James White's Denial of God's Universal Saving Will

Update: Since one blogger seems consistently confused (to say the least), the following in no way suggests that James White denies that God commands all men to repent and believe (thus putting them under an obligation). That's not the point. The point that is clearly made during the call is that, according to him, God does not want/wish/will/or "desire" for all men to comply with those commands/obligations and thus to be saved. That's what it means to "deny God's universal saving will" (i.e., for all to be saved) as the title of this post plainly and accurately addresses. If James White thought otherwise, then he would be in agreement with John Murray, Tom Ascol, Phil Johnson and John Piper, and he's clearly not in agreement with them on this subject, as the call itself makes plain. I made this same point (among others) to the blogger in the comment section of my first post, but the blogger is either not seeing it, or is just ignoring it.

Just read Turretin himself on this. Then take a look at what John Howe said (2), among other Calvinists on the will of God.

The following exchange took place between James White and Jason from the UK on the Dividing Line broadcast on 4/10/08.

(download clip here)

James White takes a call:

"Let's get to Jason over in the United Kingdom...What's up Jason?"

Jason asks a question:

"Well, yeah, I have a question for you regarding your Reformed theology, and it has to do with the free offer of the gospel. My question is simply this: Does God offer Christ, salvation or mercy to the non-elect, and does he in any sense will their salvation?"

James White responds:

"Well, that sounds very much like what Mr. Gregg was asking, though I think he was a little bit more specific toward the end. And the answer that I gave that I'll repeat now has two aspects. First of all, from the human aspect, the free offer of the gospel goes out to all people because humans do not know the identity of the elect. And since no one will have that knowledge other than God, the only way a human being can possibly answer the question is to say what scripture says; and that is, that any person who repents and believes in Jesus Christ will be saved. But I think the question as it is often--I think somewhat unnecessarily asked, because again it forces us into a similar situation as the last discussion of Adam [the previous call topic]--to ask the question well, if God has not eternally decreed the salvation of John Brown, then can we really say that there is a free offer of the gospel to John Brown? Again, the very phrase "free offer" demands that we discuss the means by which the free offer is made, but I've already said that the means is us, and since we don't know who the elect are, it sort of makes it a little bit like the discussion of supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism."

Jason comments:

"But, I mean, there are Calvinist theologians such as John Murray and Phil Johnson, for example, who hold that view. Phil Johnson would even say that it's a hyper-Calvinist tendency to deny that God in some way offers salvation to the non-elect."

James White responds:

"Again, if I just said that it is our job to offer salvation to the non-elect because we don't know who they are, then yes, the salvation is being offered to the non-elect. But when says [Jason: but the offer is being made...] someone in some way, then I need something more of a definition of in what way. Are we going to say for example that Christ gives, intercedes, or gives his life for the non-elect, even though it is not God's purpose to grant to them the freedom from their sins so as to accept this? When we say "some way," I interpret "some way" as the free and open proclamation of the gospel. Hyper-Calvinism requires us to go around and identify the elect. I'm not sure how we are supposed to do that, but we can't do it."

Jason speaks:

"I think the understanding is that, although God has reprobated certain people, there is a desire on his part that they should be saved, even though he has a higher purpose. [Therefore] that doesn't happen. I think one example, one verse, that might indicate that would be Ezekiel 33:11, which says that, "As surely as I live, says the Lord God, I have no delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their way and live." And that's the claim for the whole of the nation of Israel, not just the elect within that community."

James White responds:

"Yeah, and that's one of the problems I have with Ezekiel 18 or 33 being read into this particular issue, because I feel like we're being forced to somehow attribute to God some kind (for some reason)...some kind of an attitude or desire that I just never see, not only do I never see expressed, but it would likewise force us to say that God has an unfulfilled desire, but it's not really the same desire as he chooses to fulfill with other people. And we're left not only--you're not only left with the two-wills conundrum, now you've got multiple desires conundrums, which I don't, I just don't see a reason for it. The Ezekiel texts are talking to people who were saying that there was no reason for them to repent because they're already doomed because of the sins of their forefathers. That's why they repeated the parable of their teeth being set on edge because of the sour grapes that their fathers had eaten, and so on and so forth. And so what I hear Ezekiel as saying is an apologetic response to people who were saying there's no reason to preach to those people, there's no reason for us to even listen to the message of the prophets, because our repentance would never be accepted. Now that's different than Isaiah's commissioning where God specifically commissions him to proclaim a message of judgment, and says he's going to harden the hearts of the individuals who hear it. That's a completely different context. But, I just don't, if someone can explain to me where the idea comes from that we have to attribute to God a desire that he then does not fulfill. And then in fact, evidently, causes him to have an unfulfilled desire, unhappiness, pain, or something. I know where this comes from in liberal European theology because I went to Fuller Seminary for crying out loud. And I listened to all the stuff about...in fact we had somebody in [the chat] channel just a couple days ago talking about, "well don't you think that God suffers like we suffer, and he's sad like we're sad?"...and all the rest of this stuff, and I got all that at Fuller. I know where it's coming from from there. But, within the Reformed realm of folks...I understand and have stood against hyper-Calvinism for a long, long time and people who think that we can somehow know who the elect are...but on the other side I want to go...alright. I fully understand how given the means that God uses to draw the elect unto himself, that there is a free offer of the gospel, that I can never look at someone...I do not have the right to reprobate anybody. I can't do that. I have to proclaim to everybody. But, I have a problem then saying in my proclamation of the gospel to others means that I then have to affirm some kind of a partially salvific desire...cause it can only be partially salvific. If it's truly a salvific desire, and it's truly a desire of God, does he not do whatever he pleases in the heavens and the earth?"

Jason:

"Mmm hmm. So, yeah. Good point."

James White continues:

"So, you know, if it is his desire, then he's going to accomplish it. If it is not his desire...you know...I think that the "ambiguity" at that point (to use the term that so we've been using alot [since the Steve Gregg debate]) is because..."

Jason speaks:

"Would you say though that you've perhaps placed yourself in a minority among Calvinists for taking that stance?"

James White says:

"No, no...I don't think so. I think that you have...I know what John Murray has said...but no. I don't think that that is a minority position at all. I think there are lots of folks in the past who have expressed, I think properly, the fact that Christ is to be presented to all men, and that we do not have the right to reprobate anyone. We do not know the identity of the elect...who did not go so far as to say, and what that means is that there is a partially salvific desire on the part of God. That he has a desire, but for some reason (that has never been explained to me) he chooses not to act upon it, and hence causes himself to be eternally unfulfilled. I don't see that in a large number of Calvinistic writers. There is a range of expression on this, but no, I don't think I am in a minority position. Again, if someone wants to explain to me what a partial salvific desire is, and how it is expressed in scripture, then great, I'll be glad to hear it. But..."

Jason says:

"I think the answer might be though that it's not something we can fully understand, it's just something that seems to be taught in scripture in which we have to believe, I suppose."

James White says:

"Well, I'll be honest with you. The only text that I've heard, other than the implication that you're taking from Ezekiel 33, is 2 Peter 3:9. And I know that there are those who look at 2 Peter 3:9, and they see there that universal salvific will. I think that I am giving a pretty consistent exegetical response to that, to say...well, ok. I have respect for men who have held that view, but I have not at any time seen any of those who take that view respond to what I said about the text. And that is, when you look at the pronouns, who is being referred to here? I've never...And if you look to a writer, and the writer expresses such and such a view, and you find no evidence that that writer had ever even encountered an alternate exegesis that is a sound exegesis, then I don't know that that writer's opinion is as necessarily as weighty as it could be otherwise.

For example, you may know that when John Owen wrote The Death of Death--and there would be alot of people who would have alot of problems with how "severe" John Owen was on certain issues--but, when John Owen wrote The Death of Death, and he tried to deal with the Hebrews 10 text, he clearly had never read Hebrews 10:29 in such a way as to see the one who sanctifies himself as Christ. Now remember, Death of Death was his first major work. Twenty-five years later, when he writes his commentary on Hebrews (now as a mature theologian), he has now exegeted that text, and he presents a completely different discussion now that he's had the time to work with the text. And he sees, Ah, this is something I didn't know back then. It didn't even enter into my thinking. And he then presents the idea that the one who is sanctified in Hebrews 10:29 is in fact Christ. He has set himself apart. So, the point being, could someone look at what he said in Death of Death...what if had never written his Hebrews commentary later on. And what if he had never even given consideration to the other exegesis of the text, which is just as valid as the one that he was operating on. If you've never heard the other interpretation, is your opinion on that text as weighty as people who have and give a response? That's what I am saying when someone looks at 2 Peter 3:9. I go, alright, who among these people have actually in their commentaries responded to what I think about the exegesis--obviously not me myself, but just simply those who would read it in that way. I think there is something important there to look into."

Jason says:

"Ok. Well, that's food for thought."

James White:

"Ok. Thank you very much, Jason. Thanks for calling."

Jason says:

"Ok. Thank you. Bye."

James White:

"Uh, yeah. Well that was uh, that was quite interesting. hahaha And alot of people in the audience are going, "What were you talking about?" We were, you know...I think it's unfortunate that, again, you know, Calvinists tend to be this way, and there's a reason why we are. But sometimes we focus upon some real minutia. And, I don't know how many times I have to say we don't know who the elect are, and therefore we proclaim the gospel to everybody. But there are some who would say, "and if you don't add to that that God has a partially salvific desire [laughter in the background]...you can go ahead and differentiate that he has a truly salvific desire for the elect, but you have to have a partially salvific will...I just go, what does that mean?! If you could tell me what it means, you know...is that common grace? Does that mean that God is kind to the non-elect? Ok. I've said that a million times. But that's not what I'm hearing. You know. And I just go, what does it mean to say that God desires to do something he then does not provide the means to do? What does that mean? And no one's ever been able to tell me. So, once somebody can tell me, then I can jump on the bandwagon I guess, if there is a bandwagon to jump on to. But if you can't tell me what it means, then...what can I say? Can't, can't go there. So, anyway, that's what that particular discussion was all about."

See also My Analysis of the Gregg/White Exchange on God's Saving Will