Don’t feel bad. Sometimes even Superman gets paralyzed. That’s what I tell myself. In the 1978 film, Superman, villain Lex Luthor played by Gene Hackman placed a chain around the superhero’s neck. Instead of a medal or jewel, the chain held a chunk of Kryptonite. Its radiation (which is toxic to people from Krypton) drained most of Superman’s powers. I recall Superman (Christopher Reeve) staggering and stumbling as he tried to walk. But I wondered why he didn’t just lift the chain from his neck. He still had enough power to walk a little. Did the Kryptonite affect his ability to think clearly too?

Once, I found myself in a situation where my thought processes seemed to move in slow motion. Like one of those dreams where a dog is chasing you but your legs won’t move. But this time it was my mind that was paralyzed. Just. Couldn’t. Think. I was in Bible college. Unfortunately, this was not a dream.

I was defending my paper in a Bible class. I felt really good about the paper even though I was vastly outnumbered by Arminians. It was on “The doctrine of election in First Peter”. I had finished reading the paper and was fielding questions. Then, from the back of the room came a question that rendered me powerless. “How do you reconcile that with 2 Peter 3:9 where the apostle said that the Lord is, ‘not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance’? Peter said that God wants everyone to be saved.”

I felt powerless to defend myself. That’s how I imagine Superman must have felt when Lex Luthor put the Kryptonite around his neck.

Not that I think of myself as Superman. At least not since I was five. I felt like I had a good handle on the doctrine of election and thought I could defend it biblically. But as a fairly new Calvinist, I hadn’t considered that particular passage yet. So there I was at the front of the class—like in a bad dream—paralyzed. My classmate possessed Kryptonite that rendered Calvinists powerless and he had placed it around my neck.

Like Superman stumbling around in that movie, I mumbled a few incoherent words, recovering a little and pushing back, asking my Arminian brother if he had any problems with my exegesis of FIRST Peter. He didn’t. But he stood his ground. He couldn’t prove me wrong in 1 Peter. I couldn’t prove him wrong in 2 Peter. Fortunately, one of my Calvinist brothers came to my rescue, but I have no idea what he said. By this time my brain was sludge.

As embarrassing as that was, I set out to study 2 Peter 3:9. By the time that I figured out what Peter was actually saying, that Bible class was over and I had moved on to seminary. But my Arminian brother stirred me (painfully) to a better understanding of God’s word. I hope to pass that on to you here (the better understanding, not the pain).

We should step back to see the writer’s larger purpose for why he wrote what he did.

Even more than that though, I hope to illustrate how to handle difficult passages by paying closer attention to the context. It’s so easy to take verses out of context. We misrepresent a writer when we fail to understand what he was really saying. To guard against that, we should step back to see the writer’s larger purpose for why he wrote what he did.

Take a moment and read through 2 Peter. Pay attention to his concern. His readers’ conduct was threatened by false teachers who introduced false doctrine and ungodly behavior. Peter warned that there will be “false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). Sadly many people “will follow their sensuality”. God’s way “will be maligned” (verse 2). And “they will exploit you with false words” (verse 3). Can you see Peter’s concern?

They should not despair though. Why not? Because “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation” (verse 9). Then Peter gave a chilling description of the problem. Those immoral false teachers were “stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you” (verse 13). Now we see the problem!

Here is our first key point. The context is not about evangelism but rather is about believers tolerating immoral behavior in their church gatherings.

That word “carouse” means “to feast with” someone, but this was anything but an innocent meal. False teachers were carousing at the weekly church love feasts (a meal plus the Lord’s Supper). While most people carouse at night (1 Thessalonians 5:7), they “count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime…having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls…they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality”.

Those false teachers desired the women in the church and wanted to turn church gatherings into opportunities for adultery. They promised “freedom” to the saints, a freedom to participate in immoral behavior. However, Peter pointed out that such “freedom” had already made the false teachers “slaves of corruption” (verse 19).

Moving into chapter three, Peter warned his readers that these false teachers were “mockers…following after their own lusts” (2 Peter 3:3). What were they mocking? They mocked the belief that Jesus will return and judge the wicked. They believed there is no reason to fear punishment because Jesus isn’t really returning.

Peter’s focus tightened as he wrote verses 8 and 9. He addressed believers by calling them “beloved”. The false teachers ignored evidence of God’s patience like what was displayed in Noah’s day, a patience that came to an end (verses 5-6). So Peter basically warned his readers, “Don’t let false teachers lull you into a false sense of security. God will judge immoral behavior on His timetable.” Here is our second key point. Peter warned believers that there is a limit to God’s patience.

False teachers had mocked God saying that He is “slow” to act against sin: “mockers will come with their mocking…and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’” (verses 3-4). So Peter explained that “The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness” (verse 9).

False teachers mistook God’s patience for slowness in responding to evil. That is, God must not be that serious about sin. But Peter showed that God’s patience demonstrates how gracious He is, not that He is indifferent toward sin. Then, Peter got personal with believers. To these who are “beloved”, the apostle wrote that God “is patient toward you” (verse 9). Here is our third key point. Verse 9 is about God’s patience toward believers, not unbelievers. [God is patient toward unbelievers but that isn’t the point of verse 9]

These believers needed to repent because the false teachers were tempting them to sin.

So when Peter said that God was “not wishing for any to perish”, he meant that God is not wishing for any of those believers to perish. A fourth key point is that these believers needed to repent because the false teachers were tempting them to sin.

Jesus taught these same themes in Matthew 18:1-20. Jesus is concerned about believers being led into sin (18:6). He mentioned His Father’s unwillingness that any of them perish (18:14). And He warned of the same punishment for those who lead His “little ones who believe in Me” into sin. That punishment is eternal fire (18:8-9).

Returning to our walk through 2 Peter 3, the apostle explained in verse 10 that the day of the Lord will be a time of intense judgment. So, Peter warned his readers (believers) in verse 11 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?”

Verses 14-15 sum up Peter’s concern, “Therefore, beloved…be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation”. This was directed to believers! Salvation is viewed by Peter as having both a current aspect (1 Peter 1:3; 2 Peter 1:1) and a future aspect (1 Peter 1:5, 9; 2:2). “Our” Lord is patient with us when we fall into sin and He provides opportunity for us to repent as part of our salvation working its way out in our lives toward that final aspect of salvation.

Finally, because sin in believers is so serious, Peter was concerned that they might be “carried away by the error of unprincipled men” and “fall from your own steadfastness” (3:17). So then, 2 Peter 3:9 is a warning to believers who allow themselves to be led into sin. God’s “delay” should be viewed as His patience while He brings those believers to repentance.

Our job is to learn how to study His word in order to use it rightly and not take its truth out of context .

While the experience of defending my paper was painful, God used it to hone my Bible study skills, teaching me to better observe the context. God’s word, rightly understood, is able to render this “Kryptonite” powerless. Our job is to learn how to study His word in order to use it rightly and not take its truth out of context (2 Timothy 2:15).

Under the fig tree:

Are you continually working to improve your Bible study skills? Think of a passage that you don’t understand as well as you’d like. Then take a closer look at its context. How does the passage fit into the author’s flow of thought? Why did he write it and place it where he did?