Be Steadfast (2 Peter 3:13-18)

Be Steadfast

2 Peter 3:13-18
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
NKJV

Peter one last time draws us to what is trustworthy in this world, the promises of God. Peter just before this tells us about the great and terrible day of the Lord. The day when all things will be judged, and burned up, purified. If our focus is on the things of this world, to think about the things of this world burning up can be a scary thought, especially if we have too strong an attachment to them.

When we think about the future, when we think about our future, we need to remember God’s promises. When we think about the end of the age, when we think about Jesus coming to judge the quick and the dead, we need to remember God’s promises. When we think about the heavens and the earth and all it’s works, all the monuments to man’s pride being burned up, we need to look to the promises.

The promises Peter is referring to are the promises in Isaiah 65:17 and Isaiah 66:22. Isa 65:17 says, 17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” NKJV

And Isa 66:22-23, says “For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord,
"So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the Lord.
NKJV

And let me read the last verse of Isaiah too for it is relevant to the text this morning and the times we live in. Isa 66:24
24 "And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
NKJV

Clear promises that at the end of the age, He will make all things new and that there will be a terrible judgment. All those who have transgressed against God will face an everlasting punishment. “For the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

We have these promises from the prophet Isaiah, and we have these same promises repeated in Revelation 21:1 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” NKJV

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. The burning up of this old world along with all it’s works won’t affect us if we are saved. That will be a terrible day for those who are not in Christ Jesus. It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, and fall they will.

As Christians we have a different perspective, we read God’s promise and it creates in us a longing for these things. We look for new heavens and a new earth. It could be translated “We wait eagerly” for that day, there is an excitement and expectation for the day when we will be face to face with the One who died to save us.

We wait eagerly for new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells. Righteousness will have to dwell there because God will dwell there. Sin cannot dwell in the presence of God, so only those made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ will dwell there. We will be made new; once and for all the struggle against our flesh will be over. Today we are reckoned as righteous, but not yet righteous. At that time we will be righteous. We will have new bodies that won’t be tainted with a sin nature. John says that when we see Him face to face, we will become like him.

But this promise is only for those who have been granted the righteousness of faith in this life. If you have repented and believed the Gospel, then God sees you as righteous, and you will dwell in the new heaven and new earth.

All the unrighteous will be cast into hell.

Verse 14, “Therefore beloved, looking forward to these things”, and we are, there is an eager expectation of these things. There is an eager expectation of the day Jesus will return and set all things right. Therefore since we are looking forward to that day we are to “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”

To be found by Him in peace, is to be saved. When we are saved we are at peace with God. Rom 5:1-3 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” NKJV

We are at peace with God; we are no longer God’s enemy. Rom 5:10-11
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” NKJV

Since we have been reconciled to God and have found peace, we are given the gift of reconciliation so others too can find this peace. 2 Cor 5:18-19
“18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” The word of reconciliation is the Gospel; it is the means by which people find peace with God.

In the old days when we used to fight real wars, you knew when the war was over; you knew when there was peace because one side surrendered. In World War II it was over when First, Germany surrendered, and then Japan surrendered, then and only then did we have peace, and we celebrated peace.

I was an enemy of God, He had awakened me to my need, he had shown me my rebellion in early junior High and I fought Him off for about 4 years. I don’t remember what my prayer that night was. I don’t remember thinking that deeply about my sin. Oh I new I was a sinner and deserved hell, that I knew. But more than anything, what I did that night was I laid down all my weapons. I laid down my pride, my will, any thought I had that I could clean up my life on my own, I laid it all down and surrendered. And I told God He was in charge from now on. Did I repent? Yes, my life was never the same. I moved in a completely different direction.

That night almost 40 years ago I was found by God in peace. I was no longer His enemy. I need to be diligent to continue to be found by Him in peace, and Peace only comes through the Gospel.

God has called every Christian into a ministry of reconciliation. We have been called to peace, and we are to help others also to find peace with God as well. But as I said, peace is to surrender and that’s not an easy thing for people to do.

As Christians our Consciences are at peace. Jesus said, John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” NKJV

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” NKJV

The world can be falling apart all around us and we are at peace. We can be sick, we can be dying, we can be persecuted, we can be in the eye of the storm, but we know that He is with us. He will carry us through either to health and safety or he will carry us to His side, and we trust Him.

Rom 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” NKJV Why should we worry, God did not spare His own Son. We are His children, God made the greatest sacrifice anyone has ever made for us, is he in turn going to turn around and let anything happen that’s not for our best? Of course not. Let the peace of God which passes all understanding rule in your heart today. We are at peace with ourselves; we are at peace with our circumstances.

And we are at peace with all people. Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: NKJV

Also 1 Thess 5:12-13 “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.” NKJV We should be at peace with each other, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Be diligent to be found by Him in Peace.” In chapter one he told us twice to be diligent. 2 Peter 1:5-8 We are to give all diligent to add to our faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, piety, brotherly love and agape love. Then again in verse ten we are to be even more diligent to make our call and election sure. Now we are to be diligent to be found by him in peace.

This means effort, to exert oneself. Jesus said that those who enter the kingdom press into it, or violence into it. The Christian life if lived rightly is a battle. Satan doesn’t let us just coast through lives without any temptations or trials. We need to be diligent to be found by Him in peace.

As much as it is up to us, we need to be at peace with our fellow man. The only thing that we should ever do that should upset someone is that we should share the gospel with them. We should be good and gracious neighbors, we should be hard working, and non-complaining employees and we should be kind to our co-workers. We should love and care for our family. We love the brethren, that is one of the evidences that you have been saved.

We need to be diligent with our own soul to be at peace. We need to be regular in scripture and prayer, so that we might know God and can take comfort in His promises.

And we need to make sure our relationship with God is right, that we are reconciled, that we regularly confess our sin and that we regularly preach the Gospel to our selves. We do that by knowing nothing in our lives but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When we sin we confess it and take it to the cross and we remind ourselves that Jesus died for those sins and they are forgiven. When someone wrongs us, we remember that we have wronged Jesus in so many ways but yet he forgives. Now we are to restore the person, especially if he is a brother or sister in Christ, in all gentleness remembering that we too are sinners who have been forgiven. How can you lash out in wrath, at your child or spouse for something they have done, when those sins have already been paid for on the cross?

Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t let Jesus return and find you in a feud with anyone. Jesus said, If you have anything against a brother, or if your brother has anything against you, go to Him, make peace with your brother then come back and worship. Relationships take work, our relationship with God takes diligence, it takes effort, and it takes work. Our motivation has to be right. We are not motivated by any notion that we can earn anything from God. No, it’s because of the cross that we want to make an effort to know Him better.

We are also to be diligent to be found by him without spot and blameless. What do you want to be doing when he returns? Do you want to be in the middle of a fight with you spouse. Do you want to be cheating on your taxes? Do you want to be lying to your neighbor? Do you want to be gossiping? We shouldn’t want to be doing any of those things. We should be so much anticipating our Lords return that it should motivate us and give us the desire to be without spot and blameless. Not that we will ever achieve that in this life, but our love for Him, and our desire to be part of His pure bride when he comes give us a hatred for sin and a love of righteousness.

This again touches on our affections. We look forward to our Lord’s return and we are diligent because we love him and we so want to please him, because of that our desire is to be pure. It’s important that the church preaches on the second coming of Christ because it has a purifying effect on the church. It doesn’t matter if Jesus doesn’t return for 1000 years. To preach on Christ’s second coming rightly will have a purifying effect on the church.

Verse 15 says, “And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” NKJV Peter returns to a previous topic. A few verses earlier he wrote, “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.”

Peter repeats himself for emphasis. Peter wants to be clear on this; we need to be clear on this. We are to regard Christ’s delay in coming back to judge the living and the dead, not as evidence that He is never coming back, but proof of His mercy; proof that His desire is for people to get saved.

Many had come to a different conclusion. Many had looked at the years since His ascension as proof that He was never coming back, that His promises had failed. Peter says no; don’t believe those who say that. What it means is that Jesus is merciful and longsuffering and He wants people to get saved. The fact that it’s almost been two thousand years is proof of how merciful He is.

With our trip this summer to Paris, I’ve done a little research into Frances History, especially their revolutions. In the 1789 revolution they started guillotining mostly the aristocratic class and enemies of the revolution. But during the reign of terror it turned into anyone who disagreed or spoke out against the newly formed government was guillotined. Zero tolerance, that’s the way man is, no patience, no mercy, no longsuffering. Our God is the complete opposite, mankind rebels against him daily, slanders Him daily, curses him and maligns his character daily and they are still living.

Sinners should not come to the conclusion that since God has not dealt with them yet, that he won’t or that he doesn’t keep his promises. What that proves is His mercy, and that He wants sinners to repent and get saved.

It’s interesting to read what Peter says about Paul. There doesn’t seem to be any hard feelings from when Paul rebuked Peter for His hypocrisy. We can tell from his statement that those who read Peters letters had also read Paul’s letters. And there is an indication that some of the content was similar to what Peter was writing to them. Paul also had written to them about the long suffering of the Lord and the desire of God for people to be saved.

“As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” Let me draw your attention to the word twist. In the Greek it’s a very descriptive word, it literally means to torture on the rack.

They torture scripture to make it say what they want it to say, rather than what God said. In my opinion it describes perfectly what many in our own day are doing. It describes what Rob Bell is doing with the doctrine of hell, it describes what the ELCA did, it describes what the health and wealth teachers do with scripture. It describes what all false teachers do with scripture; they torture it to get it to say what they want it to say.

2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” NKJV

Peter has for-warned us. We know what we need to know concerning false teachers. We also have the benefit of what Paul, Jude James and John wrote. We also have the benefit of Jesus’ own words concerning false prophets and teachers. Beware, if you fall its nobodies fault but yours. If you fall it is because you want to fall. We are warned about false teachers throughout the scriptures both old and new. We are without excuse if we ignore the warnings. “Beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness, being lead away with the error of the wicked.”

Literally it’s the error of the lawless. Peter isn’t necessarily talking about the complete reprobates of society. He’s not talking about murderers or thieves. He’s talking about the one who lives there lives with no regard to God’s laws. Instead they make up a whole list of man made laws that they are more comfortable with. If that is what Peter means, he has described the day in which we live. The church is lawless; there is no conviction of sin because people aren’t told anymore what sin is. If we are led away into their error and our own steadfastness, does that mean that we could loose our salvation? Sounds like it to me.

But there is an option, we need to know the dangers, but instead of focusing on the dangers we should focus on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and grow in His grace and knowledge. Knowledge is again a personal knowing of Him. Speaks of a relationship. Also knowledge speaks of understanding Him rightly in His attributes. Yes He is love, but to truly know God we need to know about His holiness, His mercy, His justice, and any number of other attributes revealed in the scripture. If you don’t have His attributes right, can you really say you know him.

To grow in grace is to grow in the Gospel, for that is the source of Grace. It is not only the means of salvation; it is the means of our sanctification as well.

Peter talks about many different days in the conclusion of his letter. He’s talked about the day of the Lord, the day of God and here at the end it’s literally the day of eternity. “To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen !