3 responses to man’s eternal destiny
I. Be Sober because of God’s Final Judgment
2 Peter 3:10 - But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
A. Its timing
B. Its intensity
C. Its result
II. Be Looking for Ways to Make Your Eschatology Practical
2 Peter 3:11 - Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness
A. Holy conduct
B. Godliness
C. Balanced outlook
2 Peter 3:12-13 - …looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 - For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for our testimony to you was believed.
D. Diligent preparation
2 Peter 3:14 - Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless…
E. Humble appreciation
2 Peter 3:15-16 - …and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
III. Be Committed to a Consistent Pattern of Growing
2 Peter 3:18 - …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.
A. A focus on growing
2 Peter 1:5-8 - …Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. A longing for His glory
God wants his people to live…holy lives – let me preface that because I think this emphasis is important. God’s wants his people that he set a part in salvation to live in a growing holiness.
Now what does that require? Well…it necessitates God’s…providential activity…of spiritual refinery in the lives of his people to conform us into the likeness of our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ.
In Psalm 66 we hear the psalmist scream out in praise to His God for bringing the nation through purifying what…trials.
Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
9 Who keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
19 But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Christian, in speaking to my own heart and to yours, we often have a gap between what we say we believe and the way we live.
So what does our Lord do…over the course of time he has seen fit to uniquely sculp a kind of peculiar trial for each one of us – to remove the dross – to remove the scum that retard our growth in Him – why?
To minimize those gaps…and we all have gaps in our growing holiness, yes – we all have those…spiritual gaps, my friend – all of us.
Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. – CH Spurgeon
Christian: Refinement will either kill us or shape us. And the kind of people God wants us to be is a kind of people of sanctified sobriety before he comes to set this world on fire [CONSIDER REVISING]
What kind of people does God want us to be? Because the Apostle Peter and the church had to face…
Proposition – 3 responses to man’s eternal destiny.
(read 2 Peter 3:10-18)
The Day of The Lord refers to that future period of time by which God will supernaturally interrupt human history for universal – worldwide – cataclysm judgment on the earth.
If you prefer something much shorter for the sake of your memories, God is coming to judge the earth. The prophets saw this period of time in their writings. Isaiah saw it. Ezekiel saw it
And in light of the reality of that Day it necessitates that we be
I. Be Sober because of God’s Final Judgment
Notice the timing…
Its timing
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
That period of time is going to come like a “thief.” Let me ask you a question: Do you know when a thief is going to come and rob your home? What would you do if a thief came to and said he was going to rob your home on October 23rd 2 in the afternoon? How would you be respond?
Anyone in this room worth his salt would wait for the thief’s arrival and soon departure from this earth. And since we live in corn country Indiana, I pity the thief who dares to enter into your home because we have more guns than people here in this state.
No thief worth his salt is going to enlighten you about his whereabouts! So then, he’s going to come when? – unexpectantly – suddenly – without warning.
In light of that, it necessities a kind of sobriety in light of God’s divine judgment upon this world, yes? It necessities that a warning both for believers and unbelievers.
For the believer in Christ, not knowing when this Day is coming will keep us sober minded and focused on Him. It stirs us to a continued growing more and godly kind of living.
So in light of our short stay here on earth, we are not to get lazy in our walk with Christ. Let’s not be unbelieving, but believing. So for us, this day won’t take us of guard, which I want to explain in a bit
But for the unbeliever, this day will overcome them – it will overwhelm them because they don’t know what the Scriptures says about how to be sober-minded in light of repentance and turning away from one’s sins and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith alone.
This day will be a day of absolute terror – and there will be no sense of sobriety for them by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s interesting because in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians he writes to the church about you who know what – The Day of The Lord! And he said to them…
1 Thessalonians 5:2-5 “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness.”
The goal as believers in Jesus Christ is to be progressively holy day walkers. We know about this period of time to come upon the world, yet we won’t be a part of it because sobriety entails a drinking in of the Scriptures daily and a learning to live in the light of what the Scriptures teach in matters of life and conduct until the Lord removes us from before this period of time comes to test the whole world, we call the rapture of the church.
But unbelievers are not day walkers – they are night walkers – people who walk progressively downward into the darkness. So, this day is coming – it will come like a thief – it will come expectantly upon the world and many won’t see it coming. But notice…
Its intensity
2 Peter 3:10 “…in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
We’re talking about universal upheaval of everything created in the heaven’s plural– in other words, the universal uncreation of everything created by God Himself!
And the roaring of the elements refers to every created atom that holds all things together is being unglued by God himself, as he supernaturally lights up each/every invisible atom so that they become visible in that everything is lit up in universal flame.
2 Peter 3:12, “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”
In other words, there is nowhere to run – there is nowhere to hide. Everywhere a person will go will be utter terror and destruction. It will be the most frightening display of power ever witnessed and actualized, as God tears down every molecule
This day was seen by the prophets – Isaiah saw it. Ezekiel saw it. Joel saw it. Zechariah saw it. Malachi saw it – they all prophesied it. By the way, they also called this period of times by different names to refer to the same thing. They called it “the day of visitation.” They called it “the day of vengeance.” They called it “the Great Day of God almighty.”
Amos’ prophesied of this day and it is – well, disturbing…and that’s putting it mildly.
He said that this day
Amos 5:19-20 “As when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?”
The point is this – this will be such a unique day on planet earth that there is nowhere a person will be able to run – there will be no place to hide – there will be no place of safety – no place of security.
You’re only hope of security is in Christ alone, your only hope of glory. Run to Christ – run to your Ark of safety!
Be sober minded in light of God’s judgment. Be Sober minded because…
C. Its result
Since final judgment comes as a thief, you never know how long you have. Jesus may return or our life might be cut short. We never know how long we have to live.
The gospel message is very simple. The Bible teaches that you are a sinner. You have violated God’s commands. It does not mean that you are as bad as you could be or worse than another person. It means you have violated God’s standards.
He sent his son to live a sinless life, to die on the cross to satisfy the Father’s wrath against sin, to be buried, and to rise on the third day.
You must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (master, in control) and that believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
I invite you to trust Christ as your personal savior right here and now. If you have questions, then please contact one of your pastors and we will arrange a time to meet with you.
Friends, God’s final judgment is certain. The day of the Lord is coming and it comes when people are unsuspecting and unprepared. Thus, be clear headed about this reality and do not let anyone deceive you or convince you otherwise.
A second proper response to man’s eternal destiny is to …
II. Be Looking for Ways to Make Your Eschatology Practical
Perhaps my favorite subject in theology is the study of eschatology or End Times. Perhaps all of us should take the time to read it more than we are reading it now, which is perhaps a little!
But the point behind End Times is not to know all of the details about things that will happen in the future – although it is fun to learn it! The point behind End Times is to make a difference in how we live.
Verse 11-12 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
A. Holy conduct
This refers to lifestyle. Spiritual growth and holiness is training ourselves to apply our practice with our position in Christ. No, you don’t grow into becoming a Christian. Our position in Christ happened once at salvation – you became a believer at salvation – that’s one thing.
So what happens next?
Well, if you are a born again believer in Christ at salvation, it follows that you put into practice what you are in position. There ought to be an outgrowth of desire as a result of your salvation granted to you by Christ, right?
If so, welcome day walker! I like how Pastor Rob Green put it – he said that our actions ought to communicate what we believe. And to the degree that you are not living out your role for Jesus … pick one area and start changing it today.
I mean, that is that is the essence of spiritual growth – that which is true of you positionally become more a reality in your life of a growing holy conduct in Christ.
Rob Green “The Lord wants us to see the final judgment as a motivator to how we live productively for Jesus. Our conduct must be holy.” The next is…
B. Godliness
Godliness refers to a person’s heart attitude toward God. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 5:9 we read that the purpose of the Christian life is to please God.
Is my purpose in everything I do and say reflective of a heart attitude that wants to please God? That’s the essence of godliness.
Third, have a…
C. Balanced outlook
2 Peter 3:12-13 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
There is a bitter sweetness to this passage – for the believer, we are promised the golden shores of eternity, in Christ forever.
But there’s doom for the unbeliever, he awaits a Great White Throne judgment Christ – this is the final judgment for all unbelievers who do not believe. There is no rescue.
Paul wrote in
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.
Trunk or Treat is just around the corner for us here at FN – A number of those people don’t even know who Christ is? What kind of people does God want us to be? Well, I believe part and parcel of godliness is wanted to at least give those individuals the hope of the Gospel. Hand them a track – give a brief Gospel message to their soul – let’s learn to speak more by loving them enough to give them the Gospel because there’s a judgment coming for them. A judgement you won’t ever have to experience.
If you have not signed up to serve, now is a good time to do so – you can serve the Lord knowing that we have a heavenly eternity promised to us, but also practice loving our neighbor by serving them the love of Christ and should the opportunity present itself, give them the Gospel or handout a track.
Be…
D. Diligent preparation – v. 14
2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless
Remember that the context refers to the Day of The Lord – and since His day is coming we are to be endeavoring to be “found at peace with him” by diligently putting out those things in our lives which he hates.
God promises to rip out those sucker branches that retard our growth in him Philippians 1:6
Philippians 1:6For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
E. Humble appreciation – v. 15 – 17
2 Peter 3:15-16 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
III. Be Committed to a Consistent Pattern of Growing
2 Peter 3:18 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.
A. A focus on growing
2 Peter 1:5-8 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. A longing for His glory
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