SCOFFERS: TOO PROUD TO REPENT [2 PETER 3:5-7]

There is nothing more foundational for a victorious Christian life than winning the battle for your thought life. Except for the first two chapters of the book of Genesis and the final two chapters of the book of Revelation, the Bible presents the reality of a battle between two kingdoms-the kingdom of light versus the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of good versus the kingdom of evil, the kingdom of the Savior versus the kingdom of Satan. It is the battle of spiritual warfare. it is the battle for your mind.

Interest

From Satan’s vantage point he desires to influence our thought life in order to gain a cancerous influence over our decisions. To this end he hopes to succeed in this by way of two fundamental objectives:

Objective #1: To disrupt your faith in God and in His will.

Objective #2: To disrupt your obedience to God and His Word.

In six thousand years of cosmic battle, our archenemy has not produced a better plan, and why should he? This plan keeps on working.

Need Element

Today we must understand the reality of Satan’s plans, most notably in those he uses to accomplish his sinister plans-scoffers. Scoffers are barkers that seek to scoff, mock and bark loudly against the truth of God for the purpose of leading by way of doubt spiritually weak people. They need to repent, they will not. They will not because of one little but powerfully destructive word- PRIDE!

Sermon Idea

Today we will open the Word of God once again to 2 Peter chapter two. Our text will reveal two REASONS why these sinister ministers of Satan refuse to repent because of their arrogant pride.

I. TOO PROUD TO LEARN FROM THE PAST (3:5-6).

Peter has already called on us to pay attention and remember some things. Notably we are to remember the Word of God concerning the comings of Jesus Christ (3:1-2). We must not forget what God tells us in His Word. This is true because there will be those who will try to convince you and me that the Bible is outdated and wrong.

I love what the late great Dr. Adrian Rogers, who genuinely loved the Word of God, said about the Bible. He said there were different scoffers when it comes to the Word of God:

1. There are those who despise the Word of God.

2. There are those who deny the Word of God.

3. There are those who distort the Word of God.

4. There are those who dismember the Word of God.

5. There are those who disregard the Word of God.

When we fail to remember the Word of God, we are in danger of being negatively impacted by those who scoff at the Word of God. Those Peter speaks against know the truth concerning the things Peter is writing about, but the scoffers choose to forget. [“for they choose to overlook this fact”]

Application Point

Believers trust God’s promises found in His trustworthy Word no matter how long it takes or how hard things get.

Let me tell you what I did not do when I went to bed last night. I did not go to bed and worry about who liked and who did not care for the message last Sunday. I did not go to bed worrying about any virus, any crazy politician, or any vaccine because the truth of the matter is in the end, none of that matters. Why? Because I am going to stand under the authority of the promises of the Word of God! I will stand upon the promises of Christ my King and throughout all the ages His praises I am going to sing. Why? Because God said it and that settles it because God cannot lie. How do I know Jesus is coming back? I know He is coming back because He promised He would.

The scoffers were arguing against the fact of Christ’s return. They held to a doctrine of uniformitarianism where the earth is a closed creation and there is no such as the miraculous whereby God intervenes into his creation (4). They were willingly forgetful because of their pride. Their pride leads them to reject God and His Word in two respects.

A. They Reject the God Who is Creator (3:5).

They purposely reject and forget an event that proves their argument is wrong. Their desire is not to seek after the truth. It is to justify their immoral lifestyle. These scoffers rejected something especially important. They overlooked something that goes all the way back to Genesis. They overlook something very crucial in the very Word of God. They overlooked the fact that God is Creator. They chose to forget that the Word of God is connected to the power and the actions of God. God spoke the world into being. That is why Hebrews 1:3 says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

The same Word that created the world is the same Word that upholds it, and it is the same Word that will bring its destruction. Jesus Christ brought this world into being and He can destroy it, just by speaking the Word.

Many people today behave just like these scoffers. They resort to the same tactics. They conveniently ignore evidence that would weaken their case. They ridicule any opposition rather than dealing with it rationally. They reject the God who is their Creator. Genesis 1:1 drives them crazy.

B. They Reject the God Who is Judge (3:6)

They conveniently forget that God is Creator, and they really want to forget that He is also the final Judge over everything, including their forgetfulness. So, Peter reminds them (6). What is meant by “means of these?” The “these” in verse six is the water that God created and the means of how they were created-His Word. The same Word God spoke to effect creation, including the waters, has now become the tools of judgment upon the earth. God used a deluge of water to inundate the world with a worldwide, not localized, flood. In the flood we observe the judgment of God upon man’s wickedness. That judgment came in the form of a worldwide flood.

It is not the fact that these were ignorant of the creation and destruction of the world at the hand of God through the agency of a flood. They simply did not like it. They did the Romans 1:18 treatment upon it: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

Application Point

Most people who knowingly reject the truth do so because it makes them uncomfortable.

You do not have a lack of exposure to the truth in this church. Yet, I fear that there is a lack of purposeful application of that truth. The application part is not on me. It is on you.

These guys knew what the Bible said. Yet they chose to reject it because surrender to the truth made them uncomfortable. If you are going to live under the authority of the Bible, become accustomed to being uncomfortable at times. This is also why many people had a hard time with the teachings of Jesus. That is why some have a problem with me. It is because of the authority of the Word of God. You cannot argue against it. What else can be done? You will surrender to it or you will run away from it. Here is what happens. Truth will back you into a corner and will not give you an out. You are forced to decide as to obedience or disobedience. The Word of God forces a decision. You will be forced to obey the Word of God or to reject the Word of God. That is your choice.

Transition: Scoffers are too proud to repent and learn from the past.

II. TOO PROUD TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE (3:7)

The scoffers ask, “Where is the promise?” I tell you where the promise is. It is in the Word of God. This promise is a spoken word from God. In Genesis God brought the world into being. Then he destroyed it through a flood. The present order came into existence after the flood. God maintains the present order. One day God is going to bring that to an end through a fiery inferno of judgment. The same word that was promised and carried through with the promise about the flood, is the word that promises and will carry through about the Lord’s coming and the conflagration that will come with it. Since God has promised to destroy the world in the past, we can expect Him to keep His present promise as well.

Do you know why you are saved by the grace of God? It is because the Bible made us uncomfortable about our sin and drove us to repentance by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Truth is hated by those who hate the truth and that is the truth. Truth is viewed as hate by those who hate the truth. The truth is offensive but being offended by the truth can lead to repentance and repentance will lead to redemption.

Scoffers reject the Word of God because acceptance of it leads to accountability to it. We are raising an entire generation of scoffers because there is no accountability to anything or anyone by them. The sad truth is they will be accountable one day for their rejection of the truth. Judgment will wipe the smirk off every scoffer’s face. The world that faced judgment then was destroyed by water. The world that is going to be judged in the future will be destroyed by fire. Because God has done it in the past, there is a biblical pattern that God will do what He said He is going to do in the future.

Application Point

God’s righteous judgment in the past is a warning of coming devastation.

Listen to me all you tree-hugging, climate change, planet loving listening to Amazon commercials trying to tell me what to do with children who do not have a clue. You cannot save this planet. This planet is destined for destruction. It is futile. This planet as it is has no future. God has made reservations for this world to a judgment of fire, coming to a town near you. Why? Because humankind will continue to become more sinful, more diabolical, more perverse, and more wicked until God’s longsuffering comes to a screeching halt. God is not eternal suffering. The cup of God’s holy wrath is going to overflow and will run all over in judgment upon the wickedness of mankind one day. This planet by and large is too proud to prepare for its coming future of judgment.

A. Their End Will Be Divine Judgment.

The Day of the Lord involves the Great Tribulation, the Millennium, and the Great White Throne judgment. All who reject Christ, including Satan, will stand before Him to answer for their crimes against Him and their attempts to turn people away from Christ.

Their End Will Be Personal Destruction.

Their end will involve judgment for their guilt which will lead to their sentencing which will be an eternal process of destruction in a place called hell.

CONCLUSION

The scoffers are too proud to repent of their opposition to Christ and their denial of the return of Christ and for their immoral failure. They are too proud to learn from the past and they are too proud to prepare for the future. They will experience judgment and destruction. If they had only read the Word of God, they would have known. [read James 4:6-10]

Pastor, is there any good news? Yes! There most certainly is! There is therefore now no more any condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus! The old has passed away! Behold, come on! Behold, all things have become new! Again, I do not care how hard you are trying to save the earth. In the end, God is going to burn it slap up. It has never been about saving the earth. It has always been seeking to save the lost who live on a dying planet through the life-giving power of the gospel. It is by the preaching of the Word of God, the truth about God for the glory of God for the salvation of the souls of humankind. Earth is not your mother. My Father created what some call their mother. God is in control of this place called earth. There is a day coming when the earth is going to be judged severely.

Pastor, I do not like that. Well, all I can say is that I am not in the ear tickling business. I am in the truth of the Word of God business. I am in the encouraging you to understand biblical truth business. Stand against the scoffers and trust the Savior.

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