"This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. 3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 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."
Jesus Christ is coming back!
The early church clung to it as the culmination of everything they believed. In fact, first-century believers would greet one another with the term "maranatha," meaning "Lord, come quickly." The return of Christ is the blessed hope. Christ's return hails the completion of our redemption, and the climax of salvation history. How could they not long for the return of their Savior, the Righteous Judge who would set things right?
Today, as we watch our nation forget it roots, our culture more divided than ever before, disintegrating before our very eyes, a pandemic that has destroyed our world's economy, as well as being used as a tool to accomplish political and sociological ends, we too, long for Christ's return. When Christians live in anticipation of Christ’s promised return, they demonstrate a spiritual zeal and enthusiasm. However, when Christians forget about the Second Coming of Christ and begin to focus on the things of this world, they become absorbed with the external rather than the eternal.
How vital then, is the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ to every believer?
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 13:11, "Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed."
There is one in our midst who understands how crucial it is, perhaps, even better than you and I. Who recognizes just how important truth is to the church. We all know him, or have at least heard of him, his name is Satan, the devil, the adversary, the evil one and the father of lies. Satan knows if he can get the Church to minimize the importance of
Christ’s return, or better yet, completely deny its reality, then he can remove a
very significant source of Christian hope, peace, joy, anticipation
and Satan knows if he can get the Church to minimize the importance of
Christ’s return, or even completely deny its reality, he can remove a
very significant source of Christian hope, comfort, joy, motivation and anticipation.
In order to accomplish his task, he sets men in the church who reject, minimize, and alter Jesus’ promise of His second coming. He places cynics and fake Christians within the body of Christ, who plague the church with their immoral conduct and lifestyles, who undermine the work of Christ and the reality of genuine transformation. If Satan can make everybody believe the lie of evolution, which comes not by intellect but a desire to sin, then he can significantly impede the evangelism of this fallen, pagan world.
Beloved, in these difficult and challenging end times, I strongly encourage you to live purely, holy and refraining from doing anything that will leave
embarrassed at the moment Christ returns.
In Matthew 24:36, Jesus Himself reminds us "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Our text today affirms that Christ's immanent return is closer than you may even imagine.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we are so thank for Your Word for us today, for the clear insight into the devious strategies of the enemy and false teachers. Because You have given us the truth, we will not be intimidated. Lord, we love You and we trust and believe Your Word. We will stand firm in Your truth. Longing for the day and return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when He’ll gather His church. We long for Your justice.
Burden our hearts with an unceasing sorrow and passion for the lost, that we would confidently, compassionately speak the truth and confront the error of sin. May it all be for Your glory and for Christ's sake.
In His name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: We Believe
Many people scoff at God and the warning of His coming judgment, they tend to think that either it will never happen because it hasn’t yet, or they think that if it does, they be ok.While few are so bold as openly to scoff at God and the coming judgment, they do so by living in such a way, as if they will never stand before Him to give an account.
Tragically, for many believers, the idea of facing Him in judgment is so far from their minds that it has no affect on how they live. When people who profess to know Christ decide to pursue their own lusts and sinful desires,
they have to invent some doctrinal loopholes to justify their sins and
pacify their conscience. Mixing error with truth, convincing others to swallow the whole package. They profess to know Jesus Christ as Savior with their lips, but willfully deny His Lordship with their lives. All the while, claiming to be free in Christ.
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to II Peter chapter 3. In our ongoing study of the marvelous epistle, we embark on a new chapter, and another great biblical adventure, full of rich treasure, you won't want to miss. This is certainly not the kind of text you want to hurry through. So, I pray that with open hearts and open ears, that you will welcome the great truths that we uncover together.
I
invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our
minds, as we prepare our hearts for a Word from our Lord. Listen for
what the Spirit of God is saying. II Peter 3:1-4. This section runs from verse 1 through verse 9, though today, we will be studying only the first four verses.
"This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. 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. For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
The church of Christ has always lived in the anticipation of His return to gather His redeemed people, to establish His glorious kingdom and He will bring His reward to give to those who are faithful, based on the level of commitment we have exhibited in our lives. We live in light of that hope as have all believers before us.
We also look to the return of Christ in which sin is forever absent, and as it relates to the impending incarceration of Satan. Who
has attempted to destroy the testimony of Jesus as found in the Bible
so that the world will embrace a false idea about who Jesus was and has prepared the world to receive a false Christ, known as Antichrist, once he appears. As those of us who know the truth in God's Word,
we know that there is a terrifying day of judgment to come.
we know that there is a terrifying day of judgment to come.
The church has always had to endure the skeptics who deny not only the deity of Christ but His immanent return. I am shocked that in this lukewarm church age there seems to be such apathy about the corruption of God's Word. I have to question whether many of today's Christians even even know the true Biblical Jesus. And, if they do, why are they grieved over the acceptance of this Satanic corruption of the Word of God.
Anyone who has been a seminary student in the last several decades, would be familiar with some of the names that have influenced and had a great impact on the theology of the church today. As well as many seminaries, universities and therefore pastors.
A man by the name of Adolf Von Harnack, who wrote a book, entitled What is Christianity? His writings have been extremely influential in contemporary theology. He is quoted as saying, "The kingdom of God comes by coming to the individual, by entering into his soul and laying hold of it. True, the kingdom of God is the rule of God; but it is the rule of the holy God in the hearts of individuals; it is God himself in his power. From this point of view everything that was dramatic in the external and historical sense has vanished; and gone, too, are all the hopes for the future."
By saying there is no second coming, no future kingdom, he completely rejected all eschatological aspects of the kingdom of God.
Another book that has influenced many contemporary theologians, called Parables of the kingdom, first published in 1935, is perhaps the most famous and influential book written by C.H. Dodd. He taught that the second coming of Christ is a myth. He stated "that since the Lord did not in literal truth return on the clouds of heaven during the ‘30s of the first century, to expect Him thus to return in the twentieth century is to go contrary to primitive Christianity which is true Christianity." Without equivocation, he denies any literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Rudolf Bultmann, was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg, who set out to and I quote, "demythologize the New Testament." He concluded "Among the mythological elements in the New Testament which must be reinterpreted and, therefore, no longer taken literally are the following: heaven, hell, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Second Coming of Christ, and the future day of judgment." He acknowledges that Paul's teachings about apocalyptic future events like the Second Coming and the final judgment, but says that since "This is mythical eschatology. And so Paul must be demythologized."
This small group of men, who deny the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Day of the Lord’s judgment, have influenced modern contemporary theology in the church, as much as anybody.
In this chapter, our beloved Peter expresses what is on his heart, in the first nine verses and that the coming of Christ in future judgment. I believe that as we study these verses, it will become very clear to you what is happening. The antagonism that surrounds the question in verse 4, is "All of you said Jesus would be back, where is He?"
They're obviously doubting the truthfulness of the return of Christ and the Day of judgement. Therefore, they're doubting the Word of God. They've been in the church, they know the Word of God, and yet, they're denying it.
They well knew that Jesus said in Matthew 24:29-31, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."
They knew what He said in verse 42, "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming."
They even knew the testimony of the angel in Acts 1:11, "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
I want to be very clear there’s no question at all that Jesus Christ said He was coming back. Furthermore, there was no question that the mind of the New Testament writers, who believed that Jesus meant what He said. The return of Christ means judgement for sinners, He will come to destroy the wicked. They want an eschatology that fits their immorality.
Verse 1, "This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder."
That phrase "This is now, the second letter" indicates there was very little time between the first and the second letter. His use of the word "beloved," identifies his pastoral heart, it's not hard to figure out that Peter deeply cares for these people to whom he is writing. In other words, this is not just another letter, I have written to you twice on this because you really need to get this. You must not forget the Second Coming.
Interestingly enough, when Peter says this is the second letter, you would be astonished by the countless commentaries of scholars who have tried to discover where is the first letter. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that when Peter writes II Peter, a second letter in which talks about the first, there must be a I Peter. Scholars really spill a lot of ink debating what the first letter was. It's astounding to me.
I'd like you to notice the phrase "I am stirring up your sincere mind," Here he's saying, "In order to alert you and awaken you," your sincere mind indicates that these were genuine believers, with pure minds. It’s a very good commendation. These are things you may already know, you've heard them before, but important that I remind you, just to refresh your minds. Peter, like every effective teacher, knew that repetition is a key to learning. By the way, that's quite a contrast to the dark minds of the false teachers.
The word sincere is the Greek word "eilikrinḗs," which means tested by the sun.
The reminder comes in verse 2, "That you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." That's a reference to the Old Testament. When scoffers come along, you need to go back to the Old Testament. Don't buy into their lies, rehearse your minds on the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets. If you go back and read that you’re going to read about judgment. By the way, he uses the word holy because is contrasting the Old Testament prophets with the unholy false prophets. For the record, the Old Testament has a great deal to say about the final judgement.
Isaiah 13:10-11, says "For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless."
The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless."
And Micah 1:4-5, "The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, Like water poured down a steep place. All this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel."
Ezekiel 30:2-3, "Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ “For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations."
It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations."
Let me give you one more, Zephaniah 3:1-2, "Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city! She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not draw near to her God."
This is all pretty typical of the Old Testament passages. Both the Old and New Testaments are replete with teaching about the final judgement.
The disciples believed that Jesus was coming back very soon. Peter knew that he wasn’t going to live till the Second Coming. Look at John 21:18-19, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever
you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and
someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God." "Stretch out your hands," is used in extra-biblical literature to describe crucifixion. Peter got the message.
You will remember, he turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, and what about this man?" And "Jesus *said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"
You know, so many today scoff at the return of Christ, this is mot merely a myth, it's a promise given in Scripture. Throughout the New Testament, the living Word of God repeatedly proclaims the Second Coming. In fact, twenty-three of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament explicitly refer to the Lord’s return. And the other four allude to it! There are around 300 references to Christ’s Second Coming.
Galatians 5:5 says " For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness." And II John 1:8 speaks of the believers future reward. Only 3 John and Philemon do not mention Christ’s return.
It is astonishing to me how so many will emphatically deny Christ's immanent return, lie after lie, argument after argument in order to cover up the truth. Deny as they will, in order to make themselves feel better about the future Day of judgement, if Scripture says Jesus is going to return, and it does, then allow me to assure you that Jesus is coming back. The proof is in God’s Authoritative Word!
Therefore, you and I must remember to anticipate His return every single day! From the Gospel of Matthew to the Book of Revelation, Jesus’ return is reiterated over and over and over again. Remember it. Long for it. Live it. And, declare it!
It saddens me that so many believers life as if Christ isn’t coming back, so they won’t have to stop their sinful lifestyle. As if there is no one they have to answer to for their sin. Jesus Christ’s return is certain and His judgment is coming. Allow me to boldly assure you that not wanting judgment to come does not change what Scripture clearly declares; Judgement is Coming!
The Bible says you’re in trouble with God because of your sin. By teaching God’s Word as it is written, determining the author’s intended meaning, you will not always feel good. My role as your pastor is not to make you feel better about your sin, it's to teach you what God's Word says about your sin. God's Judgement of sin may not be fun to hear, but it is true. I am called to teach you the truth about what God's Word says, as it says.
Acts 17:30-31 clearly teaches "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
The heart of a true believer should be filled with anticipation of Christ's glorious return. I do not believe that there is any church in the New Testament that was more expectant than the Thessalonians. They were living in anticipation of Christ's return. Yet, the Thessalonians had a problem. They began to worry about those that died. That they would miss the Rapture, and they would miss Christ's return. It is those questions that prompted the Apostle Paul to write as he did in I Thessalonians and II Thessalonians. When the mockers came and began to ridicule them, it began to become effective on those that were disappointed and emotionally upset.
Verse 3, "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts." By the way, "Know this first of all," is not about a chronological sequence, but rather about a first priority. This is the most important, as Christians must guard themselves against these mocking errors. Know your enemy. The false teachers laughingly sneer at the truth, so they might indulge in their own sinful exploits. I must warn you, it
is a priority that you understand false teachers are going to try to
steal your hope, because if they can steal your hope, they can feed your
flesh.
Jude 18, tells us the same thing, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." And they’ve been doing it since Christ came the first time and it continues even today.
Jude 18, tells us the same thing, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." And they’ve been doing it since Christ came the first time and it continues even today.
By the way, "in the last days" includes the entire time between the first coming and the Second Coming of Christ. It emphasizes the time of trouble which will intensify as we draw nearer to Christ's return.
In Matthew 24 that the Lord said this would happen. He warned us in verses 4 and 5 He said "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many."
Peter, then, is echoing the words of our Lord, when He says it’s going to come. Beloved, it's here. It's everywhere, all around us. They continue to attack the reality of Christ’s return and the Day of judgement. It's an emotional argument, not an intellectual one. Notice Peter says they are following their own lusts, there is the true motive! They indulge the flesh in all of its corrupt desires. Therefore, they mock Christ's return and judgement because they are guilty and they do not want to repent. They want don't want to restrain their flesh, they want to continue living in their sin. They develop and teach a theology that permits their immorality.
The bottom line is this; if you believe the Word of God, if you believe in Christ's return, if you believe that there is going to be a day of judgement, you're going to live in that hope and therefore, you will strive to purify yourself, living in the anticipation. There will be an accountability for the way you live.
In Romans 1:18-19, Paul says "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them."
Evolution was not the child born of science, it is the child born of sexual liberation and immorality. It eliminates the judgment of God. You need to understand that you must deny that God will ultimately judge sin if you're going to free yourself to live anyway way you want and be free to sin. They're only kidding themselves!
OK, we've discussed the ridicule and we've discussed the emotional argument of the false teachers, now we come to their best shot. Verse 4, "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."
Here comes their attempt at an intellectual argument. Scientific skepticism. They claim that science proves He’s not coming. They claim that the laws of nature reject His return. The sun comes up and goes down, the seasons follow each other, the tides rise and fall in perfect order, the laws of nature are unchanging. In exactly the same as they have done for thousands of years.
By the way, every time you see the term "fathers," in the New Testament, it's referring to the Old Testament patriarchs. What they're saying is, looking back to Genesis, always gone the same way, since as far back as the patriarchs. This is the same heresy that you hear being taught in the secular classroom's today.
They don't want you to believe that God has radically interrupted the normal sequence of events with a
global, worldwide flood, which covered the entire planet with water, or made the
sun stand still. Or that most of what Christ accomplished messed with the natural order. They want you to believe that there are no supernatural judgments, everything in the world has always been stable. Liberal theologians who deny the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, are denying the truth of the Bible. They deny what Jesus said. They say Jesus Christ makes no difference. You’re still gonna die just like everyone else. In other words, Christ has no bearing on the natural order of events of everyday life.
I have news for them, God ordains the natural order and operation of natural causes. Christ may have quietly entered into the world to provide salvation with His first
coming but He will return dramatically to this world with judgment,
and rule in His Second Coming. You can stake your life on that! To put it bluntly, this world and everyone in it will be rocked with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In Closing..
Though the great and terrible Day of Judgement is soon coming, the wages of sin is death, but there is Good News. The good news is, from a heart of love and mercy, Jesus Christ, took upon Himself, that pain, suffering and complete agony of an eternity in Hell upon Himself, when He died for your sins on the cross. Jesus Christ died for you, then on the third day, rose, and ascended to heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Not only can He forgive your sins, but He can also cover you with His perfect righteousness, through justification, bringing you into a right relationship with God now and giving you the promise of eternal life with God in Heaven.
He will not force you to accept His atonement for your sin, you must choose to accept it of your own validity. Becoming a Christian is more than just saying a little prayer, as is so often taught today. It’s a walk of obedience, a life of faithful dedication to the One Who saves you. It's surrendering to His Lordship and rule over your life.
Jesus Christ rules over all, over all space and time, and in all areas of human activity, even in the details of each sparrow. Christ has authority over both believers and unbelievers. The difference is that true believers acknowledge and submit to His rule, with joy and rejoicing, for the salvation they have received in Him.
Serving Christ makes a profound difference in the lives of those who submit to His authority, every area of their life. We look at the law, sin and the world differently, because we belong to Him. However, we’re not meant to simply sit and wait for His return, we are to demonstrate by our transformed lives, the goodness and glory of God to a broken and fallen world, in hope that even one more might be saved.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2021 All Rights Reserved