2 PETER 3:1-9
SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 & 17, 2007
GOD GIVES US CHANCE AFTER CHANCE, UNTIL.....
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I
stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful
of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this
first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to
their own lusts, 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 creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the
word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water
and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being
flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now
preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not forget
this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2
Peter 3:1-9 (NKJV)
St. Peter begins the last chapter of this Epistle with words that teach,
words that warn, words that explain and words of hope.
THE WORDS THAT TEACH - St. Peter wants to stir up in their minds
the words that were taught by the prophets and the apostles. These are
the teachers of the Word who God has chosen to first bring the GOOD NEWS
of the Messiah to come and then later to bring the GOOD NEWS of the
Messiah who came. The emphasis here cannot be strong enough. Many homes,
like ours, have stacks of family scrapbooks. It's interesting to watch
and listen as family members take these books from the shelf and slowly
turn page after page, looking at the pictures and reading the articles
or notes that are included. At times, you will hear -- Do you remember
this? And, then they will talk about it, the event, the person, whatever
it may be will be stirred up in their minds and become as real as the
day they first experienced it. This is what St. Peter is urging -- to
return to the teachings over and over again that they become just as
real and urgent as they were the first time the prophet or apostle spoke
them.
THE WORDS THAT WARN - St. Peter says that there will be scoffers,
those who will cast doubt. They will say that He said that He would
return. “Where is He?” they ask. St. Peter’s response to them is to tell
them that they have forgotten the Power of the Word of God. He reminds
them that the world, the earth, the waters, and the mountains were
created by the Power of a Word from God; they were destroyed by that
same Power at the time of Noah and they were restored by that same Power
to endure until the time of final destruction at the end of the World.
St. Peter says it is this same Power of the Word that promised the
Return, and it too will come to pass. If we give in and say nothing to
those who do not accept the Power of God’s Word, we are also helping
them to continue to go their own way and do their own thing regardless
of what God Himself would have us do. The warning here is not only that
we should not listen to the scoffers, not only that we should try to
counteract what they teach to others, but that we better have our bags
packed and be ready to go when God says, I’M BACK as I promised. One
second after that it will be too late.
WORDS THAT EXPLAIN - Warnings without explanation are not
effective. Often scoffers make a good point, only it is hidden under all
of the other rhetoric. A point that they are making is that it has been
so long since the promise was given that it must not be going take
place. There were a lot of similar murmurings in the span of years from
Adam and Eve until the Birth of the Christ Child. Look again at these
words from verse 8 -”But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that
with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day.” If they are difficult to understand, then try this. Why does
it seem to a parent that you no more than finish buying and giving
Christmas presents and it is time to do it all over again, but for a
little child it seems an eternity for the same time span. One of the
teachings in these verses is Let God do what God says He will do in His
own Time and His own way. It is not our responsibility to tell God when
and how; all we need do is to live in the Faith that WHAT GOD SAYS, GOD
DOES.
WORDS OF HOPE - These words from verse 9 are filled with hope:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance.” God is not slack; that is, God is
not delaying, forgetting, or putting off the Return. God does not want
anyone to perish, but wants all to come to Him, in Faith, for
forgiveness. This then is the hope -- GOD GIVES US CHANCE, AFTER CHANCE,
AFTER CHANCE..... because He loves us so much and wants us to be with
Him in Paradise. Just remember that the WORD OF HOPE does not stand
alone, it must be one with the WORDS THAT TEACH, WARN, AND EXPLAIN. When
you tell others this good news, make sure you use the entire title, GOD
GIVES US CHANCE AFTER CHANCE, AFTER CHANCE..............UNTIL.
Please note that I did not add any words after the UNTIL. When the UNTIL
comes (Jesus comes), there are no more words. NO MORE CHANCES.
WE PRAY:
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine. AMEN
HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD from cyberhymnal.org
A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION
St. Peter said that scoffers will come, and indeed, we know that they
are among us today. We read about how St. Peter responded to these
scoffers, SO the question now is, “How will you respond?” If you don’t
know, don’t give up, pray about it.