This morning, we will be looking
at 2 Peter, the book of 2 Peter, and I hope there is a seeker
of truth listening to this program this morning. If so, I believe
you'll know the truth. Now, when reading God's Word,
we must consider three things, else we run the risk of misunderstanding
and misapplying God's Word. Three things. First of all, who
is writing? Now, God is the author of all
scriptures. It's all written by inspiration
of God, but there are many times, many verses of scripture which
are quotations from, say, a false prophet, an evil king, or someone
like that. So you just can't pull out a
verse and say, well, this is what God's Word says. No, because
we may be quoting the lies of some false prophet. All right,
so we must consider who is writing or who is speaking, and we must
consider to whom, who the writer or who the person is speaking
to. Now, most of God's Word is written to God's people. It is a book of promises, God's
book of promises and warnings. to God's people. You take the
epistles or the letters of the apostles, for instance. If you
look at the beginning of each epistle or letter, it will tell
you who the apostle is writing to, who it applies to. Look at 2 Peter chapter 1 with
me. 2 Peter is the is the book we're
looking at this morning. 2 Peter 1, verse 1, Simon Peter
is writing, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to them. Now, he's writing, and he tells
us who he's writing to, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us, that is, the apostles. through the righteousness of
our God and Savior Jesus Christ, through his imputed righteousness,
to them that have obtained like precious faith." So Peter is
addressing this to believers. And he says over in chapter 3
that some that are unlearned and unstable do rest or twist
the Scripture. Every epistle begins with a salutation
such as this, to whom the apostle is writing. Do you understand
that? And misapplying God's Word is
telling everyone that it is written to them. It's taking a verse
out of 2 Peter or whatever, Romans, and applying it to everyone without
exception. It's taking verses out of context
and changing the whole meaning. And what you do is you lie on
God Almighty, telling people that God said something to them
when he did not. And you're lying to people. Let
me give you an illustration of it. Suppose I wrote a letter
to my wife and addressed it to her. Dear Mindy, and in that
letter I tell her, I love you, I will never leave you, all that
I own is yours. Signed, your husband. Now, if
that letter was intercepted by another woman, and she applied
that to herself, say another woman picked it up and said,
look here, why, he loves me. And he said, all he has belongs
to me. Well, that woman would be lying
on me. I didn't say that to her, and
she would be lying to herself. Well, this is exactly what men
and preachers do with God's Word. people in general that pull a
verse of scripture out and apply it to everyone without exception.
That's bearing false witness against God. All right, 2 Peter
1. He says in verse 3, now, God
has given us his divine power and given unto us all things
that pertain unto life through the knowledge of him, knowledge
of Christ. This is written to those who
know Christ. Verse 4, given unto us exceeding
precious, great and precious promises, promises to us. Now remember who Peter is writing
to. He's writing to them that have
obtained like precious faith. He's talking to believers. And
he said in verse 3, he says us, he said given unto us, verse
4, he's given unto us, us, us, us. He uses that pronoun throughout
this book. Verse 10 of this same chapter,
he says, Wherefore the rather brethren. Do you see, isn't it
very clear to you who Peter is writing to? Believers, those
who have obtained like precious faith, given unto us power, given
unto us promises. Verse 10. And then Peter assures us, or
that is believers or brethren, of the truth of who Christ is
and the certainty of God's word here in chapter 1. In chapter
2, Peter warns of false prophets. Verse 1, there were false prophets
also among the people, that is the Israelites, even as there
shall be false teachers among you. He's still talking to believers. still talking to the brethren.
All right? Then he goes on in chapter 2
to describe these false prophets and warn believers or the church
about them. Now we come to chapter 3. All
right? We're in 2 Peter chapter 3. And
Peter begins this chapter, at least the translators made this
division here. And in chapter 3, verse 1, it
says, this second epistle. Now remember, Peter wrote another
letter, and this is the second. And he says, this second epistle
or letter, Beloved, I now write unto you. Did you hear that? Beloved, he says, I write to
you. Beloved. Now this is an affectionate
term. which applies to believers only. Beloved. Beloved. This is not a term that applies
to every person without exception, but to believers. Beloved. Those
who are beloved of God. Just as God said of his only
begotten well-beloved son, so he says to his adopted children. Beloved. Now he uses this term,
beloved, four times in this one chapter, chapter 3. Beloved is
used four times. Remember that. Can there be any
doubt who Peter is writing to here in chapter 3? Beloved. Brethren. Believer. All right? Okay, now verse 1 here, chapter
3, he says, I write unto you, in both, or that is the first
and second epistle, I stir up your pure mind, holy mind, mind
of Christ, my way of remembrance. Peter says, I want to remind
you, beloved, of some things, all right, that you be mindful
of the words which were spoken before by the Holy Prophet and
of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.
I want to remind you of what the prophets said to God's people
and what we, the apostles, are saying. Verse 3, knowing this
first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking
after their own lust or evil intentions or desires. In the
last days. Now, we are living in the last
days. Since the Lord Jesus Christ walked
this planet, it has been the last days. And we are now in
the very last of the last days. For your own reading sometime,
read 2 Timothy chapter 3, and it's a clear description of the
very last of the last days, a description of our day. Well, Peter says
that shall come in the last days scoffers, scoffers, mockers,
walking after their own lusts or evil intentions and desires,
covetousness. Verse 4. And they will say this. Where is the promise of his coming?
Or that is, where is Jesus Christ, whom you claim is coming back
to this earth? Fourth, I read verse four. Since
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of creation. In the last day, scoffers will
come and say, nothing's changed. Everything's continued. Where
is Jesus Christ? Now, Incidentally, you can forget
about Y2K, people. January 1st, the year 2000, will
come and go. The Lord will most certainly
not return at that particular hour, because he said, in an
hour when you think not. Well, 2000 will pass and probably
a few more years after that, and scoffers will stop. See,
they'll say, where is he? A noted writer in the Roanoke
Times wrote those very words. Where is the promise of his coming?
Now scoff, verse 5, these scoffers are they which are willingly
ignorant of, or that is they refuse, they reject, that by
the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water. This is speaking of creation.
That these same scoffers, which will mock and scoff after the
millennium passes and These are those who reject God as creator. They believe, willingly reject
God as creator and believe evolution instead. Verse 6, Whereby the
world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. They reject
the flood, too. It's not a theory, by the way,
not the theory of the flood, it's the fact of the flood. And
men and women reject that as an old Jewish fable. Noah and
his ark. It's all, they scoff at this.
Because, and what that is, people, is a story of God's absolute
hatred of sin, God's judgment. Verse 7 says, The heavens and
the earth, which are now by the same word, or that is the word
of God, are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men. The same God, And God hasn't
changed. The same God who hated sin in
the Old Testament and hated those He drowned, will someday burn
many more, many others. Well, people scoff at this, too,
don't they? They scoff, hell's fire and brimstone. Oh, that's old-fashioned. Well,
let them scoff. Verse 8, he says, now, Beloved.
Now, he's writing to Beloved, the believer. Here it is again. Beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing. I'm not going to sit here and
argue with unbelievers, argue with the world, try to prove
creation, try to prove the flood, try to disprove evolution. I'm
not talking to them anyway. Neither is God. God doesn't prove
himself to anyone. Verse 8, Beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years and a thousand years is one day. Beloved, he said. Remember
that? Remember who he's writing to.
Don't be ignorant that when the The year passes, and the scoffers
scoff. Remember, the day is as a thousand
years with the Lord. A thousand years is a day. Time
is of no real essence with God. Time is short to us, but it's
all the same to God. It's all on His schedule. And
He doesn't stop to prove Himself to worms. All right. Beloved, He said, be not ignorant.
Now, Peter is going to reassure believers of God's promises to
them, that Christ promised He said, I give unto my sheep eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Remember that. I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. Our Lord said that
to believers in John chapter 6. Now, he says this in 2 Peter
3. I'm still reading. In verse 9,
the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. as some men count
slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Now, who
is Peter talking to? Well, he said he's longsuffering
to usward. Who's the us? Well, he's already
said us a few times. Beloved, believers, those who
have obtained like precious faith. This is who he's writing to.
God is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any of us should
perish. But that all Christ said that
the father gave him should come to repent. Every one of God's
sheep, every one of God's children, every one of God's elect will
repent, will believe. And God waits in his good time
and purpose for them to hear the gospel, to repent and believe,
because God is not willing to lose one of those sheep. Not
one, but that all of those sheep. all of his children, all that
the Father gave him should come unto him. None lost, all repent,
all believe, and all are saved because God wills their salvation. He's not willing to lose one
of them. That verse is one of the most
abused and misapplied verses in all of Scripture. I hope you
see clearly in context who is writing and to whom this blessed
promise is written. And I hope you're one of these
beloved, one of these believers. Until next Sunday, may the Lord
bless His Word to your understanding.