2 Peter 3:13-18

1.Give a statement of some of the things that will take place in the day of the Lord.
2.To what condition will the earth be reduced? .
3.Notwithstanding this, for what may we confidently look? .
4.Where is this promise recorded? .
5.What is said of the beauty of the new earth? .
6.What class of people shall live in it? ; .
7.How long will they possess it? ; ; .
8.Will they be troubled by disease? .
9.What change will be wrought in the righteous ones who now are afflicted? .
10.What is said of the peace and quiet of that land? .
11.How will the people stand related to the great Source of wisdom and peace? ; .
12.Seeing we look for such glorious things when Christ comes, what should we do? .
13.How should we regard the fact that God has so long delayed the great consummation? .
14.What apostle besides Peter has said much about the second coming of Christ? , last part.
15.How extensively does Peter say that Paul has spoken of these things? .
16.Is there one of Paul's epistles which does not refer to the second coming of Christ and the Judgment?
17.What epistles contain a mention of this event in every chapter? Ans. The epistles to the Thessalonians.
18.In view of the glorious future that is promised to the righteous, and the great wickedness that will prevail just before the Lord comes, of what should we beware? .
19.In view of the failures of God's people in the past, what warning is given us? .
20.How alone can we keep from being led away by the error of the wicked? .
21.To whom and for what should we ascribe glory? , , 25.

Notes

In the epistles of Paul there are "some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction." Notice that it is not said that there is anything in Paul's epistles that is impossible to be understood. It is only "hard to be understood." But that which is hard to be understood may be understood by hard study. Moreover it is only the unlearned and unstable that wrest them to their own destruction. The double-minded, or unstable, will take the strongest statements concerning the law and the gospel, and will construe them so as to make them teach the abolition of the law and consequently of the gospel. It is only the "unlearned," those who do not look beneath the surface, who do this. Those who delight in the law of God, and who know Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," have a key with which they may unlock any of the mysteries of that most profound writer. Notice further, also, that those who wrest the words of Paul out of their legitimate meaning, do the same thing also to the other scriptures.

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This text is misquoted in two ways. A very common misquotation is, "Grow in . . . . knowledge of the truth." There is no such text to be found in the Bible, although this text amounts to the same thing, because Christ is the truth, as well as the way and the life. . The poet says of Christ,—

> "In thy life the law appears > Drawn out in living characters."

He was the law personified. If one wishes to know just how much righteousness the law of God requires, he has only to study the life and character of Christ. All the beauty and holiness of Christ were simply the manifestation of the law of love which prompted every act. It is in the life and death of Christ that we can get more exalted ideas of the holiness and majesty of God's law. If we do not grow in knowledge of Christ, we can never have the law written in our hearts, for it is only in him that we can be made the righteousness of God. .

Another misquotation is sometimes heard in prayers to Christ, that we may "grow in grace and in thy knowledge." The idea seems to be that we must grow in the knowledge that Christ has, so as to approach him in wisdom. But this is not the proper idea. We are simply and literally to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We must know him intimately. He must sup with us, and we with him; but he must be a constant companion, and not a transient guest. And in proportion as we know him intimately, know him as a friend, loving and true, know him as the "chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely," we shall develop that purity of heart which will enable us to see God; for Christ cannot be comprehended except as we become like him.

Bible texts in this lesson

2 Peter 3:10 · 2 Peter 3:12 · 2 Peter 3:13 · Isaiah 65:17 · Isaiah 35:1 · Isaiah 35:2 · Isaiah 51:3 · Isaiah 60:21 · Psalms 37:29 · Daniel 7:18 · Isaiah 33:24 · Isaiah 35:5 · Isaiah 35:6 · Isaiah 32:17 · Isaiah 32:19 · Isaiah 54:13 · Isaiah 54:14 · Isaiah 60:18 · Revelation 21:3 · Revelation 21:4 · Revelation 22:3 · Revelation 22:4 · 2 Peter 3:14 · 2 Peter 3:9 · 2 Peter 3:15 · 2 Peter 3:16 · 2 Peter 3:17 · 1 Corinthians 10:12 · 2 Peter 3:18 · Jude 1:24 · John 14:6 · 2 Corinthians 5:21

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