9. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Because the Christians of the first century expected the imminent return of the Lord and waited patiently, they needed a word of encouragement from Peter.
a. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise.” The term Lord in this verse and the next (v. 10) is a synonym for “God.” In other words, Peter refers not to Jesus but rather to God with his use of an Old Testament designation for God . Peter alludes to the Old Testament prophecy of Habakkuk:
For the revelation awaits an appointed time:
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay. [2:3]
The writer of Hebrews, who assures his readers that God will fulfill the promises that he made to them, quotes this same Old Testament prophecy (see Heb. 10:37). “Why does God delay the return of Christ? The cause of the delay stems not from indifference or inattentiveness on the part of God.
It lies in God’s grace and mercy toward sinners. He allows them time to repent of their sins. Jesus will return when God’s patience has ended, when the time allotted has expired, and when the last believer has accepted Christ as Savior. “Not human sin, but divine forbearance, which cannot be constrained, determines the delay. It is the sovereign God who graciously grants an interval for repentance.”30 God works out his plan and purpose even though man expresses doubts.
b. “As some understand slowness.” We understand that the “some” in this verse are not the scoffers (v. 3) but believers who have been influenced by these scoffers. Some Christians are unable to explain the delay of Christ’s return and begin to doubt as they listen to the scoffers.31 They need not doubt, because God is in full control.
c. “He is patient with you.” Notice that Peter addresses the readers, not the scoffers, when he writes the pronoun you.32
32 He indicates that God does not judge his people hastily, but grants them sufficient time to come to repentance (compare I Peter 3:20).
d. “Not wanting anyone to perish.” Peter is not teaching universalism in this sentence. In his epistle, he clearly states that the false teachers and the scoffers are condemned and face destruction (see 2:3; 3:7; Rom. 9:22). Does not God want the false teachers to be saved? Yes, but they disregard God’s patience toward them, they employ their knowledge of Jesus Christ against him, and they willfully reject God’s offer of salvation. They, then, bear full responsibility for their own condemnation.33
d. “[God wants] everyone to come to repentance.” God provides time for man to repent, but repentance is an act that man must perform. Take the case of Esau, who led a godless life and sold his inheritance rights to his brother Jacob. When he wanted to receive the blessing, Esau was rejected. “He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Heb. 12: 17; also compare Rom. 2:4). Likewise the scoffers in Peter’s day refuse to come to repentance, even though God is granting them a period of grace.
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Doctrinal Considerations in 3:8-9
“So wonderful is [God’s] love towards mankind, that he would have them all to be saved, and is of his own self prepared to bestow salvation on the lost.”34 So writes john Calvin on verse 9 and thus touches the doctrine of God’s mercy toward sinful man. Here are two examples of this divine love; one is from the Old Testament, the second from the New Testament.
First, God showed his love to Cain when he asked, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:7) . Yet Cain, filled with anger and jealousy, murdered Abel (v. 8). When God continued to speak to Cain, he did not meet a repentant sinner but a selfish individual who sought protection from an avenger. “Cain went out from the LORD’S presence” (v. 16), although God demonstrated mercy by shielding him (v. 15). Cain belonged to the evil one, says the apostle john (I John 3: 12). That is, he rejected God’s grace and mercy and willfully departed from God.
Second, before Jesus appointed the twelve disciples, he spent a whole night in prayer (Luke 6: 12). He called Judas Iscariot to the circle of his immediate followers. After a period of instruction, Jesus commissioned the twelve disciples to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse the lepers, and to drive out demons (Matt. 10:7-8). In his love, Jesus commissioned Judas, too. Even at the last Passover celebration in the upper room, Jesus visibly indicated to Judas that he knew of the betrayal (john 13:26). Yet Judas delivered his Master to the chief priests. Granted that Judas was filled with remorse, he never repented (Matt. 27:3). He never returned to Jesus, but instead committed suicide.
When Paul writes that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:4; also see Ezek. 18:23, 32), he does not mean that all men are indeed saved. Although God desires the redemption of the entire race, he does not decree universal salvation. Therefore, in respect to the verb want or wish theologians distinguish between God’s desire and God’s decree.35
God extends his mercy to sinful man. However, when man repudiates God’s grace, divine condemnation hangs over him (II Peter 2:3) and he faces the inevitable day of judgment (3:7).
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Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 3:9
Bradunei–”he hesitates”; as a verb of separation, it controls the genitive case of epaggelias (promise).36
Boulomenos–the present middle participle from Boulomai (I wish) denotes cause.37
Simon Kistemaker, Exposition of the Epistles of Peter and of the Epistle of Jude, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 333-335. [Some reformatting; bold and italics original; footnotes and values original; and underlining mine.]
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30Bauckham. Jude, 2 Peter, p. 313. Also see Richard J. Bauckham, “The Delay of the Parousia,” TynB 31 (1980): 27.
31Refer to R. C. H . Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St.John, and St. Jude (Columbus: Wartburg, 1945), p. 345.
32The KJV and NKJV have the reading toward us. Based on an alternate Greek reading, the margin of RSV has “on your account,” and Moffatt, “for your sake.”
33Consult Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 2d rev . ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1941), p.442.
34Calvin, The Second Epistle of Peter, p. 419.
35Ibid. Compare Blum, 2 Peter, p. 286.
36Refer to Friedrich Blass and Albert Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testarnent and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. and rev. Robert Funk (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), sec. 180.5.
37Consult Robertson, Grammar, p. 1128.