The Day of the Lord - 2 Peter 3

Peter comes to the end of the letter to the church by encouraging them of the coming of Jesus’ return, something often referred to in the Bible as the Day of the Lord. Peter’s writing them to encourage them, to stimulate them to wholesome thinking. The word Peter uses for wholesome has the elements of “pure” and “sincerity” in it, calling for their thinking to reflect on truth rooted in Jesus, confessing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. This flows out of his strong warning about the coming of false teachers. Peter’s encouraging them to not get passive about their faith, but to stay engaged in their relationship with Jesus, to keep learning and being who they’re called to be as God’s people.

The false teachers will face the consequences of their false teaching; we read about those consequences in the part of chapter 2 we didn’t focus on last week. Peter gives a strong warning as he leads into his warning, and encouragement, about Jesus’ return. The false teachers will face punishment for leading the people away from Jesus. Peter reminds them of the flood and of Sodom and Gomorrah, about the blackest darkness being reserved for them, a dark separation from the light and life of God. This is where Jesus’ return now enters into Peter’s letter.

Peter acknowledges that Jesus is taking longer to return than expected, and that the false teachers are going to use this against them, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” They’ve no fear of consequences from God. God has no real meaning or place in their lives no matter how often they say his name; no moral or ethical foundation rooted in God’s law or Jesus’ teachings and example; no impact on their character formation. God gives us the law to shape us into his own character, calling us to holiness, to be more like Jesus; into the people God created us to be in our humanity as image bearers of God.

Leading up to the Day of the Lord, there will be increasing numbers of those who deny Jesus, who will mock believers for believing in Jesus’ return. Today, people scoff believers for believing in a God who cannot be seen, who’s only a fairy tale, an escape from reality for the weak. We need to prepare our youth for this as they enter into the world. Many people have forgotten, or dismissed Jesus’ return. The first prophet to point to the Day of the Lord is Amos in 5:18–20 “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?” The prophet Joel 1:15 also spoke often of the coming day, “Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.”

There’s no fear of punishment or consequences. Peter knows this, “But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” Water and fire are about cleansing and purification. Fire purifies, think of the Old Testament’s imagery of the metal worker. The Day of the Lord is the day when God steps in to punish the world’s sin, when Jesus comes to separate the sheep and the goats, separating those who’ve accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour from those who’ve chosen themselves or other gods as their object of worship. The Day of the Lord is about both restoration and judgment: restoration for those who’ve chosen Jesus, judgment for those who’ve chosen themselves as their god.

Peter moves on to reflecting on why Jesus’ return is taking so long, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Jesus is taking a long time so people have opportunities to repent and believe, and for that to happen, followers of Jesus need to be more engaged with those who haven’t yet repented, with those who don’t really know who Jesus is, to show them the wonder, the grace, the life-changing transformation found in the hope and peace that comes from repenting from our sin; turning away from our old ways; believing in Jesus as Lord and Saviour of the world. This goes back to Peter’s call to confirm our calling and election by our life transformation that comes from growing in the fruit of the Spirit. How we live, not only what we say we believe, is important in leading someone to Jesus; they go hand in hand.

Jesus’ return will be unexpected; Peter refers to parables about the Day of the Lord that Jesus told. Peter echoes their messages, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” Because we don’t know when Jesus is returning, it’s important that we work hard at living holy and godly lives, showing the world the God we serve through how we live. My grandfather would remind us before we went out with our friends, to always act like Jesus is there with us.

This is what Paul is getting at in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Paul uses the picture of a king coming to visit one of his cities. The leaders would call the citizens to clean the city and prepare for the king's arrival. The streets were cleaned, the buildings whitewashed so that as the sun rises or sets on the city, they would shine. The king would time his arrival for sunrise and approach from the west so that the rising sun shines on the city, making it gleam. Think of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven; gleaming in splendour. Watchers set outside the city and on the city walls let everyone know as soon the king comes into sight so everyone can go out to greet their king.

Paul warns about the Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5, “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” We’re being used by God in his plan of redemption to restore and renew creation to speed its coming. I’m not completely sure what Peter’s getting at here, but it does remind us that how we live, what we do are important parts of God’s plans. So we ask questions like, “Are we ready for Jesus’ return,” “are we helping our world become ready.” It takes courage to follow Jesus, take self-discipline and a willingness to do the hard things to live true to Jesus.

Until Jesus returns, we’re called to continue growing deeper in our faith, to shape our lives on Jesus, to look and act more like Jesus each day, encouraging and building each other up in the faith; getting involved in our society and neighbourhoods as part of developing creation in the arts, culture, music, business, politics, and more to reflect God’s values and will. God gives us skills and abilities to develop and help your family, your church, your community, your workplace, your places of play to flourish, and he calls you to invest in these things as part of preparing for Jesus’ return.

What we believe matters. The Reformed view of Jesus’ return fills us with hope for the future and a call to be deeply invested in living out our faith in Jesus; good news that can shape our lives, the lives of those around us, and the flourishing of the communities we live in.

 

False Teachers - 2 Peter 2

                           

In the first part of his letter, Peter mentions how they, the apostles, are not following cleverly created stories about Jesus because they actually knew, lived with, and followed Jesus personally; seeing Jesus’ divinity and humanity in real life. Peter moves into talking about how prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit and its interpretation doesn’t come from the prophets themselves, but from and through the Holy Spirit. Now Peter warns us about false prophets and teachers. To be able to recognize them and their teaching, it’s important to know what we believe and why.

Peter writes, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” Peter doesn’t see or hear false teachers in their churches yet, but he’s warning them that they will show up.

Jesus has always been a controversial because his claims and teachings are rooted in his identity as the Son of God; Jesus is not simply human, he’s also divine. This adds great responsibility on his followers to accept his teaching and life as the foundation of our lives. This is part of why false teachers showed up early on, putting their own spin and interpretation on who Jesus is and what he taught. Peter calls us to be aware of false teachers and to learn to recognize their false teachings. Peter reminds the people to keep remembering, learning about what Jesus did and taught; and to keep learning about how Jesus lived out his relationship with God among and with the people.

Early on in the church, there were false teachings about Jesus already appearing. Peter may be thinking about Jewish believers who’ve also been influenced by Greek ways of thinking and philosophical movements. He may also be speaking out against charlatans who created their own teachings to appeal to those who were sceptical; teachers who mixed a little bit of truth with their own teachings. Paul in Romans 6 talks of teachers telling the people that the more we sin the greater God’s grace looks, other teachers taught that salvation depended on the secret knowledge they’ve been given by the Lord.

There are still many false teachers today. Peter talks about false prophets and teachers, carrying on from chapter 1 where he teaches that prophets spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, but now he’s turning his focus on those prophets who spoke their own words instead of God’s words. Peter is concerned about teachers who even deny Jesus. You can identify false teachers because they tend to either lower the importance of Jesus, or they raise themselves and humanity higher in importance.

A study last year by Lifeway Research found that 28% of evangelicals believed that Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God, 53% believe that the Holy Spirit is a force, not a personal being, 47% believe God accepts the worship of all religions, 17% believe that the Holy Spirit can tell me to do something that is forbidden in the Bible, 17% believe the Bible is not literally true, while 19% believe that modern science disproves the Bible.

Most false teachers reject the Law, setting it up against the gospel. One of the most pervasive examples of this today is the growth of the Prosperity Gospel in the church. This is not just a North American issue. When I was in East Africa with World Missions about 14 years ago, I had coffee with a pastor in Kenya and asked what his greatest challenge was. He told me the prosperity gospel was the greatest challenge because it treated God as a God who will give you what you want. A form of this gospel is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Martin Horton writes about its dangerous influence in Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church. It teaches that there’s a God who exists who created the world and watches over human life on earth. God wants people to be good and fair to each other like the Bible and other religions teach. The goal in life is to be happy and feel good about who you are. God will bless you when you give to him. As long as you’re good, you go to heaven. There’s no need for Jesus or discipleship.

There’s no need for Jesus’ birth, life, sacrifice, or resurrection. You don’t even need to believe in Jesus; you don’t need his grace. It makes us feel good about ourselves, and yet in the end it lacks comfort or true hope. We’re all sinners in need of a saviour, we’re unable to save ourselves, no matter how many good works we do. God didn’t give up on humanity, but guides history so that at the right time Jesus came and took our sin on himself, died on the cross, and was raised from the dead so that we’re freed from our sin, washed clean from our sin when we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We follow God’s commands out of gratitude because God gives us the Law out of love and to shape us in his image. In the meantime, we are part of God’s plan of renewal and restoration, here to prepare the world for Jesus’ return.

Paul speaks to this in 1 Timothy 1:3–11, “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.”

False teachers are usually in it for their own personal gain and influence. They want you to accept their version of truth. Modern day false teachers tell us that truth is different for everyone and we can determine our own truth.  Dr. Francis Collins wrote a book that defends the idea that truth really exists. Dr. Collins observes, if you claim that you think tattoos are really cool, that may be true for you but not for everyone; it’s a matter of taste and opinion. But when we have firmly recognised facts, like 2+2=4 and that the law of gravity is real and it’s a good thing to pay attention to when you are walking along the edge of a cliff, those are established facts, and they’re true for everybody. As Dr. Collins said, facts don’t care about how you feel about them. Truth is truth, but you need to know what truth is, which is why we’ve been given Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

False prophets and teachers aren’t new, Israel often experienced their destructive presence: Jeremiah 23:16, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” The Old Testament is filled with false prophets. Many false stories about Jesus began circulating right after his resurrection; Matthew tells us how the soldiers at the tomb were paid to say that Jesus’ body was stolen by disciples, that his resurrection was fake.

Peter warns that God will not allow the false teachers and prophets to go unpunished for their actions; this is God’s grace, warning false teachers to not lead his people away from him. Jesus in Matthew 18:6, Jesus warns about leading children astray, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” God doesn’t take false teachers lightly, he will hold them accountable for their actions, justice and righteousness will come in the end when Jesus returns.

The way of righteousness comes from the knowledge of Jesus and walking in his way. It’s not easy to stand up for the truth as found in Scripture, yet if we choose the ways of the world and its false teachers, God’s clear that there are consequences to our choices, but Peter uses Noah and Lot as examples on how God protects his people during these times of punishment.

We’re called to be discerning when we listen to teachers of God. Think of the Bereans in Acts 17. Luke describes them as “being of more noble character than those is Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” To understand Scripture, we turn to the whole Bible, letting Scripture interpret Scripture. We study humbly, knowing that there is so much more to God that we will never understand, yet trusting that God reveals all we need to know of him at this time in Scripture. We do not need secret knowledge for our salvation; all we need is the finished work of Jesus as revealed in Scripture. This is why God calls his people to gather together regularly to read Scripture, to encourage and build each other in the Lord, and to worship God, reminding us of who Jesus is and responding to him in thankfulness and gratitude, keeping us connected to the truth, to Jesus.

 

Confirming Your Election and Calling - 2 Peter 1

     

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be reflecting on Peter’s second letter. We’re not sure exactly which church Peter is writing to, but since he was martyred during the reign of Nero which was from 54-68 AD, and Peter’s ministry occurred mostly in the western part of Asia Minor, it’s likely a circular letter written to a number of churches in the area. Peter’s letter is not just applicable for his time; it’s still applicable today. In his letter, Peter teaches us how to think about God, ourselves, sin, obedience, worship, suffering, community, and hope. His letter invites us to come close to Jesus to understand and respond to him. It’s a letter written to warn about false teachers, and to stir us out of spiritual laziness. Peter reminds us that God’s working with real people in real places; his letter’s not about throwing ideas about who Jesus is out to everyone, he points us to Jesus who acts, speaks, judges, saves, and guides his people.

Peter begins by acknowledging himself as both a slave to, and an apostle of, Jesus Christ. He greets the people, reminding them of the gift of faith they’ve been given; a faith rooted in God’s and Jesus’ righteousness. I always appreciate how the letter writers in the New Testament greet the people by offering them both grace and peace through Jesus. Both are powerful blessings to offer someone. A dear Jewish friend always greeted me with “Shalom my brother, Yahweh’s grace to you today.” There’s something centering and soothing to your soul when you receive this kind of greeting from a friend, creating trust.

One of Peter’s main themes, especially in chapter 1, is spiritual growth. Growth comes through our choices and consequences, through prayer, God’s promises, and in how God deals with his people. A second big theme is truth and what truth looks like when God speaks to his people. Truth is rooted in our relationship God and his trustworthiness; this is why Jesus says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. For Christians, faith in Jesus Christ forms the foundation of our spiritual life. Paul expresses this clearly: salvation comes “by grace...through faith,” which is God’s gift rather than anything we do. Biblical faith means believing in God’s character and His promises; grounded in God’s nature as revealed in Scripture. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” a deep confidence that transforms future promises into present reality. Unlike everyday human trust based on experience, biblical faith trusts in what stays unseen, resting completely on confidence in God.

Peter writes in verses 3-4, that Jesus calls us to a godly life, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Jesus gives us everything we need for a godly life through the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Our knowledge comes through knowing Jesus; his life and teaching, his death, and resurrection. Knowing in the Scriptures is not so much about head knowledge like the Greeks, it’s more about knowing through relationship. Peter doesn’t let us off the hook of our sinful desires and ways easily with a simple, “Just try harder.” Rather than a passive gaining of information, biblical knowing involves actively participating in the covenant relationship. If you know Jesus, you know and have the power to say “no” to temptation and our evil desires because through his promises, we participate in his divine nature. This becomes powerfully true through the Holy Spirit. Doesn’t mean it’s easy, but that we can.

For Peter, faith is rooted in our relationship with Jesus which is then lived out in our daily lives. This is how we live into sanctification. Sanctification is living our salvation out, becoming more and more like Jesus. This is where Peter goes now in verse 5-7, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” Sanctification is about responding to Jesus and the cross.

Change is God’s call to us, telling us that he loves us too much to not change us through his Spirit; we’re able to say “no” to ungodliness and sin because of the strength of the Holy Spirit. It’s not like we have to figure this out on our own. Jesus knows our weaknesses and temptations, he gives us his help to resist, his help is personal to each of us; Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” 2 Peter 1 is about our identity as found in Christ, shaped by Christ, and for Christ.

Faith is our relationship with Jesus lived out with those around us. This is why Peter focuses here on both our relationship with Jesus in goodness, knowledge, and godliness; focusing on self-control and perseverance; and living well with others within the body of Christ through mutual affection and love. We hear echoes of this in Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”

Peter now commands his readers, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Verse 10 was previously translated, “be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.” A more literal reading of the Greek is, “rather, be zealous to put into force your calling and election.” This sentence is an imperative and clear in its intent, even if the translations vary a little, it’s a command: we’re called to live out our faith and calling as a child of God. We are called to produce good fruit, “confirming our election;” living in the abundance of being in Christ. The word used “to confirm,” is a call to show our calling to follow Jesus is true, and that through how they’ve embraced Jesus’ call and teaching in their lives, they’re not likely to fall away as they live out what they believe in Jesus. 

Peter’s not calling us to earn our salvation or election; he’s calling us to actually live what we believe. The Heidelberg Catechism, after its teaching on the Apostle’s Creed asks in Q & A 60, “How are you righteous before God?” The answer is so comforting, “Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them, and of still being inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without any merit of my own, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart.” Sanctification and confirming our election are all about responding to Jesus and the cross, to being changed through the gift of his new life. We go back to 2 Peter 1:4, “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

We’re saved to do good works, to show God we are thankful and to praise him, we do good works so that we can be assured of our faith through its fruit, and we do good works so that others might be won over to Christ. James writes in 2:14–16 “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” Jesus tells his disciples in John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

We’re chosen, elected to bear fruit, so that through our lives, others can see our belief and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and are transformed through the Holy Spirit. We reveal what the kingdom of heaven is like through how we live our lives Jesus’ way. The world needs the kingdom of heaven now, needs people shaped and inspired by the kingdom to build the kingdom values and ways into our community here so that the world can be given a glimpse and example of hope, of grace, and of the new life found in Jesus, working with the Holy Spirit in stirring a desire and need to be part of God’s family too.