Today's readings are Isaiah 14.1-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Is.+14.1-23 ) and 2 Peter 3.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Pet.+3.1-18 ).
Today we read about the coming day of the Lord, the day when he will come in judgment, bringing a final destruction to sin. In this coming to bring the final restoration of those who believe, look at the Lord's desire as stated in 2 Peter. In verse 9 we read that the Lord "is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (ESV). This is God's stated attitude toward the world. Understanding this verse may help us deal with many other passages in Scripture.
First, we hear of God's patience. He is enduring, longsuffering, slow to anger, and quick to hear and understand the struggles of his people. Through the ages God has proven himself to be the Lord who does not bring summary execution on those who sin, but calls them to relent, to confess their sin, and hold to the promised forgiveness.
Second, we see that God does not wish any to perish. Again, this is exactly what the Lord has shown through the ages. Since the time that God instituted sacrifice and gave protection to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 to the very end, there has always been a means of grace available to all people. God's clear plan is that all should be able to see what he is like and turn to him for life. Time and again it has been the people's sin which has separated them from God. Even in the flood, God chose one moderately faithful family to be left behind when the rest of the world was taken - look at Noah's actions after the flood for an interpretation of "moderately faithful." In the tower of Babel, the people are scattered and cast off from the revelation of God's presence not because of God's exclusivity but because of their self-centered attitude. In the Scripture we never see the idea that God has a double mind about forgiveness. He always shows the desire that none should perish. It is never his will to condemn anyone. It is the will of fallen mankind to exalt itself as if it is God and to reap the just condemnation of God.
Finally, we see the means of God's grace. Life does not come through good deeds. It does not come through being intelligent enough, wealthy enough, or planting enough trees. It comes through repentance, a kind of old-fashioned word in our culture. To repent means to turn from sin in faith that God will forgive sin and cleanse the sinner. It is not an activity which earns us any merit before God. It is simply the way God works in this world. Like the force of gravity is to keep rivers in valleys, the force of God's perfection is to bring people to repentance, which brings a natural outcome of forgiveness - as natural as knowing the river is flowing downhill rather than uphill.
How is that forgiveness established? We see in Scripture that Jesus became sin for us, dying for the sins of the whole world. And that death is made active and redemptive in all who repent of their sin and believe that Jesus died for them. Jesus' atoning death extends to every person in history. God's will is that none should perish. But it is applied only to those who repent. Those who do not live lives of repentance will surely receive the reward for their sin, even though Jesus already received that reward in their place.
Rather than thwarting God's will, let us live in repentance today, fulfilling the command in 2 Peter 3.18 (ESV) "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."
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