ACC ~ Romans 2 v4

THE RICHES OF GOD’S KINDNESS. IGNATIUS: The last times are upon us.Let us therefore be of a reverent spirit and fear the longsuffering of God, lest we despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 11.

FORBEARANCE DISTINGUISHED FROM PATIENCE. ORIGEN: You can recognize the riches of God’s kindness if you consider how many evils men do every day on earth. Almost everyone has fallen away and become worthless, traveling down the wide and broad way of perdition, ignoring the narrow road that leads to eternal life. Yet God lets his sun shine daily on all of them and sends them rain, however much they may blaspheme him. … Therefore if anyone despises God’s kindness and forbearance and patience, he does not know that he is being encouraged by these things to repent.

Forbearance differs from patience in that it applies more to those who sin because of their weakness and not deliberately, whereas patience is brought to bear in the case of those who sin deliberately, as if to glory in their wrongdoing. But as God has made everything with a certain measure, weight and number, so also his patience has certain limits. Those limits were reached by the people who perished in the flood, as well as by the men of Sodom who were destroyed by fire from heaven.COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

TOWARD REPENTANCE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says this so that no one should think that he has escaped, just because God’s goodness has allowed him to go on sinning. Nor should anyone think that God’s patience is to be despised, as if he did not care about human affairs, but rather understand that God conceals himself, because his judgment is not promised in this life. It is for the future, so that in the next life the man who did not believe that God is a judge will repent. For in order to reveal the terror of future judgment and that his patience should not be despised, God said: “I have been silent. But shall I be silent for ever?” Thus the man who has been punished and has not re-pented will repent when he sees the future judgment of God, which he has spurned. Then he who thought that the longsuffering of God’s goodness was something to laugh at will not hesitate to beg for mercy. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES. OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT. CHRYSOSTOM: God shows us his kindness in order to lead us to repentance, not in order that we might sin even more. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity, the punishment we shall receive will be all the greater. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 5.

GOD DESIRES REPENTANCE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Here it is clearly shown how God has left the sinner with the desires of his heart. God could stop the sinner altogether from taking vengeance, but he prefers to give time to be converted to repentance. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

GOD’S GOODNESS IN WAITING, JUSTICE IN PUNISHING. PELAGIUS: Do you imagine you can act with impunity just because God does not punish immediately. … Listen to the words of Scripture: “The Lord is not slow with his promises … but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance.” The Lord is good in as much as he waits and just in as much as he punishes. … People may go far astray because of God’s patience, because he does not want to punish sinners immediately. And because he delays, people suppose either that he does not care at all about human affairs or that he overlooks sins. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.