How Shall We Live?

2 Peter 3:11-18

Adapted from a

David Owens sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?C

ontributorID=&SermonID=156120

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the

entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also

went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house

and line of David.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was

expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be

born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed

him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were

shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at

night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around

them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ―Do not be afraid. I bring you

good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a

manger.‖

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God

and saying, ―Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on

whom his favor rests.‖ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the

shepherds said to one another, ―Let‘s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us

about.‖

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the

manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said

to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had

heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20 NIVThe Savior of the world has come. We must

not leave Him in the manger because the reason He came as a human would not

happen till about 33 years later. The writer of Hebrews tells us the importance of what

He did.

Hebrews 9:11 NET But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater

and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 12 and he entered once for all into the most holy

place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself

secured eternal redemption.

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on

those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, 14 how much

more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without

blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

15 And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may

receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free

from the violations committed under the first covenant. 16 For where there is a will, the

death of the one who made it must be proven. 17 For a will takes effect only at

death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive.

We know He was not doomed to remain dead, rotting in the tomb. The Savior, Our Lord was raised from the dead. Notice the

end of the writer‘s prayer.Hebrews 13:20 NET Now may the God of

peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the

great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 equip you with every good

thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus

Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

The prayer is Now may the God of peace…equip you with every good thing to do his will. When we do his will we prepare

ourselves & others for the promise He made. John 14:2 NET There are many dwelling places in my Father's house.

Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. 3 And if I go and make ready a place

for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be

too.

Where did He go & where does He want to take us? Acts 1:9 NET After he had said

this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white

clothing stood near them 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has

been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him

go into heaven."

The story is told of a minister who visited 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.‖

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.

In light of God the Son, Jesus, coming as a human baby, shedding His blood for our sins, ascending to Heaven & His certain return, we must ask and answer a very

important question: ―How 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.

Peter admonished, For this very reason, make every effort to add to your

faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge;2 Peter 1:5, NET

5 verses later 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. 2 Peter 1:10

NETThen 5 later, Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a

testimony of these things. 2 Peter 1:15 NET

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.

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. 14Therefore, 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. 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 14Therefore, 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.

2 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 2 Peter 3:9 NET The Lord is not slow concerning

his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he

does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 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 speed its

coming,

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

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

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, there is the reminder that his 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 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 keep on growing 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 away

into 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.

Peter 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.

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 to a 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 to do 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!