Tuesday, January 14, 2020

2 Peter 3:1-9

There will come the end of life as we know it. This end time nobody knows but God. We need to be prepared for the turmoil and chaos that has become the world and in this find the peace of God that passes understanding.

Open the eyes of our heart Lord, open the eyes of our heart, we want to see You.

Pray for for salvation, not only for us and our families, but also for all peoples in all nations. Keeping in mind always, that He wants no one to perish, and that everyone come to repentance and the salvation that He gives in Christ Jesus.

Romans 2:4 | Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Peter is appealing to his readers to remember what they were taught by him and by Scripture regarding the second coming of Christ. Peter is referring to things happening in his own day. This phrase describes the time between Jesus’ ascension to heaven (shortly after His resurrection) and the time when Jesus will return again.

The false teachers and their followers acted like they had a form of godliness, but they were lacking the transformative power of Jesus in their lives; their decision to repeatedly choose and condone sin showed that they did not understand Jesus. The scoffers (or mockers) point to the fact that Christ has not yet returned as evidence for their understanding of the world. In the scoffers’ view, God is not going to intervene and judge. The scoffers are claiming that Jesus’ return will not come to pass because, in their limited perspective, things have essentially been the same since creation. Peter counters the argument of the scoffers by claiming that the world came into being by God’s word and God has continued to speak since that time.  If God once created and destroyed the world by His word, then His promised judgment will surely come to pass. After the flood, God promised that He would never again judge the world by water. Many passages speak of a coming judgment using fire imagery. As with the judgment of the flood, the focus of the future judgment is not creation itself; it is human sin. Also like the flood, in the future judgment the ungodly will be destroyed while those deemed godly will be spared. The scoffers will not be tolerated forever; they will experience judgment. 

God delays the second coming so that more people can be redeemed. The day Christ returns, His entire kingdom will be inaugurated and evil will be purged from the world. God wishes for all people to come to faith and be saved. Jesus has not returned yet because God desires that none be lost (or perish). Every day before Jesus returns is a day of grace and represents the possibility of more people turning to Him and receiving eternal life. Faithlife Bible.

Right Living in a Wretched World…NKJ Bible.

Writing to beleaguered Christians in an evil world where false teachers were aggressively spreading dangerous heresies, Peter urged, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”). The following is a summary of the components of spiritual growth Peter advocated.

Godly Living:
• Through Christ we have been given everything we need to live godly lives.
• We are partakers of the divine nature.
  • We have been freed from the power of the old corrupt, sinful nature.

Reliance on the Scriptures:
• Christian doctrine is not just another point of view; it is not a fable.
• The Scriptures can be trusted because they were written by prophets and apostles inspired by the Holy Spirit.
  • The Scriptures function as a light in a dark age; they are an absolute in a relativistic world.

Opposition to False Teaching:
• We are not to be swayed by the large numbers of people who are persuaded by unbiblical ideas.
• Judgment is guaranteed for all who oppose the truths of God.
  • We should exercise discernment granted by the Holy Spirit to detect the deceptive teachings and alluring promises of the ungodly.

Watchfulness:
• By looking for the return of Christ, we can avoid the sinful traps of the world.
• We need to take care that we do not become lax in our thinking—God has set a day which will mark the end of this world as we know it.
• God’s promise of judgment should prompt us to encourage others to repent and believe in Christ.

2 Peter 3:1-9
3 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.


Romans 2:4 | Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

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