2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
What a wonderful promise that we have in this epistle of Peter. At times we wonder why the wickedness and sin in the world continues to flourish and thrive. We see those who promote sinful living doing well. And we wonder when is God going to come and judge the world! Well hold that thought and consider how loving, kind and merciful our God is. The more time it takes for God to bring in the end-times and judgment, the longer everyone has to find salvation in Jesus Christ. God is suffering a sinful world with the hope that more sinners will acknowledge their sin and look to Christ Jesus as their Savior before it’s too late. He is giving more time out of love for us. For a non-believer, consider this a blessing. God is letting you know that He does not want you or any of the worst criminals, despots or tyrants in the world to die in their sins and suffer eternal punishment. His Will is that “ALL should come to repentance” (emphasis added).
There is no set “VIP List.” No matter what your past is. No matter how vile your sins, they can all be cleansed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross. Before he became a born again believer, The Apostle Paul was hunting down Christians to arrest them and send them to be murdered. Yet he became one of the greatest missionary and preachers of all time. Despite his horrible past as open enemy of Jesus, he was forgiven. In Isaiah’s first chapter The Lord tells us: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..” The Hebrew word for “reason” implies that we can be corrected or made right. It’s the justification that God wants to give us that can make the sinner who is filthy with her wrongs, clean again. But most importantly, The Lord shows us that He wants this. He invites us to eternal life. He does not want us to suffer and is not sitting back waiting with baited breath for the day He can smite the Earth and destroy every last heathen. His Will is that all should believe and be saved. For a believer, this is encouragement! Knowing this beloved, instead of counting down the days until Judgment, count yourself blessed to have more time to share the Gospel with your loved ones, friends and strangers alike. For those close to you who seem like they’ll never listen or ever believe, just remember, God has invited them. Plant the seeds of the Gospel and let the power of God to salvation in Christ do the rest. And maybe, you will see someone who was branded a “lifetime sinner” become an eternal child of the King. After all, that’s exactly what your Father in Heaven is waiting for.
Lonnie says
June 3, 2011 at 11:02 pm2Peter 3:9 does not say, “God wants us all in heaven”. What scripture in the bible makes such a claim as u do?
Lonnie(Quote)
Beginning and End says
June 3, 2011 at 11:56 pm“2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Well let’s break down the verse. The first part is saying that God is not slack or lazy or slow, with his promise. God promises eternal life to those who are saved and eternal torment to those who are not. God also promised to judge the whole world. But He is “longsuffering” meaning He is willing to be patient and bear with us despite all of our sinning and outright rebellion. We know this is right in context, because just three verses earlier we read:
” 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
So again we see that there is a judgment of this entire planet that is coming when God is going to punish the Earth. So why is God putting off the judgment of the world? The verse tell us. It says He is NOT willing that any should perish. God does not want ANYONE to die and go to Hell. ANYONE. Think of the worst, most evil person. God wants them in Heaven. But it’s not a matter of God overlooking our sins and letting a bunch of guilty criminals into eternal life. We have to have forgiveness. We have to be “justified” or made innocent in God’s eyes. This happens through faith in Jesus Christ. And the first step in that i is confessing our sin to Him and and putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we have the security that we know God will forgive us because His own Son took our punishment for us. So we can be declared innocent. Our “debt to society” has been paid by Jesus.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
This was God’s plan. To send Jesus so that the entire world might be saved. Jesus did the work for us. We just have to choose to put our faith and trust in Him as our Savior. And God is very patiently waiting for us to do this. God bless.
Beginning and End(Quote)