Alright, we're going to be in
2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter 3 verses 1 through 7. Now our title is called, Scoffers
Silenced. And Peter begins this part of
his letter in 3 verse 1 saying, This second epistle, beloved,
I now right unto you." And this tells us, it makes it known to
us, that He knows these brethren. He knows them. It's his second
time that he's writing to them. We know that we looked at the
first epistle, and he calls them beloved. And it's his love that
has prompted him to write this letter. He cares for these brethren,
and he knows he's about to die. He knows he's going to pass away.
And so there are some things that are very important that
he wants to ensure that they remember. He's looking to stir
them up. And he's not writing to people
that are in darkness. He's not writing to people who
don't know the truth and don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's not trying to persuade them of the truth, but instead he's
writing to those that are walking in the light, having the spirit
of Christ in them, dwelling in fellowship with the Father. So
they know and they believe that Jesus, that Christ, is the Lord. And he says in verse one, he
goes on to say, in both which I stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance. So he's speaking to those who have
revealed to them that they are the Lord's that that of God Christ
is made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption and that they are secured by God in love in
the beloved through the Lord Jesus Christ and so there's an
understanding especially if you reflect back and recall what
Peter's been writing to them in in chapter 1 about how they
how we Grown in the Lord and how the Lord's given us all things
and he continues to grow us so that as we grow in the Lord He
undresses us. He strips us down of the that
which is earth earthy and earthly and of the flesh and and which
is just sticking to us which comes from our corrupt nature
that we've inherited from our father Adam and And he teaches
us in this way to strip us and to help us see more clearly the
spiritual blessings that we have of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. So he's bringing to light what
we are. And if you remember, we've looked
in Mark where we saw that a plant doesn't just grow up overnight,
where it just pops up and it's as tall as it's going to be,
and has all the foliage it's going to have, and it's just
bursting with all this ripe fruit ready to eat. But it takes time. It takes time for something to
sprout up and it takes time for it to grow and to unfurl its
green foliage and for that flower to appear and the fruit to come,
so it takes time and that's what the Lord does with us. When he's
done what he's doing in exposing what we are by nature and our
need of him, he's creating in us pure minds, which is a gift
of his work. It's his work that makes our
minds pure. And that's what Peter says. He
speaks of, he says, in both which I stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance. Now turn over to Philippians
1, because this word pure, at least the root word, is used
only one other time in the New Testament. In Philippians 1,
and we'll start in verse 8, And this is Paul writing, and you'll
notice that Paul has that same tenderness as Peter has for the
brethren that he's writing to. He says in Philippians 1.8, after you all in the bowels of
Jesus Christ. And this I pray that your love
may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment."
So you can see that just as Peter's looking to stir up their pure
minds, so Paul's looking to stir them up. And he wants to see
them bring forth fruit by the Spirit in them. And he says in
verse 10, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that
ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. God now the
word that is the same as this word pure that Peter writes is
the word sincere Paul it's translated sincere in this passage that
you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ
and the sense of that word is that it's something that's proven
something that's been proven with the test of bright brilliant
light as though the Sun were shining on it and if you have
ever had a market maybe on your hand and you know my eyes are
getting older so in dim light I don't see things as clearly
so I have to put it under a very bright light and then I can see
more clearly like the sunlight and so what the sense is is that
something that's been proven that's been tested by very bright
light to be genuine to be sincere to be pure and that's what they're
saying and so we understand that that that the faith that the
Lord has created in us is genuine, pure, sincere, true faith because
it's a work of the Lord. And the way that the Lord does
this, the way he's purposed to do it, is that he sends his people,
pastors, teachers and he gathers them together under the public
worship of the church and that's where we hear the gospel of our
Savior Jesus Christ and he stirs us up to remembrance of these
things and we're not offended by that because we know in our
experience we understand that we grow cold and we need to be
warmed we're broken and we need to be healed and we are forgetful
and we need to be reminded of these things and so the Lord
keeps us and draws us under the sound of the gospel under the
preaching of the gospel where we're reminded of his tender
mercies toward us that he's right and just in how he deals with
us and that it's perfect and so We see and understand and
know, yeah, we are forgetful. And we do need to be reminded
of these things continually because we see the draw, the leaning,
the propensity of our heart towards hardness and just growing cold
and indifferent to these things under all the things that come
our way in life. Now, in verse two, he says 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 so these apostles we want to hear what they're
writing we want to hear what they say because they were called
of the lord jesus christ himself we don't have apostles today
these men were chosen and selected and given gifts very peculiarly
to establish the church when there was no church. So they
were given a very difficult task, impossible for men, but very
possible for God. And so he used these men to establish
the truth. It says in Matthew 10 verses
1 and verse 7, But when he had called unto him his twelve disciples,
he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. And
verse 70 told him, As you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is at hand. Or as Mark words it, that men
should repent. Repent because the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. So these men went out preaching
when there were no Christians. They went out to declare the
truth of God in the name of Jesus Christ when there was no one
that believed the truth, that were just largely in religion
and darkness. And of Paul we read He says in
Galatians 1.1, Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but
by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him up from the dead.
He wasn't selected like Matthias was selected by drawing straws.
when the apostles decided that Judas should be replaced. Paul
wasn't chosen that way by men. No, he was chosen by the Lord
who accosted him on the road to Damascus when he was going
to work evil against the church. And the Lord selected him. And
the Lord chose him and put him into this work. And he says in
Galatians 1, 11, and 12, but I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ. And it was for this purpose,
Galatians 1.16, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach
him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. So the Lord has used these men
to make known the mystery of the gospel. Turn over to Ephesians
3, 1. We're looking at the pureness
of our understanding and the things of God and how we understand
these things. That we see how God has used
these men to make known the mystery of the gospel to us. So Ephesians
3, verse 1. For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to you, word." Right?
He's saying, I'm charged to dispense this message, to declare this
message of what God has made known in this day of grace. For
to save his people, I'm now charged to dispense this, and to declare
what God has done for his people through Christ. How that by revelation
he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words. He's saying this isn't man's
philosophy, this is God Almighty, shining into a dark heart that's
deceived and doesn't know the truth, making known to me the
mystery of the gospel, how He saves sinners through His Son,
through the Christ that He's anointed and sent into this world
to save sinners. That's what He's declaring to
us, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in
the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles
and profits or what he meant by there is preachers by the
spirit and if you recall right when he wrote to the Corinthians
in 2nd Corinthians 3 he was saying when Moses is read to this day
and even to this day when Moses is read there's a veil on the
heart so when people hear it they just go to religious services
and when they hear it there's a veil on the heart so they don't
understand what's being said all it is to them is just a bunch
of do's and don'ts just just religion there's no There's no
spiritual light there. And so it's Christ, it's the
Spirit of God that breaks in on that darkness and opens up
to us the mystery of the good news, the mystery of salvation
to make known to us this is how God saves sinners through Christ. He did everything necessary for
us, that the Gentiles, verse 6, should be fellow heirs and
of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel, there's no advantage by the flesh, whether Jew or
Gentile, white or black, there's no advantage in your flesh, whereof
I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God
given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me,
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hidden
God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. So the apostles,
just as a few of the prophets that we have in these scriptures,
they were gifted to declare this dispensation of grace as revealed
by God in his son Jesus Christ. And he gave it to these men,
he opened it up, he shone bright light into their hearts that
they might understand that this is how God can be merciful and
just to sinners and yet still be just himself. It's through
the Lord Jesus Christ. So by this light, by this declaration
of the gospel, through the labors of of these men who were faithful
by the spirit to they were given understanding and they wrote
these things being moved by the spirit and declared to us the
gospel, the good news, so that now we, too, have light shining
in our dark hearts that we understand. For example what the law is saying
that the law wasn't given because we can keep the law. I heard
a man say that once the Lord wouldn't give a law unless we
could keep it. That's not true at all because
it says right in the scriptures that the law was given to shut
our mouths because we can't keep it. It's to show us the exceeding
sinfulness of sin, and it's only by the light of the gospel that
we understand that and agree and confess, yeah, Lord, I can't
do this. Have mercy on me, rather than
us thinking that we've done something when we've done nothing. We haven't
kept the law. We break it left and right all
the time, and we don't even understand how much we break it. Through
the light of this gospel, we've been granted repentance from
dead works religion. that God delivered us from that
death. that all men have in religion,
thinking that they are doing something to move God, to forgive
them, or doing something that they do to merit God's favor.
We haven't done anything like that at all. It's completely
by the grace of God that he does for a sinner. It's the mercy
and the compassion that God shows a sinner because of Christ. He
can do that because He provided salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ. And so we see now, it's not my
works that make me righteous. It's not what I do or don't do.
It's the Lord Jesus Christ who is my very righteousness. He's
the hope of my salvation, not me at all. And so we understand
by the light of His gospel, by the Spirit, breaking in and showing
us these things that Christ has redeemed me. He I'm justified
before Holy God because of what Christ has done that he willingly
came in the likeness of this flesh to bear my sin to pay my
sin debt the the righteousness that I owe God that I can't pay
Christ paid it in full. And He did this by shedding His
own precious blood. That now I'm His. He adopted
me. He brings me into the Beloved.
I'm accepted with God. because of what Christ has done
for me. That's made known to us by the
Spirit breaking in on our dark hearts, shining this light, making
our faith and hope in Him pure and genuine and sincere. And He's given us His Spirit
whereby we were dead to these things. We didn't know them,
but He gave us life by His Spirit so that we are regenerated and
we understand and know What he's done and and and and we we confess
this and declare this because this is our hope it's not by
our Righteousness and our religious works. We are made alive in Christ
through the spirit and so we understand these things now just
like the Apostles understood them and made known that mystery
and Because nobody else seems to know it in the world. Nobody
does know it because this is it. This is through the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's made it known. And so it
was with the prophets and we can understand now what the prophets
were saying in the light that they had. We see the sweetness
in what Peter declared when he said. to him give all the prophets
witness that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall
receive remission of sins we now understand that and we rejoice
in the truth of that gospel and so Peter says in verse two 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 so We're remembering this. And the reason why he's
bringing this to our attention, the reason why it's so important
is because there's a wave of trials and enemies of the gospel
and enemies of your soul. There's just a whole wave of
it coming against the truth. to keep you bound and in darkness
and don't want this light breaking out and shining into the hearts
of others. So there's this wave and we go
through fiery trials and we go through various afflictions and
things to humble us in and through all these different sorrows and
yet we see the purpose of God through it all. It's not that
things are out of control but God uses these things even to
teach us more and to prove that work that He's done in us. He
proves it to us. He shows us, I'm your God. And I've done this. And you are
faithful because I've made you faithful. And I'm keeping you
through all this. As Peter said in his first epistle,
1-7, he said that the trial of your faith being much more precious
than that of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might, be found, that it might be found uncovered and brought
to light that God has done this work in you. Unto the praise
and glory unto the praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ. So our Lord, He knows how to
call you and how to keep you. He's bringing these things to
light. He's making you to see and know, yes, this pure mind
is pure because of what He's done. I know the mystery of the
gospel. I rejoice in the mystery of the
gospel. Be glad, brethren, that God has done this for you. The
Spirit teaches us these things, and this is where we hear it,
under the sound of the Gospel. This is where we're stirred up
and reminded of what God has done for us, because when we're
out there, It's so easy just to forget and put it out of mind,
but he keeps stirring us up and bringing us into remembrance
that this is what is the most important thing and the most
needful thing for us. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2,
2, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that
ye may grow thereby. So we're being reminded of this,
brethren, as dear children that he loves and is blessing us in
himself. All right, now. Our next point,
looking at these scoffers in verses three and four, knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts, 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 the creation. So there will be scoffers. there's going to be people that
doubt and try to find weaknesses in the truth that we believe
and try to shame us and make us feel ashamed for what we believe
and if not those outside even our own hearts can be very deceitful
because Because when you want to do something, when you want
to do something that you know is wrong, what's the first thing
you tend to do is, well, why am I denying myself of this thing?
Is there really a God? And so we're always testing ourselves
and trying to verify whether or not the sacrifices we're making
are really necessary. Because if there's no God, then,
like Paul said, we're most miserable among all people if there's no
resurrection. and what are we wasting our time
for in these things but he's stirring us up to remind us of
the truth of these things and so the reality is that there's
people that come scoffing at the truth and it is because they
want to justify their own unbelief. They want to justify why they
don't believe the things that we believe and why they do the
things that they do so that they can justify their own sin. Paul
saw it, Paul witnessed it in Romans 1 if you turn over there
in Romans 1 16 we see how he suffered ridicule and he suffered
from religious persons and non-religious persons who didn't believe the
truth and it says in Romans 1 16 He said, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. It shows that he was being attacked
to bring shame upon him. And he says, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, as it's written, the just
shall live by faith. And that's why, you know, a lot
of times we think, why doesn't God just break in and just reveal
to everybody once in a while that He is God? Why doesn't He
make it obvious and known to people? If He's God, why doesn't
He just do that? Well, because it pleases God
that the just walk by faith, that we believe Him. He reveals to us the truth and
we know it, but we walk by faith, trusting that He has done this
work in us and that He is doing this work. Verse 18, here's where
we see that the natural man is in darkness, he's kept in darkness,
he doesn't want to see the truth. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, they're suppressing
that which they know. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even his eternal power and Godhead. so that they are without excuse. And that's where we see people
labor so vehemently, so violently, they want to disprove that God
exists, because then they're justified in their practices. And then they don't have to answer
to anyone. As long as they can keep it in
darkness, they don't have to answer to anybody else. And they can
do that which they want to do for their own benefit. and their
own gain but the reality is that men are sinners and men do love
darkness and they want to continue in that without judgment as James
wrote in James 1 14 and 15 he said every man is tempted when
he's drawn away of his own lust and enticed then when lust hath
conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth
forth death and so that's why all men do what they do they're
walking in the deadness of sin and iniquity. They're dead in
these things. They're dead to the things of God. There's no
light. They're in darkness. And Paul wrote there in Ephesians
He went on saying that they are walking according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
And that's where the scoffers get their attitude from because
they're just walking under the spirit of a liar. They're walking
under the spirit of a murderer who doesn't want them to know
the truth either. He wants to keep them in darkness,
among whom also We all had our conversation in times past, in
the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others." And so that's why there's scoffers, and they scoff at us,
and they deny the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're denying
that. They don't want to believe it, because then there's a judgment.
Then they have to answer for all the things that they've done
in this life. And what it is, is the promise
that they're scoffing at is found in, well among many, but 1 Thessalonians
4, 16 through 18, where we read, Paul writes, for the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall
rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and
so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another
with these words all right so that's what they're scoffing
at right and the Lord said He told us even in parable he said
the kingdom of heaven is as a man going on a long journey to to
receive a kingdom and then he's going to return back and deal
with those who hated him and said we won't have this man to
rule over us we don't want this this this stuff we don't believe
him so they forget that they're willfully ignorant that's what
Peter says in verse 5 for 2nd Peter 3 5 for this they willingly
are ignorant of and that by the Word of God the heavens were
of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. They overlook the fact that the
Word of God is what created this earth. And it's the Word of God
that continues to hold and sustain this earth and keep it together
and has all things working together according to His power. And we
see that in Colossians 1, 16 and 17, where we read that by
Him, by the Word of God, by Christ, For all things created that are
in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. Alright, so Peter goes
on verse 6 whereby the world that then was being overflowed
with water Perished alright that this world perished and the Lord
promised that never again Will he destroy the whole world with
a flood not all at once there will be floods But he's not going
to destroy every living thing again with a flood but with fire
and Genesis 9 11 and I will establish my covenant with you in Neither
shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood.
Neither shall there be any more flood to destroy the earth. But
instead, what Peter says is, this time, 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. So the issue is, am I a scoffer? Do I believe God? Do you believe
God? Or are you a scoffer and you
don't believe that Christ is coming again that he will destroy
this this world by fire and that he's returning just as he said. A lot of people don't want to
believe because they want to be able to freely do what they
think. Well, they think they're free
to do, but they want to do what's in their heart to do, even if
that's to work evil and is against the truth. But Christ said, what
shall a profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose
his own soul? And James said, the reality is
that, you know, not what shall be on the morrow. But what is
your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time
and then vanisheth away." So this life is for a little time. It's a short time and people
do gain certain things. But what is that to eternity? How does that compare to all
eternity? The judgment of God is forever. It's forever. The thing is, has
God shown you light? Has He broken in on your dark
heart and revealed to you Christ, your need of Him and the success
of Christ, and that He is the only Savior able to save His
people and deliver them from the darkness that we are? by
nature. So I would say seek the Lord
and beg him for mercy. Seek him that you might know
these things that he would reveal them to you because it takes
his power Break in upon our dark heart Jeremiah 29 13 says ye
shall seek me and find me When ye shall search for me with all
your heart and Christ says ask and it shall be given you seek
and ye shall find Knock and it shall be opened unto you for
everyone that asketh receive it and he that seeketh findeth
and to him that knocketh it shall be open So that's what the Lord
says, not to ask him for things that we may consume upon the
lust of our flesh, but to seek him that we would know him, that
he would reveal this truth, the truth of Christ in these dark
hearts of ours, and he will reveal them. And then we'll begin to
pray according to his will, not just what we want in the flesh,
but we'll pray according to these truths. So I pray the Lord will
bless us to do that, to seek him and to find him and know
him. Let's pray. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
for your mercy, Lord, that you revealed the gospel through the
prophets and through the apostles, who declared this in the plainness
of speech, who brought these things to light, that we might
know the mystery of the gospel hid from so many, Lord, that
now is revealed to us in your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, keep
us in the light. Keep us in fellowship with you.
Keep us in the truth. And don't let us become hard
and wander away, but keep us, Lord, in the truth of Christ,
that we may know you, Rejoice in you we pray this in Jesus
name our Lord and Savior amen All right, so we'll come back
in about 13 minutes