Last Wednesday evening, a student from ONU joined our group to do an assignment he had for a class. He was supposed to visit a church and then write a report. He found our church through our website and called us to be sure we were meeting. I’d love to read his report.
Every day I’m reminded what a privilege it is to serve as pastors in this congregation, not just to see your faces every Sunday, but
• to hear testimonies of your faith,
• to see the children come for Sunday school,
• to observe the dedication of teachers, board members, and janitors,
• to learn about the ways you help and encourage one another,
• to experience your fellowship.
Nothing can take the place of being a part of the body of Christ and I know that many of you are praying that your friends and family members will join you here someday. As one of you said to me recently, after reflecting on your experiences, “Why wouldn’t my family want to be here with me?” and another said “I strained my head last Sunday looking for my friend to come in the door.”
As I studied II Peter 3 this past week, I found an expression that made me think that Peter felt the same way about the congregations he knew. Four times in this chapter he uses the word “Beloved,” a word that expresses the admiration, affection, and close relationship he must have felt. And each time he uses the word, it seems to be connected with a statement of his concern for them. For example, after his first use of “beloved” in 3:1 he asks his readers to “remember.” After the last one in verse 17 he tells them to “beware.” You can find two others in between.
The word “beloved” becomes all the more important when we realize how concerned Peter was for the spiritual well-being of the Christians in these congregations scattered over the countryside. After all, when you feel close to someone, you don’t want to see that person fail. You want the very best for him or her. And that was Peter’s goal. He was trying to encourage and renew the faith of those Christians who were living in a toxic environment. We can see Peter’s concern for their spiritual and moral character all through the chapter, but it comes to a climax in the last paragraph. Sue pointed out last week that in chapter 2 we don’t find even one command, but in the last paragraph of ch 3 alone, we find four.
14 Strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish
15 Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation
17 Beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability.
18 Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
These four summarize II Peter and all of them can serve as helpful guideposts.
1. Without spot or blemish. You will remember that when the Katrina hurricane disaster was unfolding in New Orleans, news reports showed photos of the floodwaters that had become a toxic stew from all the garbage, human waste, rotting corpses, along with oil, gasoline and other chemicals that had spilled into it. People were warned to get out because the polluted water was dangerous to their health.
We all know it’s hard to stay healthy in a contaminated environment. The pollution in our physical world has caused untold misery from illnesses and deformities. Spiritually and morally also, our world is a mess. For many, financial gain has taken top priority, but life itself has become cheap. Honesty and integrity have taken a back seat to personal pleasure. Sexual relationships have become more important than commitment. Our radios and televisions spew out worthless drivel that eventually numbs people’s minds.
But God has called his people to remain pure even while living in an impure, vulgar environment. In some ways it’s like a rose among brambles or a lonely little petunia in an onion patch. In 2:13 where Peter writes about those who indulge in the flesh and have turned against God’s authority, he calls them blots and blemishes. Anyone who has tried to polish a car or sand a piece of furniture knows how damaging blots and blemishes can be. They detract from value and beauty.
Throughout the Bible, God calls us to holy living that is different from the putrid, toxic swamp around us. Christians are to be pure, without spot or blemish. Eph. 5:27 says that Christ wants to present the church to God “without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes so that she may be holy and without blemish.” We are called to be in the world but not of it. Paul said in Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” God’s people live with a mindset that contrasts with those who live by the values of this world. Christians live not to please themselves, but to please God. And, as Peter writes in chapter 1, God has provided the resources to do it. He has given us his precious and very great promises, so that thru them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world. Have you allowed God to transform you? Do you stand out in this polluted world as one who reflects God’s character or have you kind of melted into the environment? Strive to be found by him without spot or blemish.
2. Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. What difference does the way I live make? What does it matter, someone might ask. My neighbor does bad things all the time and he never gets caught. Why should I care?
(A) The answer is that one day both you and your neighbor will need to answer to God. God made you. He gave you life. He has put his stamp on this world so that it runs by the laws he has established. For example, if you ignore the law of gravity, you will get hurt. If you eat the wrong things, you will get sick. I heard of a little boy who crawled under the fence to his neighbor’s apple tree and ate a green apple. He got a bad tummy ache. His phone number was 812 GREEN. Not every violation of God’s laws gets immediate results, but in the end, when God pulls the curtain across the stage of time, you will be accountable to him.
(Q) Do you mean to tell me that all that stuff about the end of the world and about Jesus coming again is true?
(A) Yes it is. People in Peter’s day were asking that question, too. That is what chapter 3 is about. They had heard about the return of Jesus. They knew people like Peter who preached it. They knew Christians like you who believed it.
But they thought God had nothing to do with them. God, if there was one, lived in some far off place, never interfering with things that happened in human affairs. In verse 4, we read that they were asking, “Where is the promise of his coming?” Nothing had changed from the beginning, they said.
Whoa. Not so fast. Peter reminded them of two things: (1) God created the world. You know the story of how God separated the water from the dry land. He spoke the word, and it happened. (2) Later on God used water to bring judgment on the world. If you read Genesis 6, you will see that people in Noah’s time were corrupt, violent, and wicked. And God said he determined to make an end of all flesh through a flood. Never forget that we live in a world with guidelines of right and wrong that God has established. How can you say that God has nothing to do with our world? God may be separate from our world, but he is not uninvolved. And the battle with hurricanes in this country has reminded many people again about God’s involvement in our world. And there will again come a day when God will bring judgment on the earth, only this time it won’t be with water, but with fire v. 7 says. If you are a follower of Jesus, you believe that God is in control.
(Q) But then, people ask, if that is so, why does God wait so long?
(A) Here is the answer. It’s because God is waiting for you to turn to him. Do you think God wants to destroy his creation? Peter says “God is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” We don’t know how long God will wait. Kids think of time in a different way than adults. If it doesn’t happen in the next 10 minutes, it is a long time. Young people think of time in a different way than older people. If it doesn’t happen in the next 10 days it is a long time. When you get older, time seems to fly. Even 10 years seems short. If the passage of time seems so different to all of us, how do you think it looks to God?
The fact is we don’t know when Jesus will come. Did you know you can help make it come faster? In 3:12, Peter says we can help hasten the day. How? First, repent. Second, pray. Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come.” Third, preach. Jesus said in Mt. 24:14 that “the gospel will be preached throughout the world and then the end will come.” Have you repented? Are you praying? Who have you told about the Gospel? Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.
3. Beware that you do not lose your own stability. We learned in chapter 1, that Peter’s big concern for these Christians was that they be established in the faith, so that they don’t waver and end up denying their Lord as he did when Jesus was on trial. Peter knew how difficult it was to stay the course.
Last Sunday when I took some kids home from church, they saw a little gadget on the windshield. What’s that, they asked. A compass. Sometimes we end up on a road going in a direction we aren’t sure of. A compass helps us keep on course.
Most of you know that I have begun a men’s support group called Tuesday @ 4. (Maybe you kids can guess what time it meets.) Last week we talked about wanting to do what’s right, but not being able to do it. One man said that even though he makes up his mind to do one thing, when the situation presents itself he does something else. We all understood what he meant. (I doubt this is unique to men.) We have good intentions, but somehow we aren’t able to carry them out.
It’s not a new problem. When Peter wrote to little clusters of believers scattered about in a pagan world, he knew that some had drifted away from their spiritual foundations. They were not bad people; they wanted to do what was right. They didn’t mean to deny Christ; they had promised to follow him just as he had. They didn’t intentionally get off course, but somehow they had. They remind me of a university student I knew in Japan who studied all night for his exam and decided to take a quick nap before the test. He slept through the exam and failed the course.
Peter was afraid that would happen to these Christians, so he wrote these letters to call them back to the promises they had made. In 3:1, Peter writes, “I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you…” And what does he remind them of? He wants them to remember what the prophets have said and what the church leaders have told them. Remember, remind, refresh –these are all words we find in II Peter. Last Sunday we saw in Ch. 2 Peter’s warning about leaders who had gone astray, false teachers who taught lies and destructive opinions, who said that behavior doesn’t matter. Watch out for them, he warned. Maybe Peter recalled the time he tried to walk toward Jesus on the water and when he took his eyes off Jesus, he sank. There is nothing to test your stability like walking on water. But keep your eyes on Jesus whether you are on land or at sea. Jesus holds the compass for morality and spiritual success. Do you remember the promises you made when you were baptized? Beware that you do not lose your own stability. How can you do that?
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter’s final advice is to grow. We could take a whole day to talk about this, but let me do it with one image, the image of family. Every living being needs to grow. (Miracle-gro) We grow best in a loving family. As Warren Wiersbe says, a baby needs a family for protection, provision, and affection. And that is what the church can provide for us. Unfortunately, because our culture emphasizes independence and self-direction, many Christians are out there on their own, trying to make it by themselves. As I told a teenager the other day, when you become a Christian, you become part of a family. You are not on your own.
So, take advantage of opportunities to grow:
• Fill your plate with spiritual food, learning all you can about God’s plan for the world and his purposes for you. And don’t be content with spiritual nuggets you get on the run. Pull up to the table, take the time, and get the nutrition you need. Recently, people we don’t even know have asked if we have Sunday school classes. Or Wednesday evening study. These are excellent opportunities to grow.
• Exercise your spiritual muscle by serving others inside and outside the church. Whether you work at the soup kitchen, in a classroom, or with a mop in your hand, you can learn what it means to be a servant like Jesus. You’ll be amazed what that will do to keep you stable.
• Improve your social and emotional skills through Christian fellowship. Allow the words, the handshakes, and hugs of others to lift you up and encourage you. We need each other if we are going to walk the path of righteousness, peace and harmony the way Jesus wants us to live.
Conclusion
As people of God, don’t allow cultural pressures or false teachings to draw you away from your spiritual foundation in Christ. If you have been cleansed of your sins, God has called you to right living in a world that has a lot wrong with it. If you have not, it’s not too late to start if you do it right now.
