“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).
A look at the original language of this passage defines longsuffering (or forbearance) in the following manner: “Longsuffering is that quality of self restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish; it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy, and is used of God…” (1) Another source associates longsuffering with the idea of patience under provocation…
“This denotes restraint which enables one to bear injury and insult without resorting to retaliation. It accepts the wrong without complaint. Long-suffering is an attribute of God (Rom 2:4) and a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22).” (2)
These definitions enable us to make some important observations…
- This quality is reflective of a person who holds the power to strike back against others but chooses not to do so.
- It serves to identify someone who does not seek to get even or take revenge upon those who have done them wrong.
- It also describes a person who maintains his or her composure and bears patiently with those who are difficult, argumentative, ill-tempered, or easily offended.
This type of person is someone who models his or her behavior after God’s example as seen here in Romans 2:4. Since God is patient and forbearing, we should emulate those attributes as well.
This quality also aligns with the counsel given to us in the Biblical epistle of James: “Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry” (James 1:19 CEB). These passages should prompt us to seek God’s empowerment to reflect those characteristics in our relationships with others, even those who are hard to deal with.
Finally, one source issues a cautionary reminder that bears repeating. We should not fall into the mistaken belief that God’s forbearance and patience means that He approves of unjust behaviors…
“Do not think that the fact that God does not punish you is a sign that he cannot punish you. The fact that his punishment does not immediately follow sin is not a proof of his powerlessness; it is a proof of his patience. You owe your lives to the patience of God. One great commentator has said that almost everyone has ‘a vague and undefined hope of impunity,’ a kind of feeling that this cannot happen to me. …there are many who to this day seek to do the same.” (3)
Portions of this message originally appeared here
(1) makrothumia (G3115) Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words with Topical Index, W.E. Vine, © 1996, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
(2) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2464). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
(3) Barclay, William. “Commentary on Romans 2”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/romans-2.html. 1956-1959.