A Better Resurrection - 2 Peter 1:11 Series

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2 Peter 1:11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

Introduction: The Messianic Kingdom

Are you planning on going to heaven when you die? If so, for what?

Suppose a friend told you, “I’m going to Florida next week.” What would you say? “What are you going there for? Do you have work there? Vacation? What are you going there to do?” You don’t just go somewhere for no reason.

People talk a lot about going to heaven, but have you ever thought about for what? What are you going there to do?

I suppose most people probably think of it like an eternal vacation. Isn’t that why you go to a paradise?

When people try to imagine heaven, it’s not unusual for them to wonder if they will get bored eventually. That’s not surprising, because the best vacation spot you can imagine would eventually get old.

When you ask someone how his vacation was, if it went really well he might say, “It was fun.” Or “It was relaxing.” Maybe even “It was rejuvenating.” You know what answer I’ve never heard? I’ve never asked someone about their vacation and they said, “It was fulfilling.”

No matter how well a vacation goes, why do we never use the word “fulfilling” to describe it? It’s because we reserve the word “fulfilling” to describe something that adds to our lives. We like vacations because they don’t demand anything hard. And that’s fine—it’s good to get rest. But R&R doesn’t fill up your life with meaning. For that you need to have a purpose and you need to do something that fulfills that purpose and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Fulfillment comes from an activity that enriches your life. It comes when you do something that builds your life and makes it deeper and richer and fuller. Fulfillment comes from activity that is meaningful and rewarding according to your values and goals—especially big picture goals. And the bigger the picture, the greater the sense of fulfillment. If you mow the lawn and at the end it looks really great, that gives you a little feeling of fulfillment. If you rescued 100 trafficked children and sent the kidnappers to prison, that would give you a huge feeling of fulfillment.

When people wonder if they’ll get bored in heaven, it may be that they’re thinking about it like an eternal vacation which would get boring eventually. But eternal fulfillment would only get better and better and better. I say all that because of the way Peter describes heaven in verse 11.

Born to Reign

The Positive Promise: Entry into the Kingdom

The first 11 verses of 2 Peter are a mini sermon, and today we look at the final verse of that sermon, where Peter ends on an incredibly positive note. The most positive note imaginable.

2 Peter 1:11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

Last time we looked at v.10, where he said we need to make our calling and election sure so we don’t fall. That’s the negative side—avoid falling away. And the negative warning is important. Preachers often say you can’t scare anyone into the kingdom, but I don’t know if that’s true given how much Jesus talked about hell and judgment and punishment and all the rest. The negative warnings are important. And Peter has plenty of negative warnings in his book.

But in this passage, he’s much more interested in giving us a positive motivation. He gives 4 words about not falling in v.10 and then 17 words about entering the kingdom in v.11. That’s where he wants our attention.

Most people are more motivated by avoiding hell than by going to heaven, probably because the torment of hell is easier to imagine than the glories of heaven. But you don’t have to read much of the New Testament to realize that God fully expects us to be strongly motivated by both—both the horror of hell and the rewards and delights of heaven. So let’s take a careful look at verse 11 and see if we can latch on to this amazing hope.

Background of the Kingdom of God

The first thing to notice is that Peter doesn’t call it heaven. He calls it the kingdom.

11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

He doesn’t mention heaven; he mentions the kingdom. And if you’ve ever studied the topic of the kingdom of God, you might wonder: Why does Peter talk to Christians about entering the kingdom of heaven as being in the future? Aren’t we already in the kingdom? In one sense, yes, we are.