HEAVENLY CITIZENS IN A TEMPORARY WORLD

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 27, 2020 under 2020 |

Bethany Bible Church New Year’s Sunday Message*; December 27, 2020 from 2 Peter 3:10-13

Theme: God’s plan for this created order should affect the way we live our Christian lives in it.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Every last Sunday of December—just before New Year’s Day—I share from a passage of Scripture that will help us in our walk with the Lord for the coming year. And given all the remarkable challenges that have occupied us over this past year, I’d like to share with you from just such a passage in 2 Peter.

The apostle Peter was writing to Christians who were—like us—living in stressful times. And the unbelieving people around them were mocking their faith and saying, “What happened to the promise of the return of the Lord? Things are going on just the same as they always have.” Peter encouraged his brother and sisters by reminding them that things had not, in fact, gone on just as they always had—that God once destroyed the inhabitable earth with a flood. And he also assured them that the seeming delay in the Lord’s return was not an act of negligence; but rather, was an act of mercy. Our gracious God is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance.

And then, in 2 Peter 3:10-13, the apostle wrote;

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Now; you might hear that and think, “Wait a minute! After a year like we’ve all just been through, I need comfort and hope! But now you’re reading to us from a passage that talks about the end of the universe! How’s this supposed to give me encouragement for the coming year?”

Well, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; the fact is that the path to ‘happiness’ requires a walk in ‘truth’. And unless you and I embrace this truthful perspective from God’s word as our own, we will neither see things as they really are, nor will we be able to live for our Lord in this world—and in the coming year—with the kind of hope and joy that God wants us to.

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Obviously, this passage gives us a perspective of things that most of the people around us do not hold to. Most of the folks around us, in fact, believe that—except perhaps for the trials we’ve been enduring most recently—the world is, right now, pretty much as always has been. They live as if the Lord Jesus will never come—as if things are going along as they always have, and as if there’s no day of judgment coming, and as if this created realm will never come to an end. But Peter begins with the strong affirmation that “the day of the Lord will come”.

When he wrote about the coming of a “day”, he meant much more than merely a literal twenty-four hour cycle. He was describing a period of time—a series of events. The “day of the Lord” was another name for the final stages of God’s redemptive program for the ages. It involves the series of events that precede the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, and that includes His glorious thousand-year reign on earth after that return, and that culminates in the destruction of this present order of things and the creation of new heavens and a new earth.

Just think of what a remarkable passage this is! In it, God the Holy Spirit—through His servant Peter—graciously gives us a perspective of this world that we could not possibly have unless He revealed it to us. In it, God graciously lets us in on His plan for the future. He lets us know that this fallen order of creation is only temporary—that its present form will be demolished, and it will be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And He lets us know that, by virtue of our being “in Christ” by faith, it’s our joyful destiny to live forever in that new heavens and new earth with Him!

And understand, dear brothers and sisters; this isn’t meant to be merely theoretical. The thing that this passage affirms to us is meant to be applied in a practical way. It’s meant to affect our daily lives. Look at what he says in verse 11; “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be …?” God’s plan for this created order—if we are thinking rightly about it—should dramatically impact the way we currently live our Christian lives in it.

The character and quality of our Christian life in the coming year will—to a very significant degree—be governed by how we embrace this remarkable perspective of things.

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So then; let’s look closer at Peter’s words, and examine this perspective in greater detail. You can break it down into three very applicable propositions. And the first is that …

1. THIS PRESENT CREATION IS DESTINED FOR DESTRUCTION.

As far as the people of this world might be concerned, that sounds like a horrible thing to believe—that it sounds like the kind of perspective that would make life on earth “gloomy” and “depressing”. But you and I cannot really begin to live in this created universe as God wants us to live, unless we embrace the full truth of God’s plan for it. Based on what the Bible tells us, the only things of God’s created realm that will endure forever are unfallen angelic beings and redeemed human beings. And absolutely everything else in this created universe is either ‘scheduled for demolition’ or ‘destined for the lake of fire’.

Peter tells us, first of all, that “the heavens will pass away with a great noise”. Peter isn’t speaking here of “heaven” in the singular—which is the glorious abode of God. Rather, he’s speaking of “the heavens” in the plural. He is talking about the very sky above us, and the very reaches of space around us—and of all the created things that they contain!

One of the advantages we have of living in our time has been the invention of the Hubble Telescope. Because it orbits above the earth’s atmosphere, it has given astronomers a clearer picture of the universe than would have ever been possible in all the centuries before. And the images it has sent back to earth are almost beyond description. No human being could have ever imagined that the reaches of space were so vast, and so beautiful, and so full as they are. And yet, as marvelous and as vast as it all is, it is only a temporary showcase of God’s creative glory. It is not meant to last forever.

The heavens were brought into existence by our Father. They are, as Psalm 8:3 tells us, ‘the work of His fingers’. And they only continue to exist by the power of His providential hand. But one day, He will remove His hand; and with “a great noise”, the heavens will pass away. In verse twelve, Peter said that, because of the coming of “the day of God”, these very heavens—that we are only just now beginning to learn about—will “dissolve” or “be destroyed”. Look up at the moon; and know that it’s only temporary. Look up on a clear night and see the stars; and know that they, too, are only temporary. Look up on a clear afternoon and see the sun shining in the sky; and know that even it is only temporary.

Second, Peter tells us that “the elements will melt with fervent heat”. The word that Peter uses here for “elements” means the basic fundamental principles of a thing. And though some translations of the Bible render this word “heavenly bodies”, it seems that, in this context, it refers to the foundational elements of the created universe. The Bible, of course, doesn’t speak to us in the detailed language of modern molecular physics; but the idea seems clear.

On this future “day of the Lord”, the most basic building blocks of the material universe will fly apart from one another and, and the elements will burn up with “with fervent heat” that comes from the molecular structure in motion. In verse twelve, we’re told that the fundamental elements will literally “melt” or “dissolve” or “liquefy”. The structural unity that that matter had maintained in this created order will dissolve and be gone. If I may put it this way—hopefully without sounding irreverent—it will be as if all of creation had been a giant, cosmic “Etch-a-Sketch” drawing; and at the time of His choosing, God will have turned it all upside-down and shaken its present form away.

Third, Peter even says that “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up”. In some translations such as the New International Version, it has it that the earth and its works will be “laid bare”; or as the English Standard Version has it, the earth and its works will be “exposed”. This reflects the fact that, in some ancient manuscripts, a different Greek word is being used. And if this is the correct word, then this would speak of the fact that, in that great day of the Lord, all things that are hidden in the works of men will be fully revealed. It would be the ultimate fulfillment of Hebrews 4:13; where it says,

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

But if the word that is translated “burned up” is the correct one—as in the translation that I’m using—then this is saying something more like what we’re told in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15;

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

And so, taken all together, Peter is telling us—through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—that on the coming day of the Lord, the universe as it is now known to us will come to an end. All that exists of this created order will dissolve and pass away with a great noise and in fervent heat. We’re told that it will come “as a thief” upon the people of this world; that is, suddenly and unexpectedly—just when they think that they have this world structured and ordered in the way that they want it. As the apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3;

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).

And you and I cannot even begin to live as we should in this temporal world until we embrace that fact. Ultimate happiness and security can never be found in anything in this temporary created order. The past year has, to some degree, taught us that! Only what is ours in our Lord Jesus Christ will endure forever. And you and I will only be happy and secure, in an ultimate sense, when we finally come to understand that all these created things are destined to be dissolved. You and I will only be happy when we finally realize that the only sure place to have our hope and trust for happiness and security is in Him who is eternal.

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Now; all of this talk about the destruction of the present heavens and earth would indeed sound very gloomy if it weren’t for another important proposition that Peter points out to us …

2. A NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH WILL TAKE ITS PLACE.

In the original language of verse thirteen, Peter puts the matter emphatically; “But new heavens and a new earth, according to the promise of God, we look for …” What a staggering thing this is to think about! We could not know about it unless God—our Creator—told us.

Will it be “new” in the sense of something completely unconnected to the old? Will it be that God will completely wipe away all traces of the fundamental elements of the first creation and make a new one, as it were, “from scratch”—utterly disconnected from the old creation? Some theologians have believed that this is so. They have suggested that, because of the fall of Adam, the whole of the created order has been completely ruined by the contamination of sin; and that it must now be done away with completely. But I don’t believe this is so. It seems to me that to believe such a thing would be to admit that the devil succeeded in so spoiling that which God, at the very beginning, declared to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31); and that our mighty God is now incapable of restoring that which was ruined. “New”, in this case, cannot mean ‘completely new with no connection whatsoever to the old’.

A good analogy of what “new” would mean could be drawn from our Lord Jesus Himself. When He was born into the human family, He was made from the material of this present created order; being made in His humanity from the real substance of His mother Mary. And He lived in that same body of this created order throughout His life on this earth. When He died on the cross, He also died in that same body. And when He rose in glory, He rose in the same body in which He had died. He even bore, in His resurrected body, the prints of the nails in His hands (John 20:25-27). He ascended to the Father in the same resurrected body that had been crucified. And He sits even now at the right hand of the Father in heaven in the very same body that was made from the material substance of this present created order—only now and forever glorified.

Jesus lives forever, in heavenly glory, in a body made from the substance of this created order. But it is a body that has been ‘renewed’ in glory. It has real continuity to the material body that died on the cross; but it is completely ‘new’ in form and quality. It has been raised in glory. And it will be in that same body that our Lord will return to this earth on His “day”—a body composed of the same material substance taken from this created order of things; but that is eternally “renewed”. And in the same way, we are to look for new heavens and a new earth—not “new” in the sense of having no connection to the old whatsoever, but “new” in the sense of its material substance being gloriously “renewed”.

We could also consider our own salvation in Christ a good analogy of this. The Bible says that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you placed your trust in Jesus, God truly made you a new creation. But you were not made “new” in the sense that there was no connection whatsoever to the old ‘you’. You still have the same family. You still live in the same house. All your old clothes still fit. But the inward ‘you’ that ‘was’ has been ‘renewed’ into a brand new ‘you’—possessing real continuity with the “old”, but radically different in glory.

And think, dear brothers and sisters, of what the Bible tells us about our future hope of resurrection because of our salvation in Christ. We’re told,

The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

It’s not with an entirely different body that we will be ‘raised’. It will be with the same body in terms of possessing a material relationship with the substance of this old created order. But it’s one that is dramatically different in form from what it was. The same body that is “sown” is also “raised” with real continuity with that which was “sown”, but as a wondrously glorified body that is made fit to live eternally in God’s presence.

And in the same sense, the “new” creation will have real, material continuity with the “old” one—but as a created order that is “new” in complete and glorious renewal. Seeing the “new heavens” and “the new earth” in this way helps us understand more clearly the amazing words that the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:19-22;

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Romans 8:19-22).

It is this created order—the one in which we now live—that eagerly awaits and groans after its renewal. Right now, it suffers under things like pandemics, and forest fires, and civil unrest, and death, and so many of the other things that have troubled us over the past year. And yet, the new order of things will be so gloriously different from its present, fallen condition that it will be as “new” heavens and a “new” earth! And just think of what a greater glory this brings to our mighty God! He doesn’t utterly scrap the old created order and make a new creation. He takes that which mankind, under the influence of the devil, has ruined in a point of time through sin, and “renews” it into a gloriously new created order!

As Peter tells us, this will be in accordance with God’s own promise. Back in Isaiah 65:17–some seven and a half centuries before Peter wrote these words–God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said;

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17).

The new will be so glorious that the old will not even come to remembrance. What victory!

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Now; notice one of the great differences that will distinguish the new from the old. In verse 13, Peter tells us that we, according to God’s promise, look for new heavens and a new earth “in which righteousness dwells”. Righteousness does not characterize this present created order. Rather—as we all sadly know—what characterizes it is all of the terrible damage that sin has brought upon it, and the consequence of death that permeates it.

But dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let me read the glorious description we’re given—on the last few pages of the Bible—of our life in this wonderful “new” heavens and “new” earth:

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:1-5).

That’s our prospect in Jesus Christ. We live for a short time in this present created order. It’s the theater of His glory as we live in it; and we are to enjoy it, and use it honorably, and thank Him for it. It is where He currently expresses His love and care to us. We should never mistreat this created order or despise it; because our wonderful Father made it “very good”.

But though we live for a time in this present created order of things, we are to live in it with a perspective that is radically different from that of the unbelieving people around us. We know, from God’s own promise, that this created order is only temporary. Everything about it, and everything that we see in it—including the sin and death that sadly permeate it—is marked with the words “scheduled for demolition”. We don’t live for this world as it is now. We only live in it. We’re not held captive to the present order of things—things that are doomed to pass away. Instead, we live for God’s glorious renewal of this created order—and for our own renewal with it on His great day.

And that leads us to our last point—which is really the main proposition of this whole passage—that …

3. WE SHOULD LIVE HOLY LIVES NOW IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S PROMISED PLAN.

As Peter says, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming day of God …?”

As he goes on to write;

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation … (2 Peter 3:14-15b).

May Peter’s closing exhortation, then, sink deeply into our hearts. And may it transform the way we live in the coming year—and always.

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*This is an adaptation of a message first preached at Bethany Bible Church on April 27, 2014.

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