Of all the apostles, Peter speaks with the greatest sobriety about the coming of the Lord. He exhorts us to be diligent, to be found “in peace, without spot, and blameless” at His appearing. This is not a casual suggestion—it is a summons to spiritual vigilance. The question presses on many: Why has the Lord delayed His return, especially when the signs of His coming seem so near? The answer is not found in human speculation, but in the revealed heart of God: His delay is a merciful act of longsuffering, directed not only toward the world, but pointedly toward us, the Church.
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation…”
—2 Peter 3:14-15
The Mercy in God’s Delay
The Lord is not “slack” concerning His promise, as some suppose. His patience is not indifference, but mercy. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all—yes, even those already in the household of faith—should come to repentance. This is not a mere opportunity for the world to be saved; it is a window for the Church to awaken, to repent, and to prepare.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
—2 Peter 3:9
This is the same longsuffering God displayed in the days of Noah. He waited, not because He was uncertain, but so that the ark could be prepared and salvation made available—even if only eight souls would enter. The longsuffering of God is always toward His people, always with a view to salvation.
Judgment Begins at the House of God
Why is this patience directed at the Church? Peter is explicit:
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
—1 Peter 4:17-18
This is not a threat of losing salvation—no one can be plucked from the Lord’s hand. But Scripture is clear: there is a real consequence for spiritual slumber and complacency at His coming. The world, the flesh, religious busyness, anxiety, and the pursuit of pleasure all conspire to lull believers—especially in the comfortable West—into a deep sleep just as the Lord’s return draws near. The tragedy is not merely missing a prophetic sign, but being found unprepared, lacking confidence, and shrinking back in shame at His appearing.
The Call to Spiritual Vigilance
The antidote is not frantic religious activity, but abiding in Christ. We must remain awake, continually judging ourselves in the light of His Word, so that we are not condemned with the world. This is not works-based assurance, nor a call to sinless perfection. It is the posture of those who know their utter inadequacy and desperate need for mercy. It is the humility that confesses, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner,” and refuses to trust in self-sufficiency.
God is using this season to humble His people, to expose every form of pride and self-reliance. He is transferring our hope from ourselves to His mercy and grace. The true watchman in this hour is not the one who boasts in spiritual achievement, but the one who, awakened to the lateness of the hour, clings to Christ alone.
What Is Lost If We Neglect This Warning?
If we accept the error of complacency—if we imagine that God’s delay is irrelevant, or that spiritual vigilance is optional—we forfeit the very purpose of His longsuffering. We lose the opportunity for repentance, the cleansing of conscience, and the readiness that alone brings confidence at His appearing. Worse, we undermine the foundation of our justification and inheritance, shifting our hope from Christ’s finished work to our own performance or indifference. The result is not loss of salvation, but a loss of boldness, a forfeiture of the reward of being found blameless and ready—something no amount of religious activity can recover.
Confirmed by His Grace Alone
Yet the hope is not in ourselves. Even the Corinthian church, riddled with carnality and failure, was given this promise:
“…ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—1 Corinthians 1:7-8
It is God’s grace—never our sufficiency—that will confirm us blameless at His coming. His longsuffering is not a license for apathy, but a call to awake, to abide, to confess, and to hope perfectly in the grace that is to be revealed. Let us not squander this mercy. Let us judge ourselves, walk in the light, and keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
The time is short. The Lord’s patience is salvation. Let us be found awake, relying wholly on His grace, that we may stand with confidence and not shame at His glorious appearing.
