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2 Peter 3 - Hang In There! Don't Give Up!

Maurie Cropper MPC, 9^th July 2000.

No doubt there have been times in your life when you have experienced someone's broken promises.

Here's two stories about broken promises.

Story one, and you may have read about it a couple of weeks ago. It's about a conman, who created a bogus bank, ...in a fictitious country, and then snared about M$10 dollars from more than 250 customers.

He named the bank, the British Marine Bank, which he registered, now get this, in the 'Dominion of Melchizedek', a phantom country, ...and as the article said, "a name derived from the Old Testament."

One of his ploys was to entice investors into making out their cheques to a legitimate trust operated account with a legitimate bank, where he successfully transferred the funds into his own account.

This guy was certainly a high-class conman who ooozed the air of confidence of a successful banker. He opened up his 'bank's' head office in the prestigious MLC Centre in Sydney, with its own commodities room, and operated a corporate box at the Sydney Cricket Ground. His other prestigious addresses read like the who's who, including the Hilton Hotel in Sydney and Melbourne's Crown Casino, where by the way he lost more than a M$'s in two months.

He had a fleet of luxury cars, including 2 Roll-Royces, a Bentley and a Mercedes-Benz.

This guy had a string of broken promises to the 250 people who had trusted him.

Story two is also a true story, about a guy who married a young lady, with all the usual 'trappings' of a wedding. But as it turned out, things weren't as they appeared to be.

Some years later, the young woman found out that the guy was a sham, a conman. His name was false. His life-story was false.

Even the wedding was a sham. He'd arranged for someone he knew to act as a minister, the papers they signed were false, ...the whole thing was a con. Broken promises all over the place.

Both these guys broke promises, both these guys were conmen. They both deceived others for their own gain.

1. Scoffers: Who are they trying to con?

It was about these sorts of people, these sorts of issues, that drove Peter to write these letters. Peter's aware that there's conmen around who were trying to con the people into believing something different to what he was teaching them about Jesus. Teaching that had been backed up by eyewitnesses at the time of Jesus; teaching that is supported by the prophets of old; and as we see in v.15, teaching that is the same as the Apostle Paul.

And the biggest con of all, was that these con-artists, Peter calls them "scoffers", ...tried to fool the people into believing that they were being conned both by Peter and by God!!

Reading from v.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 to you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles. 3. 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?"

Here are these scoffers, or as Peter passionately describes them in chapter 2, "these arrogant, ...slanderous, ...brute beasts, ...swines who go back wallowing in the mud!" ...here they are suggesting to you that God doesn't carry out his promises. This is what they're suggesting when they ask, "Where is this coming that God promised?"

So don't be surprised by the fact that in theses last days, which a phrase referring to the period between Jesus' resurrection and his return, ...don't be surprised that scoffers are about! If anything be prepared for them and their scoffing.

And to ram home his message, Peter rattles of a bunch of points.

SCOFFERS WILL APPEAR IN THESE LAST DAYS.

THEY WILL FOLLOW THEIR OWN EVIL DESIRES.

THEY WILL SCOFF AT YOU.

THEY WILL SCOFF AT GOD.

THEY WILL SCOFF AT GOD' PROMISES.

THEY WILL SCOFF AT GOD'S INTEGRITY AT KEEPING HIS PROMISES.

Peter's right. They are arrogant. Because God stands by his promises. God stands by his WORD.

And they're also stupid.

Because the irony of it all is that the very promises of God that they're scoffing at, are going to return to bite them!

They've deliberately put it out of their minds that by His Word God created the heavens and the earth.

THEY DELIBERATELY FORGOT that the whole earth was created by His Word - and the earth was once destroyed by His Word. And even now it is being kept for His day of judgement and destruction.

Pick it up at v.5.

"...they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was 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 judgement and destruction of ungodly men."

See just how stupid they are, Peter's saying.

BUT DON'T YOU BE CONNED!

If they're so arrogant to think that God won't carry through with His promises, simply because they haven't seen it happening,

don't you get sucked in by their scoffing and sneering.

DON'T YOU FORGET that God doesn't work to our timetable.

In fact, time as we understand it, with 24 hour clocks, and 7 day weeks, and so many months in a year - just isn't how God works. His not constricted or shackled to time like we are. We certainly know how to take advantage of others because of time.

I once heard a person who worked on an hourly rate say: "That if he slows down and stretches a job out, that he'll make more money."

Some years ago working in a government job, I'd often hear the comment, "What does it matter how long it takes. Our job's not on the line. We can take forever if we want."

People do all sorts of things with time.

We often see time in the context of how slow or how fast it takes to do something. Sports like swimming and running are not just about being first, but also about time. Win maybe, but did you better the record time?

Time as we know it just isn't an issue for God.

A thousand years is a day to Him, and a day is a thousand years.

And God's timing isn't anything like ours. That's why Peter is driving home his point about God keeping His promises. And as for His timing, well to quote one famous person: "Don't you just worry about that!"

And in this context, that person was right.

Don't spend your time worrying about the timing of God's promises to come.

Because they surely will come.

Because it's not the timing that's important. What's important is the relationship that people have with God.

What Peter was concerned about, was whether or not they come to repentance? If not, they'll perish.

V.8

"...don't forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 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 for everyone to come to repentance."

And what's more, Peter doesn't want them to forget that the real issue IS about God's patience in not wanting anyone to perish in the judgement that is definitely coming.

But to it's timing no-one knows. But it'll surely arrive as quick-as-flash.

Do you remember the 1955 movie 'To catch a thief', starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly? It was a romantic comedy set on the French Riviera about a reformed catburgler and jewel thief, who had to clear his name of a number of [excuse the pun] copycat burglaries ....where a thief was scaling the sides of buildings pinching jewels. One minute they'd be safe in the owner's room. The next minute they'd be gone! Quick as a flash!!

So too will be the 'day of the Lord'

Pick it up at v.10.

"..the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements [that is the earth] will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."

Now knowing all this - or as Peter put it in v.1 ...having "...stimulated you to wholesome thinking ..." ....WHAT'S THEIR RESPONSE TO BE?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE OUGHT THEY BE?

Well Peter gets right to the point. What's the use of beating around the bush. Anyway, he's spelt it out before. But this time he does it in shorthand.

Simply this. v.11. "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? YOU OUGHT TO LIVE HOLY AND GODLY LIVES."

There you have it - HOLY AND GODLY PEOPLE! That's what you ought to be.

Peter's long-hand version is back in chapter 1. If you were here last week you might remember what he said, but like Peter, I'll remind you again of what was said.

You can find it in chapter vv.5-7. "..make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, LOVE."

and why? v.8 "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

And as effective and productive people living holy and godly lives, THEY ARE TO BE LOOKING FORWARD.

They know where they have come from.

They are people who know the rich heritage that is behind them.

A heritage rich in the grace and mercy of their God.

A heritage made possible because of the sovereign work of Jesus.

A heritage spoken of by the prophets of old.

A heritage known in abundance to them through their knowledge of God and of Jesus, as taught by Peter, Paul, and the other Apostles.

With this incredible heritage, THEY ARE NOW TO LOOK FORWARD!

They are to look forward to the day when the Lord will come to judge the world. You mightn't be too keen for that day to come because it creates all sorts of horrible images for you. But don't switch off now. Because this will be a very important day.

A day when the Lord returns as judge, with everyone before him in the dock. And he will say to all of those who constantly thumbed their noses and LIVED IN CONSTANT REBELLION towards him: 'Your punishment is to live in the everlasting torment that you will never experience the freedom I offered you.'

BUT, ... to those who repented of their rebellion towards God, and accepted His Grace and Mercy, ...and that will include the likes of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, King David, and all those whose names are not mentioned in the Bible, but have faith in God,

he will say to them: 'YOU ARE FREE'.

Free to live with me in the place that I have promised to prepare for you. So if you are one of those people who have accepted God's grace and mersy, YOU TOO ARE FREE!!

Jesus says to you: You can look forward to my promised new heaven and a new earth. The place where those who I have judged righteous will meet together, and be together.

HOME TOGETHER FOREVER.

Picking it up again at v.11.

"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought 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. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

This is Peter at his passionate best.

He is so focused on the Gospel.

So focused on his love for his Lord, who he once rejected.

So concerned for those who he knew, loved, and had taught the truth.

Concerned that they won't be conned with "cleverly invented stories".

Wanting them to be on guard against being carried away by what Peter says is "..the error of lawless men."

Urging them to live lives that would be effective and productive for Jesus.

Encouraging them to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So Peter now brings his letter to a close. Bringing together everything that he has already said to them. Leaving with them a summary of all that he is so passionate about.

And I now leave it with you. Hoping that you too will not be sucked in by cleverly invented stories. But by firmly sticking with the Gospel truth, focusing on Jesus, living productive and effective lives for Him, and growing in the grace and knowledge of Him, ..that you and I together with all the saints, will look forward to finally being at home in heaven with Jesus.

v. 14 Here's how Peter puts it. "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. 16. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of all 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. 17. 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 Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.