Awaiting the Lord’s Return - Bible Study 2
<b> 2 Peter 3:1-13 </b>
The fellowship of Christ’s disciples will be marked by faith and they will be marked by love. They will also be fellowships of hope. They will not be so caught up in this world as to forget the world to come and the coming Saviour. When Paul spoke of his early converts in Thessalonica, he praised them for their faith and for their love and then he refers to the fact that “you turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). This will be one of the chief ways in which these Anglican fellowships are going to differ from the world around, for the sake of the world around. “The coming wrath” is a phrase that brings home to us the significance of the issues of which I am speaking. There is a day of judgement; there is eternal life and eternal condemnation; the issues of judgement are worked out in this life; there is a Saviour and his name is Jesus. That men and women are in need of salvation from the coming wrath is indeed there most desperate need. These are so clearly, so plainly the teachings of the Bible that it is scarcely necessary to recite them. But what are we doing about them?
Archbishop Peter Jensen – Presidential Address to Synod – 2001
For Discussion
“The fellowship of Christ’s disciples will be marked by faith and they will be marked by love. They will also be fellowships of hope.” To what extent is hope in a salvation yet to come an essential part of the Christian faith?
“That men and women are in need of salvation from the coming wrath is indeed there most desperate need.” Would you agree?
<font color=”#BE2131”> 2 Peter 3:1-13 </font>
Getting started
“It’s just pie in the sky when you die!” Have you ever come across people who scoff at the thought of the Lord Jesus’ second coming and the idea of heaven?
Why would they consider it such an unlikely idea?
Why might people be threatened by the thought of the return of the Lord?
Did you get it?
In 3:1-3 Peter warns his readers that “scoffers” will come in the last days. How does the very existence of these “scoffers” reinforce the message of the prophets?
According to 3:4, what aspect of the Christian faith do these scoffers want to discredit?
What is the connection between rejecting the second coming and “indulging their own lusts”? (see 3:4)
Peter rejects the argument of the scoffers by referring to the creation and the flood in 3:5-6. How do these two events illustrate the powerful intervention of God in the history of the world? In what ways is the future intervention of God in the second coming (3:7) similar to these past events described in 3:5-6?
How does 3:8 help us to see the long delay in the Lord’s coming from another perspective?
What reason does Peter give in 3:9 for the delay in the Lord’s return?
According to 3:7, 3:10 and 3:12, how will this world come to an end? Is “fire” meant as an image of something else?
In comparison to the scoffers who did not believe in the Lord’s return and who indulged their own lusts, how should those who are waiting for the Lord’s return live? (3:11)
The idea of “waiting” is a key concept in 3:12-13. What did Peter mean by this term?
How can anyone “hasten the coming day of the Lord”? (3:12)
What are some of the key characteristics of the new heaven and the new earth in 3:13?
Think it through
Judgement is a key theme in this passage. What do we learn about God’s judgement from:
- the mention of “the flood” in 3:6?
- the description of “the day of judgement” in 3:7?
- the desription of “the day of the Lord” in 3:10?
Through the legal system, people eagerly seek justice for wrongs done. Why then is God’s judgement such an unpopular idea with most people?
If divine judgement is a reality that every person has to face and it is true that the godless will be destroyed what is a human being’s greatest need?
- According to 3:9, what is God’s desire for all people?
- How should Christians respond to this truth?
To what extent is the long delay in the Lord’s coming a problem for you personally and for the Christian faith? Have you ever agonized over the long delay in the Lord’s coming? Why?
Is it fair to describe Christians as people who are waiting for “the day of the Lord”? (Compare 2 Peter 3:11-12, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 1:10)
- What is the connection between “waiting” and “holiness” (3:11) and “righteousness” (3:12)?
- Is there any connection between “waiting” and evangelism? (see 3:9)
Is it true to say that those who are most heavenly minded are of no earthly use?
To what extent is our salvation a past achievement of Christ’s cross and resurrection and a future achievement of Christ’s second coming?
by Stephen Fifer
The Rev Stephen Fifer is the rector of Caringbah Anglican Church
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<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/606/1/12/”>In Prayerful
Dependence on the Holy Spirit: Bible Study 1</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/607/1/12/”>Awaiting
the Lord’s Return - Bible Study 2</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/608/1/12/”>To be Established
in the Fellowship of Jesus’ Disciples - Bible Study 3</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/609/1/12/”>Proclaiming
our saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ - Bible Study 4</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/610/1/12/”>That Everyone
Will Hear His call To Repent, Trust and Serve Christ - Bible Study 5</a></strong></p>
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