Holy God, you speak words of challenge and words of comfort through the scriptures. Send your Spirit to open our understanding to the word we need to hear this day, for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Living Word. Amen.
New Testament Reading: 2nd Peter 3:1-10
We are living in a time when more and more people are not just drifting away from Christianity but are openly criticizing those who follow Christ. What was once quiet indifference has, in many places, turned into vocal opposition. Faith in Jesus is dismissed as outdated, unscientific, or even harmful. The values that Scripture upholds—truth, holiness, humility, and obedience to God—are increasingly ridiculed in a culture that prizes self-expression, personal freedom, and individual truth above all else.
And while it doesn’t seem as bad here where we live, we can’t ignore the reality that many of our brothers and sisters around the world are paying a heavy price for their faith. In some countries, following Christ means risking imprisonment, losing your livelihood, or even facing death. Even in our own society, we see the shift: Christianity is no longer the majority voice in public life. Believers who take their faith seriously are often sidelined, misunderstood, or ridiculed.
But, as we heard in our New Testament reading today from 2nd Peter, this phenomenon is nothing new, it has been around ever since Jesus first came to earth and declared that he was both the Son of God and the Saviour of mankind.
Peter wrote this letter around 65 AD, barely more than 30 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. He wrote it to a group of churches in Asia Minor who were facing pressure from false teachers within the church, living in a culture skeptical of their hope in Christ’s return and were needing encouragement to hold fast to the apostolic witness and to grow in godly living. Peter was urging them to remain faithful and hopeful in the face of scoffing, false teaching, and delay.
In the portion of the letter we heard this morning, Peter cautions the churches: “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking and following their own desires. They will say, ‘Where is this promise of his coming? Ever since our ancestors died, everything has remained the same since the beginning of creation.’” Already, only a few years after Christ’s death—and while many eyewitnesses of his death and resurrection were still living—doubt had begun to creep into the church. They had anticipated his immediate return to establish his kingdom on earth, and when that did not take place, uncertainty set in. The early church had lived with an eager expectation that Jesus would return soon, but as the years passed, doubts began to form. People laughed at the idea of Christ returning, saying that nothing in the world had changed, or gotten any better, since his time here on earth.
This shouldn’t surprise us. Every generation has its skeptics. Their voices are not so different from ours today. Many say, “Nothing has changed—your faith is wishful thinking.” Making fun of faith is not a new phenomenon—it was present in the first century, and it continues today. The difference is that now, through social media, those voices are heard more widely than ever. Believers are seen as naïve, intolerant, or out of touch with modern reality. Yet, we have to accept the fact that the scoffers will always be with us. They will say, “Twenty centuries have come and gone and still Jesus has not come.”
Peter responds sharply to these scoffers, declaring: “They deliberately overlook the fact that long ago, by God’s word, the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and through water. By these same waters the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are being kept for fire, reserved until the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.”
Peter is reminding us that the mockery of the world does not cancel out the promises of God. The same Word that spoke creation into existence, and the same Word that brought judgment through the flood, is the Word that guarantees the return of Christ and the renewal of all things. Creation itself is evidence that the universe is not eternal, not self-sustaining—it began because God spoke.
And Peter gives another example: the flood. By water, God both created and judged. In Noah’s day, people lived as if nothing would ever change—until the flood came and destroyed the world of that time. The scoffers forget, or choose to forget, that the God who once judged the world has promised to do so again. History itself shows that God acts decisively.
Human doubt cannot overturn God’s plan. In fact, the very presence of scoffers fulfills prophecy itself, showing that God’s Word is trustworthy and true. For us, as the Church, this reality calls us to a deeper faith. We are not to be intimidated by ridicule or swayed by the prevailing voices of doubt. Instead, we are called to stand firm, to remember the promises of God, and to live with the expectation of Christ’s return, which could happen at anytime.
Then Peter issues this warning to his readers, “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.” Despite what the scoffers think, the Second Coming is certain because God promised it. Peter reminds us that God’s sense of time is not ours, that his delay is not neglect, but mercy, and that his return, when it comes, will be sudden and final.
Here is the good news. The “delay” the scoffers talk about is actually God’s gift to them. The Second Coming is delayed to give people a chance to repent and come to Christ. When Peter says, “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”, he is showing us God’s loving heart for those who are lost. He finds no joy in their destruction. For 2000 years he has held back the final judgment in order to give rebellious men and women a chance to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Peter makes it clear: the Lord is not slow about his promises. He is not forgetful, nor is he powerless. Instead, his “slowness” is patience. Why? Because he wishes all to come to repentance. Every day that Jesus has not yet returned is another day of grace, another chance for someone to hear the gospel, another opportunity for hearts to turn to Christ. What feels like delay is actually mercy.
Peter’s warning to unbelievers challenges us today, as well. We live in an age of distraction and skepticism, where faith in the promises of God can seem old-fashioned or naïve. Yet Peter’s words cut through the noise: The Day of the Lord will come. It will come suddenly, unexpectedly, and decisively. And so, the question before us is not if Christ will return, but how we will live in the meantime.
We ought to face the future with optimism. The world looks at all the problems and says, “Is there any hope?” For those who know Jesus Christ, there is enormous hope. So, we need to live with patience. Don’t lose heart if it seems God is slow. His timing is perfect. Live with urgency. Every day is a day of mercy—but mercy will not last forever. Share Christ while there is time. Live with readiness. The day of the Lord will come suddenly. Be found faithful, not fearful, when it arrives.
Peter answers the question, “Why hasn’t Jesus come yet?”, with three truths: God’s time is not our time, God’s delay is mercy, and God’s promise is certain. So instead of frustration, let us live with faith. Instead of doubt, let us live with hope. And instead of complacency, let us live with readiness—knowing that the patience of God is meant to bring salvation, and the promise of God will one day bring all things to completion in Christ.
Scoffers may say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” But we know: God’s Word has never failed. The same Word that called creation into existence, the same Word that judged in the days of Noah, is the Word that preserves this world until Christ returns.
Let us Pray:
Gracious and faithful God, we thank you that your word is sure and your promises never fail. Though the world may mock, and though scoffers may doubt, we hold fast to the truth that Christ will return in glory. Thank you for your patience, Lord, for your mercy that gives the lost time to repent and come to salvation through Jesus Christ.
Strengthen us to live with faith, hope, and readiness. Help us to stand firm when ridiculed, to walk humbly in holiness, and to share the good news while there is still time.
Keep our eyes fixed on the promise of Christ’s return. And until that day, may we be found faithful, living as children of light in a world that so desperately needs the hope of the Gospel. Amen