01/20/2026
When Scripture Is Misread: Ezekiel 18, 1 John 2:2, and 2 Peter 3
There are a few passages that are often quoted in theological debates but rarely read carefully in context. Three of the most common are Ezekiel 18:20, 1 John 2:2, and 2 Peter 3:9. A great deal of confusion comes from forcing these texts to answer questions they were never addressing.
Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.” In Hebrew, the language is about bearing guilt for another person’s personal sins. The chapter is correcting a proverb in Israel that claimed children were being punished for their parents’ crimes. Ezekiel is teaching personal responsibility under the covenant. He is not teaching that human beings are born morally neutral, nor is he addressing Adam, original sin, or eternal judgment. Scripture elsewhere speaks clearly about sin entering the world through Adam and death spreading to all (Romans 5:12), and about sin being present from conception (Psalm 51:5). Ezekiel is answering a different question.
First John 2:2 says Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. The Greek word John uses is kosmos. John does not use kosmos to mean “every individual without exception” in every context. In the same letter he says the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), while clearly distinguishing believers from that description. In 1 John 2:2, John is expanding the scope of Christ’s saving work beyond one group, not guaranteeing the outcome for every person. Sufficiency is being described, not automatic application.
Second Peter 3 is a chapter about judgment. Peter explicitly compares the future judgment to the flood. God waited in Noah’s day, and judgment still came. Waiting did not mean universal rescue. In Greek, Peter’s statement that God is “not wishing that any should perish” is tied to God’s patience, not a denial of future judgment. The same passage says the day of the Lord will come and the world will be judged. God’s patience delays judgment. It does not remove it.
These texts do not teach universal salvation. They do not teach innocence by default. And they do not teach that God’s patience cancels His justice. They teach that God is righteous, patient, and merciful, and that salvation is accomplished through Christ alone.
Careful reading matters. Scripture deserves to be read on its own terms, not pressed into conclusions it does not state.
