2 Peter 3:11-18

2 Peter 3:11-18

Last week we looked at Peter’s reminder to his readers that God does not limit himself according to our timelines. Peter showed us the intensity of time and the brevity of time by quoting from the Psalms. Peter reminded us that we can trust Jesus when he says that he will return, that his apparent slowness is actually patience, so more people will come to repentance. He also briefly described how Christ will return: like a thief – it will be sudden and unexpected; with a roar – a loud whizzing or thunderous crash, in which the heavenly bodies will be dissolved and broken apart, revealing everything done on it.

Today we get to conclude this chapter and thus the second letter of Peter. I’d like to pray right now.

Our Father. Your name is holy. You are in heaven yet you live with your people. We have done horrible, evil things to each other and thus toward you. We deserve death, hell and eternity apart from you. But you loved us anyway. That's why you sent your son Jesus to live a perfect life and to die for the evil that we did. But he was raised 3 days later from the grave and ministered to hundreds to prove that he defeated death and sin. Now your holy spirit was sent to us to help us to remember how to live godly lives, so that you will be glorified! There are some here who don't know you. Spirit, draw them to you as only you can. Amen.

Let’s look at verses 11-18. “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.”

Verse 11 says “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.” This begins, I believe, Peter’s thesis statement, or main point, for this chapter, and really for this entire letter. We’re now about to hear Peter expand a bit on what he said from ch. 1 verse 11. Turn with me to ch.1 vs. 11: “For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” What way? …the way of practicing (or ‘creating a plan to live out’) the seven qualities that Peter mentioned in the beginning of his letter – remember, we are to supplement our faith with virtue (that is all things that are true and good), then supplement with knowledge (Not an intellectual knowledge, but a contact knowledge or experiential knowledge of Christ), then with self-control (which is controlling our emotions, desires and actions), then supplement with steadfastness (or endurance to keep doing what is right), then supplement with godliness (which is doing things that please God), then supplement with brotherly affection (which is a love of your fellow Christians); finally we are to top it all off with love (which is a sacrificial love toward everyone else).

All of chapter 2 thru ch.3 verse 10, is to give us context to how we should live. This letter is a continuation of 1 Peter, which was how we should live in the midst of overt persecution. Really, what Peter is doing here in this chapter is pointing his readers back to chapter 1 that they are to supplement their faith with those seven qualities.

Peter continues saying “waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…” How are we to wait for Christ? Can someone lookup Luke 12:35,36; 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Thess. 1:10; Titus 2:13; Jude 21.

Lk 12:35,36 – Jesus tells us that we are to wait with anticipation, just like servants who don’t know when their master will return.

1 Cor. 1:7 – Paul is telling the Corinthian church that they are to wait for Christ’s return as they practice the gifts that Christ gave them, that of holy speech and knowledge.

1 Thess. 1:10 – Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are applauding the church of the Thessalonians for persevering with love and steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ as they wait for his return.

Titus 2:13 – This whole letter of Paul to Titus is about godly behavior – while he and the church in Crete wait for Jesus to return.

Jude 21 – Jude is urging the church to stay in the love of the Lord as they wait for Christ’s return.

Peter is not saying that waiting is passive, in fact it is very active. We are given much to do before Christ returns. We are to live godly, righteous lives. Paul in his letter to the saints in Ephesians ch.5 said “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Peter, along with Paul, is saying that we are to cultivate these qualities, because once Christ returns we won’t have another chance to practice righteousness, that is, to grow in spiritual maturity to become more like Jesus, because in verse 12, it says “…the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” That’s it. When Christ returns we won’t have any more chances to live godly lives. This ties in with what Paul said in Eph. 5:17: Don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” And what is the will of the Lord? It’s to think and act righteously. That is the will of God for your life. That’s it. You don’t have to plead with God asking him ‘what is your will for my life??’ If you are a follower of Christ, the Bible clearly tells us what God’s will is for us – to bring God glory by living holy and righteous lives.

In verse 14, Peter simply continues to pound it into his listener’s minds that we are to “be diligent (eager, zealous) to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” Without spot or blemish? What does spot or blemish mean? It is the opposite of every godly quality we just talked about. Paul listed a few of them back in Ephesians 5: don’t get drunk with wine (or alcohol) because that is debauchery. So I had to google the word ‘debauchery’ to confirm what I thought it was. It means “excessive indulgence in sensual pleasure,” which is very similar to the “desire” Peter mentioned back in verse 3 of this chapter. There's a societal push going on right now around the world, particularly in the West, that is trying to justify homosexuality, transgenderism, weird sexual practices – basically lusts of the flesh – trying to normalize it and make it seem like it's good to be a part of, and in fact if you aren't part of it, if you aren’t proud of it hanging rainbow flags around town, then you're the weird one, you’re the problem. There's a lot of social pressure being placed upon people to conform to these disgusting practices. Paul back in Romans chapter one tells us why this is going on, “because god gave them up to dishonorable passions because they didn't see fit to acknowledge god so god gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” Peter does not want this kind of sin, or any other sins, to be found within the body of Christ.

Where else do we see this kind of language of ‘spot and blemish’? Turn back to chapter 2, the second sentence in verse 13.

Peter is talking about the false prophets and false teachers who are among them – don’t be like them, practicing evil and wickedness. These false teachers are actually trying to exploit Christians (from verse 3), their hearts are trained in greed (verse 14). They are very good at what they do. This is why Peter urges us to be diligent to be found by Christ without spot or blemish, and at peace. “at peace,” now that’s an interesting phrase that seems to just be tagged on to the end of Peter’s exhortation.

Paul uses the phrase “may the God of peace be with you all” (from Rom. 15:33). Paul even says in Rom. 16: 20 that the God of peace will soon crush satan under your feet – the God of peace will crush satan. What does Peter and Paul mean by peace?

Will someone lookup 1 Thess. 5:23; Phil. 4:7-9; John 14:27,30; Isa. 26:3.

1 Thess. 5:23: God, being described as Peace, is directly linked to us being kept blameless when Christ returns.

Phil. 4:7-9: The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Why? Just before in verses 4,5 and 6, Paul tells the Philippian church to rejoice always and to not be anxious about anything becauseChrist is at hand – he is near. And we are to practice righteousness and the God of peace will be with us.

John 14:27,30: we have Christ’s peace with us. This is why Paul could say in Philippians to rejoice always and not be anxious about anything. The immediate context here in John 14 is regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit, but the bigger context is about Christ bringing the Kingdom of God to destroy his enemies. That’s why Jesus can say here in ch.14 that the ‘ruler of this world,’ which is satan, will be cast out and defeated. That’s why we have peace now.

Isa. 26:1-3: verse one said “in that day.” What day? The previous 2 chapters talk about the destruction of the world when God returns, but those who trust in God will be kept in perfect peace because they have been reconciled by God. And in our present day context, that means trusting in and following Jesus as Christ and savior, putting away all idols, all lying, cheating, stealing, lusting and doing what Peter and the rest of scripture says to do.

Peter continues in verse 15:”And count the patience of our Lord as salvation.” – Patience towards those who don’t know Christ, leading to repentance. Jesus is already our Lord, so it isn’t for our salvation. That’s literally why Jesus hasn’t come back yet, because he is waiting for more people who don’t know him to repent. Again, Peter is telling the church to think of God’s “slowness” as actually salvation.

So how does Jesus’ delay benefit us? Just as Paul said in Philippians 1:23,24 “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” Paul knew full well that to be free from this world with all its evil and temptations and be with Christ is obviously better. But only if you have been sanctified! And what does that fancy word mean? To be sanctified means to become more and more like Jesus – to progressively love others better and better; to progressively increase in patience, endurance, steadfastness, virtue and brotherly affection.

So what if we don’t do these things? What if we don’t progress in love and these other areas? Well, I mentioned a few months ago that I’m convinced that if we remain stagnant, staying the same, or worse yet, becoming less loving and less like Jesus, we will lose out on some wonderful rewards when Jesus does return – probably not material rewards, but in areas of increased responsibility to manage or oversee Jesus’ millennial kingdom, or ‘glory and honor’ as Paul says in Rom ch.2:10. Because these areas of sanctification – peace, patience, endurance, steadfastness, spiritual maturity and love are exactly the type of character traits that great leaders need! And you can only improve in them through the help of the holy spirit, and only in this life!

So what this means is that we have a limited amount of time before Jesus returns to prove our salvation and become more like Him, that is, bearing much fruit.

Peter continues in verse 15 thru 16 referencing the apostle Paul “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.” First of all, it’s important to notice that Peter is comparing Paul’s writings to scripture. Peter knew, as did Paul, that what they were writing was being influenced by the holy spirit. Remember what Peter wrote back in chapter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Or in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” What these men were writing, they knew was Scripture.

Also, Paul’s writings – even much of Peter’s – are sometimes hard to understand. And because their teachings aren’t always obvious – notice what Peter says “which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction.” There are ignorant and unstable people who want to distort God’s truth and His gospel – which again refers to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to free us from the penalty of sin which is spiritual death and eternal separation from God. There are people who claim to be Christians that don’t believe these biblical truths, even many popular pastors and teachers, which Trevor and I already discussed in previous weeks.

In the same way, Peter is saying in verse 17 ‘you know this already’ – “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.” What lawless people? – some translations use the words “unprincipled” or “wicked” men. The Greek word literally means someone who ignores the law/a criminal. These lawless people are the ones that Peter has been talking about for the past 3 chapters – false teachers, mockers, those who willfully ignore the truth of scripture, saying that because you are saved by grace through no work of your own, then you can do whatever evil thing you want and God won’t punish you. The lawless people that Peter is most concerned with are those who claim to be followers of Christ but aren’t. They are the most dangerous! Because they have the most potential to ‘carry away’ those believers who are not stable in their knowledge and grace of God.

Which leads us into the last verse, verse 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.” I won’t talk too much more about what ‘grow’ means, other than to say that we have to work at it, we have to be disciplined and strive to grow to be more like Jesus. It will not come automatically. And the only reason why we can even attempt to want to grow is because of the holy spirit. Our natural, sinful selves don’t even have a desire to do what pleases God. It is not of our nature to please God. It is 100% the holy spirit’s power to get us motivated to live holy lives.

Even though I’ve talked a lot about this already, it is so important and so convicting to me that we see every hardship, every obstacle, every frustration, every evil thing that happens to us as opportunities to grow in our likeness of Christ. It’s no coincidence that James tells his Jewish readers in his letter to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James literally opens his letter with ‘hey everyone! All the horrible things that are happening to you are for your own good, if you allow it.” James gets right to the point because it is that important. There is room for compassion, but godly compassion should encourage us to keep going, to persevere, to get back up again and stand firm. We are never allowed to wallow in our miseries, because our miseries are actually opportunities to grow stronger and to lead others to repentance and further sanctification.

So we now know what it means to ‘grow.’ What about grace and knowledge? Ephesians ch.2 says that grace is the favor of God, or gift of Jesus. What favor or gift did Jesus give us? Romans ch.6:23 says “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are to grow into our salvation as Peter said in his first letter, that is, prove to yourself and others that you are God’s children. How do we do that? By diligently practicing these virtues from chapter 1.

Then there’s growth in knowledge. This knowledge is referring to the intellectual knowing of who God is. Whereas earlier in this letter, Peter was talking about experiential knowledge, here he’s talking about knowing and understanding what the scriptures say. So, Peter is saying get really good at loving others the way Jesus did, and get really good at knowing the Bible.

And to top it all off, Peter closes this remarkable letter with the phrase “To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” After all, we are to do all things to the glory of God, as Paul says in 1 Cor. If the good that we are doing isn’t bringing God glory, then it really isn’t good is it? Everything we do should be pointing to Christ. That’s one of the primary jobs of the holy spirit, is to glorify Jesus!

Turn with me to John ch.16:13-14. This is actually really important. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” That’s the ultimate purpose of the holy spirit – to glorify Jesus, to make Jesus better known to us and the world. So when the holy spirit is helping us live more holy lives it has to bring Jesus glory.

So remember we are not to just keep our heads down while we wait for Christ’s return. We are to be very active in how we live, making the most of the opportunities that come our way, especially the hardships and difficulties in life. We should be practicing and growing in loving others and in our steadfastness and perseverance, and all this will confirm our faith until Jesus does return and we are brought into his presence for all eternity.

I want us to be thinking of some questions this week.#1 What are one or two major frustrations or difficulties that you can change your perspective on, viewing it as an opportunity to practice spiritual growth, whether it's serving others, thinking more of them than yourself or whether it’s practicing endurance in the midst of trials?

#2 What things about God are you ignorant about? Things about the Bible you want to know more about? How will you go about studying these things in the bible and who can help you do this?

Because loving others and studying the Bible are not easy things to do, so we need to help each other.

And now I'll pray: Holy father, may your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. We are your instruments to be used to bring you glory. Your patience is long lasting and we are so thankful that you waited for us to be brought into your kingdom, which is already being built through us but won’t be fully known until you come again. Holy spirit, change the hearts and minds of anyone here today that doesn’t know you, doesn’t love you. Convict them to repentance and help us to love them well. Lord, please come soon. Amen.