Grace Bible Church

Preaching the Living Word through the Written Word

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STANDARD OF LIVING DUE TO THE 2ND COMING

(2Pe 3:14-16) 05-24-17

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

I.     STRIVE TO BE SPOTLESS AND BLAMELESS (2Pe 3:14)

 

A.    So far in Chapter 3 we have learned: Stirred Up Remembrances (3:1-2), Sarcasm Against the 2nd Coming (3:3-4), Statements For the 2nd Coming (3:5-13), and Standard of Living Due to the 2nd Coming (3:14-16).

B.    Beginning with “therefore,” Peter gave more practical applications for the believer from the 2nd Coming, to which they were “looking” (prosdokaō - expectant looking, same word as in 2Pe 3:12, 13).

C.    The believers to whom Peter was writing were “beloved” (agapętoi) to him.

1.     He has continually reminded and warned them of the dangers of false teachers (2Pe 3:1).

2.     He has equipped them with biblical thoughts on God and His truth (2Pe 3:8).

3.     The mark of Peter’s love for the Lord and for these believers was exemplified in reminding, warning, and equip

4.     ping believers, i.e. feeding them (cf. Joh 21:15-17).

D.    Because of the knowledge of the 2nd Coming, these believers were to be diligent to be found by Him.

1.     The idea of being “found” (heuriskō - Eng. “eureka”) by Christ is not a reference to the possibility of losing their salvation (i.e. found “in Him”, Php 3:9).

2.     Rather when Christ comes back (or they go home to be with the Lord) what will be their manner of living be or how will he find their lifestyles?

3.     The NET’s translation “Therefore, 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” (NET).

E.    First, they were to be found in peace. This idea means that believers who are living in obedience to Christ, have both a strong assurance of salvation and a peace free from guilt at the thought of the Lord’s coming.

F.     Secondly, they are to be found spotless and blameless. An interesting note is that when writing of the false teachers, Peter stated they were “stains and blemishes.”

1.     Peter used the exact negative (addition of the letter alpha) to declare that believers were to be the exact opposite of these false teachers.

2.     “spotless” (aspilos) vs. “stains” (spilos)

a.     Timothy was charged to be “without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Ti 6:14).

b.     James admonished believers to be “unstained by the world” (Jam 1:27).

c.     Christ was a sinless and “spotless” lamb (1Pe 1:19).

3.     “blameless” (amōmętos from mōmos) vs. “blemishes” (mōmos).

a.     Christ was also a guiltless and “unblemished” lamb (1Pe 1:19).

b.     Jude encouraged believers that Christ was able make the believer “blameless” before His presence (Jud 1:24).

4.     The believer’s position in Christ is in perfect holiness, blamelessness, and beyond reproach through Christ’s death on the cross (Col 1:22).

5.     Peter was admonishing believers to “be diligent” (imperative of spoudazō - make every effort, Tit 3:12) to make sure their condition was equal to their position.

 

II.    SPECULATE ON THE LONGSUFFERING OF THE LORD (2Pe 3:15a)

 

A.    They were not to let the onslaught of false teachers discourage them from living for Him. Instead they were to follow the Lord’s example in patience.

B.    They were to “regard” (hęgeomai - make a decision after careful consideration, cf. Jam 1:2) the Lord’s patience in not bringing immediate punishment to sinners and false teachers (1Pe 3:20; 2Pe 3:8-9).

1.     In a similar way, these believers were to “patiently” (makrothumia - long fuse, long suffering) endure the battle against false teachers.

2.     They were to patiently continue to make every effort to live spotlessly and blamelessly.

3.     They were to patiently trust that the Lord would bring His elect to salvation in His timing and through their evangelistic endeavors (Php 2:15; Col 4:6; 2Ti 4:5).

 

III.  SCRIPTURAL AUTHORSHIP OF PAUL (2Pe 3:15b-16a)

 

A.    Peter speaks of the apostle Paul in such a way that there is complete shared affection, complete agreement in doctrine and belief, complete acknowledgement of Paul’s apostolic office, and complete acceptance that Paul was an inspired writer.

B.    Note that Paul is beloved by both Peter and his readers. In spite of any previous situations.

1.     Peter in Paul were in agreement that Peter was the apostle to the Jews and Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (Gal 2:7-9).

2.     Paul had reproved Peter for vacillating in his fellowship with the Gentiles (Gal 2:11-14).

3.     Peter and Paul were in agreement at the Jerusalem Council that God was also saving the Gentiles and that they did not need to come under the yoke of the Law (Act 15:6-11).

4.     Paul had refused to take John Mark (a friend of Peter - Act 12:11-12) along on the mission after he had abandoned them (Act 15:37-39). Later John Mark became “useful for service” (2Ti 4:11) and co-authored the Gospel of Mark with Peter.

C.    At some point, Paul had written them. Perhaps Peter is not thinking of a particular letter but of all of Paul’s letters in general to the churches.

1.     Peter believed that like himself, Paul was an inspired writer through the Holy Spirit (2Pe 1:20-21).

2.     This was what Peter meant by the wisdom given Paul by which he wrote. Peter equates Paul’s writings to Scripture in the phrase as…the rest of Scripture.

3.     The definition of Scripture in the Bible is “inspired by God” (theopneustos, lit. “God-breathed” or “outspired” - 2Ti 3:16), meaning Scripture originates with and by God and is His exclusive Word (1Th 2:13).

 

IV.  SCRIPTURES ARE DISTORTED BY FALSE TEACHERS (2Pe 3:16b)

 

A.    Peter wrote that when Paul wrote, he spoke of these things. “These things” would represent the same things that Peter wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

1.     Paul warned about false teaching (2Co 11:13; Eph 4:14; Col 2:8, 18; 1Ti 4:1).

2.     Paul wrote of the false teacher’s destruction (Php 1:28; Php 3:18-19; 2Th 1:5-6, 9).

3.     Paul wrote of the Second Coming of Christ (1Ti 6:14; 2Ti 4:1; Tit 2:13).

B.    Peter was not saying that Paul was hard to understand, rather the subject matter of Scripture is sometimes difficult to understand. This is true of many things in Scripture including Peter’s epistles.

C.    False teachers, because they are unbelievers and do not have the Holy Spirit are themselves untaught (amathęs - ignorant-  FRI, incompetent interpreters - BDAG) by the Holy Spirit, neither do they submit to saved biblical teachers.

D.    Therefore, they are unstable (astęriktos - unsettled in their view - Eph 4:14) in their teaching and lives (2Pe 2:14).

E.    Because of their ignorance and instability, they “distort” (strebloō - lit. twisting limbs for torture,  fig. twist the Scriptures and torture the true meaning) twist the Scriptures and torture the true meaning of Scripture.

F.     Obviously then, the end result of false teachers because of the false doctrines they teach will bring about their own destruction (apōleia - can mean loss or waste, but also refers to eternal destruction - 2Pe 2:1, 3; 2Pe 3:7). It was not God who destined them to hell and destruction, rather these false teachers are responsible for their own unbelief and teachings.

G.    Sadly, those who succumb to their teaching will come to the same end. This is the immense danger of false teachers and their teaching.

V.    OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A.    Strive to be Spotless - Christ has made the believer righteous before the Father. However, the believer is responsible to strive to live spotless, and blameless. This is the work of sanctification, it is orchestrated through the Holy Spirit, and it is complete at the Coming of Christ.

1.     It is becoming of our Lord

2.     Our Lord does not wink at sin.

3.     We do not want to be found like the false teachers

4.     Wrong to say well we are righteous in Christ so, we don’t need to try to be righteous.

B.    Strive to Be Patient - Even as Peter had admonished in his letters, the believer is to be long-suffering through all trials (1Pe 2:20), including the battle over true doctrine. He is to entrust Himself to God (1Pe 4:19), trust God to punish the wicked and rescue the godly (2Pe 2:9), follow in His steps (1Pe 2:21), and look forward to the Coming of Christ (2Pe 3:12-13).

1.     See 1Peter

2.     Trust oneself to God

3.     Trust God to punish sinner

4.     Trust God to reward believers.

C.    Strive to Study the Scriptures - Sometimes the correct interpretation is difficult to solve. It is the Lord’s will that His people are diligent to study His Word (2Ti 2:15). Sometimes the difficulty of a passage causes the believer to dig deeper and often find a precious nugget of God’s truth. But the accurate handling of the Word manifests the believer as an approved workman of God, who end is not destruction but salvation.

1.     It is indeed at times difficult

2.     Study is required

3.     Faithful study is required

4.     Proper hermeneutics is required

5.     Biblical comparison is necessary

6.     Reasonability is necessary

7.     Scriptural boundaries.

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd ·  PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516