Does God "Lose Patience" with Sinners?

It is not possible for humans to speak of God at any length without engaging in anthropomorphic language. We speak, even the Bible speaks, of God's hands and fingers. We do not imagine him to have fleshly fingers or hands as we do. He is spirit (Jn 4:24), not flesh. We use these anthropomorphic expressions in an attempt to express truths about God for which our human languages are inadequate.

Such anthropomorphic language is sometimes misunderstood. The immature often understand it in an absurdly literal sense. Generally, they grow out of that mistake (although some do grow old without ever growing up).

Some of our uninspired anthropomorphic speech about God is prone to misunderstanding. When this is the case, we should try to refine how we speak. When this is the case, our language has become a cause of confusion rather than a means of communication.

We sometimes speak of God "losing patience" with those who continue in sin. I believe that this is an expression we should avoid. It is not a biblical expression. God is often spoken of as patient (Rom 2:4; 1 Pet 3:20). On one occasion his patience is called "perfect patience" (1 Tim 1:16). He is never said to have "lost patience."

But someone might ask, "Don't the scriptures show us that God runs out of patience with sinners? How else do we explain the many references to his wrath? How else does one explain that he will indeed punish unrepentant sinners?"

Certainly, the Bible indicates that God will punish sinners. Certainly, it does speak

of his wrath. But the Bible never indicates that his wrath is the result of his "flying off the handle" because he has "run out of patience" with sinners. We may use the second expression without intending to call to mind the first. But one fears that we do call to mind the first. Many people associate the idea of running out of patience with an illogical and dangerous outburst. For many people, the term will suggest the image of angry, ungodly parents, or scenes of road rage.

Yes, God will punish sinners. But his is a calm judicial wrath. It is never the illogical wrath of a frustrated human who has "run out of patience."

Whatever God is, he is perfect and infinite in that attribute. His holiness is infinite. His wisdom is infinite. His kindness is infinite. His justice is also infinite.

When his infinite justice demands action, his kindness must give priority to justice. Thus, Jesus placed justice before mercy in his listing of the weightier matters (Mt 23:23).

God never runs out of patience the way humans often do. But he does sometimes see that nothing is to be gained by continuing to withhold punishment. He sees that, far from benefiting from his patience, some people take his patience as a reason to do more wrong (2 Peter 3:1-13). He sees that justice demands that the consequences must be allowed to take place.

Sometimes it is wrong to be patient; or rather what we call patience is really a form of laziness or misplaced kindliness that makes way for injustice. A judge or a parole board that lets someone on the street, even though the person is obviously not repentant, is inviting trouble and dodging their responsibility. Proverbs 25:26 comes to mind here, "Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked."

Human righteousness is often of the muddied variety. God's is not. He does not punish because he has run out of patience. He punishes because justice demands that the punishment be given.