FAITH IN GOD'S
PROMISES
2 Peter 3:3-15
V:3. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the
last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts."
A. Approaching is the
time that this Church age will end.
1. One of the
signs that the end is near is “scoffers” (false teachers).
2. They will
interpret the Word of God according to their own desires.
B. This open revolt
will come from inside the Church.
1. They will
ridicule those in the body of Christ for their belief in the Word of God.
2. They will promote a different doctrine than
the Word of God.
V:4. "And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation."
A. These people have
read the Word of God, but they don't trust the Word to be true.
1. They cause
others to be doubtful because of their own disbelief.
2. They find
fault in the Word using worldly rationalizations.
B. God promised a
second coming of Jesus, which has not yet been fulfilled.
1. Jesus did not
come in their father’s time.
2. Jesus has not
come in their time, so they conclude that the promise is a hoax.
a. They do
not recognize that God’s time is not the same as our time.
C. They fail to see
God working in His every creation.
1. They believe
in creation, but not in the Word of the Father of creation.
2. From their
point of view, the laws of nature remain the same.
3. They do not
see anything to suggest the second coming of Christ.
D. The false
teachers do not see the progressive revelation of God’s plan of
redemption for mankind.
1. They do not
see the progressive Work of God in creation.
V:5. "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by
the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the
water and in the water."
A. The false teachers
view the creation story in Genesis with skepticism.
1. They would
rather believe the "Big Bang Theory" for the creation of the
universe.
2. The universe
was a tight mass of matter which exploded and expanded into
hot gases, then
cooled into a recombined state, from which all the galaxies of the
universe were
formed.
3. Scientist would
rather spend their time looking for a logical reason for the
existence of
the universe than to believe in the Word of God.
B. False teachers focus
so intently on finding the logic in creation that they become
blind and can discredit
the whole Bible.
a. Either it is all true or all false.
C. Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by God's Word.
1. Faith does
not come by scientific observation.
2. God created
the heaven and the earth by His Word.
3. We do not
need an exact explanation of how He did it, or what exactly He did.
4. All we need
is the faith that God did what He did according to His Word.
V:6. "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed
with water, perished."
A. After God created
man, sin entered into him and he became so sinful that God
destroyed all
of the inhabitants of the earth except for Noah and his family, with a
great flood.
1. God
repopulated the earth from the descendants of Noah's family and the
animals He placed
in the Ark.
2. The laws of
science and order do not include this catastrophic this event.
a. The Word
records this event in great detail, as it does the original creation.
b. Man’s
limited knowledge of science cannot explain the workings of God in
creation.
c. It is
only by faith that we gain some limited knowledge of God.
d. Man cannot
rationalize the omniscience of God nor His omnipotence.
e. There is
no scientific explanation for God or for His works.
V:7. "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by
the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men."
A. God is the creator
and the maintainer of His universe which includes heaven and
earth.
1. It was by the
Word that all things were brought into existence, and it is by the
Word that all things
are maintained until the day of judgment.
2. The
rationalizations of man cannot account for creation, the maintenance of that
creation, nor
the eventual destruction of God's creation.
3. It is only by
the Word that we know that we shall all be judged.
a. It is only
by the Word that we know the unredeemed will be cast into the lake of
fire.
b. It is only
by the Word that we know that current heaven and earth will be
destroyed
and a new heaven and earth will be created.
b. It is only
by the Word that we know that the redeemed through Jesus Christ
have home in
heaven.
B. Science and the
rationalizations of man cannot explain God.
1. It is only
by faith in the Word that we can know God.
V:8. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day."
A. God is not on our
time. We live in God's time.
1. Man's time on
earth is limited.
2. God is not
controlled by time or any other means.
3. God fulfills
His promises in His time.
B. We know by the
Word, which is confirmed throughout history, that God has
fulfilled many of the
prophecies of the Old Testament.
1. We can be sure
that God does not change and that the remaining prophecies will
be fulfilled.
V:9. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
A. God’s word is
absolute, regardless of your belief in it.
1. In addition to
the scripture of the Bible, we have a historical record of God
fulfilling His promises.
a. World
history books have recorded the fulfillment of many of God's promises.
2. The Bible is
more than 2000 years old and remains uncorrupted by all man's
attempts.
3. The Word of
God continues to spread despite all manly efforts to stop its
movement.
B. God put His Word
in print so that all men would have access to the Truth
1. God has made
salvation available to all who believe.
V:10."But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up."
A. We have a choice
to believe the Word of God or to believe the rationalizations of
man.
1. Based on our
choice, heaven is our final home, or hell is our destination.
2. If we believe
the Word, we know that there is a heaven and a hell.
B. Just as God
created the heavens and the earth, He will destroy them with fire.
1. The current
Heaven and earth is corrupted with sin.
2. Heaven was
corrupted with the fall of Lucifer, a created angel of the Lord, better
known as
Satan.
3. Satan corrupted
all the demons that fell with Him.
C. This same Satan
deceived Eve, the mother of humanity.
1. After which
Adam willfully disobeyed God's command not to eat from the Tree
Of Knowledge, of
Good and Evil.
2. Sin entered into
God’s perfect creation and thus the redemptive process began.
3. God promised us a Savior, His son, Jesus Christ.
D. God also has
promised a new heaven and a new earth that will be prefect, without
sin, and
inhabited by the redeemed of the Lord.
V:11. "Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness."
A. With our knowledge
of God's Word, we would be foolish to trade heaven for hell
by believing the
scoffers, the enemies of God.
B. We should be busy
doing God's work by faith, and serving His kingdom with the
best that we have.
1. We must commit
our lives to the Father.
2. We only have
one conversation worthily of communication and that is Jesus
Christ.
C. We should walk in
a manner that glorifies the Father and honors Him.
1. Through our
walk, others will come to know Christ and be encouraged in their
faith.
V:12. "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
A. How is it that we
see death all around us, and yet we do not believe the scriptures.
1. The Word is
clear that the life of man is but a few days filled with trials and
tribulations.
2. All of us have
experienced this truth.
B. How is possible
that we wake up every morning and not give God the glory for the
gift of another
day?
C. We know the work
of God in our lives and we know the truth of the scriptures.
1. We should be
prepared for the day of the Lord.
2. Our hope is
grounded on this truth, that Jesus will return for His redeemed.
V:13. "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
A. The Word of God is
the truth.
1. We should base
all of our actions on the Word of truth.
2. According to
the Word, there will be a new heaven and a new earth prepared just
for you, that
is all believers.
3. We should act
according to the old phase, "this is not my home, I am just passing
through."
B. Heaven has been
promised to us by the Father.
1. Jesus told us
that He was going to prepare a place for us.
2. Let no one
deceive you that God does not keep His promises.
V:14. "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and
blameless."
A. A life dedicated
to the righteousness of God should be our aim.
1. Through the
death of Jesus Christ we may have peace with the Father.
2. Our sins do
not prevent us from entering heaven because Jesus already
paid the penalty.
B. Roman 12:1 says,
“we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and
pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service.
1. We should
worship the Lord in spirit and truth which is our response
to the great
gift of salvation.
2. We should
honor the Lord with our faithfulness because His grace and mercy
fall fresh
on us every moment of our lives.
V:15. "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation."
A. Jesus died on the
cross for you and for me.
1. He died that
we might be redeemed.
2. He died that
we might be presented to the Father without blemish.
3. He died
because of His Great love for us.
B. We owe the Father
honor and glory though obedience to His Word.
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