Last Days

An important reminder.  That is how Peter describes this second letter.  He knew that it was important to remind his readers of the scriptural message.  He knew that there would be opposition to the gospel message. 

2 Peter 3:3 tells us “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” 

Let me point out “last days” does not mean “end of times”.  “Last days” is specifically the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming.  He is pointing out in this verse that Christians shouldn’t be surprised when someone scoffs at the idea of Jesus coming again.  These people will do their best to distract us, feeding our fears and unbelief.  These scoffers will make light of sin, mock the salvation that is offered by Jesus.  They believe that this is the only life, that there is nothing in the hereafter, and thus enjoy, indulge and have the mentality of “eat, drink and be merry.”  They don’t believe that Jesus will come back.  But I know in my heart of hearts, He WILL come back.    Charles Spurgeon said this:  “Every time a blasphemer opens his mouth to deny the truth of revelation, he will help confirm us in our conviction of the very truth which he denies.  The Holy Ghost told us, by the pen of Peter, that it would be so; and now we see how truly he wrote.”  Have you ever faced this kind of opposition?  I have.  Each time, it just makes that knowledge in my heart stronger.  I know the feeling that Spurgeon speaks about. 

So, what does Peter say about the second coming?  Well, let’s look at verse 10.  It says, “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.”  Personally, I think Jesus hasn’t returned because of God’s true love of his people.  He wants his people to love him, to come to Jesus.  But, he is going to come back.  It says in this verse that he will come back like a “thief in the night.”  That means we aren’t going to know when.  It’s going to be a surprise.  It could be today.  Peter also tells us that there will be a transformation of this world.  Heavens will pass away and be burned up and dissolved (this means by fire).  He goes on to tell us this in verse 13, “but according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

So, what are we to do in the mean time?  Well, Peter tells us in verses 12 and 14 to “wait with patience” and to be “diligent”.  But he also issues a warning in verse 16, “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.”  He wants us to be wary of those who try to twist the scriptures to say what they want it to say, to mean what they want it to mean.  But, his final words to us are that we “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.”  (verse 18)

False Teachers

One thing is for certain, there are a great number of false teachers out there!  This is what 2 Peter 2 is showing us in today's passage.  These false teachers give the facade that they are speaking from the Holy Spirit when in reality, they are only motivated by greed.  You know those of whom I am talking about.  Don't you?  Well, let's see what Peter tells us.

2 Peter 2:1 says this:

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."

Peter plainly tells us that there will be false teachers among us.  Have you ever encountered on.  You can see them daily on television or even hear them on the radio.  One of them may eve be the pastor of your church.  Have you ever heard a pastor who never mentioned Jesus?  The way I see it, if you don't mention Jesus, the cross, the suffering, then you are teaching a false gospel.  They are merely "denying the Master who bought them".  They are only appearing to be saved to ensnare followers.  For me, and it should be for you as well, ALL ABOUT JESUS.  

Peter also says that these false teachers will "secretly bring in destructive heresies".  This doesn't mean that their teachings will be secret.  But, what it does mean is that the deception nature of their teaching is secret.  These folks wouldn't just come out and tell you that what they are teaching you is deceptive.  What would be the point?  They wouldn't be leading you down the wrong path if they came out and told you.  

If we go further and look at 2 Peter 2:2-3, it says "And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."  Peter tells us that these false teachers will have many followers.  Remember several years back the Bakkers?  Jim and Tammy Faye.  I was probably in high school when their "empire" fell.  If you do remember, do you also remember how many people were following them?  People would flock to them.  They believed every word that was said.  But, come to find out, those Bakkers were awfully greedy.  They only wanted your money.  See, Peter tells us that too.  He says that "their greed will exploit you".  I could go on with more recent examples.  

All of this is said to merely warn you.  Be very wary in who you put your trust in when it comes to the gospel.  There are those who are greedy enough to feed you a line that you'll fall for that doesn't coincide to the scriptures.  For this very reason we should hide the words of the gospel in our hearts, so that we will know when false teachers lurk.

Living a Christian Life

Today we are looking at the second epistle of Peter.  It is called the “general” letter, because it was not written to one specific church, but they were probably directed to the same group that the first letter was written to.  The whole letter is a warning against danger from within, dealing with false teachers who took the message of grade too far.  These false teachers were twisting Paul’s words and turning it into a license to sin.  Peter knew he was probably going to die soon and he wanted these believers to survive spiritually without an apostle’s testimony.  So, in essence, this was Peter’s last will and testament.  The letter also serves to demonstrate the Christian life.

Here is something to think about as we jump right into the scripture.  Think about your imperfections.  Do they make you try harder, or do they make you want to quit trying?  Let’s look at what Peter has to say about our Christian life.

2 Peter 1:3-4 says this:

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 

See that, he has granted us all we need for life and godliness.  All. Nothing is left out. 

What does godliness mean?  Godliness is defined as “devotion to God which results in a life that is pleasing to him.” Pleasing God comes by the behavior that is a result of our relationship with him. 

And do you see the rest of the verse?  He grants us precious and great promises, to be partakers of divine nature and escaping corruption that is in the world.  So, what are some of these promises?  Well, he has promised us victory over sin, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, wisdom and strength to deal with trials, and peace. 

What does it mean to be a partaker of “divine nature”?  Well, once we are called to salvation, we are given eternal life, we become a child of God.  This gift that he has given to us is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We share the life of God through the Holy Spirit.  That moment when we become a child of God, God dwells within us.  Does this mean we won’t sin?  Of course not, but our desires change.  We no longer want to live for the world, whether it is by living for sex, greed, pride, etc.  But, we do have the Holy Spirit to guide us to help us to make the right choices.

Peter then goes on to tell us the Christian attributes we should add to our faith.  2 Peter 1:5-7 says “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,^[e] and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 

We need to add the following to our faith:

 1.   Goodness – the ability and desire to stand up for what is right in a morally defunct world.

2.  Knowledge – knowledge of God and His ways and how to live our everyday life.

3.  Self-control – discipline and diligence of controlling emotions, behaviors and desires.

4.  Perseverance – patience and steadfastness in spite of the difficulty.

            5.  Godliness – living a life pleasing to God.
            6.  Brotherly kindness – caring and kindness for others.
            7.  Love – unconditional, like the love that God shows to us.

If we aren’t continually trying to add these things to our faith, temptation will begin to creep in.  And, boy, is it strong.