We’re thinking about being thankful God is patient. (READ TEXT)
What are we speaking of when we think about God’s patience? We’re talking about His relationship with humans. God’s above circumstances that might cause us to be impatient, like a long line at the Walmart checkout counter. But when it comes to humans, whether unbelievers or believers, God shows patience, because He’s created man with free will, and God won’t circumvent our free will. That means God works His will while also allowing man to exercise his free will in how he responds to God. Which requires patience.
Peter speaks about a promise some said God was slow in keeping. That promise had to do with the return of Christ. In verses 3-8, Peter said unbelievers were scoffing at the promise of Christ’s return. They said things were going on as they had since the beginning of creation.
But in the verses following our text, Peter indicates not only had the slowness of Christ’s return caused unbelievers to scoff; it had caused believers to doubt. In verses 10-18, he encourages believers to remain faithful, knowing God will keep His promise and Christ will return.
The idea of slowness here is the idea of being sluggish, lazy, and not attentive. To the contrary, God is attentive to every detail, working out His purposes while respecting man’s free will.
There’s coming a day, when the last person to reject Christ will do so and the last person to choose Christ will do so, and in that moment, God will have orchestrated things in such a way that all prophecy will be fulfilled and Christ will return. Until then, God is being patient.
What does Peter teach us here in this verse about the patience of God?
1. God is patient with unbelievers.
When Peter says “you,” he’s addressing the scoffers he mentions in verses 3-8. God’s allowing unbelievers as much time as He can for them to repent and choose to come to Christ. But as patient as God is, the eternal clock is counting down; and when the eternal moment we mentioned earlier comes about, time will be up. So, while God is presently patient, a time will come when His patience comes to an end.
It’s said that the Devil once called all the demons of Hell together and asked for suggestions as to how to damn the souls of men.
One demon suggested they destroy man’s confidence in the Bible; another said they should deny the idea of life after death and the existence of heaven and hell; another said they should cause men to doubt the reality of Christ and the story of how forgiveness of sin and salvation can be found through faith in Him; still another said, let’s get them to doubt the very existence of God!
Then one demon came forward and said, “Let’s tell men the Bible is God’s Word. Let’s tell them there is a real Hell and a real Heaven; that people who die without trusting Christ go to Hell; and those who believe in Christ go to Heaven. Let’s tell men God loves them and has provided a way they can be saved. Let’s tell men they ought to be saved, but that they plenty of time to decide.”
It’s said that all the demons of Hell, and Satan himself, applauded that demon and said, “That’s it! That’s what we will do! Men will fall for that! That’s the best way to damn the souls of men!”
Nobody plans to go to Hell. Many simply put off coming to Christ until it is too late. They’ve thought they should look into issues of eternity. They’ve thought they need to investigate the claims of Christianity. They may even understand everything they need to understand in order to be saved. They just thought they had plenty of time.
“The road to ‘one day’ leads to the destination of ‘never.’” - Anonymous
Unbelievers run three risks when they put off coming to Christ.
A. They run the risk of dying before they believe.
You may not like to talk about death. Well, when people quit dying, we can quit talking about death. Until then, death is a reality and a part of everyone’s life. And nobody knows when he’s going to die.
Dr. George Truett, one time pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, was saved as a child. He told a story about trying to lead a friend to Christ when he was a teenager. His friend replied, “Let me alone, George. Not tonight. Another time.”
A few days passed and Truett went to check on his friend. His friend’s mother came to the door, and George asked to see him. His mother explained, “He took sick the night you saw him last. He has pneumonia. The doctor says he may not pull through. Nobody has been let in to see him. But you and he are such close friends, George, and I think it is all right for you to see him.”
Truett said, “I walked in and saw his lips moving. He had a very high fever and was out of his mind. I leaned over to hear and heard him saying, ‘Let me alone, George. Not tonight. Another time.’”
B. They run the risk of hardening their heart.
Every time the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart and you refuse to accept Christ, your heart becomes harder and harder, until, after awhile, when God speaks, you don’t even hear His voice.
Suppose you’ve never owned an alarm clock. You get one and set it to go off at 5:00 AM. The first time it goes off, you nearly jump out of your skin. It wakes you right up! But the next morning it takes a little more than one ring to wake you. You press the “snooze button” several times. Before long you pull the pillow over your head and sleep on while it rings on and on.
The point is, the first time you hear it, your ears are sensitive; it wakes you immediately! But after a while, you get to the place where you can sleep right on, as if the alarm had never gone off.
That’s what happens to the person who says “no” to Christ. After awhile, when the Holy Spirit speaks, his heart is so hard, there is no desire to trust Jesus Christ as Savior.
C. They run the risk of not being ready when Christ returns.
Many residents of Washington remember exactly where they were and what they were doing the morning Mount St. Helen’s erupted. The shock wave rattled windows for hundreds of miles around.
Prior to the eruption, scientists monitoring the peak didn’t know when it would go off or how big the blast would be. But all the signs of a live volcano were evident. It was just a matter of time.
Local media issued warnings and faithfully reported St. Helen’s vital signs. But as time elapsed and the big eruption did not occur, people became less wary and more bold. Campers, photographers, and others moved in to get a closer look.
Then on May 18, 1980, the mountain that had been dormant since 1857 spewed ash skyward and killed at least thirty people. They had failed to heed warnings, and they died needlessly.
So it will be for many on the day Christ returns.
2. God is patient with believers.
When Peter speaks of “you,” he is addressing the scoffers he mentions in verses 3-8; but he is also addressing those believers he is speaking to in verses 10-18. peter says something interesting to believers about the promise of our Lord’s return.
“You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” - 2 Peter 3:11b-12a (NIV)
How can we as followers of Jesus speed up the day of His return? Well, since the day of Christ’s return will occur when the last person to reject Christ will have done so and the last person to receive Christ will have done so, it is clear that we can hasten the return of Christ through taking the Gospel to everyone we possibly can. Especially to those who have yet to hear. This is consistent with what Jesus told his disciples while He was with them about His return.
“When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.” - Matthew 24:14 (CEV)
“When will the Kingdom come? I’m not setting any dates. But I do know this: When the Church has finished its task of evangelizing the world, Christ will come again. The Word of God says it.
Is He coming soon? He is - if we, God’s people, are obedient to the command of the Lord to take the Gospel into all the world. He alone, who has told us that this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations, will know when that objective has been accomplished.
I know only one thing: Christ hasn’t returned; therefore the task is not yet done. When it is done, Christ will come. Our responsibility is not to insist on defining the terms of our task; our responsibility is to complete it. So long as Christ does not return, our work is undone. Let us get busy and complete our mission.” - George Eldon Ladd
Conclusion:
“A wise man, when he sees a thing ought to be done, does it immediately. A fool, when he sees a thing ought to be done, says, ‘Yes, it ought to be done, but I won’t do it now.’” - R. A. Torrey
To accept Christ while you have opportunity is wise.
To share Christ when we have opportunity is wise.
