linked to this article by Piper and said: "More wisdom from John Piper. This is a humble, biblical consideration of profound truth."

Update #3:

On Apr. 29th 2017, Jeffrey D. Johnson (a Reformed Baptist pastor) inquired on Twitter: "Does God desire all people to come to Christ? Yes? Or no, only the elect?" Someone at the Founders Ministry Twitter account answered, "Yes. He commands them to come and He desires them to obey His command."