I please God to bless us together
this morning as we consider his word. Let's turn to the second
epistle of Peter, chapter 3, and we'll read verses 5, 6, and
7. The second epistle of Peter,
chapter 3, reading verses 5, 6, and 7. For this they willingly are ignorant
of that by the word of God The heavens were of old, and the
earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the
world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word, are
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men. We should recognise that when
Peter wrote his epistles, he wrote them to those who have
obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness
of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. So he is writing this
to the Church of God. Of course it is for all to read,
those who perhaps are not as yet part of the Church of God,
will be part of the Church of God as the Lord leads them to
that condition of repentance. And he writes very true and very
solemn and very important things for all of us to be concerned
about. Because It's good that we do
recognise these truths as the devil today because of the situation
in which we live in a very materialistic world with so many things to
distract us. We find that our minds are distracted
from the great and important things of God. Now, in these
verses we read this great statement, for this they willingly are ignorant
of. Now let's be clear that doesn't
mean that we're ignorant. It doesn't say for this they
are ignorant of. It says that they are willingly
ignorant and the reason for that is that people do not want to
take on board and believe the great truths of God. And that,
of course, is relative to everything which has occurred from the history,
from the beginning of time. And how sad and how true it is
today that there are those who are willingly ignorant. They
don't want to accept the truth of God. They don't want to obey
the commands of God. They don't want to follow the
way of God. They are not ignorant of them,
but they are unwilling to do that which is God's Word. They want to excuse themselves,
they want to follow their own way, and yet we have this true
statement, you see, for this they willingly are ignorant of. Well, may we not be willingly
ignorant of the truth of God? We can turn away from the truth
of God, can't we? Especially when it doesn't suit
our little lives. Especially when it might upset
our plans. Especially when we might have
to bow down before God and not man. And we don't want that kind
of situation to develop. So what do we do? We make ourselves
willingly ignorant. It's very solemn, isn't it? It's
very sad, isn't it? That people make themselves willingly
ignorant because they are unwilling to submit to the great and glorious
truth of God's Word. I suppose it really comes down
to this. We want to pick and choose. We're prepared to do
those things which may not be of any cost to us, which we can
accommodate quite easily within our life. But when it comes down
to the reality of religion, when it comes down to that which the
Apostle and the Lord speak to us about taking up our cross
daily, then you see, we duck out of it. And what are we? We're then willingly ignorant. Willingly ignorant. Well, the
Apostle wrote these words, remember, under the influence of the Spirit
of God. And all the Word of God is written
under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God. And that is a
tremendous thought, is it not? And a tremendous truth. And that from beginning of Genesis
to the end of Revelation, all those words that you and I read
are those which the Holy Spirit spoke into the minds of those
that wrote the Word of God. And therefore we have no rights,
do we, to cut bits out as it were. You know there was a king
years ago who who thought he could get rid in Jeremiah's day,
thought he could cut out or get rid of a letter or prophecy that
Jeremiah had written. And he was sat by a fire and
therefore he thought he could cut the sheets of paper or the
scroll into pieces, put it in the fire, be burnt up and that
was the end of it. What he didn't realise was the
word of the Lord endures forever. God knew what he would do, and
he told Jeremiah, and Jeremiah wrote it all again, or dictated
it all again, plus a lot more. We cannot turn away from the
truth of God. We cannot get rid of it. We cannot
say, well, I want that bit cut out of the Bible. In actual fact,
I think I won't read that page today. I'll just miss it out. And there may be in our lives
perhaps those books or those epistles in the Word of God that
we don't really like to read. And why don't we want to read
them? Because they condemn us. They condemn our attitude. They condemn our thoughts. They
condemn our words. They condemn our actions. And
what are we doing? We are willingly ignorant, making
ourselves ignorant of the great truth of God's Word. Well, what a mercy if the Spirit
of God speaks into our heart and shows us that we cannot avoid
the Word of God. We cannot, as it were, cut it
out. We cannot burn it. It's still
there. And I believe you know sometimes
you and I may try and turn away from the Word of God, which doesn't
suit us. And perhaps the Holy Spirit applies those words to
our heart, so we're not able to get rid of them. We can't
get rid of them. And it's as though the Lord has written them
with a pen of iron in a rock. They're there. And although we
try to willingly be ignorant of them and to cast them aside,
we can't do so. And isn't that a mercy? What
that means is that God isn't allowing us to choose our own
way. The Lord is directing us. And
the Lord is granting us that true way, that good way. And that right way, you know
the word of God tells us, there is a way that seemeth right to
a man, but the end thereof for the ways of death. Just ponder
that. A way that seems right, by that
we can say, well, yes, I think that's okay for me, it's a suitable
thing, I can do that. And I can carry on in that line
and I think things will work out all right. Well, ponder the
truth of those words, it may be the ways of death to our soul. We may have to prove then that
we've been walking in this way, for this they willingly are ignorant
of. Yes, how true it is, you know,
earlier in this chapter we read where the apostle says, he writes
unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds, by way of
remembrance. Sometimes we should be thankful
the Lord brings back to our minds things that perhaps we've forgotten,
things perhaps that we cast aside, things that we thought we'd passed
through and there was no need to revisit that situation. Well, the Lord deals with his
people, remember, in love to their souls, that ye may be mindful of the
words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the
commandments of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour." Well
of course I don't know any of you intimately, do I? I don't
know how you stand before God, I don't know what your concerns
are before God. But the Lord knows, and therefore
we have such a statement as this. The Lord brings back to our remembrance
that we may be mindful of the words which were spoken before
by the holy prophets. The Lord doesn't forget. Sometimes
we think, perhaps, that God's forgotten. Well, God does not
forget. And it's a mercy if God doesn't
let you and me forget those things which he's spoken to our souls
for our souls' eternal good. Although we may have been like
this, willingly trying to be ignorant of them and desiring
they might not come before our minds, that they may be indeed
taken away Well, the Lord deals with his people, remember, in
love to their souls. And we shall be brought to a
position so that we recognize how we are really opposing God. And the Lord tells us, if ye
walk contrary to me, I will walk contrary to you. Remember, God's word is true. And if you and I are found walking
in an opposite direction to the Word of God, then what will occur
is he will walk contrary to us. It may not be in a very outward
appearance, but it may be that your souls
become barren and you find you're far off from God. You may find
that the Lord has left you, as it were, for a time. And what
are you proving? You're proving the hardness of
your heart. You're proving the rebellion
of your spirit. You need the Lord to come and
to return unto you. That you may not be left to be
willingly ignorant of the great truths of God. just because you
may have feared that to walk in such a way may have brought
opposition, may have brought persecution, and they may. But
they may not. The Lord knows what is good for
us, good for our spiritual standing. And he knows what he will do.
He knows what he will do. And we should be very mindful
that we must not be left to fight against God. It's a battle you'll
lose. It's a battle you won't win. And the battle will be difficult
and hard. And the Lord will be the victor. How much easier. How much more
blessed. How much more favourable to become
submissive to God's instruction, submissive to God's will, so
that we come and say, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. That's a good place. That's a
place where you and I can expect a spiritual prosperity. You and
I can expect to be blessed with union to Christ, fellowship with
Christ. You and I can expect to be led
into all truth as it is in Jesus. Well, we need perhaps to pray
for blessings like that, for a submission to God's will. And never forget, we have that
glorious example of the Saviour himself. when in the Gethsemane
he prayed to his father and said, nevertheless not my will but
thine be done. Now the Saviour knew what was
before him. And perhaps you and I may think,
well, that's before me. That's just too difficult. That's
just too hard. Remember the Saviour. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be done. Not coming under this category
willingly to be ignorant, but willing to do the Lord's will. And as we may consider what Christ
did, yes, how he pursued that path that the Lord God had ordained
for him. He didn't turn back, and yet
he set his face as a flint towards Jerusalem, knowing that in Jerusalem
he would be crucified. And yet, you see, he didn't turn
back. He followed that right way. He did the will of his Father. And these great truths, you see,
are there in the Word of God. for our encouragement. We might think, well, of course,
the Lord could have omitted that time in Gethsemane. Yes, He could.
But what instruction there was in that time when the Saviour
went into that Garden of Gethsemane on that Passover night. We see
His precious example praying to His Father, being in an agony. Sweat as it were, great drops
of blood fall into the ground. The cost of our salvation wasn't,
of course, just on Calvary's crucifixion. It was throughout
his life. Are we willingly ignorant of
the blessed example of the Saviour in all that he willingly endured
so that you and I might receive the great and glorious gift of
eternal life. If it wasn't for the Saviour's
life and death, there would be no hope for you and me this morning.
But it was through, and it is through, his great and glorious
life and death that we do have hope of eternal life. for this they willingly are ignorant
of." Now that of course is a statement which has an application to every
part of our life really. Every part of our life. To bow
down before our God. Bow down before our God. You
will have opposition. That's the last thing the devil
wants us to do. to bow down before God. He wants
us to bow down before Him. He wants us to follow His way.
And sadly He is so successful on many occasions. But may we
be blessed by the wonderful Spirit of God to be able to discern
His cunning devices that He puts before us and therefore to turn
away from them. God's blessed us with a conscience,
hasn't he? And it's a good thing if you and I have a tender conscience.
The Word of God speaks to us as a seared conscience. A seared
conscience is something which has had, as it were, a hot iron
passed over it, so that the surface is therefore no longer feeling.
Yes, it's not tender. bless God if he has granted you
and me a tender heart, a tender conscience that really desires
to hear the word of the Lord and to walk it out. Now, this surely directs us to
realise that our life here on this earth is short the longest, And the Apostle directs us here
to that which is certain to come to pass, which the devil will
want to make us willingly ignorant of. But the Apostle says, but
beloved, be not ignorant and be not willingly ignorant of
this one thing that one day is for the Lord as a thousand years
and a thousand years as one day. when we consider eternity, what
is a thousand years? It's nothing, is it? Nothing
at all. And then he tells us the Lord
is not slack concerning his promise. The Lord doesn't forget. No,
you and I perhaps may think, well, the Lord's spoken that
to me and nothing's happening. nothing's happening. Well, the Lord isn't slack, as
some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to our sword,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Lord deals with us each individually,
and he deals with us in accordance with his determinate counsel,
so that you and I will be taught by the Holy Spirit and led and
directed into the right way. But therefore, let us not be
ignorant of it. Let us realise that the Lord
is looking upon us and that he is dealing with us as a long-suffering
God. Perhaps we've been a very rebellious
child. Perhaps we kicked. Yes, you know,
when a horse is broken in or when an oxen are broken in to
pull the plough, whatever, or a horse to be ridden, you know,
and breaking in, what's the effect? They don't like it, do they?
They're rebellious. They kick and they charge around. and try to get rid of that noose
which is around them. That may be the same in your
life. The Lord may, as it were, put
a noose around you. And do you know what it means? It means that the Lord is taking
you in hand. And the Lord perhaps is gradually
drawing that noose closer to him. You're coming closer and
closer. And you kick and you rebel. Because you don't want to follow
that way. Well, the Lord is long-suffering
to us forward with such an antagonistic attitude, we deserve that, we're
ready to be cast off. Lord Matt said, well go on, go
your own way. Get on with it. But no, he draws us to himself. He's long-suffering to us, Ward. Isn't that a truly humbling consideration? To think that almighty God That
one that we read of who creates all things, that one who brought
the flood upon the earth, is long-suffering. To us, Lord, not willing that
any should perish, but all should come to repentance. And the Lord
does bring his children to come here at his footstool to repent
of their rebellion, of their hardness, of their opposition. And what brings them to that
state of repentance is when they realize their Lord's long-suffering
towards them. Yes, what a mercy it is. We have
a God like that. And then he tells us to be warned
about the situation. The day of the Lord will come.
There's a thief in the night. Remember that occasion that the
Lord spoke of that parable, those ten virgins? When did the bridegroom
come? At midnight. When they least
expected it. That's when the bridegroom came.
And those that were ready, those that had oil in their lamps,
they went in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. to be forever
with the Lord, and the door was shut. The door was shut. The Day of Salvation had finished. Then those others who had pretended
to be Christians, we might say, they came then, having then been
bought well, but they knocked at the door. The Lord said, I
know you not. What a solemn outcome there was.
What a solemn outcome there will be for so many in the Christian
world today who pretend to be Christians
and yet are not willing to hear God's word. And are found willing,
willingly ignorant willingly desiring to be ignorant of the
great truths of God. And then the apostle tells us,
but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night
in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the
elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. It's a very clear statement,
isn't it? People don't want to think of that, do they? They
want the world to go on forever. Mankind is trying to plan for
all the future, for eternity on the earth. The day fast hastens
when everything will pass away with a fervent heat. We can't
imagine, can we really, what the fervent heat will be. Seeing
then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? That's good words of instruction,
isn't it? Because we don't know when that day will come, and
if it should come today, if it should come tonight, would we
have to regret our conversation of the day? Will we have to regret
those things that we had said or the way we walked, you see,
to be in all holy conversation and godliness? That means to
walk uprightly in this evil world. That means not to follow the
way of the world. That means to follow the example
of our Saviour. And he says, seeing then that
all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Well these things
will come to pass and therefore it's quite clear isn't it? We
don't need to take an examination do we in these words? We know
what the Word of God tells us. We know how important it is that
we do follow this, that we do have holy conversation, not unholy
conversation. There's plenty of unholy conversation,
and we can easily be drawn into unholy conversation. And you
young people, be very careful. It's very easy to be drawn into
unholy conversation at school and at university. It's very
easy. That's what the devil wants.
And of course, we don't like to be separate, do we? We don't
like to be thought, well, that person's an odd person. Well,
we have two options, don't we? We either have the option of
being aligned to the people of God, or to be aligned to the
people of the devil. Being those who one day spend
eternity in glory, or spend eternity in hell. And so may we be concerned
that you and I may be blessed with holy conversation and godliness. Let us not be those who are willingly
ignorant of these important things. To not say, well, I think that
cost is too great, I don't want anybody to think badly about
me. Why would you want God to think badly about you? So the Apostle goes on to say,
looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, nevertheless we or may we be
numbered amongst those who are, that we refer to here. According
to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteously. That means, really, that the
things of the present world, by comparison with that world
which is to come, there's no comparison. No comparison. However beautiful
things may appear on this earth, or God's creation, it's good
to recognise that. to realise the things that God has prepared
for his people will surpass these things. Wherefore, beloved, seeing
that ye look for such things, be diligent, be diligent, that
ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
Again, these are great words of encouragement, aren't they?
They're great words of instruction to the Church of God. their words
for our direction. And remember they emanate really
from this great important statement, for this they willingly not ignorant
of, don't want to know the great truth of God, don't want to follow
it. And yet here we have these wonderful blessings and account
that the long suffering of our Lord His salvation, even as our
beloved Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him,
hath written unto you." Well he has, hasn't he? All the epistles
of the Apostle Paul, what wonderful words they are, how encouraging
they are for us in our little life as we travel on. And what
do they do? What does the Apostle direct
us to again and again? What did he speak of in the Acts
of the Apostles again and again? the Lord Jesus Christ, his life,
his death, his sin-atoning blood. That's what the apostle says
before us again and again. And may we bless God for it and
be thankful for it and not therefore turn away from it. You know,
one of the things which unbelievers hate is to recognise the blood
of Jesus Christ cleansed us from all sin. And one of the things
which will indicate to us whether we are amongst those who are
the chosen of God is to realise that without the shedding of
Christ's blood there will be no forgiveness and without the
shedding of his blood there will be no salvation for us. And therefore
to realise Now the shedding of Christ's blood was so necessary
and so wonderful to behold and to recognise. And as the Apostle
goes through again and again the importance of this shed blood,
especially in the latter chapters, or at least the ninth and tenth
chapters in the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, what glorious
words they are. And may we bless God for them. and therefore not be found turning
away from them and being willingly ignorant of them. These truths
are food for the souls of those who are born of the Spirit of
God. They are food and drink. And the Lord Jesus tells us so
very clearly when he spoke to his disciples, he said, except
ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man. there is no life in you. That
means without spiritually meditating on these great truths, there's
no life. We may perhaps think we're doing
everything right. We need to have these truths
made over to us in a great and glorious way so that we rejoice
to hear of them. And we thank God for them. We
thank God for that which is written in the Word of God. And it's
just encouraging, isn't it, to read that the Apostle Peter here
tells us, he says, speaking in them of these things in which
are some things hard to be understood. So don't be disappointed if when
you're reading the epistles you think, oh, I can't really understand
that. It really is too difficult. Well,
Peter recognised they were hard to be understood. But bless God,
the Holy Spirit can instruct you. The Holy Spirit can enlighten
us in these truths and lead us through them into all truth as
it is in Jesus. And you know, when the Spirit
of God opens up his word to our understanding, it's a blessing
to us and we rejoice in it. And when it's the Spirit's work,
we don't forget it. We're thankful for it. Well,
let us remember the Word of God. Let us bless God for it. Let
us realise there will be an end of all things. We know not when
it will come, but let us be ready when that time should come and
let us hear such words as this. Let us not, for this they willingly
are ignorant of. Let us today not be willingly
ignorant of the truth of God. Let us not turn aside from it.
My friends, you will not be able to get rid of it. You won't be
able to dismiss it. And bless God, if the Spirit
of God therefore keeps on perhaps prodding you, because of His
loving kindness, to walk in that way, which is for His honour
and for His glory. and that way which brings peace
to our souls. Amen.