Sunday School Lesson

1. 2 Peter 3:1-18
With Anticipation
A Believer’s Hope is the Return of Jesus!
November 27, 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
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4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it
all to the glory of God.
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5. November Memory Verse
Matthew 9:37-38 ESV
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few. 38 therefore pray earnestly to
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his
harvest."

6. References
• Missler, Dr. Chuck. Sermons on2 Peter Chapter 3,
Session 8. YouTube Video.
• Crump, Leonce. The Return of Christ and the
Christian’s Responsibility. 2 Peter 3:1-10. YouTube
Video.
• MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible
(Nashville, TN: Nelson Publishing, 1997).

7. A Swan’s Song
• A final gesture or performance, given before
retirement or death.
• Legend that swans, while they are mute during their
lives, sing beautifully and mournfully just before they
die.
• 2 Peter is Peter’s Swan Song.
• 2 Timothy is Paul’s Swan Song.

8. The Swan Songs of Peter and Paul: 2 Peter & 2
Timothy
• Both put up warning signs to the apostasy that was coming
in the Church.
• Both speak in a joyful manner.
• 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but
also to all who have loved his appearing.

9. Apostasy – an abandonment or breach of faith.
• A falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible
into heretical teachings that proclaim to be the “real”
Christian doctrines, which leads to a complete
renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a
full abandonment of Christ.

10. Traits of Apostate (False) Teachers & Apostasy
in 2 Peter 2.
1. Different Source – Scripture not the ultimate source.
2. Different Message –Christ not vital in their message.
3. Different Position – Man still a slave to sin.
4. Different Character – Lifestyle of the follower.
5. Different Appeal – Theology adapts to culture.
6. Different Fruit – The results in people’s lives.
7. Different End – Christ will not know you.

11. 2 Peter 3 Outline
1. The attitude toward the return of the Lord as a test
of apostasy (false teaching). Verses 1-9
2. The agenda of God for the world – (How it will all
end). Verses 10-13
3. The admonition (challenge) to believers. Verses 14-
18

12. 2 Peter 3:1-2 ESV
1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you,
beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere
mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember
the predictions of the holy prophets and the
commandment of the Lord and Savior through your
apostles,
• Goal of 1 & 2 Peter – Stir up your minds.
• Remember the predictions = learn & memorize
scripture.

13. 2 Peter 3:3-4 ESV
3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the
last days with scoffing, following their own sinful
desires. 4 They will say, "Where is the promise of his
coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things
are continuing as they were from the beginning of
creation."
• Scoffers = false teachers, apostates; one who
considers himself an ambassador of an opposing view.

14. 2 Peter 3:5-7 ESV
5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the
heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed
out of water and through water by the word of God, 6
and that by means of these the world that then existed
was deluged with water and perished. 7 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.

15. “all things are continuing as they were from
the beginning of creation.”
Uniformitarianism:
• All natural phenomena have operated uniformly since the
beginning of the earth.
• The belief that God is absent in earthly affairs and does
not intervene in human history.
• All things will continue as before and the laws of nature
rule.

16. Uniformitarianism - Not taught in God’s Word.
• Bible teaches Creation and The End of Time are linked.
• Bible clearly teaches that God spoke the world into
being (creation) and has described how it will end.
• Peter uses an Old Testament example where God
intervened in history (The Flood of Noah).

17. The False Teachers are not just uninformed.
•The ignorance of “scoffers” is a response to the will
and a decision by them and not a lack of information.
•Romans 1:19-20 ESV
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible
attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the
creation of the world, in the things that have been
made. So they are without excuse.

18. Peter uses the example of the flood as God
intervening in history.
2 Peter 3:6 ESV
6 … the world that then existed was deluged with water
and perished.
1. The Universal Flood of Noah – Genesis 6-9.
• Biblical account with Noah.
2. The “Gap” Theory – An original judgment (flood) between
Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
• Theory proposed in 1814 by Thomas Chalmers.
• Difficult to support with scripture.

20. The “Gap” Theory Simplified.
• God spoke the original creation into being, but not the
way we experience it now.
• Angels were a part of this original creation.
• The fall of Lucifer to become Satan.
• There was a judgment (flood) associated with the fall
of Lucifer.
• God did a “re-creation” that involved creation of man
with a plan of redemption that involved Jesus.

21. Translation from Hebrew of Genesis 1:2.
• Genesis 1:2 ESV
2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness
was over the face of the deep.
• Genesis 1:2 (Retranslated to fit Gap Theory?) But the
earth had become without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the abyss.
• Abyss considered the home of demons and evil spirits.

22. “without form and void” Jeremiah had a vision
of an uncreated earth?
• Without form and void = a confused and empty wasteland
• Jeremiah 4:23-25, 27 ESV
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
27 For thus says the Lord, "The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will
not make a full end.”

23. Flood of Noah or Flood of Gap Theory??
• All agree that Peter is referring to a flooded earth in
this verse.
• All agree that God intervened in history in a flood.
• The Bible documents the changes of the earth after
the Flood of Noah (Vapor canopy, climate, life span).
• However, according to Peter, God’s next judgment will
be by fire, not water!

24. 2 Peter 3:8 ESV
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.
• Peter quotes Psalm 90:4 (metaphor not a calculation).
• God’s time is different than man’s.
• Eternity will not be “lots of time” but we will be living
outside our particular time domain.

25. Time – How valuable?
Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
• Time is our most “inelastic” and precious resource; it
doesn’t change with the economy.
• You can earn more money, but you cannot buy time.
• Are you spending your time wisely?

26. 2 Peter 3:9 ESV (Why God is waiting.)
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some
count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing
that any should perish, but that all should reach
repentance.
• Sad news – God does not get what He wants –
salvation for all!
• Good news – Christ has not returned, so there is time
to accept Christ.

27. 2 Peter 3:10 ESV (The Ending Described.)
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and
then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the
heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and
the earth and the works that are done on it will be
exposed.

28. “But the day of the Lord”
• A phrase used 19 times in the OT and 5 in the NT.
• A phrase used to describe a point in time when God
will end human history and judge His creation.
• It encompasses a period of time and not “one 24 day”.

29. “the day of the Lord” (Baptists believe?)
• Begins with the Rapture of the Church.
• Closes at the end of the Millennium with the
destruction of the heavens and the earth 2 Peter 3:10.
• The Great Tribulation occurs during this time.
• The New Heavens and Earth follow the destruction of
the heavens and the earth.

31. “will come like a thief” (Paul explains.)
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 ESV
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the
Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people
are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden
destruction will come upon them as labor pains come
upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to
surprise you like a thief.

32. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6; 9-10 ESV (Paul Continues.)
5 For you are all children of light, children of the day.
We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let
us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be
sober.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for
us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might
live with him.

33. What is Paul telling us here?
• The believer will not get caught by surprise; they have
been waiting and watching.
• The day of the Lord will come as a thief only to those
who are in darkness (unbelievers).
• Believers are in the “light” and unbelievers are in the
“dark”.
• Believers will not encounter the “wrath”, but go in the
Rapture.

34. What happens to the heavens?
• Pass away with a great noise – like the swish of an
arrow, splash of water, hiss of a serpent.
• Elements will melt – to untie or unleash.
• Components of matter (protons, electrons, neutrons)
are going to disintegrate.
• The entire universe will be consumed by fire.

35. 2 Peter 3:11-13 ESV (Waiting and Hastening.)
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what
sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and
godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of
the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will
melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we
are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells.

36. “we are waiting for new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells.”

37. What is Peter’s message here?
• The knowledge of these coming events should be
affecting our behavior and revising our priorities.
• Our lives should be marked by holiness and godliness.
• We should be praying for the hastening of the Lord’s
return. “Thy kingdom come…”

38. 2 Peter 3:14-16a ESV
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these,
be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish,
and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as
salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to
you according to the wisdom given him, 16a as he does
in all his letters when he speaks in them of these
matters.

39. “be diligent”
• Diligent = showing care and conscientiousness in one’s
duty.
• Salvation is a starting gun for the race and not the
finish line.
• Your behavior matters.
• You are working now for your inheritance and reward
to lay your crown at Jesus’ feet.

40. “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation,”
• God’s patience and waiting to return is to give time for
people to come to salvation through Christ.
• Christians “hasten this” by sharing Christ with others.
• Christ chose His followers (us) to be the mode of
carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
• We should continually be prepared and longing for
our Lord’s return.

41. 2 Peter 3:16b-17 ESV
16b There are some things in them (Paul’s writings) that
are hard to understand, which the ignorant and
unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the
other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing
this beforehand, take care that you are not carried
away with the error of lawless people and lose your
own stability.

42. 2 Peter 3:18 ESV (Peter’s closing statement.)
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and
to the day of eternity. Amen.

43. What does it mean to grow in grace?
• It does not mean gaining more grace from God; God’s
grace is infinite.
• Growing in grace is to grow in our understanding of
what Jesus did and to grow in appreciation of the
grace we have been given.
• The process of sanctification, becoming more like
Christ, is synonymous with growing in grace.

44. How do you grow in grace?
1. Bible Reading – God’s word dwelling in you.
2. Memorizing Scripture – Hide it in your heart.
3. Prayer – Listening to God.
4. Service – Being the “hands and feet of Jesus”.
5. Giving – Sharing your blessings and being faithful.
6. Witnessing – Sharing your story of Christ.
7. And – Others ways.

45. Spiritual Growth Checkup.
1. When you look back on the last year, have you
grown spiritually?
• Why or why not?
2. Are you more compassionate, merciful and
forgiving now than you were a year ago?
3. Are you making an effort to grow spiritually?
4. Do you have unconfessed sin or sin cycles that are
continually a problem?

46. Next Sunday December 4, 2016
Joshua 1:1-9
“Commissioned”
The next Lessons for December 2016-February 2017
will be in Joshua, Judges and Ruth.

47. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16 ESV
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal
life.”
John 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

48. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 3:23 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a ESV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life
to pay the penalty for our sins.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death
explained in Revelation 21:8.

49. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Revelation 21:8 ESV
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for
murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars,
their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur,
which is the second death.”
Romans 5:8 ESV
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

50. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 6:23b ESV
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 ESV
7 “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his
God and he will be my son.”
Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquers.

51. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is
justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”

52. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
If you have questions or would like to know more, Please,
contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/