I don’t know which film it was, but I am sure it was in a very old cowboy movie that I first heard the hero say to the baddie, “Get ready to meet your Maker”. People nowadays don’t like to think about the inevitability of their death but there was a time when everybody recognised that when people die we will all face the judgment seat of God. That is, unless our Lord Jesus Christ returns sooner than that. Like many other passages of the New Testament, 2 Peter chapter 3 wants everybody to be ready for the certain events in all our futures – judgment day and the return of the Lord.
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.
In chapter 2 Peter warned his readers to be on their guard for the dangers of false teachers. Chapter 3 points them back to wholesome thinking in the basic truths of the gospel as they were revealed by Jesus and passed on by all the apostles. And the most important truth Peter wants to highlight is simply this.
JESUS GOING TO RETURN
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised?
People laugh at Christians when we say we believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back. People mock us because we are living for the future when they are living in the present. Even in the Early Church there were scoffers rejecting the promise Jesus made that he would return in glory. There are even more scoffers and mockers today making fun of the truth and sadly some of them are theologians and preachers. We should recognise that denying the return of Jesus is not a new problem. Peter suggests those wrong ideas have a number of roots.
Wrong ideas about the world.
4 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.’
This is the mistaken presupposition that everything goes on the same forever. Nothing has changed, nothing is changing, nothing is going to change, nothing ever changes. It’s the basic assumption which underlies our materialistic post-modern world. It’s a necessary presupposition if you want to do science but it leads people to wrongly believe that miracles can’t happen, that the incarnation could not have happened, and equally that it would be impossible for Jesus to return. It’s the wrong assumption which underpins secular humanism and liberal theology and the theory of evolution. Things don’t change – that’s the incorrect presupposition which most people live their lives by, and it goes alongside
Wrong ideas about how the Creation happened
5 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.
People who scoff at the idea that Jesus is going to return tend to be the same people who reject the idea that God created the world in the first place. The act of Creation demonstrates that things do change. God spoke into the darkness and there was light. Things do change. And once you recognize that God is Creator then there is no problem with the idea that God could at any time break in and transform this creation. Jesus can return and Jesus will return.
Rejecting the historic events of the flood.
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
The events of the flood are the obvious example of a time when God broke into his Creation in judgment. So people who want to deny that God will bring judgment in the future pretty much have to also deny that God has acted in judgment in the past. Otherwise they would have to accept the reality that the world actually doesn’t carry on like it always has. At times God has broken in, and there is nothing to stop God breaking in again.
Rejecting the word of God
7 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.
The same word of God which had created the world will one day declare judgment. We have heard about this word from the prophets, from the mouth of Jesus himself, and in the teaching of all the apostles. The truth so many people want to ignore is that the day judgment is certainly coming. Heaven and earth will be destroyed by fire and the ungodly will be destroyed. These are the certain events in the future of humankind. People also deny these truths because they have
Wrong ideas about God
8 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.
So many people forget that God is not a human being – God is eternal. Peter is contrasting God’s perspective of eternity with the impatience of human expectations. He is quoting Psalm 90
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals.’
4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

Humans view life and events from the perspective of time. But God is God from everlasting to everlasting. God views the world from the perspective of eternity.
Human beings were saying that God was being slow in the return of Jesus. But that is incorrect.
9 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.
The delay in the return of Jesus is not a sign that God is asleep, or out to lunch. Rather it is a sign of God’s mercy and patience, giving people opportunities to return to him in repentance. It might appear that God is being slow in keeping his promise. But the promise of Jesus’s return is no less certain for that. Jesus had taught about the coming day of Judgment. Even the Old Testament prophets had foretold it in language remarkably similar to the words Peter uses.
Isaiah 13 9 See, the day of the LORD is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.

Many people have wrong ideas about the world, wrong ideas about Creation, wrong ideas about the flood and wrong ideas about God. These lead them to deny the truth that Jesus is going to return. On the contrary, Peter says, the words of the prophets and the promises of Jesus himself assure us that the day of the Lord is certain to come.
2 Peter 3 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
“Like a thief in the night.” Jesus himself used this striking image and it became central in the expectations which the Early Church held regarding the return of Jesus. We find it in 1 Thessalonians 5 and also Revelation chapters 3 and 16. We cannot know when Jesus is going to return, so like faithful servants we should always be ready and prepared. So Peter goes on to explain
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN JESUS RETURNS
Judgment by fire
2 Peter 3:10 …. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
God will bring cleansing purifying fire.
12 … That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
The fires of judgment will burn away everything which is not acceptable to God. And then when Christ returns there will be a new creation.
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
This is our Christian hope – that we will have an eternal home in the new heavens and the new earth.
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
Rightousness will dwell in this new heaven and new earth, and there will be no sin there. This is our Christian hope. So what kind of lives should we be living now?
WE SHOULD BE GETTING READY TO MEET OUR MAKER.
2 Peter 3 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
God has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. So we should live holy and godly lives, to get ourselves ready for heaven. I am sure you know the story of Groucho Marx’s letter of resignation to the Friars’ Club. “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.” And if heaven was full of people like me, like I am now, I wouldn’t want to go there either. Heaven is perfect, unspoiled by greed or pride or any kind of sin. If we are honest we would admit that none of us is ready for heaven. None of us would fit in there. We would stick out like skunks in a perfume factory! We need to live as people who belong to the world which is to come, not this present world. God calls us to live godly and holy lives, both to prepare us for heaven and so that we will escape the fire and destruction of the day of judgment.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Pure and faultless and at peace with God. Exactly the opposite of the spots and blemishes of the false teachers we met in chapter 2 last week who were disfiguring the church. That’s why God has given us everything we could ever need for life and godliness.
We need to make every effort at becoming holy, with our lives set apart for God and devoted to him. We must do our best to be godly, with our lives centred on God. Half-heartedness won’t do. In the light of all that will happen when Jesus returns, we won’t want to waste our time and energy on things which don’t matter. We will want to make sure we are ready for when Jesus returns. And all the time we need to be on our guard for sin and false teaching.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
Instead we need to keep on getting to know God better and better all the time.
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen.
Growing in grace and in our relationship with God and with Jesus our Lord and Saviour. As long as we keep on growing, we won’t be caught by surprise. We know that Jesus is coming back. We can be certain that one day Christ will return and on that day EVERY eye will see and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We know that the day of judgment is coming. We know that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. And these things could happen any day, even tonight. The day of the Lord will be good news for some but very bad news for others. Everyone needs to make sure we are ready to meet our maker.

How should people choose which church to belong to? I have been reflecting on this question as we prepare to move to a different area. What should matter as we choose the church we will make our home in? Some people look for lively worship or lots of exciting activities. Some people are looking for nice people to be friends with. These things are good to find, but they are not the most important thing. Because lively worship and exciting activities and even nice people are not essential for salvation.
We will be looking instead for a church which believes what it preaches and preaches what it believes. Because, as Jesus said, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” We will be looking for a church which believes the Bible and preaches the Bible, a church which is faithful to the truth of Scripture. That is the most important thing for any church because lies and false teaching don’t bring anybody to Jesus and to salvation.
2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
The New Testament talks about false prophets and false teachers more than 20 times and those warnings are just as relevant for the church today as they were for the Christians who heard them in the first century.
PUNISHMENT FOR FALSE TEACHERS
Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
The warning from the fallen angels
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
The fallen angels are the demons who rebelled along with the devil and were thrown out of heaven. This draws on the Book of Enoch, a Hebrew text probably written around 300 to 200 BC. We referred to this when we looked at the passage about the “harrowing of hell” in 1 Peter chapter 3. Jude verse 6 also talks about the punishment of these fallen angels.
Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
Peter is saying that if God is certain to punish the fallen angels, he will certainly also punish false teachers.
A second warning comes from the flood
5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
The flood was God’s punishment on the corruption and pollution of the earth due to violence and sin. God will punish false teachers the same way.
Another example of God’s judgment from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah:-
6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were sexual immorality. Jude verse 7 gives the same warning.
Jude 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of lawlessness. Peter continues
7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
These stories from the book of Genesis assure us that God is more than able to rescue his people from sin. The experiences of Noah and of Lot demonstrate God’s salvation. But at the same time these four warnings point to the certainty of God’s judgment on all lawlessness and in this context especially on false teachers. This is especially important in these days. Every Christian needs to be on their guard against false teaching.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

HOW TO RECOGNISE FALSE TEACHERS
In this one chapter Peter gives us at least 11 warning signs of false teachers.
We recognize false teachers by their wrong teaching
They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
False teaching is destructive. Ultimately it is a denial of the Lordship of Christ.
We also recognize false teachers by their wrong behaviour.
2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
False teachers are exposed by their evil actions. They destroy themselves, drag others down and damage the reputation of the church. Jesus himself was warning about false teachers when he taught about false prophets, ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. “By their fruit you will recognize them.” We need to look just as closely at the character of preachers and teachers as we do at their messages.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.
We can see so much greed and exploitation by false teachers today, particularly in the false gospel of health, wealth and prosperity where leaders live in luxury at the expense of their followers who remain trapped in poverty. They tell people the made up stories they want to hear, rather than teaching the truth.
10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.
In these days there are false teachers who are condoning immorality. There are those who despise authority, rejecting the teaching of the church over the centuries and rejecting the authority of the Bible in this world of post-modern relativism and post-truth. All Christians should be on guard against such false teachers.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;
Boldness and arrogance are not Christ-like qualities. They should cause us to be on our guard.
12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.
Blaspheming in matters they do not understand, the root of much false teaching is simple ignorance. People are swayed by instincts and emotions instead of pursuing truth. They will perish. But more than that,
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.
Some kinds of behaviour of false teachers are obviously wrong.
Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, revelling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Revelling in pleasures. What a contrast to the behaviour God expects from all believers as Peter explained it in chapter 1, which we thought about last week.
2 Peter 1 3 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. 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 have everything we need for life and godliness. We have God’s great and precious promises. We are supposed to have escaped corruption and evil desires and be sharing God’s divine nature. False teachers just revel in their pleasures.

14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
Eyes full of adultery – always looking for opportunities for sexual immorality. Jude contains the same warning.
Jude 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Immorality and again greed. Indeed they are under God’s curse.
15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
Balaam’s sin was prophesying for King Balak and cursing his enemies when that was not God’s will. He was trapped by a love of money – the classic example of telling people what they want to hear. Balaam gained his reward and popularity for telling people that God’s standards can be lowered, like so many false teachers still today.
17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
Blackest darkness – the terrible punishment for leading God’s people astray with empty promises and feeding lustful desires. Worse, they target new Christians who are only just escaping from sin and drag them back down again.
19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for ‘people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.’
False teachers are offering people a false freedom, the wrong idea that people can live however they like once they are saved. God does not give Christians freedom to do whatever we like. We are set free to serve God doing what pleases Him. We are not free to commit sin like we used to – that would just be a licence to lawlessness. God has forgiven us so that we can become more like Jesus. We said that last week too from 2 Peter 1. We should continually be growing in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love.
2 Peter 1 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.
What we believe must be expressed in how we live and in the Christ-like character we are developing. But instead of growing to be more like Jesus, false teachers are just slaves of depravity, trapped in sin. Read the chapter again at home and you will count no less than ELEVEN ways we can recognize false teachers and false teaching. Peter has warned about the dreadful punishments which false teachers will face for leading others astray. He ends this section with a solemn warning about.
THE DANGERS OF FALSE TEACHING
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.’
Who is this warning for? Who is Peter talking about here?
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome,
“They” certainly includes the false teachers themselves. But the warning also extends to anybody who is led astray by false teachers. “They” means anybody who has been saved through knowing Jesus as Saviour but who then is “entangled in the world and overcome”. For a person like that they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
This is one of those few tricky passages which suggests that there is a danger that Christians can lose their salvation. It gives a warning which is similar to parts of Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10. It is a very solemn warning to Christians not to abandon their faith.
21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
Christians are warned never to turn their backs on God’s wonderful salvation and go back to the life of sin they lived before. But can this actually happen? Can a true Christian be saved and then lost again? This is such an important question that I am going to come back to it in a couple of weeks. We will look at the thorny topic of predestination and free will and ask “Who chose who?” In that sermon I will attempt to reassure you of what I am convinced of, that Christians are indeed “once saved, always saved”.
For tonight in 2 Peter 2, we only have time to point out that this is the language of warnings. Sometimes we give warnings by pointing out the extreme consequences of disregarding the danger. We say to a child, “don’t go too near to the fire or you will get burned.” “Don’t go into the road or you will be knocked over.” “Don’t go too near the riverbank or you will drown.” “Don’t go too near the edge of the cliff or you will plummet to certain death.” The purpose of this warning language is to encourage children not to put themselves in danger. But then, two more things. Firstly, if the warning works then the child never takes the particular risk we have warned against. The danger is in that sense only ever hypothetical. But secondly, even after giving the warning, no loving parent stands back and allows their child to come to harm because they have ignored the warning. We hold their hands or leap to their aid when we see any actual risk to their safely. The warning helps keep the child safe, but their real safety lies in the hands of their loving parents. Christians are once saved, always saved, because their eternal safety lies in the God who will never let them go.
I will explain what I mean by this more fully in a couple of weeks time. For now let me reassure you with the words of Jesus. Jesus warned his disciples to be ready for the days of distress which were to come and said,
Mark 13 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
That little phrase “if possible” says to me, “if it were possible” but Jesus is saying it is not possible. Those who are truly God’s chosen people will not be deceived by any of the false messiahs and false prophets who will arise, in those days or in any times to come. But we still need to listen to the warnings! Because the dangers are very real.
We find passages warning about false teachers and false teaching in most of the letters of the Bible. We have seen them most recently in the letters to Timothy and Titus and now again here in 2 Peter chapter 2. We should listen to them. Because false teachers are dangerous and false teaching leads to death and destruction. Truth matters because only God’s truth can save us. Danger – false teachers!

In a certain university town there is a very large bookshop with two entrances on different streets. It is used by lots of people as a short cut, especially when it is raining. In particular there was a certain professor, of theology as it happens, who always took that short cut to and fro between his college and his department. On lunch-time the professor was attracted to a display of new books and after much deliberation he decided to make a purchase. As he was paying, he asked the cashier, rather sheepishly, “You couldn’t possibly tell me which door I came in by, could you?”
“Of course, professor,” the vigilant shopworker replied. “You came in through that door.”
“Oh good,” said the professor, most relieved. “That means I’ve had my lunch!”
Do you forget things? Different people are forgetful about different things. It is alleged that men are good at forgetting dates like birthdays and anniversaries. When I go to Sainsburys I usually forget the most important things I specifically went to buy. Some Christians are very forgetful. They can forget all the wonderful things God has done for them in Christ. They can forget that being a Christian means that their lives should be different from the lives they would be living if they were not saved. Some Christians even forget completely that they are saved.
The apostle Peter wrote his second letter to remind Christians of important truths. This evening’s passage talks about God’s generous gifts to every Christian. It talks about how we should live in response to God’s love and it reminds us of our motives for living holy and transformed lives. God’s gifts. Our response. Our motivation. Three areas of our Christian life which we cannot afford to forget about.
Let’s start with GOD’S GIFTS
3 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. 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.
What has God given us as Christians? Everything we need for a godly life, a truly religious life. Peter does not say, “everything we want” because he knows what we want tends to be selfish. God doesn’t promise to satisfy every whim and fancy we may entertain. But God does promise to give to every Christian “everything we need”. God has already given every Christian all the spiritual resources we require to live the kind of life God wants us to live. We don’t need to sit around waiting until we feel we have the power to live godly lives. We have already received everything we need.
An important part of “everything we need to live a godly life” comes in the form of God’s very great and precious promises. We find these marvellous promises in the Bible, the Word of God. Jesus promises to be with us always to the end of the age. He will never fail us or forsake us. Jesus invites us to bring all our burdens to Him. God promises to forgive all our sins and to give us the strength to resist temptation. So many great and precious promises! Here is one reason why it is a good thing to commit verses of scripture to memory. When we have learned God’s promises off by heart we can claim them at the moment we need them. Too many Christians forget about all God’s promises.
Peter tells us that God has given us everything we need to live godly lives through his divine power, through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
All God’s blessings come to us by us knowing God.
MESSAGE “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.”
It’s all about knowing God, being conscious of his presence in a personal relationship with him. As we come to know Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord better and better, knowing him provides us with everything we need for life and godliness.
Jesus has called us to himself “by his own glory and goodness”. It is Christ’s excellence and perfection which draws us to him. Perhaps here Peter is recalling the glory of Jesus which he himself witnessed in the Transfiguration. That event is certainly in his mind later in the chapter
2 Peter 1 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
The apostle Peter was an eyewitness to Christ’s glory, and it is through this glory that God gives us his great and precious promises, promises beyond all price. The glory of Jesus Christ was revealed in so many ways, not least in the Transfiguration. So we can be certain that will keep all his promises to us. We can trust in his glory and goodness.
God has given us everything we need for life and godliness for two reasons.
so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
What happens first is mentioned second. We escape from the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. When God made the world everything was good, but since then it has been spoiled by evil and sin and selfishness and greed and immorality. God wants to rescue people from all this moral and spiritual corruption in the world, so that we stop living like we used to. So Peter reminds his readers of the wonderful way of escape which God has provided from “the destructive lust which is in the world” (Good News Translation). And there’s more. God doesn’t just rescue us from the world’s sinfulness and judgment. He then actually invites us, forgiven sinners as we are, to “participate in the divine nature.” This is the miracle of the gospel – that God makes it possible for human beings to share in his divinity, to share God’s glory and goodness as we grow in our relationship with him. This is a gradual process of transformation which begins from the moment we are saved. Christians share in God’s essential nature. This is our destiny as believers and disciples – to become like Jesus in every way. Sadly, very many Christians forget about this and go on living their old lives, rather than living the new life God has given us, participating in God’s divine nature.
God has done all this for us and Peter goes on to explain OUR RESPONSE to God’s love for us. How then should we be living?
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
Some Christians think that once they are saved all they have to do is sit back and enjoy an easy ride to heaven. Peter says otherwise. For this very reason, because of all that God has done for us, Peter says we should make “every effort,” do your very best, do your utmost. We should make every effort to go forward, onward and upward.
We start off with faith, but that faith needs to be worked out in practice in all kinds of ways. In God’s strength, and by claiming his great and precious promises, and in our relationship with Him, we need then to build on that faith. The list which follows is made up of the qualities of character which Jesus himself demonstrated. We don’t get to pick and choose which of this list we work on. We can’t say “I’ll have knowledge but I won’t bother with self-control.” Nor are these a progression – we need all of these qualities, just like we need all of the fruit of the Spirit.
We start off with faith, putting our trust in Christ to save us from our sins. This is the starting point as we are born again. Then faith remains at the heart of our relationship with God, trusting in him more and more day by day. We should also aim at goodness, the very same goodness and virtue and excellence by which Christ calls us to himself. Michael Green called this, “the manliness which is Christlikeness.”
We also make every effort to attain knowledge, the practical wisdom which teaches us the difference between right and wrong. Then we need the self-control to do what is right rather than following selfish desires which lead us to do what is wrong. We need to persevere in doing good even when that is difficult. We also need to make every effort at godliness, true religion, living a truly devoted life with real reverence for God, which is exactly what Peter just said God has given us everything we need for.
We are called to mutual affection, love for fellow Christians and love for our neighbours. More than that, Christians should show love, agape love, God’s kind of sacrificial love which Jesus demonstrated when he died on the cross for us. It is our proper response to God’s love for us to make every effort to develop these Christlike qualities: faith; goodness; knowledge; self-control; perseverance; godliness; mutual affection and love.
Peter explains why we need to do this. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
If we aren’t making every effort to become more like Jesus we are forgetting everything that God has done for us. We are forgetting that God has forgiven all our sins. That makes us short-sighted and blind. God’s gifts to us and our proper response to his love. What is Peter saying OUR MOTIVATION should be in all these things?
We started by saying that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness – we should be truly grateful. We should also be longing to be useful and productive and fruitful for God and to bring glory to God. So there are two great incentives already for us to want to become more like Jesus. And Peter goes on to give us another two powerful motives for holy living.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We make every effort to confirm our calling and our election in order to make sure that we will never stumble. When we are pressing on to know God better and serve Him better we will not drift back or fall away. Then, in addition to that, we do so because of the wonderful welcome which is waiting for us when this life ends and we enter into God’s eternal kingdom. The picture of a welcome comes from an interesting background. Nowadays we scarcely acknowledge the magnificent medal winners in the Olympic games. But in those days victorious athletes would be welcomed into their city with a triumphant procession. Sometimes the authorities would even knock a hole in the walls of the city to welcome the winning competitors home. That is the picture here of an entrance richly provided into heaven for each and every Christian. What a glorious hope we have! It is too easy to get bogged down in the things of this world. Too many Christians forget about the wonderful welcome which is waiting for us in glory. Don’t be forgetful.
So Peter has reminded us of all God’s wonderful gifts to us. He has shown us what response we should make and he has reminded us of four powerful motives for godly living. If we ever forget everything that God has done for us and all we should be doing in response, we are just shortsighted and blind.