March 31, 2022 -- II Peter 3:10-13 -- Waiting for Jesus' Return

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 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.

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.
II Peter 3:10-13 ESV

The end of all things is near. Christians are not surprised this is true. From the days Jesus walked this earth until now, both the warning and joyful expectation of Jesus’ return has filled the senses of all true believers. His return will be unexpected. Christians are not to grow weary in the waiting nor revert to godlessness as if His return were still far away and there'll be no reckoning. Instead, in view of Jesus’ return, with hearts filled with thanksgiving to the Father for the gift of Jesus Christ and His reconciling work, believers choose holiness and godliness. The mercy of God motivates such holy living.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to believers, sealed in them by the Spirit, draws from the believer godliness that speeds the day of Jesus return. That is an odd statement—how can lives of Christian holiness and godliness speed Jesus’ return? Remember how Jacob asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage and Laban, her father, demanded he work seven years tending his flocks as the price for this marriage? You read this and might think 'seven years is an impossibly long time'. However, to Jacob “they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her” (Genesis 29:20). The Day of Jesus’ return is hastened, speeding up for believers, because their eyes are full of love for Him, their hearts anticipate His goodness, as their souls long to be freed from every sinful impulse.

O GOD,
I bless thee for the happy moment
   when I first saw thy law fulfilled in Christ,
wrath appeased, death destroyed, sin forgiven,
   my soul saved.
Ever since, thou hast been faithful to me:
   daily have I proved the power of Jesus’ blood,
   daily have I known the strength of the Spirit,
   my teacher, director, sanctifier.
I want no other rock to build upon than that I have,
   desire no other hope than that of gospel truth,
   need no other look than that which gazes
     on the cross.
Forgive me if I have tried to add anything
   to the one foundation,
if I have unconsciously relied upon my knowledge,
experience, deeds, and not seen them
    as filthy rags,
   if I have attempted to complete what is perfect\  
   in Christ;
May my cry be always, Only Jesus! only Jesus!
In him is freedom from condemnation,
   fullness in his righteousness,
   eternal vitality in his given life,
   indissoluble union in fellowship with him;
In him I have all that I can hold;
   enlarge me to take in more.
If I backslide,
   let me like Peter weep bitterly and return to him;
If I am tempted, and have no wit,
   give me strength enough to trust in him;
If I am weak,
   may I faint upon his bosom of eternal love;
If in extremity,
   let me feel that he can deliver me;
If driven to the verge of hope and to the pit of despair,
   grant me grace to fall into his arms.
O God, hear me, do for me more
   than I ask, think, or dream.
"THE LIFE LOOK" The Valley of Vision. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Carlisle, PA. THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, rpr 2020, page 96.

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