There was a day when the people heard that the earth would be destroyed.  They laughed at the thought.  They rejected the warning.  They mocked those that heeded the warning.  “How could the earth be destroyed?” they asked.  They heard the warning, but their lives weren’t affected in the least.

 

Others headed the warning.  They made appropriate preparations.  They were saved. The whole face of the earth was destroyed.  This really happened.  You can read the account in Genesis 6-8.

 

We have been warned again.  The earth – everything – will be destroyed.  Everything you see now will be gone.  We have been warned.  Everyone has been warned.  How will this warning affect us?  How will you be affected by this warning?

 

The Apostle Peter tells us how many will respond. 

2 Peter 3:3-4
Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

They will mock.  They do mock.  They will live according to their lusts (desires).  They will live as they please with no thought of a future judgment.

 

Let’s take a closer look at what is going to happen when everything is destroyed.  Read 2 Peter 3:7-18 and then come back to this article.  He says in verse 14...

 

 “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things...what things? The day of God, the new heavens and the new earth, the eternal state, the glorious Kingdom awaiting us in the presence of God forever and ever.”

 

Looking for these things, remembering these things, should affect our lives. But how?  In 2 Peter 3:11, Peter wants us to consider how the Day of the Lord should affect our lives. 

2 Peter 3:11
11Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

How should it affect our holy conduct and godliness?  Peter gives us 4 ways our lives should be affected when since we know the Day of the Lord (the destruction of the earth) is coming:

 

Four ways our lives should be affected when since we know the Day of the Lord (the destruction of the earth) is coming:

 

We should…

 

 

1. Make intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice (v.14).

2 Peter 3:14
14Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

He calls them ‘beloved.’  They are believers.  They are Christians.  He is talking about the responsibilities, duties, of Christians.

 

Since we, as Christians, are looking for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, we should not be worrisome or anxious.  But we should be making intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice of praise.  We should not be cowering in fear, but working to worship Him.

 

Fake Fighting

When I was in elementary school, I used to have a great time at recess.  My class had a little stage that we went through when we would all ‘fake fight’ with each other.  Oh man, it was a blast!  We did you the Batman and Robin sound effects when we could.  That made it better.  Sometimes we couldn’t because we would get pretty loud, and the teacher would tell us that we couldn’t make any sound.  As the days went by, our fake fighting became more and more rigorous.  After a few people got hurt, the teacher decided to put an end to it.  No more fake fighting. 

 

Needless to say, we, as a group, didn’t stop immediately.  Actually, I did stop immediately…I just didn’t stay stopped.  For the next couple of days, I didn’t fake fight.  I just had a great time watching everyone else.  The teacher walked in the room, and a bunch of guys were given ‘tallies.’  I think it was the 3rd day when I couldn’t take the pressure anymore.  I joined in.  I thought it would be fun, but it wasn’t.  I was looking over my shoulder constantly.  I was so scared, I had to stop.  I sat down.  Then the teacher came in, caught a bunch of guys, and I was in the clear.  I was in the clear, but my conscience wasn’t in the clear.  Ohhh!  I eventually got found out, thanks to my former tattletailing friend, Peter John Baker. 

 

I had been warned of my responsibilities and I had been warned of my teacher’s coming back.  I chose to live out my recess in fear.  I should have chosen to live in peace.  I should have chosen to respect and honor my teacher with perfected adherence to her commands.  I made a poor choice.

 

Peter is saying, “You are looking for His coming.  Don’t live in such a way that should cause you to fear.  Be found by Him in peace - a holy, acceptable sacrifice to God.”

 

How should the coming of the Lord affect our holy conduct and godliness?  Peter gives us 4 ways our lives should be affected when since we know the Day of the Lord (the destruction of the earth) is coming: We should make intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice, and we should...

 

 

2. Value the opportunity you have to lead others to Christ (v.15).

 

In verse 9, Peter says that the Lord is not slow about His promise as some men count Him to be slow.  In fact, the reason He is “slow” to come back is that He is patient with those people that have not repented.  We should consider His ‘slowness’ to be patience, and His patience is evidence of His desire to see all men come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:15
15and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

Knowing that the Lord is coming back should not cause us to sit on the roof of our house in our pajamas waiting for the Lord to come bursting through the clouds.  God wants us to be busy doing what He says is important.  In heaven we can know God, praise God, and fellowship with other believers.  If that were all God wanted us to do, He would take us to be with Him in heaven right now.  He wants us to evangelize, to make disciples. 

 

It is important that we value our time on earth as an opportunity to lead others to repentance.  We should be constantly looking for ways to share the gospel.  We need to help other people to repent.  As God's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5.18-21), we are to be taking God’s message of reconciliation to the world.  We are to plead with men to be reconciled to God.  We are to beg them to leave their sin, deny themselves, submit to Christ as their Master, ask for forgiveness, trust Him for eternal life, and enjoy sweet fellowship with their Creator. 

• Are you looking for ways to share the truth of the gospel with others?
• Are you living in such a way that would detract from the message of the gospel?  Does your life contradict your profession of Christ?
• Are you ready to share the truth with others?  Do you know how to clearly explain the gospel from the Scriptures?
• Do you plead with men to be reconciled?  Do you earnestly desire men to come to repentance?  Do you love people that much?  Can people tell that you love them?

Peter says we should understand the truth about the coming of Christ, the patience of Christ, God’s desire to see all men to come to repentance.  Peter is saying, ‘Listen to me.  I am telling you the truth, but I want you to know I am not the only one saying these things.”  He tells them that the Apostle Paul also says these things. 

 

The fact that Paul says these same things is significant because (1) He is ‘beloved’ and (2) because his words did not originate with himself.  When he talked about these things he wrote with a wisdom that was given to him by God.  And, He was writing to you.  It was not useless information.  He wasn’t just rambling.  The goal was for you to understand it.  In fact, Paul has written many letters that speak of these things. 

 

But, Peter says that there are some hard things in Paul’s letters that are hard to understand.  Because there are difficult things to understand, the untaught (untrained) and unstable (changeable) twist the meaning.  These men don’t stop with Paul’s writings, the do it with all of the Scritpures…to their own destruction.

 

All this leads Peter to his next point, which is also our next point.  How should a right understanding of God, the coming of Christ, and the judgment of Christ affect you?  You should make intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice, value the opportunity you have to lead others to Christ (v.15), and...

 

 

3. Guard yourself from error by carefully and properly interpreting the Word (v.17).

2 Peter 3:17
17You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

Peter says in verse 17, “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand.”  He appeals to them as people He loves dearly, pleading with them.  He says, knowing that these doctrines can be twisted, know that the writings of Paul can be hard to understand, knowing that we are held accountable for how we handle the text of Scripture, ‘be on your guard.’  Be on your guard.  As you read and study the word, ‘be on your guard.’  Guard yourself.  Know the Word.  Study the Word.  Study it carefully!

 

Actually, Peter is giving us many reasons why we should guard ourselves - why we should guard ourselves with careful study of the Word.  Why?  Study carefully because…

• The Word is from God.  It is God’s Word.  When God speaks we should listen carefully.

Ephesians 3:3-5
that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

 

1 Thessalonians 2:13
For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

 

1 Corinthians 2:12-13
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

• The Word was written to you.  It is designed for you to know and understand.

Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

• Some things are hard to understand.

Some things in the Word will be difficult to grasp. This word, which is found only here in the NT, was used in secular Greek to describe writings that were ambiguous or obscure.  Some things are prone to being misunderstood because the meaning seems to be ambiguous (hard to understand) or easily capable of misinterpretation (hard to understand). 

 

Guard yourself with careful study.  Don’t be satisfied with a ‘first-glance’ understanding.  Don’t be naïve.  Some things are hard to understand.  They can be easily misunderstood.

• The meaning of the Word can be twisted.

Many people have twisted the meaning.  Don’t believe everything you hear.  Study diligently. 

 

Many Christians will give credit to false teachers.  When you ask them about why they would listen to such a teacher, they respond, “Well, at least they use the Scriptures.”  Of course they do!  That’s what false teachers do.  They use them to accomplish their own agenda!

• God holds people accountable for how we interpret and teach His Word.

For false teachers that twist the meaning of the Word, they will be destroyed.

2 Peter 2:1
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

 

Jude 4
For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

• You can be carried away by error.

• You need to be stable in your Christian walk.

Peter does not say that the Word is difficult to understand, so let only the elite interpret it.  He tells all the people - all of us - to guard ourselves from error.

 

How is your study of the Word?  Do you do it carefully?

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Some Christians shutter at the thought of being ‘technical’ in their study.  They want it to be simple. 

 

Let me be practical here.  How do you read the Word carefully and properly?

 

Look for the single meaning that the author of Scripture intended.  There is only one meaning.  You don’t ask the question, ‘what does this passage mean to me?’  You should ask, "What does God mean?" or "What does this passage mean?"

• Understand the passage literally.  Understand it normally. 
• Understand the historical context.  You are asking yourself what the Scripture writer meant by what he said.  How would the original readers have understood him.
• Understand the grammar of the author.  Ask yourself why the author used the past tense as opposed to the future tense.  A superficial reading of the text can very well lead to a wrong interpretation of the meaning.  Don’t be encouraged by the text until you understand what it says.  If you don’t understand English grammar very well, it is worth your while to get more familiar with it.  What is more important than understanding exactly what God says?  Give Him your best.
• Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “the most dangerous book in the world is the Bible.”  We don’t want to misunderstand the Word of God.  We don’t want to give others the wrong interpretation of the Word of God.

Read the Bible to know your God.  That is reading it properly.  We should not read the Bible to merely know facts.  We have a personal relationship. 

 

Read the Bible as a whole.  Don’t read just the parts you like.  Reading the whole Bible helps you to understand each individual part.  It gives you the big context. 

 

Read the Bible with an open mind.  Let me explain.  Men often misinterpret the Bible because they really want the Bible to conform to their own ideas.  They want support for their own theories.  Let God say what He wants to say.  This is perhaps one way of following James’ exhortation to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

 

Read the Bible with humility.  Many proud men read the Word.  They learn many facts.  But, a proud many is only a hearer of the Word.  He does not receive the Word in humility.  He hears the truth, but does not do it.  He learns the habit of doing what is right regardless of what God says.  He defiles his conscience.  At the same time, he is learning many facts.  He then uses the Word for his own purposes.  He critiques others.  He may be a good debater, but he has missed the point of the Scriptures. 

 

Read the Bible prayerfully.  When you have the humility, you will read prayerfully.  You will be asking God to help you understand Him as He intended. 

 

How should a right understanding of God, the coming of Christ, and the judgment of Christ affect you?  You should make intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice, value the opportunity you have to lead others to Christ (v.15), guard yourself from error by carefully and properly interpreting the Word (v.17), and...

 

 

4. Be constantly growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (v.18).

 

Peter’s 4th exhortation is probably an expansion of His 3rd.  He intends for his readers to handle the Word of God carefully in order to guard themselves against error.  But also, they should determine to grow in grace and knowledge.  They should grow.  If they are static in their Christian walk, they are certainly not guarding themselves.

 

Don’t fall into error, but instead grow

Peter makes it clear to us that we have responsibility to be growing.  We are not to simply to ‘be grown.’  While we are totally dependent on God for everything in our lives, including spiritual growth, we must still see our personal responsibility.  If we don’t grow as Christians, it is our fault.  It is not God’s fault.

 

Peter uses the present tense of the verb, ‘grow’ to indicate that this growth should be constant and continually.  Be constantly growing.  We should not take breaks.  We should not grow in spurts.  We should be constantly growing.  That is what Peter tells us to do.

 

How exactly are we supposed to grow?  We are to grow in grace and knowledge.  How do you grow in grace?  What does that mean?

 

We are to grow ‘in grace.’  We are to grow in the sphere of grace.  This ‘spherical’ concept is found all throughout the Scriptures.  Peter is saying that there is a sphere of grace, and we are to grow in it.  There is a spere of grace, or a circle of grace.  We need to find this circle of grace, get in it, and then we will grow.  In that circle of grace is where God gives His grace to us.  We can’t go somewhere else and buy it.  It is unmerited.  You don’t deserve it, but you can get some if you want it.  It is free too!  It is in the circle of grace that we grow.  Where is it?

 

First of all, prayer.

God promises to give you grace using certain means.  One of those means of grace is prayer.  God gives grace through prayer. 

Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Second, the Word.

Another means is the Word of God.  God gives grace through His Word.

Acts 20:32
“And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Speaking of the Word,

Deuteronomy 32:47
“For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.

You guys may know that great song that says, “Read your Bible pray everyday and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”  It is true.

 

Third, the body.

God gives grace through participation in the Body of Christ.  Biblical fellowship is a means of grace.  As we pray for one another, we receive grace from God.  As we encourage each other according to the Word, we receive grace.  As we comfort one another according to the Word, we receive grace. 

 

To receive grace through biblical fellowship in the church, you need to know the people in the church.  No one is going to pray for your physical or spiritual struggles if they don’t know about them.  No one is going to encourage you if they don’t know anything about you.  No one will want to share their difficulties with you if you don’t open yourself up to them.  And of course, no one will share anything with anybody if we never talk to each other.  God intends to give each of His children grace as each member seeks to build up others in the faith.

 

Fourth, humility.

Another means of grace is humility.  God also gives grace to those that are humble. 

Proverbs 3:34
Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.

 

James 4:6
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Growing in grace will do much for us.

Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

We are also supposed to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  We are to grow in our understanding and knowledge of Christ.  We should not expect that we will grow if we are not understanding more and more about Jesus Christ.  That fact that you are saved indicates that you know that God is the Judge.  He is a loving God.  But, you should be increasing in your knowledge.  You will learn more about the love of God as you see Him give many different things to many different types of people.  You will learn more about His love as you see it put on display in various was in the OT. 

 

You grow in your knowledge of Him as you see what He values, how He thinks, how He works, how He plans, etc.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Peter ends with a doxology.  He says, “To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.” 

 

The reason why we live like this in anticipation of eternity is for His glory.  We wish to be pleasing to Him.  We wish to magnify the greatness of Christ by the way that we life.  We wish to testify with our lives that we want His righteousness to dwell both now and in eternity!  Can’t you wait for a new earth in which righteousness dwells?!  Don’t you want His righteousness to dwell even right now on this earth?! 

• Make intense efforts to be a God-pleasing sacrifice.
• Value the opportunity you have to lead others to Christ (v.15).
• Guard yourself from error by carefully and properly interpreting the Word (v.17).
• Be constantly growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.