NOT WANTING - 2 Peter 3:9

 

📖 Scripture

“Beloved, do not overlook this one thing: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”
— 2 Peter 3:8–9

🔎 Examination

Scoffers have always hurled their accusations at the Most High, claiming that God is absent, uncaring, or powerless. Peter does not shrink back from this charge. In his final words, he exposes the mockery of false teachers who sneer at the promise of Christ’s return. Because judgment has not yet fallen, they imagine it never will. They twist God’s patience into an excuse for sin, mistaking His mercy for impotence.

Peter unmasks the folly of such thinking. We are dust, bound by time, counting our days and years, but God is eternal. He reigns above time, its Creator and Sustainer. What we call delay is no delay to Him. His purposes are never thwarted, and His promises never fail.

Peter is not giving us a code to crack or a formula to calculate. He is reminding the saints that God is never late, never rushed, and never caught off guard. Every word He has spoken will come to pass at the appointed time, according to His perfect wisdom. This truth matters because Peter reveals the reason for what looks like delay: The Lord is patient. His patience is not weakness, but mercy.

The patience of God is staggering. Every breath rebellious humanity takes is undeserved mercy. Every sunrise is proof that judgment has not yet fallen. Every time the Gospel is preached, it is God’s kindness holding back the flood of wrath we deserve. Yet Peter’s words force us to wrestle with a hard question. He declares that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. How do we hold this alongside the truth that God is absolutely sovereign over all things?

Many have stumbled here, twisting Scripture to fit their own desires. Some claim that if God desires all to repent, then all will be saved. This is the lie of universalism, the serpent’s whisper that there is no judgment, that all roads lead to heaven, no matter how we respond to Christ. Others move in the opposite direction, arguing that because God’s sovereign purposes can never fail, passages expressing His desire for repentance must be dismissed or redefined beyond recognition.

Peter allows neither error. Scripture reveals both God’s SOVEREIGN will and His DESIRED will. God’s sovereign will encompasses everything He has ordained and decreed. Nothing can thwart it. Isaiah records God’s declaration: “My purpose will stand, and I will accomplish all that I please” (Isaiah 46:10). Likewise, Paul teaches that God “works out everything by the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).

At the same time, Scripture frequently reveals God’s DESIRED will—those things He explicitly, overtly, and genuinely calls humanity to do. He commands obedience, holiness, faith, repentance, justice, worship, and selfless love. Yet human beings consistently reject these commands. Adam disobeyed. Israel rebelled. The Pharisees rejected their Messiah. False teachers continue in their distortion of the truth.

Peter’s statement belongs to this second category. God genuinely calls all people everywhere to repent. His invitations are sincere. His warnings are real. His patience is authentic. Yet many persist in rebellion, refusing the mercy and grace extended to them through the Gospel: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8).

This does not weaken God’s sovereignty; it magnifies His patience. Every day Christ delays is another chance for repentance. Every sermon, every open Bible, every conversation about Christ, every warning from Scripture is mercy extended to the undeserving.

The tragedy isn’t that God is fiction, incapable, or incompetent. The tragedy is that the vast multitude abuse and scoff at His patience. They presume upon His mercy, mistaking it for approval, and continue rocketing down the wide that leads to eternal torment and destruction. Peter warns: this attitude is spiritual suicide.

For the saints, God’s patience is fuel for gratitude, humility, urgency, and worship. We know with all certainty that apart from His mercy and grace, we would be bound for eternal torment. We were not saved, sustained, or sanctified because we were wise or worthy, but because God was, is, and will forever be patient and merciful to us in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, every day we receive is a gift to steward, just as Peter revealed in his first letter, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). God’s patience is not an excuse for our complacency. It’s an invitation to repentance, obedience, evangelism, discipleship, devotion, and faithful endurance AS THE BODY OF CHRIST until Christ returns.. That’s what it is to be “eagerly awaiting Him” (Hebrews 9:28).

🤺 Action

• Examine whether you are presuming upon God’s patience — “Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). Have you mistaken God’s mercy for permission to tolerate ongoing sin rather than responding with genuine repentance?
• Test your view of God’s timing — “For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies to the end and will not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3). Do you trust God’s perfect timing, or do frustration and impatience reveal that you are demanding your own timetable?
• Examine your response to God’s commands — “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:15). Is there an area of obedience that you continue postponing despite clear conviction from God’s Word?
• Test whether repentance remains a present reality — “Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8). Is your life demonstrating ongoing transformation, or have you reduced repentance to a past event rather than a continuing posture before God?
• Invite God to expose hidden rebellion — “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psalm 139:23–24). Are there attitudes, habits, or desires you have been defending rather than surrendering to Christ?
• Examine your urgency regarding the Gospel — “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” (2 Corinthians 5:11). Does God’s patience motivate you to share the Gospel with others, or have you grown indifferent toward the eternal destiny of those around you?
• Respond to God’s patience with gratitude and worship — “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.” (Psalm 103:8). Spend time thanking God for the patience He has shown toward you through Christ, recognizing that every day of grace is an undeserved gift.

💭 Reflection

The delay of Christ’s return is not evidence of divine forgetfulness but divine mercy. Every passing day testifies that God remains patient, extending opportunities for repentance and reconciliation through the Gospel. Yet His patience should never be confused with indifference. The Day of the Lord is coming. Judgment is certain. Therefore, let God’s patience accomplish its intended purpose in you—producing humility, repentance, gratitude, and a deeper devotion to Christ. The saints do not exploit God’s patience; they treasure it.

🧠 Study

• Q1: According to 2 Peter 3:9, why has the Lord not yet brought final judgment upon the world?
• Q2: How does God’s patience reveal both His mercy and His holiness?
• Q3: What is the difference between God’s sovereign will and His commanded (or desired) will, and why is this distinction important when interpreting 2 Peter 3:9?
• Q4: How do passages such as Isaiah 46:10, Ephesians 1:11, Romans 2:4, and 2 Peter 3:9 work together to provide a coherent biblical understanding of divine sovereignty, human responsibility, and repentance?
• Q5: Some argue that 2 Peter 3:9 teaches universal salvation because God desires all to repent. Others dismiss God’s expressed desire for repentance altogether in an attempt to protect His sovereignty. How does the full testimony of Scripture reject both errors while preserving God’s perfect character and authority?

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

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