[Prayer]
Today’s message is from 2 Peter 3:14-18. The book of 2 Peter is the apostle Peter’s final message to the church. Today’s passage is Peter’s final word. Peter is assuming that his readers know the message of the gospel and even everything that he has warned them about in 2 Peter. But he wants his readers (and that includes us) to especially remember what he has written in this book. The Lord had made it clear to Peter that he was soon to die—to lay aside his tent, was the expression he used, so these are his final words.
We are studying the book of Judges on Wednesday evenings. During the time of the Judges, the Israelites repeatedly forgot about the Lord. They would forget about the commandments the Lord had given them and begin to worship the pagan gods that the people who were around them worshipped.
What do you think? Do you think the Lord’s commandments, do not have any other gods besides me, honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony against your neighbor, do not covet anything that belongs to anyone else, are good commandments? Do you think keeping them is likely to bring peace and happiness? What do you think?
Listen to what Moses told the Israelites when he gave them the Lord’s commandments for the second time. This is from Deuteronomy chapter 6: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” And he also said this: “...be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.”
During the time of the judges, the Israelites would begin to forget about the Lord. They did this repeatedly. They would begin to worship other gods. The Lord would correct them by sending the nations living around them to oppress them. Then (most of the time after many years) the Israelites would remember the Lord and cry out to him for relief. He would raise up a judge to lead them to overthrow the oppressors. Then they would have peace and prosperity during the lifetime of the judge that the Lord had raised up. But when the judge died, they would forget about the Lord and his commandments. And the whole cycle would start over again. The apostle Peter didn’t want his readers to forget about Jesus and about the message of the gospel after he was gone. He especially wanted to warn them about false teachers and scoffers who would lead them away from the way of truth and light and life. Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12) Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
As we read the passage, remember as always that we are reading the word of God. Moses warned the Israelites to go to great lengths to have the Lord’s commandments impressed on their hearts—“talk about them when you walk along, write them on your doorposts, teach them to your children...” And I tell you every Sunday to read the Bible every day—to have it written on your heart. Without the word of God, you won’t be able to tell what is true and what isn’t. What’s true gives you life. What isn’t can destroy you!
So let’s read today’s passage (the word of God). Peter has been warning his readers that there are scoffers who say Jesus will not come to judge the world—that things will just keep going on as they have been. (And Peter, by the way, says that the scoffers will scoff following their own lusts. I believe that people who reject the word of God, regardless of what they may say, reject it not because there are really reasons to doubt it, but because they want to follow their own lusts.) But Peter says (and this is the word of God) that Jesus will come, that there will be a judgment, that heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire and will be replaced with new heavens and a new earth where righteousness will dwell. And we know that in that new place there will be peace with no more sorrow, suffering or pain and that only the righteous will be there. The unrighteous won’t be there. Let’s read the passage—2 Peter 3:14-18:
14Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him. 15Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation, just as our dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. 16He speaks about these things in all his letters, in which there are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter~3:14-18)
In the first verse in today’s passage, verse 14, Peter says, “Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him.” This is written to believers—to “those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ,” according to what Peter says way back in chapter 1, verse 1.
In verse 14 of today’s Peter starts out “dear friends”. (Remember, “dear friends” means “beloved” or simply “loved”. He is writing to those he loves, to those who are loved by Peter, but much more than that, to those who are loved by God. We are loved by God.)
Peter says, “...dear friend, while you wait for these things...” What things are we waiting for? First of all, we are waiting for Jesus! Are you waiting for Jesus more than anything else? This is written to people who are waiting for Jesus. I know we look forward to things that belong to this present age, but we are not citizens of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. And we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth. Everything will be new. We will have new bodies that will be imperishable—bodies like Jesus’s body. We are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness will dwell. Nothing that is unrighteous will be there. (The past couple of Sundays I read a lot of scriptures from the Old Testament about how scary, how terrifying the Day of the Lord will be. That’s for those who are unrighteous. They will not receive any of the things we are promised. For us who believe everything will be made new. We are waiting for Jesus.
Peter says, “...make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him.” When Jesus was teaching during his ministry on earth, someone came up to him and asked him if only a few would be saved. Jesus didn’t tell the man how many would be saved. This is how he answered him: “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us!’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’” (Luke~13:24-25) You know, we don’t know how many will be saved. But because of the nature of our flesh, because of our “sinful nature” to use the NIV expression, if Jesus had said, “Many will be saved,” not many of us would make much of an effort. Isn’t that true? Jesus says, “Make every effort,” and Peter says, “Make every effort. Make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him.” And I have to point out, as always, that you are saved because you trust Jesus, not because you work hard at it. But you will make every effort because you trust Jesus. The narrow door that Jesus talked about—it’s Jesus. He is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to God the Father except through Jesus. (John 14:6) Make every effort to enter life through Jesus.
Now listen to what the apostle Paul has to say about making every effort: “Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” (“The example you have in us” is the example that Paul and the other apostles, including Peter, set for us. From the time they met Jesus on, they spent there entire lives doing the work of Jesus. If you want to find out more about what they did, read the book of Acts. It’s all about what the Lord did through Peter and Paul. Most of the apostles, including Peter and Paul, finally literally gave up there lives for Jesus.) “Join in imitating me, brothers, (Paul says) and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven...” Paul is speaking not just of himself and the other apostles, but of all those who trust Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven.) “Our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.” (Philip.~3:17-21) This is what we have to look forward to and this is what we are waiting for.
Let’s look at verse 15 in today’s passage. Peter says, “Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation, just as our dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you.”
Again Peter says “dear brother.” It’s “beloved brother” Paul. This is the rough and tough fisherman Peter speaking of scholarly Pharisee Paul. And you remember several weeks ago when I talked about Peter’s life, I told you that Paul had rebuked Peter to his face because he was starting to avoid the Gentile believers so as not to be looked down on by the Jewish believers. Paul rebuked Peter. Peter loved Paul.
A minute ago I read some of what Paul wrote regarding waiting for the Lord and about salvation. I also talked about what Jesus said—that here is a limited time for salvation. The owner of the house will get up and shut the door. That will happen when you die or maybe sometime before you die. Jesus didn’t say. If you are still alive when Jesus returns, it will happen then. If you are a believer, you will already be in the house. If not, when the door is closed, though you knock you will not be let in. Jesus says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There is a message for those who are rejecting God’s salvation. But there’s also a message here for those of us who belong to Jesus. People all around us are perishing. If someone were bleeding to death, you would do what you could to stop the bleeding. You would put pressure on the wound, a tourniquet, whatever you could do. You would call 911. What’s happening to people all around us spiritually is worse. I’m saying this, but I confess I don’t do very much about it. We need to pray.
Let’s look at verse 16 in today’s passage: “He (Paul) speaks about these things in all his letters, in which there are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.”
First, notice that Peter refers to Paul’s writings as “Scriptures”. A lot of times when I introduce my message and tell all of you that the passage is the word of God, I quote what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim.~3:16, 17) I believe that when Paul wrote this verse to Timothy, he was talking about the Old Testament scriptures, not the New Testament. But Peter is putting what Paul wrote in the same category as the Old Testament: “The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.” The writings of the New Testament are inspired by God just as the writings of the Old Testament are.
“The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.” I can think of one example. I’ve talked about it before (even the last couple of weeks) and will almost certainly talk about it again. Saying you believe in Jesus doesn’t save. You have to actually believe in Jesus, to be saved, not just say you believe. The evidence that you believe is that your belief—your faith—affects what you do. Your faith results in good fruit. (I talked about that quite a bit last week.) I’ll say some about these things in just a minute or so.
Now let’s look at verse 17: “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability.” This verse starts out, “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned...” This really applies to all of 2 Peter: “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned...” Peter thought it was especially important to warn his readers about false teachers. And these false teachers are people who are inside the church. (Or, at least they meet with us and claim to be believers.) They also include the scoffers that Peter is talking about in chapter 3. Their teaching can be very appealing.
I’ve mentioned the Boundaries book (there are actually a number of books by the same authors on the subject). It’s certainly appealing to hear that it’s OK to be selfish and to ignore someone who is need when you have the means of helping that person—and especially when the authors tell you that their teaching is supported by scripture. But Jesus says that if anyone wants to come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow him. Anyone who wants to save his own life will lose it, but anyone who gives up his life for Jesus will keep it for eternal life. (Luke 9:23, 24) The clear teaching of the “boundaries” books is to save your own life. Jesus says that you will loose your life if you follow the teachings of the “boundaries” books. You need to know what the word of God says in order not to be taken in by the false teachers.
The gospel of health and wealth is also very appealing: Serve Jesus primarily for the sake of physical and material blessings during this life rather than to store up treasure in heaven and to bring glory to God. Most of the teachers don’t put it quite that way, but that’s what is taught.
Then there is the idea that you can just “believe” and then sin freely. That certainly can be appealing. Those that teach it don’t really put it that way, either—that you can sin freely. And, actually, I don’t believe most of them are really trying to teach that you can simply believe and then sin freely. I think many are just trying to emphasize that we don’t have the ability to save ourselves by our own efforts to live a holy lives, but that we have to trust God to save us. God says that he has arranged things that way so that we won’t be able to boast. But it can come across that all we have to do is believe and then we are free to sin—and people can and do twist it to mean just that. The apostle Peter says, “Be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability.” So be on your guard.
Verse 18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
I said (and the word of God says) that the evidence of what you believe is what you do; the evidence of your faith is your changed life. When you accept God’s salvation—when you accept Christ—you become a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come. You have crossed over from death to life. The evidence is that you no longer want to sin. That doesn’t mean that the temptation is not there. It is there. Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, but without sin. (Heb. 4:15)
But the fact that we have crossed over from death to life doesn’t mean that we are without sin. But it does mean that we grow in God’s grace. It means that we want to become like Jesus and that we grow to become like him day-by-day. It may be a step-backward and a two-step-forward process, but the goal is to become like Christ. (And the goal is certainly not to do as little as possible and get away with as much as possible.) The Holy Spirit teaches us and strengthens us day by day.
What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What does it mean to trust him? It means to trust that what he has for you is far better than what you may want for yourself. Are you willing to entrust yourself entirely into his hands. Can you say, “Lord, I trust that what you have for me is very good. Do whatever you want with me. I entrust myself into your hands?”
Is there anything you think God may not want you to be doing that you are not willing to give up? God has something better for you. Do you believe that and are you willing to act on it? When you accept God’s salvation, you may not be aware of all the things he will want you to change. And when he brings each of them up, you may not want to make the change. You may not want to give up something that he makes you aware is sinful. It may be hard. But sooner or later you will do it.
Anything that you make more important than Jesus—more important than God—really is sinful. And it certainly won’t be good for you in the long run. Do you think God knows what’s good for you? He loves you and knows what’s good for you. You will change your priorities. You will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
You know, I’ve made salvation sound like a long, difficult and complicated process. But it still has everything to do with what you believe. The criminal on the cross next to Jesus told the other criminal that they were getting what they deserved. He obviously believed that he was a sinner. He asked Jesus—Jesus who was dying on the cross next him—to save him. It wasn’t elaborate. He just said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This man believed. He trusted, that Jesus, who was hanging on the cross, was able to save him. He knew that Jesus was going to rise from the dead and was going to rule over everything. That’s all he needed. Jesus said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise. (Luke~23:43)
Before I finish, I want to read again what Peter said back in chapter 1. This is from chapter 1, verses 3 through 8:
3For His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 4By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter~1:3-8)
[Prayer]