2 PETER 3:10-182009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Peter 3:10-18

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. This morning as we finish off the book of 2 Peter, I do encourage you to be praying that my voice holds out for the rest of the service.

I think I might be whispering towards the end, but you'll still hear me because God's good. As we finish off 2 Peter, we're dealing with the subject of end times. We're talking about the last days, last week, as the days leading up to really the end time picture that the Bible paints for us. And this picture that the Bible paints for us is often referred to as the day of the Lord.

We talked a little bit about it last week, but I also want to remind you about it because that's what Peter is dealing with today. And so as we look at the points that Peter is making today, we're looking at the day of the Lord and really our response to the day of the Lord, how we are to respond knowing that this day is going to come. But what is the day of the Lord, first of all?

Well, the day of the Lord is not a 24-hour time period, as we would think, but it's a reference to an extended period of time. And this day of the Lord begins with the rapture of the church. And so on the screen here, we've put some references for you. If you want to write these down and later look them up on your own to consider these things, you can.

But the day of the Lord includes several different events, the first of which is the rapture of the church, which is when Jesus returns, not to set foot on the earth, but he returns and then the church is caught up to meet with him in the clouds. And Paul talks about that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. That's what we're looking forward to when Jesus returns to catch us up to be with him. We also learn in 1 Corinthians 15 that

It's at that time that we will be changed. We'll be transformed. There's going to be a metamorphosis that takes place. We'll be given new bodies and then we will forever be with the Lord. And so the rapture of the church is coming up, but we don't know exactly when. Now as the church is caught up,

The world will continue into the rest of the end times scenario. And that is the tribulation period which comes next for the world. The tribulation period is described as something that is worse than the world has ever seen or known before. The worst tribulation, the worst difficulty, the worst crises you've ever seen in the history of the world.

Of course, during this tribulation period, we have some events that we're familiar with, like the coming of the Antichrist. The tribulation begins with the Antichrist signing a treaty with the nation of Israel. And in the middle of the seven-year tribulation period, that treaty is broken.

The tribulation period ends with the return of Jesus Christ. So,

So he comes and he catches the church up in the air. The world continues on for seven years in the tribulation period. And at the end of that, Jesus comes back with the saints and actually sets foot on the planet.

And he comes and really brings in the next part of the day of the Lord, which is the millennial kingdom. He comes down and establishes his kingdom on the earth. And he rules and reigns upon the earth for 1,000 years. That's why it's called the millennium.

And so for this thousand years, righteousness rules on the earth. For this thousand years, Satan is bound in the abyss and will not be allowed to roam free until the very end of the thousand years later.

Then he will be set loose. He will lead one final rebellion against God, which of course will not succeed. It will be crushed. And the end of the millennium then will come with the final judgment. And that's when Satan and his angels are cast into the lake of fire.

that the sea gives up its dead, all of humanity, all of mankind will stand before God, before the white throne judgment of God, and whoever's name is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire at that time. That is the final judgment or the great white throne judgment.

And then going on from that, we have the rest of eternity really before us. The new heavens and a new earth that God has prepared and the eternal plan that he has in store for those who are his. And so this is what is referred to.

Throughout scriptures and different parts are highlighted when the phrase is used, but the day of the Lord includes all of these different elements. And that's what Peter is talking about. These are end times events that are going to take place. They're going to happen.

But the point that Peter makes first of all is we don't know when this end time scenario is going to begin. And so five things I want to share with you this morning from 2 Peter chapter 3 in regards to the day of the Lord and our response to the day of the Lord. How we are to live knowing that these things are going to come to pass.

Well, the first thing we see, starting in verse 10, is that the day will come as a thief. Look at verse 10, he says, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. So here we have Peter saying that the day of the Lord will come as a thief.

The day of the Lord is going to come as a big surprise. That's what Peter means when he says the day of the Lord comes as a thief.

The whole point of thievery is catching people off guard when they're not expecting it. That's what the return of Jesus Christ for his church is going to be like. It's not going to be a thief in the bad sense, you know, you're going to miss out and lose things, but that it's going to be unexpected. You're not going to be prepared for it. In other words, Peter is saying that God is planning the ultimate surprise party.

The surprise is not that it's happening. The surprise is when. And at any moment, you'll be caught up to the feast, to the fiesta, to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The surprise party that God has prepared for the church that is going to take place, Peter says, but we don't know when. The Lord will come as a thief in the night. It's going to be unexpected, without warning, unexpected.

The

The reason why the rapture has not already taken place is because God is suffering a long time with mankind so that people will have the opportunity to repent. We saw there in verse 9 that God's not slack concerning His promise. He's not lazy. He's not lacking power. He's just waiting because He desires for all men to be saved. He desires for everyone to come to repentance. And so He's waiting patiently for

To come back, giving as many people opportunity as possible to come and get right with God and experience forgiveness and to experience the hope and the joy of everlasting life.

So God is patient. He's been holding off. But Peter now goes on to say, but it will come. The day of the Lord will come. He's not going to hold off indefinitely or infinitely. He's going to come back at the appointed time, at the appropriate time, at the right time. He is going to come, catch the church up to meet with him and that will usher in the rest of the end times picture of

That is included in the day of the Lord. And so it's going to be at any moment. The rapture can take place today. It could take place tomorrow. It could have happened yesterday, but it didn't because God is patient. And there was people getting saved yesterday that, well, God wanted to be saved. He wanted them to have the opportunity to come to repentance. So he didn't come back yesterday, but he could come back today.

Or it could be tomorrow. The point is, we don't know when. There's nothing else that has to happen first. Everything else that we talk about in regards to the day of the Lord is timed. It's precise. We know the details about it. How many days it lasts. When it starts. When it ends.

At any time in the tribulation period, you can count the days. You can say, okay, the covenant was signed here. The Antichrist in Israel signed this covenant. This is the beginning. The middle is right here when he broke the covenant with Israel. Okay, so you can know exactly how many days are left. But the return of Jesus Christ for the church, the rapture of the church is different. We don't know when it's going to happen. And so we need to be ready.

Well, it ushers in the day of the Lord. It brings in the rest of the end times scenario. And that's what Peter talks about. In fact, he kind of jumps to the end of the end times picture as he goes on in verse 10. He says, And so now Peter says, look, in this time period, known as the day of the Lord...

Not only is he going to return, not only is he going to come unexpectedly, but the end result is everything in this world, this planet, this universe is going to be obliterated. It's going to be wiped out completely. He says the heavens are going to pass away with a great noise.

This is the other Big Bang. The great noise that takes place when the heavens pass away. When the elements melt with this fervent heat, there's going to be... Well, the word melt literally means to loose something that is bound. It means to untie something that is tied together.

And it brings to mind that scripture in Colossians 1.17, where Paul tells us that Jesus is before all things and that by him all things consist, or more literally, by him all things hold together. You know, we sing the song, he's got the whole world in his hands. And it's true. There's a mystery when it comes to

What keeps an atom together? What holds it together? How is it that everything is held together? The positive charges within the atom by nature, by physics, repel each other. What is it that holds them together? What is it that keeps all matter together? It's God. Paul said, Colossians 1.17, by Him everything is held together.

But at this point that Peter is talking about, that holding together is going to come to an end. He's going to let go. There's going to be an untying, an unloosing that takes place. And the elements will melt with fervent heat. They're going to be loosed with fervent heat. It's the same word that's translated dissolved in verse 11 and 12.

This idea of being dissolved, of being unloosed is really for us, well, for us it's pretty clear. It's going to be a giant nuclear explosion. A nuclear bomb splits the atom and all of that force is unleashed. Consider for just a moment what would happen if all of the atoms were split.

Not just the few that are impacted by that bomb. By few, I mean relative to the rest of matter in existence. It's going to be, beyond our imagination, a great explosion. The universe will be dissolved. It'll just be gone. It will disappear with a big bang. And so Peter says, it's going to come unexpectedly, the day of the Lord. This is how it ends. The heavens pass away.

Not only that, but as he's talking about it, he's referring to it with the fire, with the heat. He says, with fervent heat there in verse 10, it'll be burned up. And again in verse 12, he talks about the fire and the melting with fervent heat. This is the real global warming that is coming upon this planet, where the whole universe is going to be obliterated. It's going to be gone. I remember back in the days when I was leading the youth group,

We would go frequently to different shopping centers and malls and things like that, and we would hand out tracts with the youth kids. One of the tracts that was my favorite, and the time that I enjoyed to do it, was we developed this one tract...

based on this verse. And so as people were walking out of the mall, we'd give them a track with this verse on it. And we'd say, excuse me, did you know that everything you purchased today is flammable? And it was great because it just caused them to stop and think. And they're thinking, okay, my CDs, those aren't flammable. They don't burn. It just was a good way to get them to stop and think for a moment. And then we get the opportunity to look and say, look,

look, everything is going to burn. It's all going to be dissolved. It's all going to melt with fervent heat. That's what the Bible says. That's what awaits this world and this universe. Everything is flammable. And so Peter says, look, in regards to the day of the Lord, you need to know that it's going to come as a thief and you need to know that it's going to end with the destruction of everything. Everything physical, physical.

is going to disappear. It's going to be gone. And so now as we go on the rest of the passage, we're really looking at what our response to the day of the Lord should be. And Peter uses the word therefore to highlight this is how we are to respond. This is what we're to do in light of the day of the Lord that is coming to pass upon this earth. So point number two.

We are to look for that day. Look for that day. Look at verse 11. He says, Peter goes on now to say, look, since God is going to let go of the atoms and everything in existence is going to go up in smoke, how ought you to live? What type of person ought you to be?

What type of person ought you to be if Jesus could come back at any moment? It's going to be unexpected. What type of person should you be if everything in this world is going to be gone? It's going to melt with fervent heat. It's foolish to consume our lives with the things that are temporary. But it's wise to fill our lives with the things that are eternal. If we consume ourselves with the things that are temporary...

All of that is going to be gone. Not only do we talk about, you know, when you die, you can't take anything with you. But also, at the end of the world, it's all gone. So it's not even about what you can leave to your kids. It's really about what has eternal value. He says, what type of persons or what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? What kind of person ought you to be as you consider death?

That Jesus could return at any moment. It's something that should inspire holiness in our lives. Being separate for God. Godliness, that's a reverence to God. Living our lives in honor and reverence of the one who redeemed us, the one who purchased us. What kind of person ought you to be, Peter asks the question. Holy conduct, godliness, but he goes on in verse 12, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

Because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. So there again we have the fervent heat, understanding everything is going to be dissolved. The elements, the building blocks of everything that we know in existence are going to melt. They're going to be gone. They're going to be dissolved. We sang a few minutes ago about how the earth will be dissolved like snow.

And being dissolved like snow, I think, is a good picture for us. You know, it just dissolves and it's gone. There's nothing there anymore. That is what is going to take place with the universe. It's going to happen. And so Peter says, what type of person ought you to be? Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. What type of people are we to be? We're to be the type of people that are looking forward to the end of this universe.

We're to be the type of people that are looking forward to the end result in the end times picture. Not dreading, not fearing judgment. We're to have holy conduct and godliness. We're to be looking forward to, with anticipation, with excitement, the return of Jesus Christ. We're to be looking forward to, with excitement, the elements melting with a fervent heat. It's what we're to be looking for and hastening for.

As we wait for the day of the Lord. This idea of looking for, it means to be paying attention to. Where's your focus? Are you looking for, are you paying attention to the return of Jesus? Is that where your focus is? Is that where your attention is? Yesterday, is that what you were thinking about? Is that what you were looking for yesterday? On Thursday or Friday, is that what you were paying attention to? Is that where your focus was?

The return of Jesus Christ, the day of the Lord. The elements melting with a fervent heat. Where is your focus? This is so important because your focus and where you look impacts the way that you live. It impacts the rest of your life. When I was in gymnastics as a child, my gymnastics coach would have to remind me frequently of this point. He would often remind me, wherever you look,

That's going to affect the way that your body goes. Because I remember those times he was trying to teach me how to do back handsprings. And the hard thing about a back handspring is you can't see where you're going. And so I would always try to look behind me and I'd have my head turned like this. But if you have your head turned like this and then you try to do a flip, well, your body is going to get all messed up.

And so the thing he would have to remind me is to look forward, look straight ahead. And if you look straight ahead, well, then your body will follow and you will stay aligned the way that you're supposed to. But if you're looking all crooked and sideways, well, then your body's going to go all crooked and sideways and you're going to hurt yourself. In the same way, Peter says, look for that day.

Focus your attention, focus your eyes on that day. The rest of your life, the rest of your body, the rest of everything else will align itself as you look for that day. But if you're looking all crooked and sideways and wandering around and looking at all these things that don't need to have your attention and focus, well then the rest of your life is going to follow that same pattern.

And so Peter says, look, knowing what is coming to pass, that Jesus is going to come back at any moment, knowing what the end results for this universe is, look for that day. Pay attention to and focus on that day when Jesus returns. Where is your focus? Jesus told us several times in the Gospels to watch.

He told us through parables and also through explicit commands that we are to watch. In Mark chapter 13, he says in verse 35, Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all, watch.

Jesus had just been telling his disciples some parables about the importance of being ready. And he concludes it by saying, watch, because you don't know when your master is coming. Watch, because you don't know. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. You don't know when Jesus will return. So watch. The emphasis is on, it's unexpected, so you need to be ready. Watch.

Jesus said, lest he come and find you sleeping. Watch, pay attention, look for the coming of God so that when he comes, he doesn't find you sleeping. And Jesus goes on to say, what I say to you, talking to his disciples, I say to all.

He wants us, He commands us to pay attention, to be looking for that day, to be looking for His return, to be focusing on the end result and eternity with Him. That's where our gaze needs to be. That's where we need to be looking. We must watch for that day. Not only do we watch, but He says, "...looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God."

We talked about this last week as well. Hastening the coming of God. How do we do that? Well, we know from last week, God is patient. He's long-suffering. And the reason why He has not returned is because He's giving people an opportunity to repent. Now, that's going to come to an end. And He is going to return. That time period of Him long-suffering and waiting a long time and being patient and not returning and judging the world, that's going to come to an end. And He's going to come back and the world is going to be judged.

But it has not happened yet because God is giving opportunity for men to come to repentance. And so if you want to speed up his return, share the gospel. Share the good news. Give people an opportunity to repent. In Romans chapter 11, the Apostle Paul is explaining about the nation of Israel and how there's this blindness that's put on them for the moment. And at this time in God's plan, he's dealing with the church.

And he's reaching the world through the church. But one day very soon, the church is going to be caught up, raptured. And then God will again begin to work in Israel and through Israel in proclaiming the gospel, the good news to all the world through his chosen people, the nation of Israel. But for the moment, God is working and reaching the world through the church.

And in Romans chapter 11 verse 25, he tells us that this blindness has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. The fullness, the idea of this is that every last one. And so the idea here is that God is waiting for that last one. The church will be caught up and then that blindness in Israel will be removed. God is waiting for that last one, for that fullness, for that number that he knows of those who will come to repentance.

He knows the number. He knows the fullness. But we don't. Consider for just a moment that that person that's next to you at your workplace might be that last one that we're waiting for. And we're just waiting for you to share the gospel with them, for them to come to repentance, that we could be caught up to be with the Lord. Or it might be that neighbor that is there or someone else that God has placed in your life. He has sent us forth into the world to make disciples because he's not willing that any should perish.

And so we can hasten, and we're to be part of hastening the coming of God by sharing the gospel, by giving people opportunity to repent, because that's what He is waiting for. But they can't know. They won't know unless we share with them. Remember what Paul said in Romans 10:14? He says, "How shall they call on Him who they've not believed? And how shall they believe in Him who they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

That doesn't just mean pastors and teachers and evangelists. That's you. How will they hear unless you share with them the good news? How will they hear? How will they have that opportunity to repent? Peter says, look, understanding what is coming, look for that day. Hasten that day. Be excited about that day. Be focused on the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 13 says,

He says, Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And so we're looking not only for the return of Jesus Christ, but for the new heaven and new earth in which righteousness dwells. Revelation chapter 21 talks about this new heaven and new earth and new Jerusalem that is going to exist, that God is going to create. There's going to be a new work of God.

And Peter says, that's what we're looking forward to. We're not looking to be fulfilled in this life, on this planet. We're not looking fulfilled to be fulfilled here and now. We're looking to God's eternal picture. We're looking to the fulfillment of what He's promised in His Word. And in this new heavens and new earth, Peter says, righteousness dwells. Righteousness dwells in the new heavens and new earth. Anybody think that righteousness dwells right now on this earth?

It doesn't. There's injustice. There's unrighteousness. But in this new heaven and earth, righteousness will dwell. Righteousness will reign. And that's why we can hold fast to the promise that we're given in Revelation 21 verse 4. And you may not know the reference, but you'll know it when I read the verse. He says, "...and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away."

That promise is true. We can hold on to it because in that day, righteousness will dwell. Righteousness will dwell on the earth. And that's why there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, no more crying. Right now, those things exist because there's unrighteousness. There's pain and sorrow and death because of the wickedness and unrighteousness and sin.

But in that day, the day that we're looking forward to, the day that we're paying attention to, the day that we're focused on, righteousness will roll. Righteousness will dwell. And God will wipe away every tear. And there will be no more death or sorrow or pain. That's the time that we're looking forward to. Peter says that's where your focus needs to be.

So first of all, we saw that the day will come as a thief. Secondly, we saw that we're to look for that day. Thirdly, Peter says, you need to be found blameless. Be found blameless. Look at verse 14. He says, therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot and blameless. Again, he says, therefore, since we know what is to come, since we know what is going to take place,

We must be diligent to be found by Him in peace. This idea of being found, it's something that's passive on our part. It's going to happen to us. He's going to come in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. And at that time, how will you be found? How will you be found when Jesus returns? He's going to come back and you are going to be in whatever state you're in at the moment that He returns.

there's not going to be time for you to all of a sudden try to get right with God. Jesus is returning, okay, look, please forgive me for this and please forgive me for that. And I turn to you and I want to walk with you. That's too late. He's going to come in a moment, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. How will he find you? In what state will you be? He says, be diligent, do your best to be found when he comes. And boom, there he is right in front of you.

Do your best to be found in that moment in peace without spot and blameless. When you play hide and go seek, the person doing the counting says, ready or not, here I come. And that's how Jesus is returning, but you won't hear him say, ready or not, here I come. But whether you're ready or not, he will come. And so Peter says, make sure that you're found by him in peace. As you look forward to these things, be diligent, do your best.

So that when he returns, you're found in the proper state. That you're found the way that you need to be as a Christian. Do your best to be found in peace. Peace only comes from relationship with God. Peace only comes from walking with God. That is the only way to have peace.

It's a peace that passes all understanding. It transcends our understanding. It's not about knowing things. It's about experiencing a relationship with God and knowing that we have an eternity with Him. And so there's tranquility in our heart, tranquility in our soul. We're resting in God. That's peace. It comes from relationship with God. Do your best to be found in peace. Again, you can't wait till the last minute.

It's unexpected, so you can't just say, "Well, I'm just going to goof off and live my casual Christian life and be lukewarm and kind of jump in and jump out of the church as I feel fit, and then at the last minute I'll get right." Well, you don't know when the last minute is. This might be your last minute, and make sure that you're found in peace in that last minute, which means that we're to live our lives ready for His return.

walking in relationship with Him in peace. He also goes on to say, without spot and blameless. Do your best so that when He returns unexpectedly, surprise inspection, that you are without spot and blameless. Do you have spots? Do you have issues in your life that you need to deal with? Do your best. Be diligent to be found without spot. Take care of those things. Surrender those issues. Allow God to do that work for you.

Now, we're not talking about, you know, if you're not perfect, then you should just quit. That's not what Peter is saying. He's saying be diligent. We have the opportunity because of what Christ has done for us. We're not perfect, but we are forgiven. And so again, he's talking about relationship with God. We confess our sin. He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Be blameless. Confess your sin. Stay close to God. Walk in relationship with God. Peter says, looking forward to these things, knowing what is coming, do your best to be ready when He comes in a state of peace without spot and blameless. Going on in verse 15, he says, and consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you.

So Peter throws in this side note about the Apostle Paul. He says, look, Paul has written to you these same things I'm writing to you, and God's given him a lot of wisdom, and so when he writes, some of those things are really hard for us to understand.

And when I stepped in as Pastor Tom is leaving for Okinawa back five and a half years ago, we started in the book of 1 Corinthians and have gone through chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and I can agree with Peter, some of the things are very hard to understand that Paul wrote. There's some things that we had to wrestle with and some things that we still wrestle with and some things that we do not fully understand. There are some things that are hard to understand.

And Peter says, some people who are unstable and untaught twist those things that are hard to understand to their own destruction. They twist what Paul said. They twist his words. Literally, that word twist, it means to torture. They torture the passage. They torture his letters to say things, to make it say things that he was not saying, to make it say something contrary to really the meaning of the passage.

Remember, I think it's Romans chapter 6 where Paul says, look, some people are saying that we are teaching that you should just sin because the more you sin, the more grace there is. And so just sin that grace may abound. Those are people that Paul is dealing with that were twisting his words, making it say something that that's not at all what the scripture means. That's not at all what was being said, but they twist it to justify themselves. They twist it to justify.

Make it agree with their sinful lifestyle. And so untaught and unstable people twist the words of the Apostle Paul. But notice what Peter says at the end there, verse 16. He says, "...as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." And this is a really important point because here Peter is equating Paul's letters with the rest of Scripture.

showing that they understood. They were writing the very Word of God. It's not, you know, many years later we look back and we say this is the Word of God. No, even in that day, they understood. There was a work that was going on. The Holy Spirit was writing out the Scriptures through them. So Peter recognizes that Paul's letters are part of the Scripture. They're part of God's Word to us. And that's why we study them carefully and pay attention to what he's saying to us through them.

Peter began, though, in verse 15, saying, and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. So going back to the point of being found blameless, we're to be diligent to be found when he comes in peace, without spot, and blameless. Considering that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. He's saying, look, pay attention to this. As we talked about in 2 Peter 3.9, God's patient. He's longsuffering.

He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so consider, as you're waiting, until He returns, consider His long-suffering is salvation. The reason why He's waiting is for salvation. He's not waiting around so that we can goof off and live our own lives and be half-hearted. He's waiting around so that people can get saved, so that people can be rescued from

From eternal damnation. That's what the long suffering of our Lord is for. The long suffering of our Lord is salvation. And so it's an opportunity for us not to sin and to live our own life however we want to live it. But it's the opportunity instead to reach out with the good news. To be found right when He comes back. Right in relationship with Him. Not right of our own merits. But right in relationship with Him.

Close to Him. Walking with Him. Be found blameless. He's coming unexpectedly. So walk in relationship with Him right now because He may return today. Number four, beware lest you fall. Look at verse 17. He says, 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. So now He tells us,

We need to beware. He says, since you know this beforehand, since you know ahead of time what is going to take place, that the Lord is going to return as a thief in the night, beware. Watch out. Be prepared. Since you know the elements will melt with fervent heat, the heavens and the earth will pass away. There'll be no more. Beware lest you fall. Since you know that there are those who are unstable and untaught that twist the scriptures, beware lest you fall.

Going to the first part of chapter 3, since you know that there's scoffers, those who will mock and ridicule and say, ah, Jesus is not coming back. There's never been any divine intervention. You guys have been saying that he's returning for a long time. You're crazy. Beware, lest you fall. Since we know, chapter 2 of 2 Peter, that there's false teachers who will rise up and lead people astray. Beware, lest you fall. God does not give these warnings idly for no reason.

He doesn't say watch out because it's a hypothetical scenario. He says watch out because there's a reality that we must watch out. We must beware. We must guard ourselves and pay attention. He says beware lest you fall. We need to pay attention because there is a danger that we need to look out for. He says lest you also fall from your own steadfastness. You also. He says look, there's those who have fallen.

There are those who are leading others astray because they've fallen. Beware. Watch out. Pay attention. We're dealing with the subject of eternity here. And so it needs to be serious. And we shouldn't just brush off the warning as if it were nothing. We need to watch out. Are you watching out? Are you ensuring that you are not being led astray with the error of the wicked? Are you making sure that you're on track?

In the life that you're living, in the doctrines that you hold to, in what you believe. Are you bewaring? Are you watching out, paying attention? Making sure that you are not led away with the error of the wicked. Beware, he says, lest you fall. And finally, number five, grow in grace and knowledge. He says, but grow, in verse 18, in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. His final instruction for us is to grow. To grow in grace and in knowledge. It's similar to how He began. The importance of knowing God and walking in relationship with God. Growing in our walk with Him. That's how He ends it. It's so important for us to grow, to be progressing in our relationship with God. He says, grow in grace.

How do you obtain grace? You receive it. Grace is God's goodness to us. We don't earn it. We don't work for it. We receive it. You just simply accept what God has done for you and what God extends to you. So to grow in grace is not about God giving more grace, but it's us receiving more grace, receiving more of the grace that he is extending towards us. Grow in grace.

understand and embrace the fact that God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for you, to take your place. And as Paul said in Romans, Hey, if God gave His only Son for you, how much more is He going to give us all the other things that we need? Because nothing else that we need, it compares to what it costs Him to provide for us salvation. Everything else, oh, that's easy. Throw it in. God will take care of it because of His goodness.

Because of His grace. And just as salvation cannot be earned, we cannot earn favor with God, it just is receiving the fullness of what God has done for us. So is the rest of the grace of God that He has for us. We receive it. To grow in grace, you must receive more grace. Receive God's grace. Receive what He's done for you. Accept it. Believe it. Hold fast to it. Even expect it. God,

He's good and He loves you. We're to grow not only in grace but also in knowledge. Now you remember knowledge, again back in chapter 1 of 2 Peter. In knowing Him who called us, Peter said, we have everything that we need for life and godliness. Everything that we need, God has provided for us through knowing Him. And that's why it's so important that we grow in our relationship with Him. Because everything we need, He supplies as we walk with Him.

The word grow here is in the present imperative tense. Imperative means that it's a command. Present means that it's to be repeated and continual. This is not a one-time command. Okay, you got saved, good, now grow a little bit. This is a command that no matter how old you are in the Lord or how long you've walked with the Lord or where you're at in your life, this is a command that applies to us.

And we're to repeat it. It's to be continual. We are to be growing continually as believers in Jesus Christ. Growing in our relationship with God. Drawing near to Him. Knowing Him. Walking with Him. We're talking about the future. That which is to come. That's where we're to be looking. That eternity that He has in store. But for the present, and as long as it's the present, we're to grow. And we're to keep on growing. Grow in your relationship with God.

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.