September 2, 2002

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 15

God's patience is long, but it is not everlasting
___ Jonah 1:1­3a, 10; 4:1­3, 6­11; 2 Peter 3:9, 15
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___It's hard to believe a year has passed since the catastrophic events of Sept. 11. Much progress has been made in physically cleaning up and repairing the damage. Many emotional wounds have begun to heal with the passage of time. The quest for justice against the crimes of terrorism marches on, but the chief criminal still is at large.
___A nation has to be patient with its hunger for justice because there is only so much a nation can do. Human power is limited. We experience patience mixed with frustration. The patience of Almighty God is different.
___Evidence for the atheists?
___The book of 2 Peter predicted that "scoffers" would deny the power of God and the hope of Christ's return (2 Peter 3:1–7). History is full of unpunished injustice. Some people take this as a license to do as they please, like the wicked servant in Matthew 24:45–51. Others, who have a sensitive conscience, find it extremely hard to believe in a just and sovere ign God who could permit evil to continue in the world.
___I remember reading one young journalist's confession that her belief in God was destroyed with the Twin Towers. She was more willing to put her faith in the rescue workers who were doing something than in a deity who sits idly by. I wouldn't want to believe in such a god either. Much unbelief is rooted in shallow ideas of God.
___2 Peter 3:9 aims at correcting wrong thinking about God. The true God cannot be known or judged according to human standards. God does not sit idly by while we suffer (or inflict suffering). God has revealed that he will judge the living and the dead with perfect righteousness and bring history to the perfect conclusion. God also has revealed that, for today, he is patient.
___An impatient prophet
___The best commentary on 2 Peter 3:9 was written long before. The book of Jonah shows the stark contrast between human procrastination and divine patience. When God called Jonah to preach in an enemy city, the prophet deliberately avoided his assignment. He was able to fulfill God's call, but he was unwilling. He started a frantic journey in the opposite direction.
___After God turned Jonah's disobedience into a revival on the cruise line, Jonah found himself prisoner in the belly of a big fish. There he became willing to fulfill God's call. He preached God's warning to Nineveh, and the city repented so that they escaped the wrath of God.
___When Jonah recognized that God, true to his character (Jonah 4:2; Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Nahum 1:3), had mercy on the city, Jonah was indignant (4:1­3). The prophet's attitude seems close to that of the impatient servant in Matthew 18:23­35! God was patient even with Jonah.
___The longsuffering God
___When the book of Jonah says God brought the storm at sea (1:4), the great fish (1:17), the vine (4:6) and the worm (4:7), there can be no mistake that God has the power to accomplish whatever he pleases. God is able to bring judgment on the unjust this instant. Neither can anyone mistake that God wills to wipe out every evil (2 Peter 3:7). Yet "ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4).
___Far from demonstrating any weakness in God, his patience demonstrates the strength of God's loving grace. Love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4). The best translation of the biblical words for patience still may be "longsuffering."
___For the sake of every Ninevite, every Jonah, God suffers his pent-up wrath until his wise purposes are completely fulfilled.
___"Longsuffering" has nothing in common with apathy, indifference or indulgence. God's patience is his active, loving restraint of final judgment for the sake of any who do not know him right now.
___Long, but not forever
___One theologian has described the patience of God as "nothing less than the possibility of history." One day God's patience with creation will be perfectly fulfilled. Then Christ, who embodies the longsuffering of God, will be unmistakably revealed for all to the world, and the chance to choose him freely as Lord will be over.
___I will never forget a sermon I heard preached by the late Gerhard Claas while he was general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. His text included Revelation 1:17, which describes John's reaction to the glorified Jesus.
___This disciple, who was so close to Jesus at the Last Supper he could hear his heartbeat, when he saw the Lord of grace and glory "fell at his feet as though dead."
___If you were to hear a knock at the door this moment, and you knew without doubt that on the other side of the door was the risen Christ, would you run and throw open the door in giddy excitement? Or would you throw your trembling body against it and cry, "O Lord, just give me one more minute!"
___Questions for discussion
___ Discuss this statement: Greater power requires greater patience.
___ How can you apply the truth of God's patience to your own sharing of the gospel?

The Baptist Standard



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook