STUDY THEME: ADOPTING A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 8-27-00

UNIT 2: CONTOURS OF A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW.

"WHEN TIME WILL BE NO MORE." 2 PETER 3: 3-15a.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 2 PETER 3.

This is the final lesson focusing on the "Contours of a Biblical Worldview." A twelfth universal fundamental life need is to answer questions related to history’s meaning, direction, and purpose. This universal need expresses itself in such fundamental life questions as, "Where are we going?" "Is there hope for something better after this? Are history and the universe heading toward a goal or is it all meaningless?" "What’s it all about anyway?" "Is this all there is?" "What happens to me when I die?" "Is there life after death?" and "Do you only go around once?" (Reincarnation.)

The Life Question for this lesson is, "What does the future hold, and what does it matter?

The Lesson Bible Truth is that in light of the end of time and the future life in eternity, all people are to consider seriously their relationship to God and how they are living their lives.

Biblical faith looks both backward and forward. We see both of these dimensions in the lesson this week from the second Epistle of Peter. Today we live in a society focused on the present. Present pleasures and present successes take center stage while concerns about the future take a back seat. One reason for this preoccupation with the present is that the future seems to hold only dark prospects.

People try to forget the reality of death and to ignore any eternal consequences for their choices and actions. This hope is based on the fact that when this life and this world come to an end, the eternal God promises eternal bliss to believers. For those believers who embrace it, the biblical Worldview of the future dramatically affects how they live in the here and now

TEACHER READ 2ND PETER 3: 1-2.

. Peter’s inspired words help answer the question, "What does the future hold, and what does it matter?" Peter wrote his letter to stimulate his readers thinking. He wanted them to remember what had been said in the past. He wanted them to remember the words spoken by the prophets. He wanted them to remember the words spoken by the Apostles

.

Peter is referring to the warnings which he and the other Apostles had written regarding judgment. The Apostles of Christ filled the 260 chapter of the N.T. with about 300 references to the second coming of Christ and the judgment of the wicked.

With Ch. 3 a new section of the Epistle opens. The "false teachers" of Ch. 2 recede from view and the thoughts of the Apostle turns to the mockers who have made mockery at the delay of the coming of the Lord, to which Christians have so confidently looked forward as night at hand. All the disasters that trouble the earth today proclaim that "verily there is a God that judgeth the earth."

Let’s see how Peter answers the five questions relating to the last day. (l) Whether we shall continue to wait confidently for the last day?, (2) When and at what time will the last day come? (3) Why has Jesus not come for so long a time? (4) How and in what manner will the last day come? (5) What will Christ perform on that day?

Please notice now thoroughly Peter instructs us as to the manner of our preparing for the Last Day. (1) In holy conversation and godliness; (2) To wait patiently for, and hasten it; (3) To give all diligence that we may be found blameless by Christ.

During an earthquake that shook the village the people were surprised at the calmness and apparent joy of an old lady whom they all knew. At length one of them asked the lady, "Mother, are you not afraid?" "No," she replied, "I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world."

In Vs. 5 the false teachers, in order to avoid the doctrine of judgment, deliberately ignore the two major previous divine cataclysmic events--the creation and the flood. In six days the whole universe was created mature and complete.

In Vs. 6 God, by creating water above and below the earth, built into His creation the tool of its destruction. According to Gen. 7:11 the flood occurred from the two directions. First, the breaking open the sources of water below the earth and then the water from above came cracking down on the earth. Today if you walk in Yellow Stone National Park you sense that God already has within the center of the earth that which can erupt and destroy the world by fire. The human race is separated from the fiery core of the earth by only a thin 10 miles of crust.

The present world system is reserved for future judgment which will come by the Word of God just as creation and the flood came. In Gen. 9:13 God put the rainbow in the sky to signify that He would never destroy the world again by water. In the future God will destroy the heavens and the earth by fire.

In the dynamic theory of heat, Tyndall tells us, that simply to stop the earth in its orbit would generate heat enough to dissipate the whole earth into vapor. Faraday says, that in a single drop of water there is latent electricity enough for an ordinary flash of lightning. Some see that science joins with the Bible in labeling this earth, "reserved unto fire."

The worldview that believes life as we know it will go on forever, with death ending each person’s existence, is wrong. The biblical worldview is that God the Creator controls history’s end. God, not death, holds the future.

In Vs. 8 Peter reminded his readers that God is eternal and is not bound by human ways of measuring time. Thus what seems a long time to humans is timeless to God. Peter also; gave another reason for the seeming delay in Christ’s return: God is long-suffering and wants to give human beings every opportunity to repent.

Time is opportunity. People should see the seeming delay on the coming of the end of time as an expression of God’s patience and of His desire that people be saved. Thus they should seize the opportunity to repent and be saved.

Ezekiel 33:11 is a good example of the Lord pleading with sinners to repent before it’s too late. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and life: turn ye, turn ye from your evidl ways; for why will ye die, O huse of Israel." In the N.T. in 2 Cor. 6:2, the apostle Paul wrote, "Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day if salvation." Such statements are a clear call for sinners to repent and for believers to tell the good news and plead with sinners to turn from sin to the Lord.

The Bible is clear that history is moving toward a curtain call designated "the day of the Lord." "The Day of the Lord" is a technical term point to the special interruption of God in human history for judgment. Isaiah and Amos were among the first to use the phrase.

Biblical passages that refer to the end of the age as arriving "like a thief" are found in Rev. 16:15 and Matt. 14: 43-44. This analogy refers to the suddenness and the unexpectedness of Christ’s coming and the end of the age. We do not know when it will occur. This does no mean it is less certain, however. In the Scriptures the word day can mean more than a 24-hour period. If Christ’s return signals the end of time as we understand it, ordinary ideas of days and hours to measure time will be meaningless.

Peter described God’s intervention negatively and positively. First, he stated three negative aspects of the Day of the Lord:

1. "The heavens will disappear with a roar." The heavens refer to the physical universe. God will incinerate the universe. This probably refers to the atmospheric heavens and to the planetary heavens (the sun, the moon, and the stars). Clearly it does not refer to heaven as God’s dwelling. The "roar" may indicate the same as the fiery burning mentioned in the next phrase.

2. "The elements will be destroyed by fire." The term "elements" may mean either heavenly bodies (the sun, the stars, and so on) or what we call chemical elements which make up the composition of all created matter. In either case, this means the end of the universe as we understand it. It will be consumed.

3. "The earth and everything in it will be laid bare." One of God’s purposes in bringing time to an end is to judge human sinfulness. Sadly, human greed and evil have affected the earth adversely. God will note humanity’s physical accomplishments as not worth saving. They merit only an F.

"The heavens" will be burned up and "the elements" literally "will be made liquid." Peter did not understand scientifically the way God’s power will accomplish His judgments, nor do we. Peter was describing the indiscrible.

In Vs. 13 Peter was content to give only one positive statement about the beginning of eternity, but it is overwhelming. Eternity will be better for God’s people. Earth as we know it is not "the home of righteousness" but of unrighteousness. After God creates a new heaven and a anew earth people will live in His immediate presence forever. We should remain confident that when time ends and eternity begins we will live in anew home of righteousness. There the truth of God’s worldview will be evident to everyone.

We Christians should walk through this life conscious that it is but transient and passing, a kind of preparatory school. We should always know that we are walking in the presence of God; and that thought should determine and control the whole of our life.

Because our heavenly Father knows what we need and has committed Himself to be gracious to His children, Jesus gives the pledge: "But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things eill be given to you as well." Our part is to avoid consuming worry, even over essentials, and to pursue the kingdom of God.

As we have sought to demonstrate in these 12 lessons, The Christians Worldview is more consistent, more rational, and more workable than any other belief. It beats out all other contenders in giving credible answers to the great questions that any worldview must answer: "Where did we come from? (Creation); What is the human dilemma?(fall); and What can we do to solve the dilemma? (Redemption). The way we see the world guides the way we work to change the world. (restoration).

4.PLEASE READ 2 PETER 3: 11-12a, 14-15a.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? This means, "How astoundingly excellent you ought to be!" Time will end and eternity will begin. What difference does this make today? The Day of the Lord will come, and Christ’s return is certain. Does this matter? Peter and other NT., writers never let doctrinal teachings about eternity become an end in itself. They always included a ";so what." Peter summarized the essence of biblical teaching about the temporary nature of space and time as know them: "Everything will be destroyed." God’s coming judgment is not in doubt. Peter write "since," not "if." The words "in this way" refer to Vs. 10.

Living in space and time is preparation for eternity, so "what kind of people ought you to be?" The only people fit for living in "the home of righteousness" are individuals who have been at home with righteous lifestyle now. The phrase in vs. 11 "to live holy and Godly lives" has the idea of becoming more Christlike in character. Nobody ever became godly by accident; to do so requires self-discipline and the Spirit’s power.

"The day of God" is a day in which holy and godly people look forward. When God’s people accomplish His purposes they hasten the day. Because God is delaying that day so all who choose to repent may do so, the sooner we bring others to Christ the sooner He will return.

To make sure his readers did not miss the emphasis on living in light of the end of time by producing internal and external fruit, Peter repeated his instructions in Vs.14 and 15.

(1). "Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him." This refers to internal peace. The virtues of "spotless" and "blameless" mark the lifestyles of people for who Jesus died. We are to strive for moral purity. We are at peace with God because of justification, but we break fellowship with Him by not taking seriously His call to holy living.

(2). "Our Lord’s patience means salvation." This refers to external fruit and essentially repeats the thought of Vs. 9 (He is patient with you." and 12 ("look forward---and speed its’s coming"). The believer is to recognize that every day the Lord does not come back is evidence of His patience with sinners and is an expression of His saving grace.

In light of the end of time and of the start of eternity, believers are to wait patiently for Christ’s promised coming. We may do so by living holy and godly lifestyles, growing toward having morally unblemished character as Christ was without blemish, experiencing peace with God (and with others), and inviting others to adopt God’s way

of living (by salvation in Christ.)

So, what does the future hold, and what does it matter? In this lesson we have seen that someday time and this time bound universe will end. God is delaying the end to give sinners every opportunity to repent. But the day will come when this universe will be destroyed and a new heaven and a new earth will appear. Therefore, we ought to act now and live now in light of this coming eternal order. Your life and your whole future depend on it!

How Now Shall We live? By embracing God’s truth, understanding the physical and moral order He has created, lovingly contending for the truth with our neighbors, then having the courage to live it out in every walk of life. Boldly, and yes, joyously.

Christianity is a full Worldview covering all of life, giving a framework for every human endeavor.

NEXT SUNDAY WE LOOK TO 1 JOHN 4 TO ANSWER THE QUESTION "GOD IS LOVE. SO WHAT?" A.V. DAUGHERTY 8-27-00