LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY OF GOD

2 Peter 3:1-18

Key Verse 3:13

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Good morning. Did you enjoy your Christmas? Now that Christmas is over, our minds are thinking about New Year’s. The New Year’s time is good because it is a time of looking forward. 

Today’s passage reminds us what exactly believers are called to look forward to: the Day of the Lord, Jesus’ second coming. Looking forward is very important. God has given us precious promises so that we can know him and experience his power in our lives. His promise inspires us with hope and this hope empowers us for godly living, so that we can live as great men and women of God. May God help us to be sure of Jesus’ promise to return, so that we can be empowered to live godly lives. 

The Lord’s Promise

First, if the promise of Jesus’ second coming and the new world to come is going to fill us with hope and inspiration and empower us for godly living, we have to be sure that it’s really going to happen. We have to firmly believe God’s promise about the Day of the Lord. 

Look at verses 1-2. "1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles." 

Peter wanted to remind believers of the promise of the Day of the Lord because there were many false teachers and scoffers around who didn’t believe in the Lord’s promise to return. And the believers were in danger of being influenced by the false teaching and scoffing. But Peter didn’t want them to be shaken at all in regards to the promise. God’s promise is very important for a believer’s life. Look at 2 Peter 1:4. “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” God gave his promise that Jesus will return with glory and power, and that day will be a day of judgment and salvation. He gave us this promise so that we could have a way to participate in the divine nature, meaning, we can know him and serve him and have a hope, and we have a way to escape the corrupt of this world caused by evil desires. 

But so quickly these scoffers came out. And what did they say? Look at verses 3-4. “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’” What they said sounds reasonable at first, so that the believers might feel embarrassed and unsure how to answer such mocking about Jesus’ promise to come back. Then, even without them realizing it, they begin to think and live like these scoffers, who don’t look forward to Jesus’ return or firmly believe it. And then corruption and evil desires follow. 

Their reasonable statement implies that the Lord's promise is not good. And if the Lord’s promise is not good, and Jesus is not coming back in glory and power to judge the living and dead and bring us a new home, we don't have any reason to live a godly life of self-denial, of cross-taking, of serving the Lord, and fighting against sinful desires. So, we should enjoy this world just like everyone else and not miss out on the fun.

But Peter points out why they say what they say. It is not out of genuine concern for you and me or for the truth. Peter says that God gave us his precious promise so that we would escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. But verse 3 says that these guys are "following their own evil desires." They are looking for an excuse to follow through with their evil desires. They are being led by their evil desires. 

Look at verse 5. They also "deliberately forget" God's word. What does “deliberately forget” mean? It means that they thought that if they put God’s word out of their minds and ignored it, then it would not apply to them and they could live however they want. But this is where they made a crucial mistake. 

In the first place, they said, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” The very fact that God promised Jesus’ return means that it’s a done deal and sure to happen. Look at verses 5-7. “5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens and the earth were formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” They forget that God’s word is sovereign. By God’s word all things were created and are sustained. When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. When God said, “Let the land produce vegetation with seed bearing fruit according to its kind,” it was so, and plants sprung up on the earth. Whatever God said happened. 

In the second place, God’s word has warned us of his coming judgment. The scoffers say, “Everything has gone on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But this is not true at all. What about Noah’s Flood? What about Sodom and Gomorrah being burned up? Those were not “natural disasters,” but divine acts according to God’s word against ungodly and corrupt people. God has warned us that a judgment is indeed coming to all the ungodly and wicked. Verse 7 says, “By the same word…” His judgment is surely going to come to all the ungodly. He didn’t spare the ungodly in Noah’s day or those of Sodom and Gomorrah. He gave them a chance, but they refused him, just like these scoffers. God is holy and cannot leave what is ungodly without punishment. 

Believing in the judgment when Jesus returns is very important because of this reason. We will all have to give an accounting of our lives before God. And it means that God is concerned about his children and wants to give them the best. So, the Creation, Noah’s Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are all examples God has given us of coming judgment. But the greatest evidence we have is in Jesus Christ himself. Jesus came to save his people “from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). We needed saving from sins because sinners are deserving of God’s judgment. So when Jesus came he made his way to Jerusalem where he died on a cross. He did this for the sin of the world, because God has to judge and punish sin. Jesus paid a high price.  

So, these scoffers try to ignore this day of the Lord for obvious reasons—it will be a terrible day for them—but for us who believe in Jesus and his work on the cross and his resurrection, it means much to us. In fact, the judgment is "reserved" for this present world and ungodly people, meaning that God has already set a time when he will set this world aside and bring something better. Finally, all that is ungodly, all the corruption, wickedness, brokenness, sin and death, will all be done away with. We eagerly look forward to that time. 

Yet why do so today many not repent? They don’t want to. Still, they want to follow their own evil desires like these scoffers. And so, they misunderstand the Lord’s heart and what he is doing. 

II. The Lord is Patient with You

So if God’s word is so sure, then why hasn’t he come already? Is he slow in keeping his promise? We can also be sure of God’s promise because we understand his heart, his patience for sinners. 

Look at verse 8. "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." We must not forget that time is very different to Lord that it is to us. In the first place, God is outside of time, as we know it, because he is the Eternal Creator. He created and started the flow of time. Peter wrote this letter roughly between 60-68AD. This means that in just a matter of 30-40 years after Jesus rose from the dead and then ascended into heaven, false teachers had already come complaining that he was taking too long in coming back. To date, it has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus promised to come back. And scoffers today love to mention this. But is this a problem? No, not at all. To the Lord, it is not that much time.

Secondly, Peter reminds us that God is not "slow" but "patient." Look at verse 9. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." This verse says that the Lord is patient. He’s patient with who? “with you”. It means you and me. He does it for our sake because he doesn’t want anyone to perish. This is God’s heart for us. I’m sure you understand full well that it’s not an easy thing to be patient with someone else. Working together with people is one of the hardest things to do. Jesus even had to command us to love one another, and he called it a new command—although, he admits, it is not a new command. God has made a decision to bear us in his patience for our sake, so that we would not perish.

He wants everyone to come to repentance, meaning to turn from their sin and put their faith in Jesus. The word "patient" means that the Lord has made a decision to bear you and me and this sinful world so that we could have time to repent and not perish. This is one reason why the Lord sent so many of his prophets and his apostles, through the Flood of Noah's day, through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to warn all people on earth so that they would turn to God in repentance and not perish. Then finally he even sent Jesus, who is not only the evidence of his judgment, but at the same time the evidence of God’s love for us so that we would not perish in our sin. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." God's patience is truly amazing grace to this sinful, undeserving world.

Look at verse 10. "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." God is patient. But his day will surely come--and it will come unexpectedly, like a thief. So, God's patience means today is the best chance for us to repent and turn to him. Today is the best chance to tell someone else about the gospel that they may repent and not perish. There is no better day than today. You do not want to be caught unaware when Jesus returns. If so, it will be like waking up and finding out that it's Christmas Day and you didn't realize it, and you haven't purchased any gifts yet. So you will rush to the mall only to find that there is nothing left. Every place has gone out of business. But, if you are ready for the Lord's return, then when he comes back, that day will be so triumphant and joyful and glorious to you. You will stand proud to be in his presence and you will receive a rich welcome into his kingdom.

Look at verses 11-12a, "11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people out you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." Jesus' return is the best and the one motivating reason to live a godly and holy life each day and to turn away from the evil desires of our sinful nature and the ways of this world. This is not easy. We face peer pressure. We face self-pressure because of our own sinful desires. Peter himself compared it to waging a war in your soul. But when we remember and look forward to Jesus' return, we have the best reason to keep going and to not give up, but look forward and do our best as servants called by the Lord! At the very least, we don't want to belong to the category of "ungodly" people of whom this day of judgment and destruction is reserved for. We have to be of the "godly" category of people who will be indestructible in that time of destruction, because there will be no exception for the "ungodly" on that Day.

 III. The Home of Righteousness

Look at verse 13. “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” Jesus’ returns also means a new home, a home of righteousness, for us. We will receive a great reward on that day for how we lived until he returned. 

It is called a "new" home with a "new" heaven and a "new" earth. What will be like? It is called "the home of righteousness." It means that only righteous things live there. It means that we have the hope of living in the presence of God, who is good, eternally. Those who are faithful to Jesus, to repent and turn from the corrupt ways of this world, will be able to enter and enjoy this new home. And it means that even we will be made new according to his promise.

Look at verse 14. "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." Now, in view of this new home, Peter instructs us again on how to live. We have to make every effort to be found "spotless, blameless and at peace with him." And this comes through faith in Jesus and bearing the fruit of repentance. We are not just living a certain lifestyle to avoid destruction, but our actions should match our hope and future life. To God, it is already a done deal and the new heaven and new earth is surely coming. So we too should not delay in our lifestyle, but match it to the home of righteousness as we look forward with great expectation and joy! 

Last week I saw the movie Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler. In it, the little children whose parents divorced keep asking, “Is our Daddy coming back to live with us?” But they never receive a straight answer. That’s the current condition of this world, it’s broken. But we have our Father in heaven who is bringing us into his home which he’s prepared for us and doing away with all the brokenness. 

And this is why, in a positive way, we bear in mind his patience which means salvation to help us and encourage us not to give up. As we remember his promise to return, it stirs up his grace in minds and God helps us to live a life that will be found pleasing to him. It means that God is here to help us as we look forward to that day. And we can grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus as we remember his promise and rely on his help by faith. When we bear in mind that the Lord is patient, we too can be patient as we eagerly look forward to that day.

Look at verses 15-16. "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." Even the Apostle Paul wrote about these matters. Paul wrote a lot, in fact, 13 of the 27 New Testament books. But he expressed the same thing Peter writes about here: The Lord's promise and salvation in Jesus through faith and repentance. He writes about the hope we have and the godly living we are called to live by.

We also get a good example from Paul. When he understood the Lord's promise, he did his best and worked the hardest for the Lord’s purpose to save everyone. He became a world mission center wherever he went. He lived it, he taught it, and he died for it. In fact, he died about the same time as Peter did. Let’s pray that God may use each and everyone of us as world mission center so that all people on earth may hear the gospel and live looking forward to Jesus’ return. To be great men and women ready for God’s use, then we have to look forward to this day and live holy and godly lives. Looking forward to that day as our living hope gives courage and bravery to serve the Lord fully.  But if we’re looking forward just to things here on earth, we’re looking at a dead end. And God cannot use such a person.

Lastly, let's read verses 17-18. "Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

Even though we know all this, it is possible for us to be influenced by false teachings and ideas without even knowing it. We have a lot of news these days, especially because of the economy. And it feels like the world is going down, and then we feel down too. But the Lord already promised this world is going down and a new one is going to be established. So we have to be on our guard or else we'll be carried away. We can do so by growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory belongs to our Lord and Savior who gave his life and is coming back to save us. May God help us to live godly and holy lives in view of his coming. Let's read Revelation 22:20. "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

One Word: Look forward to Jesus’ return!

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