What sort of people ought you to be, in response to grace?

2 Peter 3 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

³ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, ¹⁵ and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 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.

In today’s text it says:  Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  We live in the age of grace; under the covenant of grace through Christ. Peter alludes to the fact that God is infinite and eternal. Days and years are the same to Him. Revelation 1:8 says:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”    Hebrews 3:8-9 says:   Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace.   We live in the age of grace; under the covenant of grace and so our hearts should be established by grace. One of the greatest gifts of grace to mankind is time. God’s continuing patience toward people is not tolerance or acceptance of their sinfulness because of grace. Rather, time is God’s extended grace. God is: Not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.    But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 

Peter speaks of the judgment of God against sin in the great flood. He speaks also of a future judgment against sin by fire. Grace did not change the fact that God judges sin. He is unchanging. Grace does not eliminate God’s judgment against sin. Just as there was judgment in the flood; just as there was judgment against the evil of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, there is judgment against sin, now and forever. The response that God desires to His grace is repentance; that we would change the way we think and act. We are not saved by grace alone, but rather as Ephesians 2:8 says: By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.   God’s grace requires also that we have faith; that we believe. Salvation is a free gift to us, but we must have faith, we must believe to receive it. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”   Verses 18-21 say:  “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”   So, God’s love and grace do not do away with the judgment against sin, but rather believing in Christ who died for our sins takes the judgment from us. Still for those who continue in sin and darkness, for now there is the grace of time to repent.

The text says:  Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people 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 destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.    How should we respond to God’s grace? What sort of people should we be?  We should not be fearful, but rather: in holy conduct and godliness, we should be those who are  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.   The end of this age, when the time of grace runs out is not something for us to fear if we believe. Rather we should look forward to the next age of God’s eternal time, an age of: new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation...be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 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.   In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.   In Matthew 6:9-10, Jesus taught us to pray saying:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,  Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.   What sort of people should we be in response to God’s grace? We should be:  diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation...    We should be: on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   Having the kingdom of God within us through grace and faith, we should be those who are the answer to Jesus prayer. We should be those who bring the realities of heaven to earth, new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for Your love and grace. May I not squander either the precious gift of salvation nor the time You have given for all to come to repentance.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.   Amen.