DAY #341: 2 Peter 3:1-18

We, along with the first-century believers, ought to be prepared for anything because we have been warned what to watch for and how to live. Peter wrote that in the last days there will be scoffers. The “last days” began with Christ’s resurrection and will continue until his return, when he will set up his Kingdom and judge all humanity. Jesus and the apostles warned that during that interim, including the time period we live in, scoffers will laugh at the truth.

The false teachers’ scoffing focused on Christ’s second coming. Jesus had promised that he would come back (Mark 13:24-27), but many years had passed and nothing had happened. The scoffers based their argument on the fact that everything has remained exactly the same since the world was first created.

What these scoffers were forgetting in their argument (that the world had remained unchanged since creation) was that God made the heavens. The Creation disproves their “all things continue” argument because the creation of the earth was an imposed change on the formless void (Genesis 1:1-2). The very reason the world was continuing on in a stable, predictable pattern was because God, in his grace, had created it that way. However, this stability should not be taken for granted. The false teachers deliberately forgot that God also had destroyed the evil world with a mighty flood.

Peter had made his point that Christ would certainly return and bring judgment, but the question still remained, “Why was the Lord delaying so long?” Peter offered two reasons. First of all, the Lord does not count time as people do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity past and eternity future. Indeed, to him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day (Psalm 90:4). God may have seemed slow to these believers as they faced persecution every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not slow; he simply doesn’t operate according to our timetable.

The second reason for the Lord being slow about his promise to return was his patience. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. He wants as many people as will to come to faith in him. God is not “slow” at all; rather, according to his timetable, he is being exceedingly patient, giving people time to turn to him. Love is the reason that he delays the destruction of the world.


Peter explained that this earth will not last forever. As God intervened in the past to judge the earth by water, so one day he will intervene again. But in that day, the judgment will be by fire, and everything will be destroyed. Those who presume to take God’s delay of this judgment to mean that they can do as they please will find themselves surprised upon his return. And when the destruction occurs, there will be no second chances and no escape for those who have chosen to disobey the Creator.

As the believers waited, perhaps impatiently, for the Lord’s return, Peter reminded them that the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved. God’s patience means salvation for many more who will have the chance to respond to the gospel message.




SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

The Bible teaches us this in Acts 20:24 “The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to tell people the good news about God’s grace.” Regardless of what else God wants you to do with your life, if you are a believer, He has an assignment for you. What's the assignment? The same as Christ's.

John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us “God was in Christ restoring the world to Himself.” This is what Jesus Christ came to earth to do. That was His mission.

Let’s get a little bit more specific. What did Jesus come to do specifically? Luke 19:10 - Jesus said, “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost.”

We can see clearly what Jesus came to do: Seek and save the lost. You may be thinking, “This is great but what does this have to do with me and my mission?” Your life mission and Jesus’ life mission are very intertwined once you become a Christian.

If I want to be like Jesus, my life mission must include His life mission. If I want to be like Jesus then my life mission must include His life mission. Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 and said, “In the same way You gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”

Jesus expects me to continue His mission in the world. In fact, this is not an option, this is not a suggestion, this is not a possible good idea if you’ve got any spare time to fit this into your schedule. This is commanded. If you are a Christian, you are commanded to fulfill the mission of Christ - seek and save the lost. His mission must be my mission.

Folks, sharing the good news is our responsibility. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Telling the good news is my duty, something I must do. How terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the good news.” If I'm a Christian, it is not optional. My mission is not optional.

But more than that - sharing the good news is a privilege. 2 Corinthians 5:18, says “And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into His favor and be reconciled to Him. This is the wonderful message that He’s given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors.” I am an ambassador for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to represent Him. Paul says in Romans 16 “I am proud of the good news because it is the power that God uses to save everyone who believes.” There is no other way.

If I had the cure for cancer and I didn’t share it, that would be criminal. If I had the cure for AIDS and didn’t share it, that would be criminal. If I had the only way to know Jesus Christ and to know God and get into heaven and I didn’t tell it to the people who lived by me, that’s criminal. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:14 “Christ’s love compels us because we’re convinced that one died for all.” God has never made a person that He didn’t love. Everybody matters to God. And because God cares about people, we must care too.

We must remember that people are hopelessly lost without Christ. Acts 4:12 (New Century Version) says, “Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. We must be saved through Him.” It’s the only way to heaven, people are lost without Christ. So we have to share it. What's holding you back?