2 Peter 3:11-18

Good evening! Tonight we are going to be looking at the last little bit of 2 Peter, and I hope that we can wrap up the book this evening.

We’re gonna read the last 8 verses and see how far we can get.

2 Peter 3:11–18 ESV

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 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.

OK, so we have two major sections tonight.

First, we have verses 11-13 which put a bit of a bow on the argument Peter was making about the end of all things and God’s judgment.

Second, we have the benedictory section which is slightly different from most epistles.

Typically, that last section is your acknowledgment section: greet so and so, give my love to such and such, etc.

But there is much less of that here. Instead, we have a reminder about the false teachers, the encouragement to Grow in Christ, and a quick shout-out to Paul.

So, let’s start at the start and dive in.

For context, last week we saw how Peter reminded his audience that God would judge the earth, the false teachers, the sinners, everyone. We saw that the judgment would be fiery. We saw that, even though God has shown extreme patience, His judgment is sure.

I’ll remind us once again of Habakkuk 2:3

Habakkuk 2:3 ESV

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

So, we pick up in verse 11 of chapter 3 with Peter’s final words on the ultimate judgment.

2 Peter 3:11 ESV

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,

He is reminding the church that this earth is temporary. All things are going to be dissolved.

And, in remembering that, we have to answer the question: what sort of people ought we to be?

Peter is applying verses 8-10, the surety of God’s judgment by asking that question.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

The reality of the day of the Lord demands we live in a certain way, summarized by two words.

Holiness and godliness.

Holiness is the idea of being set apart. Being pure. Being consecrated for God’s work.

We are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). We are to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16, taken from like 37 places in Leviticus). We are a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9).

Our lives should show that we are set apart for God’s purposes in this world, not our own agendas. Not our own desires and designs.

Godliness is:

Hebrews–Revelation Comment

a Godward orientation of life expressed in thoughts, feelings, attitudes, speech, and action; it should characterize our lives as believers (3:11) and is a prominent theme in Paul’s Pastoral Epistles as well. “Godliness” captures the first and greatest commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).

We are to set ourselves apart for God’s purposes, and to live our lives pointed toward and devoted to Him. This is necessary, as we see in the next verse:

2 Peter 3:12 ESV

12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

When we think of waiting, we think of a passive thing. We wait for the mail to arrive. We wait for the coffeemaker to finish brewing.

This is not that. It is an active, eager anticipation of the moment when:

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

creation will be set free from its curse and believers will be physically raised from the dead (Rom. 8:19–23).

So this is not just waiting on something, this is like when you pre-order something, and you write the date on the calendar, and you wait by the mailbox to see when it will get there.

So, a couple years ago, our daughter Chloe got so excited for summer camp - which happens in late June - that she began begging us for stuff for camp early.

Like, way early.

We asked what she wanted for her birthday that year, and she wanted travel shampoo and toothpaste for camp.

Her birthday is in February.

By March, she had her suitcase packed.

I mean, it was ridiculous.

But she was sooooo eager to go to camp, that she couldn’t help herself.

And that is how we should be, knowing that the Lord is going to not only going to judge the world with fire, but also that we have our reward with Christ, we should be like Chloe: packed and ready to go!

The verse also says that we are to be “hastening the coming of the day of God.”

So, I think we want to make sure we understand that we cannot alter God’s timeline.

But there is an Old Testament sense of God hastening His wrath or judgment. What is probably more to the point is the idea that Peter wants us to live godly lives, our prayer life should be devoted to God’s will (think’s the Lord’s Prayer), and that we should be seeking to evangelize.

Matthew 24:14 ESV

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

In that sense, we should be about God’s business, because that is what leads to the end of it all.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

Of course, God is fully sovereign and in control of human history, but he accomplishes his purposes through the actions of his people, ordained before the foundation of the world (Eph. 2:10). The “day of God” is simply another way of referring to the day of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:10).

And we see the utter destruction of the Day of the Lord, the Day of God.

Because when that comes, “the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!”

They will literally be set on fire and dissolved.

Again, look back at verse 10:

2 Peter 3:10 ESV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Again, here in verse 12 we see that word dissolved, which, in the Greek means, “to reduce something by violence into its components.”

Interestingly:

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

the verb rendered “melt” (tēkō) occurs nowhere else in the NT, it is used metaphorically in the LXX to describe the defeat and judgment of God’s enemies (Ex. 15:15; Isa. 24:23; 34:4; 64:1; Mic. 1:4; Nah. 1:6; Hab. 3:6; Zech. 14:12).

So, seeing that God has this ultimate destruction planned, what does that mean for us?

2 Peter 3:13 ESV

13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Peter shows us what the wicked have in store for them - judgment, wrath, fire.

Now God’s people see that God upholds His promises.

Isaiah 65:17–25 ESV

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

God will create a new heaven and new earth where His people will work and dwell with Him. We especially see this theme in Isaiah in the Old Testament. We see it in the New Testament as well, and we will see it in a few weeks in Revelation 21-22, whenever we get there on Sundays.

This new heaven and earth are not stained with sin.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

The new creation will be characterized by righteousness, in contrast to the wickedness and effects of sin and the curse pervading this current world (2 Pet. 2:9, 15). Ultimately, righteousness dwells there because the Righteous One himself will dwell there with his people (Rev. 21:3).

And, as we move into Peter’s conclusion, we are reminded again that we are waiting.

2 Peter 3:14 ESV

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

Because believers are waiting for the new heavens and new earth (3:13), we should “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” The same diligence applied to making our calling and election sure (1:10) must be applied to the pursuit of moral purity.

Moral purity is what God expects of us, and what God calls us to. The idea of being “found” in this way is the idea of God’s assessment of mankind on the last day.

We should be “found” by God to have followed His commands. He is the one giving us our inspection.

How are we to understand this idea of being “without spot or blemish?”

We are all sinners, even if we are saved, we struggle with sin, right?

We have to understand about sin and redemption. When we come to know Christ, our sins - all of our sins, past, present, and future - are wiped away. Covered by the blood of Christ.

Now, we are to be repentant. As believers, when we sin, we are to confess those sins. We are to acknowledge that we have failed God’s standard.

But we also have to understand that, from a theological perspective, we are already forgiven.

That doesn’t mean that we can do what we want, live however we want, etc.

It means, we should be striving to follow Christ in every aspect of our lives, and sin should wreck us.

Here, Peter says that:

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

The goal is to be found on that day “without spot or blemish,” just as Christ was “a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet. 1:19). This combination of descriptors means to be untainted in character and without defect. Peter’s language comes from the sacrificial system, in which sacrifices were to be without flaw or imperfection. On the last day, God’s people will be found without spot or blemish because they will be reflections of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. On the last day believers will also be found to be “at peace.” Thus peace is both a present reality (2 Pet. 1:2) and a future hope for believers.

We should be at peace, we should be living in a way that is without spot or blemish.

He continues in verse 15-16:

2 Peter 3:15–16 ESV

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

This idea of the Lord’s patience brings to mind verse 9 where God is staying His hand for His purposes. This allows the sinful people to repent.

Then, Peter shouts out Paul.

Peter is, I think, not referencing a specific text as much as a general Pauline theme.

It is also interesting, because we know that in the past Peter and Paul were on the opposite side of some issues, such as eating with Gentiles.

But I think it is also interesting that Peter name drops Paul, in some ways, because it lends credence to his arguments in light of false teachers attempting to twist Peter’s own teaching…which is the basic reason he wrote this letter to begin with.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

Despite not always being in agreement (Gal. 2:11–14), Peter regarded his fellow apostle Paul as a dear brother in the same spiritual family, serving the same Lord, and preaching the same gospel. What Paul wrote was “according to the wisdom given him.” As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul received from God wisdom and insight into “the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:1–6), and Peter gladly affirmed this truth.

So, I have stated repeatedly in here that Peter’s Bible at the time of writing this is what?

The Old Testament.

I have stated that while he may have read some of the New Testament, in the form of the epistles sent to various churches, Peter doesn’t have a copy of the New Testament. Some of it hasn’t been written at this point.

But here we see that Peter has at least read some of Paul’s letters.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

Peter not only knows of multiple Pauline letters but also expects that his recipients know of them as well. By the time of this epistle, most of Paul’s letters had been written. At some point a collection of Paul’s letters (perhaps compiled by Paul himself) began to circulate, but we cannot say confidently if it had happened by the time when Peter wrote. The expression “these matters” probably encompasses not only the patience of the Lord but also the other issues Peter has addressed, such as the promise of a new heavens and new earth and, until that consummation, the presence and danger of false teachers.

And how validating would it be to read Paul’s letters, knowing you didn’t collaborate, but seeing the same conclusions being drawn? Proof that the Holy Spirit was directing their thoughts and their quills.

But Peter doesn’t mince words. Some of the stuff Paul wrote was hard to understand.

The Greek there has the sense that some of the writings are “notoriously ambiguous and difficult to apply.”

And all who have studied Paul said, “Amen.”

There is this sense here of Peter telling them, look, some of this is difficult, even with a right heart, to understand.

But Peter is particularly thinking of the false teachers again, because these “ignorant and unstable” people try to twist Paul’s words.

That word there twist isn’t like some gentle loosening.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

“Twist” (strebloō) was used “in various senses of wrenching dislocated limbs for the purpose of setting them, and of the use of tortuous devices in the course of inquiries.”

And here is something we don’t want to gloss over. These false teachers are trying to twist Paul’s words to their own destruction.

Then what does Peter say:

“as they do the other Scriptures.”

That small phrase has really big implications.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

The significance of what Peter says here should not be missed. He includes Paul’s letters in the category of Scripture, as divinely inspired authoritative writings on the same level as the OT. The idea of the apostles’ written teaching possessing the same authority as the OT is not a later development in church history but a fundamental truth of the first generation of Christians.

Peter says that Paul’s writings are scripture.

We have to understand that Peter and Paul and Mark and John and James and Matthew and all of the rest of the New Testament writers understood that God was using them to form the belief structure and practice of Christianity. The worship of Jesus through the scriptures was understood by the apostles and writers of the text.

Now, let’s finish up the last couple of verses.

2 Peter 3:17 ESV

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

Again, a warning against the enticement of false teachers who twist scripture, the believers have been fore-warned and should be on their guard to not be deceived by these charlatans. By being vigilant, the believer is not going to lose their “own stability.”

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

False teaching is pictured as a dangerous flood sweeping away those who have not built themselves on the rock of the true gospel (Matt. 7:24–27).

But it isn’t enough to just be on your guard. The believer also has activity to accomplish:

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 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.

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

It is not enough simply to avoid false teachers; one must also “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Just as Peter began his letter praying for grace to be multiplied to the believers, now he ends with a call for them to grow in that grace. The more we trust in God, the more we grow in His grace and in our knowledge of Christ.

And then there is the doxological ending: “to Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.”

Hebrews–Revelation Section Outline

The ultimate goal of everything is the display of God’s glory—his beauty, power, and majesty. God’s glory is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ (John 1:14–18), who is the “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3).

For now and until forever, until the day of eternity, Christ is to be magnified.

Let’s pray.