Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 172

June 23;   2 Peter 2:9;   229/260(I);   ‘The Godly & Ungodly’

2 Peter 2:9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.        NIV

‘If this is so,’ refers to Noah and Lot.  The Lord always rescues the godly from judgment.  Noah and his family were the only righteous people on the earth at that time.  Because of the wickedness of men on the earth, that the Lord had watched and endured for a very long time, the time for judgment eventually had come.  Noah and his family were spared.  Lot, also, living in Sodom and Gomorrah, was commanded to leave those cities before judgment fell.  The angel telling Lot and his family to leave the doomed cities, told Lot, that he could do nothing until Lot and his family were out of the city.  If you are a Christian, you are God’s child, and we will never be judged along with the wicked.  The Lord will always bless us, rescue us and protect us.  One thing must be made clear.  The Lord has no pleasure in judging the wicked, nor does He want to.  The Bible teaches that the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked either (Ezekiel 33:11).  God the Father has incredible patience with those who hate Him and are ungodly.  Eventually His patience runs out and judgment must come.  The wicked can turn from their wicked ways and the Lord wants them to (Ezekiel 18:23).  The Father loves them. He desires that all would live godly.  We have been given a free will and some will choose not to follow the Lord.  The long suffering of the Lord eventually is over.  Punishment is not what God intended for anyone. If they do not change and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, their lives will be filled with torment and they will be separated from Him eternally on the Day of Judgment