2 Peter 3:7-13
kept for the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men.
8 But
do not let this one fact
escape your notice, beloved, that
with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one
day.
9 The
Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But
the day of the Lord will come like a
thief, in which the heavens will pass
away with a roar and the elements
will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned
up.
11 Since
all these things are to be destroyed
in this way, what sort of people ought
you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking
for and hastening the coming of the day
of God, because of which the heavens
will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13 But
according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
When New Years rolls around people tend to get
nostalgic
about the past and hopeful about the future. There’s
nothing wrong with that, its good to remember and good to look forward…
But there is one thing that can discourage
folks one way or the other… while looking back or looking ahead… and
that is all the harm and sadness that evil
causes in the world.
We have all seen and remember the effects of evil in the past… we still struggle
with the presence and influence of evil in our world today…
And we understand that… unfortunately… evil will still be around for the New Year.
The problem of evil has persisted in every
generation since the loss of the Garden
of Eden.
The existence of evil…
Moral wickedness, natural disasters… the presence of hatred, pain
and suffering in the world… has been called the “Achilles heel” of the Christian Worldview.
It can not be denied that the origin of… and the presence of… evil in the
world are difficult to understand or to explain… but that difficulty
is clearly not limited to Biblical
Christianity.
The reason that Christianity is singled out though… is because of its balanced
worldview,
Positing that there is real objective
good and that there is real evil, real right and real wrong.
Other popular views deny the reality of right
and wrong… in the Biblically moral or
ethical sense,
Claiming that such distinctions are merely
illusions and convenient lies that we tell
ourselves that serve to make life more livable.
I’m thinking of Darwinian naturalism, scientific
materialism, secular humanism and so on.
As we know… those are the kinds of views that
dominate in western thought today.
Christianity on the other hand, finds the source
of real
and ultimate good in the essential
nature of an all good and all-powerful… Creator God… and so, it is reflected
in His creation.
While the false
worldviews deny that good and evil are real in any metaphysical
sense, Biblical Christianity
holds the line for objective truth and morality…. And so, it is the subject
of ridicule.
The argument goes like this… If there actually
was
an all good Creator, then… He never would have created a world
with evil in it… in
the first place…
And even now, if there really
was such a thing as an all-powerful, good God … then He would fix it and just
eliminate
evil immediately…
so we could all get on with enjoying life without it.
This text we have for our New Year’s Eve… eve
message addresses… and actually answers those questions!
Simply stated… God has His reasons, trust
Him… He is not finished yet!
I’ve titled the message… “What sort of people ought you to
be?” The question is taken right out of the text and is an
important topic for us to consider as we enter into the New Year!
The very
question implies that we have
some responsibility and some control
over what we will do and how
we will behave in the coming year! I trust that this comes as no surprise
to you
I say that because we are constantly being bombarded today with these alternative
worldviews that want to deny personal responsibility and
promote a culture of victimization…
Everyone has an excuse for their bad behavior and failures… its always
someone else’s fault… It’s societies
fault or it’s repressive religions
fault, but one thing is for sure… it’s
not my fault!
Consequently… we are flooded with claims of special privileges and reparations
that are owed to all kinds of perceived minority groups …
Groups that supposedly have been and are
being oppressed and slighted by the rest of us.
But what does the Bible say? Well, it says people should know better than to make
excuses for their bad behavior
and that everyone is responsible whether they accept it or not. (Ro.1:18)
Case
in point is this passage we have before us. It gives a
clear
warning concerning the fact that a
devastating final judgement is eventually going to come upon the whole world…
And it says that God is not sleeping or dead or
a myth… The fact is that He is
alive and well and patiently waiting, giving people a
chance to repent and accept
salvation…
But He will not wait forever!
Given the knowledge
and insight
that we have gained from reading this divine revelation concerning God’s plan and purpose for allowing things to continue a little longer as they are…
The
question is… How should we adjust our priorities, attitudes, and actions
accordingly? Knowing that judgement
is looming and changes need to be made… before
it’s too late…
7 But
by His word the present heavens and
earth are being reserved for
fire, kept for the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men.
The phrase that
begins this verse… “By His Word” refers to the creative word of God…
And it indicates
that the God of creation is
still very actively involved
in the progress and future of the world… everything in it and everyone on it!
Ø Ps.24:1 – The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those
who dwell in it.
Because He made
it… He owns it and He rules
it… all of it forever! But
He does it His way and in His time…
He is holding off on the elimination
of evil for a while and for a reason. To save souls.
The judgement and destruction that is coming is upon ungodly men. There is
nothing confusing or ambiguous about that statement. The ungodly know full well
who they are, they are warned!
Ø Acts 30-31 – “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God
is now declaring to men that all people
everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed
a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having
furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
We have three particular days mentioned in
our passage, none of which are
24-hour days by the way…
but all refer to specific times
related to the dynamic actions of God.
We have the Day
of Judgement here in vs.7; the Day of the Lord in vs.10
and the Day of God in vs.12.
The
Day of Judgement refers to the end of this age when the current state of existence of the heavens
and the earth will be ended. It is the final phase of God’s judgement of this world.
There are several judgements mentioned in
scripture; some past, like with Adam and Eve, the flood, and the Tower
of Babel…
Some are present
and ongoing
like the forgiveness of the sins of each and every person that comes to Christ, the chastening of
sinful believers and the remedial judgment of national Israel.
And then there are several future
judgements still pending like the Bema
Judgement for believers and the Great
White Throne Judgement for the wicked who reject the Lord.
This final act of Judgement in our text will
be executed by fire… Fire purifies away what is corrupt… There
will be no corruption left in the New
World that is coming!
8 But
do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord
one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
The great complaint of unbelievers, as we have
already indicated is… If God is so good and so powerful…
“What’s taking Him so long to get it
right?”
Time is a tricky
thing to be sure! It is a paradox
for us living within the constraints of time… That we can find time to be fleeting in one sense… when we
consider that life is so very short…
And at the same time…quite the opposite… when
we are in pain or in distress… anxious or in great sorrow…
time can seem to drag by so terribly slowly!
God sees time differently
than we do… Of course He understands
perfectly well what time means to us and how it can at one moment
seem a blessing and another seem to be a curse.
But God
is not governed by our conception of time… He uses it for His purposes and
for our good… This saying of a day being a thousand years
is not
meant to be taken literally.
It is saying that our understanding of His ways is
limited and we need to be patient
and trust Him… which can be hard
to do at times for sure... He also knows that and we all know it too.
But even when it seems to us that He is moving
too slowly… He is moving at just the right pace!
9 The
Lord is not slow about His promise,
as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing
for any to perish but for all to come
to repentance.
Now… depending on your view of
soteriology… this verse can mean different things to you.
Soteriology
is the doctrine of Salvation… how God saves people and who He offers
salvation to.
This verse, taken at face value, with
a normal
understanding of the meaning of all of the words… using
the literal
method of interpretation… is very
clear in what it says.
It says God
is patient… toward you, meaning unbelievers…
it says He is waiting for them to come to repentance… it can’t be
speaking of believers because they have already repented!
It says He is not willing that any should perish… it doesn’t mean
that He only desires that the saved would not perish… it means
that He does not desire for the lost to
perish either!
Ezek.18:32 – "For I
have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord
GOD. "Therefore, repent and
live."
Ø
Ezek.33:11 – "Say
to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the
wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!
Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'
It says He
desires for all people to come to come to repentance… Meaning all
without exception not only
all without distinction.
OK… He’s
in charge… but still… What’s taking so long? Couldn’t He
just override
the moral wickedness in men’s hearts and make them good… couldn’t
He just calm all the storms?
Well my friends its not that simple… God
has set up His creation as a package deal concerning the souls of
men and the state of nature…
Ø
Ro. 8:18-22 – For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For
the creation was subjected to futility,
not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that
the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into
the freedom of the glory of the children
of God.
22 For
we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together until now.
The consequences of sin in the world
will continue until they are fully eliminated at the final consummation of
the age when the cleansing by fire will
take place.
In
the meantime, people have a very serious choice to make…
and everyone
must make it for themselves one way or another…
Whether to accept to submit to go God’s way into everlasting life… or to
insist upon going their own way
which leads to destruction.
Ø
Jn.14:6 – Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father but through Me.
Jesus’
way is the way of love… He said so when He affirmed the two great commandments…
Ø
Lk.10:27 – “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL
YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL
YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL
YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL
YOUR MIND; AND YOUR
NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Love
is the answer to the question of what
is taking so long for God to pull the plug on the current world system…
His great love for the world and His
purpose and desire for people to come to freely
love Him!
Love
is the highest virtue that there is, all other
virtues can be understood as flowing from love!
Ø
1 Cor.13:13 – But
now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
But love coerced or forced is not love
at all… Love must be freely given in
order to be real.
The value of uncoerced love is dependent
upon the necessity for true free will.
Why
doesn’t God do something… to stop the wicked from being able
to choose the evil?
Because the value of free choice is intimately
connected to the ability to love!
If God were to take away the ability
for man to choose, He would remove the ability to love!
So, the rebellious can choose to rebel and
the willing can choose to obey the
will of God.
Because, to use a metaphor that Jesus used… for
the time being… He is letting the weeds
grow along with the wheat in the
field…. Until the great harvest at
the end
of the age!
Ø
Mt.13:24-30 – Jesus presented another parable to
them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good
seed in his field.
27
“The slaves of the landowner came
and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does
it have tares?’
28
“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has
done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather
them up?’
30
‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of
the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them
in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
If He was to pull up the weeds too soon… some of the wheat would be
lost. If God destroyed the current system too soon the souls of the ones yet to come to salvation would
be lost.
10 But
the day of the Lord will come
like a thief, in which the
heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be
destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
The
Day of the Lord is a well-established doctrine
in both the Old and New Testaments. It will begin with the 70th
week of Daniel, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the future Tribulation period…
And it will end at the conclusion of the
1,000-year Millennial Kingdom…
culminating with the final fiery judgement that we have been
discussing.
Ø Rev.21:1-5 – Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the
first heaven and the first earth passed
away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her
husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the
throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from
their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer
be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
11 Since
all these things are to be destroyed
in this
way, what
sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
Aren’t you glad
we have such a loving and patient God who speaks
to us so clearly to let us know what He is doing and what
He expects from us?
He has given us the greatest freedom in
all of creation… the freedom to choose what we will love! But along with this great freedom
comes great responsibility!
Knowing all theses things
and in light of the rest of what God has
revealed to us through nature, conscience and Scripture…
We come back to the question of the day… looking
ahead to this New year…
what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?
Should we be cultivating and shaping our worldview, our actions and our
efforts to get the most that we can now out of this doomed world?
I
think not! May God continue to help us!
12 looking
for and
hastening the coming of the day
of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning,
and the
elements will melt with intense heat!
The
Day of God is the New Day that is coming along with
the renewed
creation!
Don’t settle for less! Don’t loose hope! Don’t
loose patience or give up on God!
13 But according to His promise we are looking for
new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. In the meantime…
Love God, love your neighbor and… Keep looking up!
Ø Ro.13:10-12 – Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of
the law.
11 Do this, knowing the
time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now,
salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
12 The night is almost
gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and
put on the armor of light.
