HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE

2 PETER 3:11-18

Adapted from a David Owens sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?

ContributorID=&SermonID=156120

A minister visiting with an elderly woman in the nursing home. The young minister said, “At your age you should be thinking about

the hereafter!” The older woman said, “Oh, I do all the time. No matter where I am – in my room, down in the cafeteria, or down in the recreation room – I ask myself ‘What

am I here after?’ ”

C.S. Lewis said, “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world

that they have become so ineffective in this one.”

Popular author and preacher, Joseph Stowell wrote, “When we begin to believe

the reality of the other side, we start behaving differently on this side.”

Last week, we noticed that Peter focused on the reality of the second coming of

Christ. All true believers hold firmly to the fact that Jesus will come again. We might disagree about what exactly will happen when He returns, but we know that He is

coming and when He comes everything will be changed forever.

Therefore, in light of Jesus’ certain return, we must ask and answer a very important

question: “How Then Shall We Live?”

How should we be living in order to be ready? What should we be doing in order to

be living a life that is pleasing to God?

Let’s see how Peter answers this important question. The admonition that best

summarizes Peter’s answer is “make every effort!”. Peter has employed this idea

before. 2 Peter 1:5, NET Peter admonished, For

this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence,

knowledge;

Then in 2 Peter 1:10 NET he commanded, Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into

sin. Again in 2 Peter 1:15 NET

Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. Let’s look at this final section of the letter and see what we must make every effort to do in light of the coming of

Christ.

Make Every Effort to Live Godly Lives

2 Peter 3:11 NET Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of

people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, 12 while waiting for

and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial

bodies will melt away in a blaze!

13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in

which righteousness truly resides. 14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are

waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you

come into his presence.

Because we realize that the world will be destroyed, and that even the elements will be disintegrated, we fix our hope, not on

anything in this world, but only on the Lord. And, as we discussed last week, because we don’t know when all this will take place, we must be constantly ready for His return.

This expectant attitude ought to make a difference in our personal, daily conduct.

Our conduct should be characterized by holiness (Grk “in holy conduct” NETnotes) and godliness. Holiness entails separation from

evil and dedication to God. Godliness relates to piety and worship – it describes

the person whose life is devoted to pleasing God. Commentator John McArthur

describes holiness and godliness this way: “Holy conduct refers to action, godliness

refers to attitude.

Holy conduct refers to the way I live my life, godliness refers to the spirit of reverence

within me by which I live my life… Peter is saying what kind of person ought

you to be in heart and in behavior, in motive and in action, in attitude and in duty.” Be holy in action and godly in attitude.

The result or conclusion of our effort to be holy and godly is addressed in verse 14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are

waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. It is interesting that Peter used these same words in reference

to Jesus in 1 Peter 1:19 NET but by precious blood like that of an unblemished

and spotless lamb, namely Christ.

Let’s contrast this with Peter’s description of false teachers. 2 Peter 2:13b,c NET…By

considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and

blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you. 14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed,

these cursed children! No peace or purity found in them.

We want to be like Jesus, and we want to be at peace with Him & His people. This

peace results from our efforts to please the Lord, and from the forgiveness we receive

through our relationship with Christ. Ultimately, those who are “found at peace, without spot or blemish,” have put out of

their lives the things He hates, and have put into their lives the things God loves.

Other New Testament writers also teach that an eager expectancy of the Lord’s

return ought to motivate us to godly living.Paul, in his 2nd letter to the saints in Corinth,

talked about the reality of the loss of our earthly tent, and our appearance before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul’s conclusion is that this should cause us to make it our

goal to please the Lord and to try to persuade others.

2 Corinthians 5:1 NET For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is

dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is

eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will

not be found naked.

4 For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we

do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit

as a down payment.

6 Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord

— 7 for we live by faith, not by sight. 8 Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with

the Lord. 9 So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please

him.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one

may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore, because we know the

fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope

we are well known to your consciences too.

In John’s first letter, he made these motivating points:

1 John 2:28 NET And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back.

1 John 3:2 NET Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not

yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because

we will see him just as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope focused on him

purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure).

It is easy to see how the second coming should motivate us to live holy and godly

lives. When Jesus returns we must strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish.

Since Christ is coming back, we first of all must make every effort to live godly lives.

Make Every Effort to Win the Lost2 Peter 3:15 NET And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our

dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, 16 speaking of

these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of

the scriptures.

Here we notice that verse 15 continues the thought that Peter began back in verse 9, where Peter explained why the Lord had

delayed fulfilling His promise to return. God had every reason long ago to judge the

world and burn up its works, but His merciful desire to see more people repent, has kept Him from fulfilling the promised

return. The Day of Judgment is coming, but until then, we continue to live in the time of

the Lord’s patience which results in the Days of Salvation.

Unfortunately, while we make every effort trying to win the lost, Satan is at work trying to foil our efforts. Satan has many tricks up his sleeve for keeping the lost lost. One of

the tragic ways Satan works is through false teachers.

Peter classifies Paul’s letters as Scripture, the inspired Word of God, which shouldn’t surprise us since from the moment of their composition and delivery to their recipients they had the authority of commands of the

Lord through his apostle.

Peter points out that Paul’s letters contain some things that can be hard to

understand, which makes them easily used for distortion and false teaching.

What happens to people who twist…the Scriptures? Peter says that they do it to

their own destruction.

It leads to destruction because it is the rejection of God’s way and the setting up of one’s own way in opposition to God. This is

why it is so important for us to correctly handle the Word of God. (2 Tim. 2:15) G.K. Chesterson once said, “orthodoxy is like walking along a narrow ridge; one step to

either side was a step to disaster.

Jesus is God and man; God is love and holiness; Christianity is grace and morality; the Christian lives in this world and lives in the world of eternity. Overstress either side of these great two-sided truths, and at once

destructive heresy emerges.

One of the most tragic things in life is when a man twists Christian truth and Holy

Scripture into an excuse and even a reason for doing what he wants to do instead of

taking them as guides for doing what God wants him to do.”

May God help us to correctly handle His Word – to understand it, abide by it, and

lead others to Christ through it!

Let’s notice one final thing before we leave this point. Back in verse 12, Peter

mentioned that it is possible for us to hasten the return of Jesus. Peter wrote: “while

waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” How can we Christians hasten,

speed up, the coming of Jesus? It can be done through prayer. Jesus taught us to

pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” (Mt. 6:10)

It can be done through preaching and witnessing. If God is delaying the return of

Christ so that more can be saved, then if we are busy bringing people to Christ, that will

speed His coming.

It can be done through penitence (repentance and obedience).

In Acts 3, Peter preached, Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be

wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for

you — that is, Jesus. Acts 3:19,20 NET

Since we know that the day of Christ is coming, and since we can hasten, speed

up, its coming,

1 - let us make every effort to live godly lives.

2 – let us make every effort to win the lost.

Make Every Effort to Guard Yourself and Grow Spiritually

2 Peter 3:17 NET Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on

your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall

from your firm grasp on the truth. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.

It is heartwarming that Peter writes with such affection in this last chapter. Four

times he began his statements with “dear friends.” These concluding two verses touch

on the two main themes of the letter and summarize its contents. First, he reminds

the reader, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these

unprincipled men.

The word translated “guard” carries the meaning of constantly guarding yourself. (to watch, keep watch [Thayer])

Peter said his readers knew the truth, but he warned them that knowledge alone was not sufficient protection. They had to be on

their guard; they had to be alert.Second, there is the exhortation, But grow

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

Did you notice in verse 17 that a person’s secure position, firm grasp on the truth, is something they can fall from by being led astray by the error of these unprincipled men. Peter is emphasizing that this is

serious business – we must guard ourselves or we may fall being led astray.

So how can we maintain our steadfastness and avoid being among those who are led

astray? Peter says we can do so by growing in the grace and knowledge of…

Jesus... This command to grow carries the meaning of constantly growing. Someone

said: “The Christian life is like riding a bicycle – unless you keep moving, you fall off.” Peter says that we must continually grow in the grace and knowledge of…

Jesus...

To Grow in the grace of…Jesus… includes many things. We are saved by grace and we must grow in our understanding and trust in that grace. To Grow in grace also

has to do with becoming more like Jesus in our character and in the way we treat

others. Grow in grace also means being strengthened by grace, (2 Tim. 2:1-4) being able to endure suffering through grace (2

Cor. 12:7-10)

But, we must not only grow in grace, we must grow in the knowledge of our Lord.

Consider the balance of these two things. Knowledge without grace is a terrible

weapon, and grace without knowledge can be very shallow. Notice that we are not

challenged to grow in the knowledge of the Bible, as good and necessary as that is.

No, we are challenged to grow in the knowledge of our Lord. It is one thing to know the Bible, but it is another thing to

know the Lord, who is the central theme of the Bible. We should know the Bible so that

we can know the Lord, not just the Bible.

The diligent Christian must constantly be guarding themselves, lest they be led astray by the error, and the diligent Christian must make every effort to constantly grow in the

grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All of this requires

diligence, and demands discipline.

Nobody automatically drifts into spiritual growth and strength, but anyone can drift

out of spiritual security and strength. That’s why the Hebrew writer wrote: Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have

heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 NET

Physical and spiritual growth follows pretty much the same patterns. We grow from the

inside out. We need nourishment and exercise to grow. We grow best in a loving family environment. We need to grow in a balanced way. Imagine if your left & right arms or legs grew at different rates. How awkward. That’s why we want to grow in

grace and knowledge.

So here we are at the end of this wonderful, short letter from the apostle Peter. Peter

has reminded us of so many powerful truths. He has reminded us that God has given us everything we need for life and

godliness, and we can make our calling and election sure.

Peter has reminded us we can trust our Bibles because the men who wrote it were

carried along by the Holy Spirit. He has reminded us there will be false teachers

and we must be on guard. Peter has reminded us Jesus is coming back, no

matter how long His return is delayed, we must be ready.

Today we have learned we can be ready by giving attention to three things.

Make Every Effort to Live Godly Lives

Make Every Effort to Win the LostMake Every Effort to Guard

Yourself and Grow Spiritually.

What action plan do you need to put into place as you leave here today?

What changes do you need to make to be living a more godly life?

What actions do you need to begin to be reaching out to the lost?

Who do you need to invite over for dinner or desert?

Who do you need to invite to worship? Who do you need to have a spiritual

conversation with and offer to study the Bible with?

What steps do you need to take to guard yourself and to begin growing spiritually? Do you need to be more regular in your

daily or weekly spiritual disciplines? Do you need to ask someone to be your mentor or your accountability partner? Let’s be sure

we leave here today ready to do something to be more ready for Christ’s return.

Do you remember the reports of air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job? A lone

air traffic controller at Washington D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Airport admitted to falling

asleep during his shift. A little after midnight, the pilots of two commercial planes were

unable to reach the tower, but they were in communication with a regional air traffic control facility about 40 miles from the

airport.

Regional air traffic facilities handle aircraft within roughly a 50 mile radius of an airport,

but landings and takeoffs are handled by controllers in the airport tower.

Another incident occurred when an air traffic controller was found sleeping while

on duty at an airport in Knoxville, TN.

The airport control tower was staffed with one air traffic controller who worked both

the radar and tower positions and handled seven aircraft over a five hour period

because the radar controller was unresponsive. Unlike the controller at the Washington, D.C. airport who fell asleep in his chair, The Knoxville air traffic controller

allegedly made a bed out of couch cushions and covered himself with a blanket so he

could be more comfortable.

According an anonymous federal official, a co-worker checked on the controller several

times, each time shaking him awake.The controller would promise to stay awake

and do his job, but, each time, he would return to his makeshift bed and sleep.

The last thing we want is to be found asleep on the job when Jesus returns. We don’t

want to be caught off guard and by surprise. That means we need to be alert and ready at all times. The one who testifies to these

things says, "Yes, I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Revelation 22:20,21

NET To Him be the glory both now and forever!

Amen!