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2 Peter 3:15

ESV And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
NIV Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
NASB and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,
CSB Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.
NLT And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him —
KJV And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
NKJV and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

What does 2 Peter 3:15 mean?

It's understandable that God's people would be eager to get to the day of the Lord. Saved believers want to see the new heaven and new earth. That's especially true in our times of suffering, and it is exactly what we should be longing for (Colossians 3:1–4).

Unlike the false teachers, however, Christians must not view the seeming delay in the coming of Christ as evidence that God is unloving or unfaithful or has broken His promise. Instead, as he did in verse 9, Peter again writes that any such delay is motivated only by God's patience. What we are tempted to think of as God waiting too long is really an expression of His desire to bring salvation to as many as possible. God's timing is motivated by love, not indifference.

Peter recognizes here that Paul has written something similar. Maybe he had in mind Romans 2:4, where Paul mentions God's patience and says that God's kindness is meant to lead to repentance. In any case, Peter acknowledges that Paul's wisdom comes from God and calls Paul a beloved brother. This is helpful to us because it confirms what is already clear from a careful reading of the New Testament: The inspired writings of each of the books establish and support each other. Peter, Paul, and the other writers all wrote the words of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16).

None of the apostles were sinless men themselves though. Writing in one of his letters, Paul said that he rebuked Peter "to his face" at one point for sinful hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11–14). All the same, near the end of Peter's life, he speaks warmly of his brother Paul and affirms Paul's authority to speak on behalf of God as a full apostle.
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