The Day of the Lord, Part 1
2 Peter Sermon Series, Part 4
2 Peter 3:1-10
Introduction
- Purpose: Peter gives guidance and reassurance to the growing church
-- As a disciple maker his desire is to see others grow in knowledge of Christ
-- Promise he stands on: the Gospel we/they are preaching is Jesus!
-- Re: The Gospel is our measuring stick; and it is what saves (not us)
- In our message last week, we talked about the dangers of false teachers
-- We discussed how useless they are to drawing people to God
-- We also looked at the need to avoid them; to be faithful to God’s word
- This morning we will start to examine the final chapter of 2 Peter
-- Two-part message - conclude next week – focus is on the day of the Lord
-- Or in other words, the return of Christ to rescue His bride
-- Lots to cover today – ask for you to pray for me to deliver it well!
- Read 2 Peter 3:1-10 / Pray for guidance, revelation, and faithfulness
- This topic has fascinated many – even in the 1st century
-- But know this: fascination is not what God is after from you and I
-- What God wants from us is understanding -- which leads to submitting to Him
-- And that submission leads into being prepared for a great day!
-- What day is that?
Point 1 – The day of Jesus’ return!
- FACT: Jesus’ return is going to be the most pivotal moment in history
-- Second only to His birth, His return will be the closing out of the current age
- However, as Peter encourages us, we must have our minds stimulated in truth
-- Discipleship Moment: “Laziness, will not do for the Christian …”
-- APP: We are called to be watchful, alert, focused on this promise (v1-2)
- To do this, we must first remember the words of the prophets, and
-- Second, must we remember the commandments of Jesus
-- Obvious: What do these have in common? They both point to the Bible!
- APP: Don’t miss what Peter does here, in discipleship it’s about God
-- His word is what guides us, and in it, we find all the answers to life’s mysteries
-- Peter says to stimulate your mind with wholesome thinking, remember God
-- GR: eilikrine dianoian; clear, uncontaminated, and intentional mind
- APP: Our thoughts should be regularly sifted (we have control over our mind)
-- How? We are to sift out the trash of the world with the truth of the Word
-- Why? Because scripture is clear; it is authoritative; it is our foundation
- Peter tells us to remember … but to remember you have to study!
-- There is a necessity implied here: IF we don’t study, we cannot KNOW!
-- And in our knowledge, we are to discern those scoffers will come (v3)
- Setup: When Jesus first came, it was a key (appointed) moment in time
• Gal 4:4, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.”
• 1 Peter 1:20, “God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”
• Heb 1:2, “And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.”
- REALITY: Right now - we are living in the final stages of history
-- We live in the age of grace, a time of God’s favor and patience with us
-- Patience in what? To give us opportunity to know Jesus and be rescued / saved
- This time (today) is commonly referred to as:
• The last days: 2 Tim 3:1, “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.”
• John called it the last hour: 1 John 2:18, “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.”
- IMP: Know this, his patience does not extend forever (as we understand time)
-- GR: eschate hora; the last hour; the midnight hour, the time of the world’s end
-- Peter says that time is running out; we must heed the warning here
- We’ve discussed this before: When is this momentous time to occur?
-- The answer is that no man knows; only God knows the exact moment
-- But speaking of time, v8 tells us quite simply how time is measured
-- Mustn’t fall into the trap of predicting here b/c we know time is not equal
- TR: But what we will see is that people will continue to refuse He’s coming
-- They are called scoffers, disobedient people who deny deity/promise of Jesus
-- They will point to Christ’s return as being foolish (don’t we see this now)
-- Let’s talk a bit about the scoffers and …
Point 2 – How can we identify the scoffers of God’s truth?
- Define: A scoffer is someone who ridicules or makes fun of something
-- Normally seen as someone who may be ignorant, so mocking is all they have
-- They are also, like false teachers, easy to identify if we are paying attention
-- I see three things mentioned about how we can identify them:
1. Scoffers always follow their own desires (v3)
- Foundation: They live like they want; choosing to do their own thing
-- Motivation: pleasures of the flesh or things that bring selfish gratification
- Scoffers will follow their own evil desires to bring themselves happiness
-- Contrary to how God tells us to live: 1 Thess. 4:4-5, “Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor - not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.”
2. Scoffers laugh at the coming of Christ (v4)
- Foundation: It’s already been thousands of years, why believe Jesus is coming?
-- APP: This is the logic applied to those who continually ridicule God’s promise
- 2 arguments: “There is so much suffering now, surely a God who loves us would have come back before today and rescued a world He says He loves …”
- What they fail to realize is that God already provided the means of rescue
-- Through grace, in His timeline, gives us opportunity to repent and know Him
-- How do we know Him? By accepting Jesus as Lord for forgiveness of our sin
- IMP: Fail to see the application of grace – rather – they feel He is (simply) late
-- Said another way: God is an absentee landlord; out of sight and out of mind
- Worse yet, they believe God is a liar, thus, they do what they want
-- But God’s promise of purpose still exists – even if it is denied by man
- Another argument: “The world continues like it always has, I see no reason to think it will change, so why would I worry about Jesus’ coming some day?”
- Their (faulty) logic is that the universe is stable, and will continue on
-- Consider: “Nature has its issues, but it will keep going; no need to worry”
-- But they miss that it was created by a Word – and can be uncreated as well
3. Scoffers are ignorant of three biblical truths (v5-7) Scripture declares:
I. The world is not self-creating and self-sufficient (God spoke)
- The worthiness and power of God ought to always be before us
- What He can do with a spoken word is more than we can comprehend
II. The world has not always been as we know it
- FACT: There was a world before, and it was destroyed by God’s judgment
- Why? Because of our sin, rebellion, and refusal to obey
- Check out Genesis 6-9 … riveting reading for any time of day (the flood)
III. The heavens/earth are being kept for destruction (by fire)
- Get this: Everything we see is being kept to one day be destroyed
- How? By God’s command! And how does He command? He speaks!
- Ignorance of a day of His coming will not excuse us from it; Jesus taught …
-- Matt 25:31-32, “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
- TR: Scripture tells us repeatedly that Jesus will return, and …
-- Even in the face of denial, we must know and understand this truth today
-- This is the focus of Peter’s encouragement in our last point …
Point 3 – We must be ready to explain that His return is imminent!
- Every generation has proclaimed that Jesus will be “coming soon”
-- Even though 1,989 years have passed – we need to see that He is still coming
- Deeper: Every writer in the Bible believed that Jesus would return quickly
-- Paul was not wrong when he looked for Jesus to return quickly (ref. 1 Cor 15)
-- He lived expectantly, just as Peter does here, likewise we should also!
- Teach: If asked, “Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet?” Here’s your response:
1. God does not measure time like we do (v8)
- FACT: God is eternal; He is outside of time; the Creator of day & night
-- To God, there is no span of time … parents use the word “soon” …
-- It does not mean immediately, bible implies the same notion
- Why? So that we would be expectant (hopeful, excited) of His arrival
-- GET THIS: If 1,000 days to us is 1 day to Him … then it’s only been 2 days!
-- FACT: I’d rather be on the welcoming committee than the planning committee
2. God is not slow in sending Christ back to Earth - He is patient (v9)
- What is He patient about? Giving His creation time to repent; turn to Jesus
-- Why? His wrath is certain – His judgment is assured – and he is gracious
-- How? Through the saving Jesus brings by providing the way to Heaven
- GR: makrothumei; means patient, perseveres, and suffers (with us)
-- Simply: God is willing to delay His judgment so we can come to Him
-- KEY CONCEPT: Judgment delayed is not judgment canceled
- We have an opportunity today … cannot waste it thinking of tomorrow
-- Acts 17:30-31, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
3. The Day of the Lord is coming unexpectedly (v10)
- Note Peter’s word use here … it will be sudden, like a thief
-- But why? Not knowing when He is coming keeps us focused on Him
-- It provides us with motivation to continue serving, witnessing, growing
- Note: everything passes away; all of the elements are destroyed?
-- Big question: Why would this occur? Why would God destroy it all?
- Look ahead to next week, and to v13 … so He can create a new heavens/earth
-- Why? Because this new creation is where His righteousness will dwell
- Consider: A world without sin and corruption; in perfect unity with God
-- With all of our corrupt “creations” removed, He gives us a clean pallet
-- Don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to world without sin; glorious!
Conclusion
- So, what are we to do while we wait for “soon” to happen?
- We watch and we pray; we repent from sin, and we focus on living for Jesus
-- Matt 5:18, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”
-- What is the purpose of God’s Law? To show us our need for a Savior!
Application of Truth
- We must not be like the scoffers - must be intentional and focused on Jesus
-- How do we get focused? By doing the things He told us to do!
-- Our hope is that we know He will come – the timing could even be today
- Are you ready? I pray that you are. Are you prepared? We should be!
-- Anxious? Don’t be – His promise is secure, but we have to be ready!
-- So … how do we truly live expecting His arrival at any moment?
- Join me next week and we’ll dive into that. (Pray)
