Wednesday in the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time

2 Peter 3:8-10

God’s Patience—Our Repentance

There are some teachings of the Christian faith that are not negotiable.  We may disagree on how one should be baptized and when.  We might have different understandings of the Lord’s Supper.  Some of us are Arminians and some of us Calvinists.  But there are some doctrines that the one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic church has always taught, and one of those is the certainty of our Lord’s bodily return.  Indeed, he rose so that he would return and gather us together at the end of time.  We now live between the comings: his first and his second. 

And this is the answer to the false teachers who scoffed at the doctrine of our Lord’s return.  They made two obvious errors: 1) They thought God worked on their timetable.  This is always a temptation for Christians.  Our lives are so fleeting, so temporary, and so short-lived.  And since we naturally think that the world revolves around ourselves—our sinful natures so inclining us—we expect God to do our bidding when we think.  But God has His own plan and has no cause to hurry.  He knows exactly when He shall send His Son to fetch His Bride.  His faithful ones understand this and do not presume upon God’s will.  They know that He is eternal in the heavens and that He commands time and not the other way around.  What are a thousand years to God?  Let us never forget that his promise to Adam and Eve, that a Messiah would come to crush the serpent’s head, took millennia to fulfill (Genesis 3:15).  2) Far from being slack in His promise, this “delay” (which it isn’t) is the day of grace—anno domini—the year of the Lord, the age of salvation, when one may repent and believe (Romans 2:4).  God’s patience is man’s opportunity for salvation, if only the scoffers would see this.

But when he does come, the Apostle warns us, he shall come as a thief, meaning, without such warning (Matthew 24:36-51).  Then shall the heavens give way (Revelation 6:14; 20:11; 21:1) as they must for the advent of the new heavens, and then shall come the judgment of all the works ever done upon the earth, for “nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known” (Luke 12:2).  After which the earth shall be renewed as the heavens (Romans 8:18-23).  What a glorious future awaits the children of God, but we must not lose heart.  Satan will tempt us, and false teachers will try to deceive us.  We must hold fast to the faith delivered one for all to the saints (Jude 3).  God is patient on account of the lost ones; may we be so concerned for them as well.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor

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