2 Peter 3:8–14Dec 4, 2011 #1776 Page | 1
Hi Kids,
I need your help to make some choices. Suppose that before your dad went to work one day he promised that when he came back he would take you to play in the snow. He said, “When I come home, you be ready.” What will we choose to be ready? [Show a well-ventilated straw hat and a stocking cap.] Which of these would you choose? [Show a pair of mittens and some thin disposable gloves And which of these? [Show a pair of insulated boots and a pair of flip-flops] Why didn’t you pick the straw hat, the thin gloves, or the flip flops? They would not keep us warm.
Jesus promises that he will come to take us to heaven. He has told us to be ready when he comes, to be prepared. You say “be prepared.” Where does Jesus teach us how to be prepared for when he returns? [Hold up a Bible] Jesus tells us to believe all that he teaches us in the Bible. What did Jesus do for everyone when he was on earth the first time? He took away all our sins by dying on the cross and rising from the grave. We need to keep believing this to be prepared for when Jesus comes back. And until Jesus comes back, he wants us to show we love him by obeying all that the Bible teaches us.
2 Peter 3:8-14
8 Do not forget, dear friends, with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to do what He promised, as some people think. Rather, He is patient with you because He does not want any to perish but wants all to come to repentance.
10 The Lord’s Day will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by heat, and the earth and what was done on it will become evident.
11 Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, think how necessary it is for you to continue living in a holy and godly way, 12 as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the Day of God, which will destroy the heavens with fire and melt the elements with heat. 13 But according to His promise we expect new heavens and a new earth where righteousness lives. 14 With this to look forward to, dear friends, make every effort to have Him find you without spot or blemish and at peace. [GWN Copyright © 1988, Biblion Publishing]
Fellow saints who are preparing for Jesus Second Coming,
What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic in the Advent season? The Atheist believes “There is no god, therefore there is no Christ or his second coming. The agnostic says, “I’m not sure if there is a God, or a Christ, or a second coming. Jesus made it very clear to his disciples, “(John 14:2–3) 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” And at Jesus’ Ascension the Angel told the Apostles that they would see Jesus again when he visibly returned escorted by the clouds. We who trust the Bible are certain that JESUS’ SECOND COMING IS SURE AND SUDDEN. This is why we ask God to work in us through his Word so that we constantly are ready.
Last week we reviewed God’s warning to the human race through Noah that in 120 years the LORD would send a worldwide flood to drown every air-breathing inhabitant of dry ground. God delayed executing his judgment of condemnation out of love for every person. He has all the evidence needed to punish the human race now living on earth by destroying everything because it is infected with sin as promised. But he hasn’t. Why? 1. His delay is because he is patient.
Time to God is not focused on days or years, but on events. By human standards it has been a long time since Jesus promised he would return. If you make a stack of calendars for the years since Jesus’ promised to come back, it would be some 33 feet high (6 of me stacked up standing on my shoulders). But, when you are eternal as God is without beginning or end, what is happening is the critical issue, not the measurement of time. Make no mistake. God is very specific as he uses time to display his purpose. The Bible makes it clear that he used six 24 hour days to create all things even though he could have done it all with one command in an instant. He gave the human race 120 years to repent before he sent the flood, even though he could have given them no warning and brought the waters that destroyed all unbelievers when he rescued the eight believers. He altered time when his purpose needed it. He made the sun stand still to lengthen the day for Israel to gain a military victory. He made time go in reverse by backing up the shadow the sun made 10 steps to show king Hezekiah that the LORD was adding 15 years to his life (2 Kings 20).
The message from verse 8 is that to us the length of time tends to become our focus instead of what is happening. We get impatient when we have to wait. Look at our society. What do you see on calendars and signs—a message preparing people for Jesus’ visible return on God’s Day, or how many shopping days until Christmas to buy all the gifts for one another. And how much explanation is given for the reason for Jesus’ first coming, namely to save mankind from our sins?
God wants everyone to come to repentance so that no one needs to perish. Is the Lord slow or negligent or impotent in not returning as promised? No, he is patient and full of grace. His will is to reach every sinner. He wants no one lost to the flames of hell. He gives time for repentance (1 Timothy 2:4). People ought not abuse this patience, but use it to be and remain Christians (2 Corinthians 6:1, 2).
We don’t like to think about the destruction of the world because there are things in it we hold so dear, and people who are special. The idea of judgment, the exhortation to lead holy lives, and the admonition to set proper priorities also point out sin, our sins. Oh, we can say “It’s Adam and Eve’s fault.” But does your record have no sins on it that you did knowing at the time that you were disobeying God. Are you prepared for Jesus to come in judgment? JESUS’ SECOND COMING IS SURE AND SUDDEN.
The Lord’s Day will come as a thief. We don’t know when, but it will take the world by surprise. The current heavens he will make pass away with a very noisy sound. The clouds, sun, moon, planets, stars, everything in the universe will be gone. The current earth’s elements he will be destroyed by a complete meltdown. Every work done on earth will become evident. No sin and no good work will remain hidden from anyone’s sight. How are you preparing for this? How do people prepare for a thief? Doors locked, alarms installed, valuables hidden or in a safe deposit box. So we try to lock our heart to Satan by saying “no” to temptation. We study the Bible so God can put in us the alarm to warn us when a temptation is put before us. We keep our hearts believing in Jesus and the Gospel promises so that our treasure of eternal life is safe in heaven.
JESUS’ SECOND COMING IS SURE AND SUDDEN. For this reason: 2. It is necessary that we be found with holy conduct and godliness. Now we are waiting for and earnestly desiring the coming of God’s Day. He has promised a new heavens and earth. “New” = something that wasn’t there before. It is the opposite of old or obsolete. A professor I had at seminary wrote about a passage in Revelation, “When God says through Isaiah that he would ‘make’ a new heaven and a new earth he does not use the Hebrew word that was used to describe the creating of the world in the beginning. That would seem to indicate that the second world will not be made be avoided.” Peter tells us that the character they support is righteousness out of nothing.… Speculation about the exact form of the new heaven and earth should
Heaven will be an eternally perfect and blissful place. Who is spotless and blameless? Who is righteous and eligible? Only those who trust in the holy life and atoning death of Christ are fit for the new heaven and earth. This verse shows what proper waiting for Jesus is. Hearing the gospel, taking the Sacrament, remembering the Savior will keep one ready for his coming. Yes, it is difficult for some to come to hear the Word. In our busy world it’s not easy to have time for individual or, especially, family devotions. But it is vital for readiness.
Peter addresses his readers, us, twice as “dear friends.” He speaks to Christians about whom he cares. Until we get to heaven the gospel shines in God’s patience and in the spotlessness which is ours in Jesus. When Jesus’ returns our goal is to make every effort to be found without spot or blameless. Until then, he urges us by the gospel to live in such a way as not to destroy the faith in his blood which will get them there. Through our baptism we wear his righteousness. We come to the Communion table for the forgiveness Jesus gives so that we live in peace with God. Christ came to bring this peace and he will come again to take us to live forever in that peace in heaven. Amen.