2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
This is a powerful verse for reflection. In the context, we see that God is waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus and the close of the present age so that people have time to repent. The good news of Jesus must reach the ends of the earth before the end will come (Matthew 24:14). As many people as possible must have an opportunity to repent. This verse reveals several key ideas about this. First, God will fulfill his promises. We can trust what the Bible reveals about these promises. We should expect scoffers who will raise doubts and questions about what the Bible claims about God’s promises. We must not let these people divert our attention or diminish our hope. Those who doubt can chip away at our faith. Their arguments may even sound convincing. Second, God’s timing is not our timing. The previous verse makes that clear with its symbolic language of one God day = a thousand human years. The point is simply that time is not a factor for God. God uses other criteria to guide people, events, and history. Third, God is patient with people. God’s goal is not to send people to hell but to offer eternal to them. But God will not force this upon people. Eternal life comes through faith, and faith is an individual choice. God’s will is that no one will perish, but God will not override people’s free will. (Calvinists may have a difficult time with this verse.) Finally, the way to eternal life is through repentance. We cannot continue to live in sin and rebellion but must experience the changes about which Peter wrote at the beginning of this letter. The path is clear and the choices evident and before us. Peter is calling for his readers to repent, believe, line up their lives with God’s will for them, and not be deceived by the scoffers and false teachers.
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