church

INI
26th Sunday after Trinity
November 16, 2008
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT
II Peter 3:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His
abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power
of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, Amen.
The passage to which God directs our attention this morning is found in the
second epistle of Peter, chapter three, beginning with the third verse, as follows:

Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according
to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since
the fathers fel l asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
creation." For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens
were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the
world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and
the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget
this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance. This is the Word of God.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who is coming to judge the quick and the dead,
Dear Fello w Redeemed,

Jesus once told His disciples a parable about two servants. The first He calls a
wise servant, and the second He calls a wicked servant. The master in the
parable is traveling in another country. He has been away for a long time, and
no one knows when he’s coming back. The first servant is alert and watchful.
He carries out his duties very faithfully. He knows that his master could return
at any moment, and he wants to be ready for him the instant he comes back.
But the second servant is different. The long delay has done something to him.
“Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty of time before the master comes back,” he thinks
to himself. “Maybe he’s not coming back at all! I think I’ll spend some of his
money on myself. I think I’ll get drunk, and maybe I’ll abuse some of my
fellow-servants, that ought to be fun. After all,” scoffs the wicked servant,
“who’s going to tell me no? My master’s never coming back!”

Maybe you remember this parable. If so, you may recall that things don’t end
well for the wicked servant. Jesus’ words are chilling: The master of that servant
will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not
aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. – Mt. 24:50-51.

The point of that parable is similar to the point Peter is trying to get across in
our text for today. It is our Lord Jesus who is the Master “sojourning in a far
country.” So far, He has delayed His return. The question is, what does that
delay mean? Some people think it means that we don’t have to worry about the
Judgment, or even that there won’t be any Judgment Day at all. But there will
be.20And from our perspective, as followers of Christ, it is desperately
important that we be alert and watchful, and ready for His return. The theme of
this morning’s sermon is simple:

CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT
This statement typically prompts one of two reactions:
I. Unbelievers scoff, willfully forgetting the evidence of the past.
II. Let us repent, grateful to escape the Judgment to come.

As our text begins, we sort of catch the Apostle Peter in the middle of a
sentence. To make sense of vv. 3-9, you have to hear the urgent exhortation
that comes immediately before it, in verse two. Peter says, Be mindful of the
words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. -- II Pet 3:2. This is
vital! Peter says. You have to pay very close attention to what? -To the words
of the holy prophets, and the words of the apostles and evangelists. We have a
short term for that, by the way, it's called "The Bible." You Christians pay close
attention to the Word of God, what it says and what it teaches.

Why is this so important?20Because CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR
JUDGMENT. And it’s sad, but when He gets here there will be great
multitudes of people who just aren’t ready. In fact, Peter says, not only will they
not be ready, but they’ll have spent a lot of their lives making fun of the people
who are ready. He says that …scoffers will come in the last days, walking
according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?

In the last days, scoffers will come, says Peter. They will ridicule the Christian
faith. "You say Jesus is coming back to judge the earth? Well where is He? It's
been a long time. It's been two thousand years, and He's still not here!" Which
means they don't think He's ever coming back. And the evidence they use to
support this view is history: For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning of creation. "Nothing ever changes! Nothing
ever has, so nothing ever will. So why worry about Judgment Day?"

But there's one glaring error in that logic, and Peter points it out. He says that
there was one time in the history of the earth where everything changed - and
that was the Great Flood, …by which the world that then existed perished,
being flooded with water. At the time of Noah, there were no doubt many
scoffers, many who ridiculed and made fun of Noah and said that nothing
would ever happen. And for a long time nothing did. So, Jesus says, They ate,
they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. -- Lk 17:27.

On that day, all things did not continue as they were. On that day all things
changed, and the world was destroyed. And Scripture warns us that another big
change is on its way. CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT. The
world that now is, with its ungodly and its scoffers, is reserved for punishment,
as Peter says, the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same
word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men.

Yes, CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT. And as long as this
world endures, unbelievers will scoff, as in the days of Noah, willfully forgetting
the evidence of the past. But for us believers it needn't be so - may it never be
so! Let us be different! Let us take full advantage of this interval before our
Lord's return. Let us repent, grateful to escape the Judgment to come.

I don't remember much from high school, but I do remember our 9th grade lit
teacher explaining the difference between pathos and tragedy. Pathos is when
the main character in the story can see disaster coming, but is powerless to do
anything about it. Tragedy is when he's not powerless - when can do something
to avert disaster - and he fails because of his own flaws or poor choices. That's
why the destruction of the ungodly on the Last Day will be such a terrible
tragedy: because it doesn't have to happen. God has made a way for every
human being to escape that dreadful judgment over sin, and that way is Jesus
Christ!

What's the reason Jesus has delayed His return as long as He has? In the first
place, it only seems long to us. It's not long to God. In fact, as Peter explains,
God is outside of time altogether. Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that
with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
God is eternal. For Him, yesterday and tomorrow are the same thing. Eternity is
a concept that we just can't get our human minds around, tied as we are to time
and to this world. The best we can do is to realize that CHRIST IS COMING
BACK FOR JUDGMENT, and that His arrival could be at any moment.

Peter reveals the reason for our Savior's delay in our text: The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
The reason Christ hasn't returned yet isn't because He's slack. It isn't that He's
not paying attention, or that He's forgotten us. The reason is that He's merciful!
Paul told Timothy, "God would have all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth." -- I Tim 2:4. This period before Christ's return is a
time of grace, at time for all people to hear the Word of God, repent, and to
believe the Gospel unto everlasting life. That's what God wants. He wants it so
much, in fact, that "…He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." -- Jn 3:16. CHRIST IS
COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT, and this current interval is your time of
grace.

Sadly, many people manage to spend all the time while ignoring the grace.
There's a story told about W.C. Fields, a vaudeville comedian notorious for his
wayward lifestyle. Near the end of his life he was hospitalized and very ill. A
friend came to visit him and was surprised to find him thumbing through a
Bible. He asked, "What are you doing?" Fields replied, "I'm looking for
loopholes!" It's funny in a way, but it's also sad. So many people do the same
thing when faced with death - they search frantically but vainly for a way to
escape the Judgment they know is coming.

Maybe W.C. Fields' friend was a Christian. I hope so, because then he could
have told him: there is a loophole. In fact, the entire Bible is about this
Loophole, and the Lo ophole's name is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to
provide us with that way of escape. It's not the easy way and it's not the popular
way, as Jesus once said, Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there
are few who find it. -- Mt 7:13-14.

Do you realize what a blessing belongs to you? You have found the narrow
gate! The only one that lets you escape the Judgment to come! God has put
faith in your heart to trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior. You know you're a
sinner, yes, but you know that God sent Jesus to provide the payment for your
sins. And that He did! On that cross-topped hill outside Jerusalem one dark and
dreadful Friday, Jesus offered up the one sacrifice that would suffice to cover all
your sins; He offered Himself.

You know, Jesus could have escaped, too. He had many opportunities. In the
Garden of Gethsemane, with armed men about to arrest Him, He asked Peter,
"Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me
with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be
fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" -- Mt 26:53-54. Jesus didn't escape, because
He wanted to make a way for you to escape. Jesus took the judgment for your
sin upon Himself, so that no Judgment would remain for you. He died, and rose
again, so that you can one day rise to everlasting joy and happiness. The writer
to the Hebrews says, We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace
of God, might taste death for everyone. -- Heb 2:9.

Christian rejoice that your name is written in the Book of Life, and that you
will one day join your Savior in heaven. But until that day arrives, let's
recognize the time of grace we're in and make the best use of it. Let's follow the
advice of Paul, who told the Romans, Do this, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we
first believed. -- Rom 3:11. Let us daily repent of our sins, in contrition bringing
them all to our Savior for forgiveness. And by all means let us reach out with
the Gospel to others - to anyone we can reach! - with prayers that God may
shine in their hearts and show them the way of escape, as He has revealed it to
us in His Son Jesus Christ!

There's an old Italian proverb that says, "Once the game is over, the king and
the pawn go back into the same box." This world is coming to an end When
that end will be, our Lord has not revealed to us. Sometimes we look around us
at the sinful world in which we live, and we wonder how long the Lord can
endure such desperate wickedness. Sometimes we hear the scoffing of the
world's "experts," its scientists and its philosophers and its college professors -
and they're all telling us the same thing: "Your faith is nonsense. There is no
God to whom we're responsible, and there is no Judgment Day coming." But
God will have the last word. And once the game is over, the king and the pawn
go back into the same box. We'll all stand before Christ's Judgment throne, and
there will be no scoffers there. There, says Paul, "…at the name of Jesus every
knee will bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. -- Phi 2:10-11.
CHRIST IS COMING BACK FOR JUDGMENT. So let the unbelievers scoff,
willfully forgetting the evidence of the past. We will not make their mistake.
With faith in Christ and eternal gratitude for the unspeakable gift of His
redeeming work, let us repent daily of our sins, and receive our Savior's pardon.
We will escape death and hell. And we will spend eternal ages singing the
praises of our rescuer:

Worship, honor, power, and blessing
Thou art worthy to receive;
Loudest praises, without ceasing,
Meet it is for us to give.
Help, ye bright angelic spirits,
Bring your sweetest, noblest lays;
Help to sing our Savior's merits,
Help to chant Immanuel's praise. AMEN.