"A Place Where Righteousness Dwells" - Part Two - 2 Peter 3:5-8

The message from Pastor Jason Booth is about God's judgment being certain. The naysayers overlook the fact that God is bigger than us and His plans are beyond our comprehension. People suppress the knowledge of the truth and love their sin. The argument against God's existence based on suffering falls short because it relies on Christian morality while trying to suppress the knowledge of God. Believers should not harbor bitterness but pray for those who do not receive the gospel. The planet will be recreated, so we should live lives of holiness and godliness. The following message is brought to you by the people of Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio. For more information, please visit RedeemerPiketon.org. And now here's Pastor Jason Booth with the message. So today, we're in Part 2. The subtitle to the message this morning is God's Judgment is Certain. And we want to consider verses 5 through verse 8 as we do Part 2 of this message, A Place Where Righteousness Dwells. The Word of the Lord says this, in verse 5 through verse 8, For they deliberately overlook this fact. Who's overlooking the fact? The naysayers who say, where is Jesus? Where is the sign of his coming? They overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and that the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Word of God, and that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same Word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. Verse 8, But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. And so this is the importance that we have to remember. Let's keep things in perspective. God's judgment is certain. As certain as the ground I'm standing on is as level as humanly possible, given the settling of the earth and the architectural limitations of the folks who put our little chapel together in the 50s, as certain as I am that today we're going to be able to sit here in relative peace and calm, as certain as I am that the sky is blue and that water is wet, the Lord will judge the living and the dead. But He'll do it on His own time and in His own way. So as we sit around contemplating the day of the Lord, the one thing that comes to my mind constantly is this, He's coming with life and liberty for all who believe. But Christians, do not be weary in well-doing. Well, what am I saying? I'm saying that as we await the coming of the Lord, the Bible calls us to godliness, the Bible calls us to do the right and shun the wrong, the Bible calls us to not weight ourselves down with strife and bitterness. Who's bitter? The scoffers, the naysayers, the world, they're bitter. And they have good reason to be bitter. They have no spiritual life within them. They're dead old sinners, apart from the grace and mercy of God. And they're going to lash out, they're going to mock what they do not understand. They're going to ask frivolous questions that they're not really seeking answers to, but in fact, they're just seeking to score points. They're going to do these things. But the Scripture says that as they naysay the Lord for not coming on their schedule, they overlook this fact. And the Scripture says that they don't only overlook it, they deliberately overlook this fact. Let me say that this is speaking to the fact that mankind sins willfully. There's this mistaken notion that all sin is a result of a lack of education. All sin is a lack of illumination. In other words, if people only had the right tools, they would not sin anymore. And we see that even in modern day religion, this notion that if we just give you the tools, you can follow our plan and become less sinful. And we see this in modern day religion and their so-called plans of salvation, where they give you these eight, nine, or ten steps to gospel obedience. Whatever that is. Do these things. Step one, step two, step three, step four. They might include baptism. They might include church membership. They might include communion. They might include any number of activities and busyings of the flesh. And if you do these things, then you'll be okay with God because you simply lacked illumination. You needed more skills, more education to come to a better understanding. And now you can be unleashed with your so-called free will to serve God in total harmony and perfection with His Word. How is that working out for anybody? For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, no good thing dwells. And the naysayers and the scoffers, the Scripture doesn't say that, oh, if they just knew better, they wouldn't act that way. No, the Scripture says here that they deliberately overlook the facts. The Scripture says that mankind suppresses the knowledge of the truth. The Scripture is very clear. People love their sin. They love their sin. Let's be more poignant. We love our sin. Oh, it's easy to pick on the mystery sinner that's not at church this morning. But let's do some self-analysis. Are we sinners in word, thought, and deeds? If you're a Christian, you'll freely confess that. And so people overlook the facts. What are the facts? Well, Peter lays them out. He says the naysayer overlooks the fact that God is bigger than we are. God is bigger than we are. A day with the Lord is like a thousand years with us. Now, was Peter trying to put a mathematical formula into place here? Or was he simply trying to say God is bigger than you? And the naysayers and the scoffers, they know this. God is bigger. His plans are bigger. His mind is infinitely more lofty than our minds could ever aspire or comprehend. At best, God speaks to us, as John Calvin says, with baby talk. He condescends to speak to us. Thank God He does. Thank the Lord that He reached down to save wretches like you and me. Because we sure weren't reaching up. We weren't seeking after God. But as the good shepherd, Christ came and sought after His sheep. But those who would deny the coming of Christ, they're very plain and very open. They understand that they're not God. But they hate God all the more because they are not the Lord and God of their own life. And so they suppress the knowledge of the truth. They scoff. They mock God. They mock the people of God. And Peter accuses a scoffer of having what I call selective memory. Isn't it funny that people who would even challenge God? I noticed a very famous scientist who makes his rounds on social media was mocking God and judging God for what he saw were unfair realities in this world. And the argument goes like this. He was saying, God is all-powerful and all-loving. So then why do children die in tornadoes? And why is there famine? And why is there disease? And why is it that tidal waves can wipe out a quarter of a million people in a matter of seconds? If God is so loving and good, and He is all loving and good, then how is it that these things can happen in His world? And you sit there, and if you know anything at all about the scripture, a sad smile comes on your face because you've heard this argument so many times. And it's interesting to me that the selective memory of fallen man plays a role in those statements. Hear me. That particular scientist remembers and testifies to the fact that God is all-loving. And He is. God is love. He is the epitome of love. And yet, the only standard left for this scientist, in this case, to judge God, is the standard put in place by the reality of there being a Creator God. For what is love? What is purpose? What is goodness if there isn't a standard for goodness? After all, what do we say all the time? To each his own? Well, thank goodness the universe doesn't operate that way. Otherwise, one man's happiness would be mass murder. And we all look at that as craziness. But what if in a world where moral absolutes don't exist, then you might as well go and do whatever you want because whether you heal children or cook them and eat them in a stew, at the end of the day, we're all just a random accident of time and chance, and it doesn't matter. So this scientist, who was making this so-called case against God, was attempting to use Christian morality and the absolute truth of God being moral judge as proof that somehow there is no God. He wants a standard, a universal standard, that says good is good and bad is bad, but he wants to suppress the knowledge of God at the same time. Then he wants to use God's own billy club against him. Do you see these arguments fall so short? Because the answer in Scripture is very simple. For by the sin of one man, all men died. This world is a fallen place. And what has the gospel promised in Jesus Christ? He said, it is finished on Calvary's tree. And beloved, that set into motion the absolute certainty that Christ is coming again to not just make us right spiritually, but to redeem us physically, along with every other atom in this universe. We are going to be redeemed by love divine in a full and final way. And the all-knowing God, the God who is love, who has always been love, will demonstrate fully his love and mercy, but he will also demonstrate his divine justice. For he is just and justifier. And I'm afraid that all of the crackpot half-truth speaking scientists who suppress that knowledge will stand before that same God one day, as will all the scoffers, all the naysayers. And so beloved, we need not harbor bitterness in our hearts toward those who do not respect or receive the gospel. We need to pray. We need to seek God's face for them. If I ask you right now, everyone in this place, to write down 15 to 20 names of relatives that you know would not say they were Christian, you could fill that paper up real quick. I could ask some of you, if you know 50 people that aren't Christian by their own confession, and you could fill that paper up. So we don't have time to be angry. We need to be doing what the scripture says, and we're going to talk about it next week. And that is, verse 11 says, since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people want you to be in lives of holiness and godliness? In other words, if this whole planet is going to be recreated, friends, you can't make an omelet unless you bust up a few eggs. There's nothing around that's going to be here when the planet is recreated. Now this sounds like something out of a Gene Roddenberry Star Trek episode, because our minds can't comprehend the depth and the height of all this. Yes, God is coming again. Yes, God's going to judge the living and the dead. Yes, God is going to destroy this world with fire, and he's going to recreate it. And yes, a city that is 1,400 miles square is going to come out of heaven and land on earth like a mothership, and we are going to live forever with God on a recreated earth in a celestial city that's coming down from heaven, and there'll be no sunlight in that city, for Christ himself will be the light of that city. And yes, there will be streets of gold. Yes, there will be gates of pearl. Why people feel the need to explain certain parts of that away is beyond comprehension. The scripture's clear. The things we think are valuable will be pavement and asphalt and building materials in God's heaven. As an aside, on the top of the Washington Monument, there is a six-pound block of gold. There is a six-pound block of aluminum. That's the tip of the Washington Monument. The time at which the monument was built, aluminum was the most precious metal that we could... the most expensive metal to forge and refine during that day. So to put a six-pound point of aluminum at the top of the Washington Monument was a feat of engineering marvel, and it was a big deal. So in order to sort of flex, as it were, to strut their stuff, they made a six-pound pyramid cone of aluminum, and that's what sits atop the Washington Monument. About two years or so after they placed that on top of that monument, a new engineering process came down the pike, and they're able... Now, of course, aluminum is one of the most abundant metals in the earth, and today you could put a six-pound block of aluminum together for about six dollars. But when they did it, it was a big deal. Speaks to perspective, doesn't it? And so this world... Even in our world, we have examples where things that are once valuable are made to be nothing. Gold itself will be a building material in the kingdom of God. It won't matter. All the problems you have today will pale in comparison to the glory that shall be revealed in us in Jesus Christ. And what kind of people will we be? We're going to talk about it next week specifically. But in light of the fact that God's judgment is certain, our hearts shouldn't be filled with hate or fear. Instead, we should seek the Lord's face and ask Him for grace and mercy that we might be gracious and merciful to those around us. It's easy to hate. We're born with our hater filled to the top, aren't we? It's easy to hate. Someone does you wrong? Well, you do wronger to them. Someone hits you? Well, you hit them back. Now, there are times when governments have to defend themselves and their people. And we know the Scripture is very plain that our governments do not yield the sword in vain. They wield the sword in vain. And so there are times when enough is enough and people have to stand up. If you see a loved one being attacked, obviously you're going to move in and do something about it. The Scripture says if you know a man's coming to rob your house in the middle of the night, you're going to wait up for him and be prepared. But in the general course of things, when someone gives you an unkind word or someone comes at you in an unfair way, are you going to let that eat you up inside? Because let me tell you, every bit of drama in this world is going to burn up with the rest of the planet when the Lord comes again. And you have God's permission to let it go. As a matter of fact, you have God's command to let it go. All that stuff you think matters at your house. I see these people that get into hoarding and they stockpile all this stuff. A lot of times the hoarding is an outgrowth of trauma that's occurred in their life. Maybe they grew up and they didn't have food in the home. So now they've got a little bit of money so they stockpile food. You see that with folks who went through the Depression. They have great stockpiles of food and wares so that they're never caught unprepared. And some people get to the point where they can't even leave their homes for fear that someone will come and steal their stuff. Other folks might not be that eccentric about the way they stockpile, but it's something else they're holding on to that they won't let loose of. It could be stuff. It could be anything in this world. And the scripture says it's all going to burn. Yes, it's okay to own a car. You've got to get around in the modern world. Yes, it's okay to have things. But boy, a lot of people don't have their things. A lot of things have their people. And the scripture says, let's keep this in perspective. Don't go wasting good calories hating on your neighbor. The world's going to burn one day. None of this matters. Don't go wasting phone time talking about all the gossip and all the juicy stuff and how you're going to hurt that guy or that girl because they hurt you. Give it to Jesus. Why? Because if you fight the earth, it's going to burn up. Give it over to the Lord. You are free to forgive. Why? Because God's coming again to judge the living and the dead and He doesn't need your help. He doesn't need our help. So does that mean we have all... Now think about it. Think about all the room for activities we're going to have once we get rid of all the animus and hate in our hearts. Think about that. Friends, it frees us to live a life of joy when we know that we don't have to hate our neighbor. We don't have to labor and constantly fixate on all the wrongs that have happened to us. All the wrongs that we have done, the Lord has forgiven. And because He has forgiven us, we have His power and strength to forgive our neighbors. And what's the end game here? We give them over to the Lord. God won't be so passive in His judgment. The scripture is very clear here. He will judge the living and the dead. And they're silly for thinking that they can hide certain parts of His truth and not others. For instance, He's not coming again. Well, you forgot how big God is and how He's got His own plan, His own will, His own way. Verse 8, but do not overlook this one fact that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. We do not. We are built differently than God. He is built different than us. We are not God. We do not understand what is the height and the depth of this thing. He is God. Beside Him there is no other. Christians can find comfort in this truth because the infinitely incomprehensible God, having all power to do as He pleases, is pleased to promise and deliver redemption to a people He has chosen from the beginning. Now, He's chosen us to love us from the beginning of whatever time is, before time began. We know that from Scripture very plainly. This God, the only God of heaven and earth, has set His love on His people and soberingly enough, He has set His judgment on vessels of wrath. He doesn't need our help. You are free to love. You are free to forgive. You are free to walk in the liberty whereby Christ has made us free. To the scoffer, the infinitude of God and His divinely decreed plan is contrasted with the temporal sinful whimpers of a rebelliously fallen creation. So, we have God in all of His glory coming to judge a bunch of entitled brats who will shake their fists at the face of God all the way to the pit of the lake of fire itself. People say, oh, hell will be filled with people crying out for mercy. I'm telling you right now, no one cries out for mercy unless mercy has been granted. Unless you've gotten a new nature from the Lord. A new heart, rather. A new principle. Because dead men don't cry out for anything. And spiritually dead men do not seek the favor of God. Alright. That God permits anyone to live, even in this temporary world, is a testimony of His power. Why? Because He, as the potter, has the right to do with the clay as He sees fit. Some vessels are built for wrath. Some vessels are built for mercy. And it is God to decide which is what. So, if you know the Lord, what does this mean for you? It means humility. You don't get to brag about how good you've made your choices. You don't get to brag about all the awesome things you did to become a Christian. No. You get to say, it's all of grace. It's all of His mercy. It's all of God. All of Christ. Christ is all. You have just heard a message from Pastor Jason Booth of Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio. To learn more about the good news of Jesus, please visit RedeemerPiketon.org.