FALSE TEACHING IN THE CHURCH. Last week we looked at Peter’s very candid words found in the second chapter of this his second letter where he addressed the church in regards to how they are to respond to false teachers in their midst being mindful of the judgment of God that has been and is reserved for them. This week, as we begin chapter 3, we are going to see how Peter deals with a particular false teaching that the false teachers had brought into the church.
2 PETER 3:1-7
DENYING CHRIST’S RETURN AND POWER TO JUDGE
The false teachers that had infiltrated the church were attacking one of the very foundational beliefs of the Christian Faith and that being JESUS’ SECOND COMING AND IMPENDING JUDGMENT. You can almost hear how it must have been in the early church. Preachers and teachers proclaiming Jesus’ second coming and impending judgment upon sin and the world and all the while the false teachers would have scoffed beneath their breath and then having conversations with the believers saying, “DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THIS?” “THERE IS NO WAY THAT ANY OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE! JUST CONSIDER…..”
THE BASIS OF THEIR DENIAL:
1. DISBELIEF. These false teachers, in the face of Jesus’ clear teaching through His prophets as well as the teaching that came from His own lips, denied Jesus’ Second Coming and judgment upon sin. THEY KNEW THE SCRIPTURES. THEY HAD BEEN TO CHURCH! THEY HAD HEARD THE SERMONS AND PARTICIPATED IN THE BIBLE STUDIES and yet did not trust in the promise of Jesus regarding all of this that is to come. Hear Jesus’ words—JOHN 5:22, MATTHEW 24, JOHN 14:1-6. The false teachers denied Jesus’ Second Coming and Power to Judge because of their lack of faith in the promises of Jesus and His Word.
2. LOVE. The second basis for their denial is due to their insatiable love for their own sin. Peter said, “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” Do not miss the fact that their scoffing is motivated by their following of their own sinful desires. If you remember last week we saw that these false teachers had an insatiable desire for sin (2:14). They loved their sin. There was no blushing. No shame. No remorse whatsoever. They hungered and thirsted after sin instead of righteousness. When your heart is such and you live as such it is natural to deny Jesus’ Second Coming and judgment upon sin. This makes sins. If you are loving and living in sin the last thing you would want to think about or confirm is Jesus’ Second Coming and His power to judge sin.
3. MISINTERPRETATION. The final basis of their denial of Jesus’ Second Coming and Power to Judge is their misperception of time. They look at the past as well as their current day and all they see is the cycle of life going on—people are born; they grow up; they die. Nation rises against nation in war. Empires rule and reign then they are replaced. And so goes time. This error is fundamentally driven by their disbelief of Jesus’ words as well for Jesus said that there would be signs of His coming and the end of the age and ever since His ascension we have seen these signs—the first century Christians saw some of these signs in the demise of Jerusalem and the Temple at the hands of the Romans—and they have been increasing in frequency and intensity. HISTORY IS NOT JUST PASSING BY PURPOSELESSLY BUT IS HEADING TOWARDS ITS CULMINATION IN JESUS’ SECOND COMING AND JUDGMENT UPON SIN.
PETER’S REBUTTAL. These false teachers, in saying that “nothing is changing and time is just continuing to go on as it always has,” are denying the fact that Jesus will intervene in human history. They erroneously deny Jesus’ Second Coming and impending judgment on the basis of their belief that the world is a closed system that Jesus does not intervene in or interfere with but simply lets all things continue on as they always have, running its course so to speak, until the universe “runs out of steam” and simply ceases to exist. Philosophically and theologically these are called Deists. There is no such thing as the supernatural or miraculous because to affirm such would be to affirm God’s action in the universe. Reality is that the universe is not a closed system where Jesus does not interfere or intervene and Peter refutes the false teachers with two illustrations:
a. GOD CREATES. The idea that “things continue on as they always have” alludes to the idea of the eternal existence of the universe. We know, as Peter points out, that the universe has not eternally existed but was created by God and because the universe is His creation then He does intervene and interfere according to His good and perfect purposes. Peter uses God’s activity IN CREATION as proof that HE WILL ONCE AGAIN ENTER HIS CREATION for His own purposes.
b. GOD JUDGES. A portion of the purpose of Jesus’ Second Coming is to judge sin. The false teachers denied the idea of judgment at the expense of clear biblical teaching. They “deliberately overlook[ed]” the clear teaching of Scripture in regards to these matters. Peter uses the illustration of God’s judgment upon the world of Noah’s day as evidence for the judgment that is coming when Jesus returns.
c. IGNORING THE SIGNS TODAY. I want to tread lightly here but my fear is that we can unintentionally fall into this category. It is not so much that we deny the Second Coming of Christ but that we forget about where time and history is leading us. We all have busy lives and plans we want to accomplish but let us be reminded that everything in this life is temporary. If we get so tied up in the here and now we will do so at the expense of living in anticipation of that which is to come. Furthermore, we cannot continue to hear the news of what is going on in our world—mass killing of Christians, the escalating and intensifying drama surrounding Israel, unhindered sinful immorality, etc…--and forget that prophecies are being fulfilled and signs are showing themselves that the end is coming and Jesus’ return is immanent. I am not saying that we try to figure out dates and times but that we live in joyful anticipation of that which is coming!
DO YOU BELIEVE?
Do you believe that Jesus is coming back to welcome to Himself those who are His own and to bring judgment upon those who refuse Him? Do you really, really believe this? Is your life living proof of your professed beliefs? There are three reasons why the issue of Jesus’ Second Coming and His power to judge sin is critically important for the Christian:
• JOY. Because Jesus’ Second Coming is sure, Christians can live with joy even when things are hard. This life is temporary. The pains, tears and heartaches we experience in the here and now will not last forever. There is coming a day when Jesus will come back and take us to be with Him forever in that place where there is no sickness, sin or death. When we realize that this life is temporary then we can live with genuine joy knowing that whatever hardships there are now they will not last forever—JOHN 16:33.
• MOTIVATION. The surety of the Second Coming motivates the Christian to holy living. While those who deny Jesus’ Second Coming revel in their sin and wickedness those who believe in Jesus’ Second Coming strive for holiness so that they may be found faithful and pleasing by Him at His appearing—PHILIPPIANS 1:27.
• URGENCY. Finally, the surety of Jesus’ Second Coming in power to judge sin establishes a sense of urgency in regards to Gospel proclamation by those who believe. It will be a GREAT DAY when Jesus returns for those who are in Him because they will be received by Him and granted their eternal inheritance. But, for those who reject Jesus, His Second Coming will be nothing but a DREADFUL DAY because He will come in judgment upon sin and for those who reject Him will receive the eternity they have chosen—separation from Him in hell. Because we desire nobody to ever enter eternity without knowing Christ the Church is moved to urgency in Gospel proclamation when we truly believe in Jesus’ Second Coming and judgment upon sin—REVELATION 20:15.
TRUE OR FALSE? Words are cheap and often easy to come by when asked a question about our beliefs. However, as we have seen, genuine belief will reflect itself is tangible ways. Do you have joy in your life knowing that the best is yet to come and that the hardships of this life are only temporary? Are you motivated to holiness desiring to be found faithful and pleasing unto Him when He comes back? Do you have a sense of urgency regarding the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus knowing that He is our only hope and only He can save us from the judgment to come? Jesus is coming back! True or False? Jesus will judge sin! True or False?
