Genesis 9:18-10:4; 2 Peter 3:1-13
Was the Flood the Solution?
The
church was packed and the preacher was wound up to a fever pitch speaking on the
2nd coming of Jesus.
Quoting Jesus’ promise, he shouted out “I am coming soon!’”
He preached some more and said even more loudly “I am coming soon!!” He preached
a little longer and threw his arms up in the air and cried out “I am coming soon!”
At this point, he lost his balance and tumbled off the podium into the lap of
a gentleman in the 1st row. The preacher got up and apologized to the man, but
the man replied: “Oh, that’s ok, you warned me three times.” If
you were writing a letter to people who were suffering, what is the one thing
above all others that you would want to say to them? It would probably be something
like this: "What you’re going through will not be in vain. When this terrible
ordeal is over, you’ll be able to look back and see that your faithfulness was
worth it all."
That reassuring message was given repeatedly to the
early Christians. As they faced trials of every sort, the message of God to them
was to the effect that their faithfulness in these situations would be fully rewarded.
Peter was writing his epistles to Christians who found out first-hand
what it meant to be persecuted for their faith. The early church came under intense
social persecution even before Rome began its official efforts at getting rid
of Christians. So Christians often lost their jobs, had their property confiscated,
were denied access to public markets, and suffered many other indignities. Many
were false accused and landed in prison because of their beliefs. Eventually,
of course, many would lose their lives because of their faith.
If you
were writing to encourage the Christians who faced this sort of opposition, would
it not make sense to talk about what the future holds for us? So Peter spends
much of his second epistle doing just that -- talking about the eventual destruction
of the world and the second coming of Christ.
To
Christians who were faced with hardship and difficulty, the message of the end
of time was a much needed doctrine. They needed to look beyond the pain and difficulties
of their present day to the future certainty that justice and judgment were coming.
They needed to live in the present with a view toward the endtime. They needed
to know that Jesus meant what he said, and he’ll be back.
And
those are all truths that we need to be reminded of as well. While our situation
is not one of oppressive persecution, we’re still very much tempted to live with
our eyes focused only on the present. And we can’t live like that. As Christians,
our eyes have to be focused on the future. Like the persecuted Christians of the
first century, we need to see Peter’s message of the endtime. We need to look
back at our Lord Jesus and know that he was telling the truth when he said, "I’ll
be back." Was the flood
the solution? The short answer is no. Genesis 9 reveals Noah getting drunk and
his son Ham cursed for disrespect. No, the flood was not the solution because
it didn’t deal with our fallen nature. For the longer answer lets consider Peter’s
explanation in 2 Peter 3:1-13.
1. The Assurance of Scripture (2 Peter 3:1-2)
“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.” (2 Peter 3:1-2)
The
Bible Is a Perfect Book
- It is God breathed. It contains God’s will. You can count on the Word of God!
The Bible is a perfect book.
The
Bible Is a Prophetic Book
- Throughout the Bible, there are prophecies presented and fulfilled, over and
over again. In fact, there were over 300 prophecies given in connection with the
first advent of Jesus, and all of those 300+ prophecies were literally fulfilled.
(i.e. His virgin birth - Isa. 7:14; His birth in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2; His humiliation
and death - Isa. 53; His resurrection - Psalm 16:10, etc.) The Bible is a prophetic
book.
The
Bible Is a Preserved Book
- every word in this Book will literally come to pass. Jesus made several statements
about his return. We can be assured that they will come true. Jesus said “Heaven
and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).
The Bible is a preserved book.
The Assurance of the Scriptures. A perfect book, a prophetic book, a preserved book.
2.
The Ignorance of the Scoffers (2 Peter 3:3-7)
“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:3-7)
Their
Doubt - They deny the reality of Christ's coming.
Their reasoning? Nothing has changed! Spring still follows winter, summer spring
and fall summer. All things continue as they have for ages. They fail to realize
that God is not bound by time as men are. In truth, Jesus has only been gone about
2 days. If you dare to declare
that you believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible you had
better be prepared for ridicule. Others believe that we are a dangerous element.
Some would like nothing better for all Bible believers to be locked away from
the rest of "normal" society. Someone once said “I may be a nut, but
at least I am screwed onto the right bolt.” Their doubt.
Their
Denial - These scoffers base their doubt on their
denial of God's revealed truth. It begins with something so basic as creation.
People deny creation, which is testified to by the Scriptures, then from there,
it is easy to deny everything else God says. Every important truth found in the
Bible finds its origin or roots in the book of Genesis. Without it was cannot
explain the origin of life, the origin of gender, or of marriage, or the purpose
of work, or the origin of evil and its cure. These doctrines which the bible assumes
remain a mystery without the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Their doubt, their
denial.
The
Discovery - Why are people so quick to deny the plain
teachings of the Scriptures? Why do they seem so eager to invent fables to explain
away truths that are so clearly taught in the pages of Scripture? Simple! The
problem is not one of the head, but it is one of the heart. It isn't that they
can't understand, it is that they do not wish to.
Notice verse 5, "deliberately forget", verse 3, "following their own evil desires." If man admits that there really is a God and that this God has given us a perfect revelation of Himself in the bible, then he will have to bow before God, repent of His sins and submit to God or be eternally damned! You see, if you can dispense with "Thus says the Lord", then there are no absolutes, there are no standards of right and wrong and nothing is off limits! Because, if we admit that there is a God, then verse 10 must be dealt with.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (2 Peter 3:10)
“The Elements” - literally, "the elementum" the "smallest part." In modern terms: the atom! Atomic power is all around us this evening. Even the very breaths we take are filled with highly flammable and explosive gases. The water, which covers 75% of this earth's surface is composed of gases so explosive and volatile that any molecular change would result in the total destruction of the planet.
Oxygen - Oxygen is required for all combustion. It is what fire feeds on.
Take away the oxygen and the fire dies, turn it on and the fire flares. Yet, with
every breath, we pull this highly explosive material into our bodies.
Nitrogen - Nitrogen is the component that makes
dynamite, TNT and nitroglycerin explosive. Yet, every day we gulp massive quantities
of nitrogen in the air we breath. Cannot the same God who made these elements
and combined them in such a way that they do not explode, also change the mixture
and cause them to explode? Of course He can!
Table
Salt - It is 1/3 Sodium. Sodium by itself is
a gray, putty like substance. It must be kept in kerosene or it will explode.
If a drop is placed in water, it will result in a violent fire. Yet, we eat it
every day!
Water - It is composed of Oxygen and Hydrogen.
Both extremely explosive, yet combined in a manner that makes them safe. All God
has to do is speak the Word and the chemical arrangement is altered and the world
a huge fuel dump. Yet, we drink this life giving substance every day.
The
Atom - When the atom is split, a change reaction
is set in motion that has the power to level cities and vaporize men. Yet, we
are all made up of atoms.
The
Earth - The earth has been compared to a globular
egg with a hard crust covering a semi-liquid center. In scale, the earth's crust
is the same thickness of a egg's shell when compared to the vast sea of lava under
it. There have been times when this lava has burst forth and killed thousands.
Yet, we walk on this thin crust every day and trust in the safety of the earth.
“By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:7)
"reserved
for fire". In the very building blocks of creation God placed the elements
essential to bring about a fiery end to this world.
The world was created in the beginning and it will be cremated in the end! In that day, all that will matter is your personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Back
in May of 1969 a national magazine told the story of Port Royal, Jamaica…. “Cities
have been smothered with volcanic ash, leveled by hurricanes, shaken apart by
earthquakes. But no disaster quite matches the one that struck Port Royal, Jamaica,
at 11:43 a.m., on June 7, 1692. In the space of less then 10 minutes, the thriving
pirate port, reputedly the wickedest city on earth, sank convulsively into the
Caribbean. An eyewitness described the scene: "The earth heaved and swelled
like the rolling billows, and in many places the earth crack’d open - open’d and
shut - with a motion quick and fast. In some of these people were swallowed up,
in others they were caught by the middle, and pressed to death. The whole was
attended with the noise of falling mountains at a distance, while the sky was
turned dull and reddish, like a glowing oven." Upward of 2000 people perished
in the chaos. Even today, many Jamaicans believe that Port Royal’s destruction
was the price exacted by an angry God for its sins. Their
doubt, their denial, the discovery. The Assurance of the Scriptures. The Ignorance
of the Scoffers.
3.
The Patience of the Saviour (2 Peter 3:8-9)
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9)
God
Is Punctual - He isn't
slack. God is a God of order and of punctuality. He will come when the time is
exactly right for doing so. People look at the delay and wonder why Jesus hasn't
come. The answer is easy! It simply isn't time. When it is time, He will come.
God always shows up exactly when He is supposed to. God is punctual.
God
Is Patient - The reason God is patient is because
He is giving lost men and women time to repent and to turn to Him. God doesn't
want anyone to die lost and to go to Hell. He wants all men to be saved so that
they can spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Therefore, He waits and He loves and
He calls and He gives mankind opportunity after opportunity to get right with
Him.
God
Has Promised - He will
come again, just as He said He would. God is punctual. God is patient. God has
promised.
The Assurance of the Scriptures. The Ignorance of the Scoffers. The Patience of the Saviour. How should we then live? Peter leaves us in no doubt.
“Since everything will be destroyed in this
way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as
you look forward to the day of God and
speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by
fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this,
make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter
3:11-13)
Do you follow what Peter is saying here? He’s saying that if you are convinced that Jesus Christ is going to return, then it will make a difference in the way you’re living because you’ll want to live right. If we’re looking forward to his return, we’ll naturally concentrate on spiritual matters. Peter lists a couple of actions that Christians will take as a result of their absolute certainty of Christ’s return.
Develop holy and godly lives
First of all, they’ll seek to develop personal holiness and godliness. The word
"holy" in the New Testament means to be separated. So a Christian is
someone who is unwilling to live as others normally do. He makes an effort to
live apart from sin, not to wallow in it.
Look forward to the day of God
Second,
those who believe in the second coming of Christ have an attitude of eager anticipation.
It’s the same word that was used to describe Cornelius when he sent for Peter
and was waiting on his front doorstep to greet the one who would tell him what
to do to be saved. We should be eager for Christ to come. And the knowledge that
he is coming should make a difference in the way we live.
One time when 20th Century Fox advertised in the New York papers to fill a vacancy
in its sales team, one applicant replied: "I am at present selling furniture
at the address below. You may judge my ability as a salesman if you will stop
in to see me at anytime, pretending that you are interested in buying furniture.
When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. And I will have no way of
identifying you. Such salesmanship as I exhibit during your visit, therefore,
will be no more than my usual workday approach and not a special effort to impress
a prospective employer." From among more than 1500 applicants, this guy got
the job. Would you?
Lets pray.
This
sermon draws with grateful thanks on ideas and content from sermons by Jeff Strite
and Guy Caley posted on www.sermoncentral.com
and Alan Carr, Pastor
of Calvary Baptist Church in Lenoir, NC. http://www.sermonnotebook.org/index.htm
No claims of absolute originality
are made for this material. As one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I
churn my own butter."