In writing about his own conversion to Christ, the apostle Paul spoke of “the perfect patience” of Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 1:16). Perfect patience is a uniquely divine quality. The patience of God, however, must not be abused or His patience will give way to His wrath.
Many of the warnings of the Bible were directed toward those who had come dangerously close to incurring such wrath. For example, the people of Noah’s time reached the point where “every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Peter describes those days as the time “when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water” (1 Pet. 3:20). Because the people did not repent at the preaching of Noah, God brought the Flood upon the world of the ungodly. Was God patient? He certainly was patient. For 120 years, He kept waiting.
Another example of God’s patience is seen in Jonah, who was sent to preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh. His message was that Nineveh had 40 days before she would be destroyed. The time of God’s wrath had come upon this wicked city. As you know, the people repented and God relented of the calamity He had planned to bring upon Nineveh. Jonah was disgusted at God’s change of heart. He explains his reason for trying to escape God’s commission in the first place, saying, “I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity” (Jon. 4:2). Was God patient with the Ninevites? Yes. When they repented, His patience accomplished its purpose.
Will there come a day when God will destroy the world? Peter says that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up? (2 Pet. 3:1). The fact that God is patient does not mean that He has forgotten his promise. In verse 9, Peter says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” What should be our response? Look as verses 10 and 11: “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and elements will melt with intense heat!”
God’s nature is balanced between perfect patience and perfect holiness. God desires that all be saved, but all will not be saved. And, God will not wait forever for those who have rejected Him. As it is, “God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). Know for certain that the “patience of God is meant to lead you to repentance.” God is patient and slow to anger. But, do not forget that the patience of God is meant to lead you to repentance (Rom. 2:4). We must change our hearts and change our lives today.