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September 7, 2012
It can be easy for us to lose patience with one another. The patience of God, however, far exceeds what we can fathom, let alone practice ourselves! In the Scriptures, we see God’s patience on display as time and again He gives sinners opportunities to repent. God loves saving people—but as Alistair Begg reminds us, His patience will not last forever. There is a promised time when Jesus will return in judgment. Why would we delay in responding to His patient grace?
1This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them gI am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2hthat you should remember the predictions of ithe holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come jin the last days with scoffing, kfollowing their own sinful desires. 4lThey will say, “Where is the promise of mhis coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth nwas formed out of water and through water oby the word of God, 6and that by means of these the world that then existed pwas deluged with water and qperished. 7But by the same word rthe heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and sdestruction of the ungodly.
8But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ta thousand years as one day. 9uThe Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise vas some count slowness, but wis patient toward you,1 xnot wishing that any should perish, but ythat all should reach repentance. 10But zthe day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then athe heavens will pass away with a roar, and bthe heavenly bodies2 will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.3
11Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, cwhat sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12dwaiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ethe heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13But according to his promise we are waiting for fnew heavens and a new earth gin which righteousness dwells.
14hTherefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him iwithout spot or jblemish, and kat peace. 15And count lthe patience of our Lord as salvation, just as mour beloved brother Paul also wrote to you naccording to the wisdom given him, 16as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. oThere are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, pas they do the other Scriptures. 17You therefore, beloved, qknowing this beforehand, rtake care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18But sgrow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. tTo him be the glory both now and to the day of ueternity. Amen.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
