Download Always Remember (2 Peter 3:1-18)

Always Remember
2 Peter 3:1-18
Turn with me this morning to 2 Peter 3. As you are turning to 2 Peter I want to tell you about a dream
that once haunted me. As a child I had this same dream more times than I can count.
First, a little spiritual background information will help set the stage for my dream. I grew up on a farm
in northwest Kansas. My parents raised my siblings and I in a home where the Bible was the final
authority, Jesus Christ was the only name under heaven by which one could be saved, and the church
was a priority and the recipient of the first fruits of our time and money. We attended Wesleyan
Community Church, where my parents and siblings still faithfully attend and serve today.
Part of growing up hearing God’s Word taught was learning about the creation in Genesis. “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We learned about the fall of Adam and Eve and the
problem of sin inherited by every person to be born since their rebellion. We learned that this rebellion
against the holy, all-mighty God reeked havoc on all creation and in the heart of every man and woman.
This sin separates everyone from God and no amount of good deeds or good intentions can ever right
the wrong committed against the holy and righteous God. We learned that we also were sinners and
that all sinners deserved eternal punishment and separation from God.
We also learned that from before the foundations of the earth where in place God designed to send his
perfect Son to come to earth. He was born fully God and fully man. His name is Jesus. He lived a
perfect life. He proclaimed the kingdom of God. He fulfilled the prophecies of the OT proving he was
God and the long-awaited Messiah through his many miracles, teachings and the way he interacted with
people.
When was in his early thirties he continued to fulfill those prophecies by being betrayed by one of his
closest friends, he was declared guilty of sins and charges that were trumped up by his enemies and
then he was crucified by his chosen people, Israel, and by pagans. He was crushed by the wrath of God
as he took on the sins of sinners from every tribe and nation.
We learned that when the Holy Spirit stirs a person to see his sin and when he places his trust fully in
the death of Jesus in his place, he has peace with God. All of that person’s sin was punished in the death
of the perfectly righteous Jesus, and that person receives all of the righteousness of Jesus.
I also grew up hearing from God’s Word that Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father, but that he will
one day return for his people, to finally destroy his enemies and to establish his kingdom in a new
heavens and a new earth. Those who place their faith fully in Jesus Christ and are born again by the
Spirit and have peace with God, will spend eternity with God, beholding his beauty with new bodies and
souls and minds that are completely free from all the effects of sin and death and Satan. All those
whose names are not written in the Book of Life, who have not placed their faith fully in Jesus Christ,
and who do not have peace with God will spend eternity in the fires of hell where the torment never
ceases and the fires never weaken.
So, I grew up knowing all of these things from God’s Word. I believed that God is real and that he exists
as he revealed himself in his Word. I believed all of his Word to be true. But, I still had a haunting
dream throughout my childhood.
In this dream I remember sitting around the kitchen table with my family. I watched my family as they
heard a noise outside. I could not hear whatever it was that they heard. But they were so happy and
peaceful. I remember being really confused. Soon they began ascending upward toward the noise that
they apparently heard. As they went out the front door, I followed them. The sky was clear and the
temperature was perfect, not to warm and not to cold. That was no wind at all.
I watched my parents and siblings as they rose. At a distance I saw my grandparents and some other
neighbors ascending up in the sky. I ran from the house toward the garage. I climbed up on the fence
post at the corner of the pasture and jumped to grab onto my dad. Nothing. I climbed the post again.
Tears were streaming down my face as I sob uncontrollably. I jump a second time trying to grab my
brother. Nothing. “I’m ready Jesus. I want to come too,” I cried. Nothing.
I remember being filled with fear. In my dream I knew what would come next. I knew what my eternity
would be. At this point in the dream, I would always wake up soaked in sweat and trembling.
We will return to this dream in a few moments. For now read with me from 2 Peter 3.
2 Peter 3:1-18 (ESV) - This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of
them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the
predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your
apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following
their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the
fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For
they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed
out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that
then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and
earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction
of the ungodly.
8
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach
repentance. 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.
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.
Peter tells his readers that the reason he wrote both letters is to remind them. In chapter 1, Peter
concludes the first section in verses 12-15.
2 Peter 1:12-13, 15 (ESV) - 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though
you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am
in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,… 15 And I will make every effort so that after my
departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
From verses 3-10 we see that a true knowledge of Jesus Christ will produce a fruitful and effective life.
This fruitful and effective life is continually increasing in faith, virtue, self-control, steadfastness,
godliness, brotherly affection and love. If these qualities are not ever-increasing, then Peter is
reminding his readers that their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ may not be certain or their vision of
Christ as clear as he or she might have imagined.
The Apostle is not advocating works based salvation. He is echoing the entire counsel of Jesus and the
other Apostles in the NT. All of Scripture remind us that good works cannot ever truly save, but true
salvation will always produce God-honoring, Spirit-dependent good works.
So, the Apostle Peter intentionally writes to remind what he has already taught. This is a good reminder
for us all. No matter how many times we have a heard a passage or truth taught, it is good and right for
us to be reminded and relearn and reconsider and resubmit ourselves to the counsel of Life we are
receiving from God’s Word.
This morning we are going to look at three reminders from the Apostle Peter.
Remember God’s…
1. Remember God’s Promise
Peter reminds his readers to remember God’s promise. The recipients can be certain of the promise
that Jesus is coming back again. This is part of God’s plan. This promise was revealed through the
prophets under the Old Covenant and from the mouth of Jesus himself. His plan for all eternity has
been perfect. We see God’s plan unfold as he spoke the heavens and earth and every living thing into
existence in the beginning. All of history has been a part of God’s plan. The first coming of the Messiah,
his life, death and resurrection were part of God’s plan. And the second coming of the Messiah, and the
new heavens and new earth are part of God’s plan.
So Peter reminds his readers of what they know from the Prophets and from Jesus because he wants
them to remember that the certain promise of God is that Jesus Christ will return and He will judge and
destroy the ungodly. We see this in verse 7
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept
until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
And we see this reality in verse 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.
This reality of the certain judgment of God is both terrible and comforting. It is terrible because we all
know and love people that will experience this judgment and destruction if they do not reach
repentance. At the same time it is comforting because the just God will not allow injustice to reign. The
promise of God includes an end to all suffering and sin and death and tears.
As we remember the promise of God let us ask for faith to trust his perfect wisdom. God does not exist
in time in the same way in which we exist in time. Time is subject to God, while we as humans are
subject to time. We must trust the God who created time.1 We must trust his perfect wisdom as he
brings each moment of his plan to occur for our good and his glory according to his plan.
2. Remember God’s Power
God is all-powerful. What God purposes according to his perfect wisdom, he is able and he will cause to
take place. In verse 7 we see that the same power that God exerted to speak all of creation into
existence will be used on the day of the Lord to carry his promise to fruition.
It is helpful for me to understand the glory of God’s power if I consider the promise of God without his
power. Let me explain. What if God were unable to carry out his plan? What if God could imagine the
perfection of creation, but he was unable to speak all things into existence? What if God could imagine
how to sustain all of life and the solar system, but he was unable to affect that sustaining work?
But our God is not impotent. Our God, the one and only all-powerful God, not only has perfect wisdom,
but also supreme power over all creation.
1
See Habakkuk 2:3; Hebrews 10:37
So when we are reminded of the promise spoken of by the prophets as we read God’s Word, we are
reminded that Christ will return again and that unrepentant sinners will be punished and that the first
heavens and the first earth will be burned and that a new heavens and a new earth will be created.
God is all-powerful. Nothing can prevent his plan from coming to pass, because there is no power that is
greater than his power. Brothers and sisters in Christ, what a great comfort it is to know and serve the
all-wise, all-powerful God of the Universe.
3. Remember God’s Patience
Finally, Peter reminds us that God is patient. I am guessing most of us here this morning have thought
about the wisdom or power of God this week. How many of us have recently worshipped God for his
patience? God is patient. Look at verse 9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach
repentance.”
Think about this glorious truth: God is patient. He does not desire that any perish, but that all should
reach repentance. According to his righteousness and wisdom and power he could inaugurate the day
of the Lord at any time. If God had brought about the day of judgment before August of 2001, I would
have entered the eternal tormenting hell of my dream. If God had not been patient, if he had not
endured my rebellion and hatred and disobedience toward him, I would be the recipient of eternal
judgment and destruction promised in verse 7.
Not only was God patient with us while we rejected his glory, but even now as his children God patiently
bears with our sin. He hates sin, but because he crushed Jesus for our sins, he uses the disobedience of
his children to discipline and correct us in love to make us always more like Jesus.
Brother and sister in Christ, have you praised God for his patience toward you recently? The patience of
God that allows us to reach repentance is a truth for which we ought never to cease to adore and
worship his goodness and mercy.
If you are here this morning and you have never repented, or turned, from your love of sin and self, if
you have never placed all of your faith and hope in Jesus Christ, if you have never experienced peace
with God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, then consider verse 15 and “count the patience of God as
salvation” today as his goodness and his calling for you to reach repentance and eternal life.
Remember so that…
First, Peter instructs us to remember God’s promise, power and patience so that as children of God we
make every effort to be spotless and blameless. “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be
diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”2
2
2 Peter 3:14
We make every effort to be without blemish or spot not in order to earn peace with God, but because of
our genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ we grow in holiness (without spot or blemish).
Holiness will guarantee that we have peace with God.
It is important to note here that the Apostle Peter gives us only two options for how we will stand
before God on the day of the Lord. We will either be making every effort to grow in grace and godliness
or we will be like the false teachers described in 2:12-14:
2 Peter 2:12-14 (ESV) - 12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be
caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be
destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it
pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while
they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady
souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
So, we are to remember God’s promise, power and patience so that as His children we make every
effort to be spotless and blameless.
Second, Peter instructs us to remember God’s promise, power and patience so that as children of God
we count the patience of the Lord as salvation. We see this in verse 15. This means that everyday is a
new day to praise God for his patience toward us that enabled us to reach repentance. It also means
that everyday is a new day to proclaim his gospel, and prayer for, and serve those who will one day be
judged and destroyed unless they reach repentance.
Finally, counting the patience of God as salvation means that everyday is a new day to grow in being
perfect in patience toward others as God has been perfect in patience toward us. If God was patient
with the Apostle Peter through all of his brash confessions and through his denial between the garden
and the cross, if he was patient with the Apostle Paul when he persecuted the church, if he was patient
with me when I rebelled against the clear truth I knew so that I could pursue my own agenda, if he was
and continues to be patient with all of his children, then we also must be patient.
We must be patient with one another as we grow in being more and more like Jesus. We must be
patient with one another as we daily repent of our self-seeking words and actions and agendas. We
must be patient with those who have yet to reach repentance through our prayers and through gentle,
yet bold proclamation of the gospel and through our sacrificial lives.
Brothers and sisters, let us not fall into the same error as the wicked servant Jesus spoke of in Matthew
18. This servant pleaded with the king to be patient with him to pay off a debt that could never be
repaid. The king graciously forgave the entire debt. In turn the servant left the presence of the gracious
king only to find a fellow servant who owed him a very small debt. But the first servant refused to
extend the patience and grace he himself had received. In his refusal to graciously forgive, Jesus tells us
that the servant proved himself to have not received the forgiveness of the King.
Let us remember God’s promise, power and patience. Let us live to know him more and worship him
always, because he is great in his wisdom and power and he is good in his patience.