The Patience of God

by Chris Simmons

We read in I Peter 3:20, that "... 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." One hundred and twenty years prior to the flood, God had determined that the wickedness of man was more than He would tolerate. We read in Genesis 6:5, 7; "... the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually ... And the LORD said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land ... for I am sorry that I have made them.'" During that period of time, of 120 years, the inspired Peter records that God exercised "patience." According to His revealed will, patience is one of the divine attributes of God. Yet due to ignorance of God's will, many fall prey to an incorrect understanding of God's patience that could lead to devastating results. We need to understand, according to the scriptures, what the patience of God is for, and what it is not for.

The patience of God is for the purpose of repentance. There were two things that we know took place during the 120 years after God had declared His divine indignation and wrath. One, God commanded Noah, and he obeyed, in the construction of the ark which was to be the means of salvation through the waters of the flood. Two, Noah preached. We read in II Peter 2:5 that God "... did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness , with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly." Noah preached a message of righteousness to the ungodly world around him, that all who might believe, would repent and take advantage of the salvation being offered. God exercised patience in the days of Noah in the hope that some might be saved. In the end, in was just eight souls who were saved.

Peter spoke affirmatively of God's patience in II Peter 3 as Peter refuted the contention of some that viewed God's patience to mean that God would not fulfill His promise to send His son again and judge the world. Part of Peter's response is that God is not bound by time as man is and that just because time has passed, it does not mean that God has forgotten about His promises. Peter then points out what we are to be doing with the time God has given to us until "the day of the Lord" comes. He states in verse 9, "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 is God's patience for? Peter says, it is to give time for man to repent. It is time for all of us to make things right before God. The justice of God could be exercised at any time and the souls of those in sin could receive their just punishment. But God does not wish for any to perish but is seeking for man to repent. Paul stated in Acts 17:30-31, "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, 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 ..."

God's patience is for the purpose of salvation. Our sins condemn us all to spiritual death (Romans 6:23). The justice of God demands the penalty be paid. But, just as in the days of Noah, God has provided the means of salvation. His patience is so that we might also "... obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory." In the days of Noah, salvation was found in the ark. "Corresponding to that," salvation is now found in the waters of baptism (I Peter 3:20-21). The patience of God is extended to all mankind, that we might also obtain the salvation that He has extended to us. Again, in II Peter 3:15, Peter reminds us of how we are to view God's patience, "regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation ..." God's patience means salvation if we make things right before God.

The patience of God is for the purpose of growth. Those who have been baptized into Christ are said to arise to "... walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4). We are described as "new creatures" (II Corinthians 5:17), or "babes" in Christ (I Corinthians 3:1; I Peter 2:2). As new babes, God expects us to grow and mature, and God extends His patience to us to afford us the time to grow. We bring condemnation upon ourselves when we fail to grow beyond our initial condition in Christ. We read in Hebrews 5:12-13, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe." God's patience is extended to us that we might grow from being the student, to being the teacher. God's patience is to afford us time with His word that we might grow and be "built up" (Acts 20:32).

The patience of God is for the purpose of heeding His warnings. Beginning in Amos 4:6, the prophet speaks of various "plagues" that had been sent upon the nation of Israel that they might heed such warnings and return to God. Yet repeatedly, Israel failed to heed and repeatedly we read in that chapter, "'Yet you have not returned to me' declares the Lord" (verses 6, 8-11). And since they had not heeded the warnings and returned to God, the prophet told them, "prepare to meet your God O Israel" (Amos 4:12). God patiently waited for Israel to heed the warnings He had sent but they refused and now God's patience was about to end. God's patience in warning the nation of Israel is seen in Jeremiah 11:7-8, "For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently , saying, 'Listen to My voice.' Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not." Even as God "persistently warned" His people under the old covenant, He continues to warn us today, and someday, His warnings will cease, and judgment will be delivered.

The patience of God however is not to be viewed as tolerance for sin. Mankind often mistakes the delay in punishment for the acceptance or tolerance of sinful behavior. Solomon wrote, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Just because punishment doesn't come swiftly and immediately, we are not to presume our sinful ways are being tolerated. Those who persist in sin will not be allowed to escape its consequences. Peter wrote in II Peter 2:9, "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment."

The patience of God is not to be understood as an escape from judgment. Paul clearly explains, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Referring back to the prophet Amos, he asked the Israelites, "Do you put off the day of calamity, And would you bring near the seat of violence?" (Amos 6:3). Their attitude was, "The calamity will not overtake or confront us" (Amos 9:10). To those God said, "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword." Indeed, God's judgment did come some 25 to 30 years later as Assyria took them into captivity.

God's patience is not to be viewed as a reason to put off getting prepared. We do not know when God will come again. We therefore are to view NOW as our opportunity to prepare, not later. Jesus said in Matthew 24:42, "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." The emphasis on our preparation, repentance, and obedience has to be on "Today." Repeatedly in Hebrews, the time for obedience is mentioned as "today." "... TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS ..." (Hebrews 3:7-8).

God will indeed judge with righteousness one day. We are to be eternally grateful that He has been so patient with us so as to provide us with the time to repent, obey, and grow. God has done so that He might share the riches of His glory with us. "What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us " (Romans 9:22-23).