Don't Give in to Ridicule!

Recently, I was talking with a coworker about his childhood. He stated that his parents were Mormon, other close relatives were Jehovah's Witnesses, but he was "non religious". I asked him what this meant. He then went on, cautiously, explaining that he was an atheist. Our discussion led to the truth of God's word and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since I started with the foundational truth of God's perfect creation and mankind's awful choice to rebel against God, he questioned me carefully on this. "You don't mean to tell me you believe God created the world in six days-- I thought only my Jehovah's Witness relatives believed that!" He actually said this. He was incredulous that a thinking man would believe such a thing.

Here was a man who had been "duped" by the false teachers of an evolutionary world view. Did his parents believe and teach what God revealed in the book of Genesis? Apparently not. Did his school affirm the marvelous and compelling truth that life and design in nature can only come from a much greater and higher being with the life, wisdom, and power to create it? Sadly not. His schooling taught him that he was the result of random processes over billions of years. The magnificent design of the human being is taught in schools and universities across the land as a happenstance event. In fact, it is taught as fact rather than theory. And so, he had to ridicule and mock my own views of creation which are based on the word of the only One who was there at the time -- eyewitness testimony handed down to us by the One who entered time and space in the person of Jesus Christ so that we could KNOW that what He revealed in the Bible was true.

This man was a "scoffer" like those Peter warns against in the third chapter of his Second Epistle. To allow himself to accept it as truth, even for the shortest moment, would require him to bend the knee of his heart to the Creator and acknowledge His absolute authority over every bit of his life. This is why scoffers scoff -- they are unwilling to acknowledge God's rightful rule over their own life.

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Main Thought: God has made His word clear, His righteousness understood, and His promises certain. Every believer must patiently hold on to the truth and promises of God even when ridiculed because we know that God's purpose now is to patiently wait for sinners to repent.

Hold on to the word of God handed down to you by His prophets and apostles because scoffers will surely ridicule your faith. (2 Pet. 3:1-4)
Hold on to the reality of God's patience in fulfilling His promises and executing judgment. (2 Pet. 3:5-9)
Hold on to the certain promises of God and grow strong. (2 Pet. 3:10-18)

1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may 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, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." (2 Peter 3:1-4, NKJV)

1. Hold on to the word of God handed down to you by His prophets and apostles because scoffers will surely ridicule your faith.

Peter warned us against the lies of the false teachers in chapter two. Here we find the alternative strategy of the false teachers -- if you cannot convince someone with a lie, then attack them personally. Peter, led and inspired by God the Holy Spirit, warns that such people will scoff at you for believing God's word to be literally true.

"Scoffers" comes from the Greek word, "empaiktes" (emp-aheek-tace') meaning a derider, i.e. (by implication) a false teacher: KJV-- mocker, scoffer. It refers to one who makes sport of another through childish belittlement of them. Here the scoffer belittles those who believe in the second coming of Christ. "Since it has been so long", they mock, "He will never comeback. Besides", they persist, "everything is as it has always been since the dawn of creation".

Peter knew that such ridicule would arise against God's people. The only way to avoid such ridicule is to:

Keep your mouth shut and don't say anything -- thus avoiding controversy.
Compromise and deny that what the Creator said is true is really true --thus agreeing with the unbelievers.

How can a born-again believer in the LORD Jesus Christ compromise on the truth of God's word? Jesus went to the cross to die for YOUR sins -- He refused to compromise on the truth of Scripture which testified concerning His entry into the world, His death and resurrection, and His future coming to establish His kingdom here on Earth. All the apostles experienced a martyr's death because they believed and proclaimed the truth of the cross and Jesus' resurrection from the dead. And there have been more martyr's for the Christian faith in this century than the total for the last 19 centuries! The blood of Christ's martyrs cries from the ground -- don't compromise! God's word is true yesterday, today, and forever because God is not a man that He should lie.

So hold on to the word of God that has been so graciously and carefully preserved through the ages -- totally unique among documents of antiquity. Where documents of similar age are preserved with several copies, some with scores of copies, and a handful with a hundred copies, the Bible is preserved with thousands of copies. There is an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE difference in both the quantity of manuscripts (about 25,000 Old and New Testament manuscripts) and the quality of those manuscripts (the error rate among other ancient documents runs into the 50% range -- meaning you cannot be sure what the original said -- while the error rate in biblical manuscripts is 1/2 of 1%! The majority of the few errors that are found between different manuscripts are obvious transpositions of letters, or missing letters, or word order which do not affect a single doctrine of Scripture. Let this be a "stirring" testimony to you today that you can trust the integrity of the Bible -- it IS God's Holy Word!

So let the scoffer ridicule your belief in God's word -- the evidence is on God's side. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31, NKJV)

5 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, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. (2 Peter 3:5-9, NKJV)

2. Hold on to the reality of God's patience in fulfilling His promises and executing judgment.

The scoffers will forget about God's dealings with mankind in history. They have to in order to maintain their own self significance and justify their existence on this Earth. Are they justified in the view that things are just as they have always been? Has God given us any evidence that we might know of His existence at all, much less the truth of His word?

Here Peter identifies two primary events in history -- both of which were cataclysmic in nature: the creation of the universe and the flood. In Romans 1:20, Paul explains the gracious provision of our Creator God for every human being that has ever lived: "because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20, NKJV). Every human being has the testimony of the Creator "manifest in them" (v19) leaving every human being "without excuse" (v20).

Life can only come from life; design from a designer; intelligence from One who is wiser still. So the evidence of the creation speaks clearly to the reality of the Creator. No one would look at beautiful painting and remark, "how marvelous it is that all the oil and pigment randomly gathered itself on this canvass cloth and stretched itself across this frame to form this painting we call the 'Mona Lisa'!" Indeed, the Psalmist portrayed the whole of creation crying out to the whole world in a language every person can understand:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. (Psalm 19:1-3, NKJV)

Peter also points to the historical fact of the world-wide flood during Noah's time. The perfect world created by God was destroyed by God's own judgment: "by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water" (v6). The world which Noah and his family found as they departed from the Ark was radically changed from the pre-flood world:

Environmentally, the previous life in a mild, warm climate was no more-- hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and temperature extremes would become a way of life.
Animal life that was previously friendly toward humans would now run away in the fear of man. Animals would also become a source of food for humans at this time.
Landscape that was known was now unknown -- the huge supercontinent had divided into many parts with great mountain ranges thrust into the sky to separate life on either side.
All people, land animals, and birds that lived on the Earth had been totally destroyed in the global flood.

Perhaps this is what drove Noah to a drunken stupor (Gen. 9:20-21) -- he was grieving for the world that once was and now was gone. Today, scoffers reject the idea of a global flood. Even within the church, people go to great lengths to refute the idea of a global flood. Many will object with statements such as "How could Mt. Everest be covered with water -- do you know how much water it would take to cover the whole world with that much water? And where is that water now?" These questions assume, of course, that Mt. Everest existed BEFORE the flood. The cataclysmic forces that created the deluge of water from above the sky and expelled the fountains of the deep from below the Earth (Gen. 7:11) caused the breaking apart of the continents. The Earth's crust was pushed back and forth against itself creating the great mountain ranges we see today. So what may have been a hill before -- and we do not know if Mt. Everest was even a hill before the flood -- could easily become a huge mountain after the flood.

Is this speculative? Consider that one can find on every mountain evidence of marine life or its previous submersion in water. Where did the marine life found on Mt. Everest come from apart from a global flood exactly as it is described in the Bible?

The sad truth here is that scoffers "willfully forget" (v.5) the evidence that is before them. The most passionate ridicule comes against the accounts of the six-day creation and the flood. Dr. Henry Morris rightly points out:

If they can destroy these two doctrines, the rest will fall eventually. That is why the apostle Peter stresses these two great facts of history as the real antidote to the naturalistic world view, the notion that 'all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation' (see 2 Peter 3:3-6). He calls it 'willful ignorance' to reject or ignore the two great Biblical truths of special, supernatural Creation and the global cataclysm of the great Flood. *1

Peter tells us that the same word of God that resulted in the creation will judge those who oppose Him. A fiery end to the entire universe is ahead. But God chooses to show mercy to such individuals with incredible patience. While we see God as being slow to punish the wicked, God reveals that He waits because of His great love for every person -- "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV). God wants to see such sinners come to faith in Christ and be reconciled to God.

We who believe in Christ should never fall into the scoffer's trap by blaming God for bad things that happen to us or our loved ones -- the direct result of mankind's sin, both original sin and the persistent sin of every person born of Adam, is the senseless evil and tragedy in our world. Never forget that this is NOT the world which God created or desired for us to live in from the beginning.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons 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 dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2 Peter 3:10-12, NKJV)

3. Hold on to the certain promises of God and grow strong.

Scoffers notwithstanding: God's judgment is a certain historical event yet to unfold, just as the creation and flood are real, historical events. So Peter asks a pointed question to every Christian -- since God will one day completely destroy the universe and all that is in it by fire, how should live today?

Our Conduct in Life	2 Peter 3
Perspective-- Eternal	"13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." We do not dwell on the wickedness in this world but dwell on the new Heaven and Earth which will be utterly righteous, good, pure, and incorruptible!
Pursuit-- Holy	"14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless." How will you be found by Christ at His return --pure, righteous, and at peace with God? If not, you need to repent and turn to Jesus Christ right now!
Patience-- Godly	"15 and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation..." Exercise godly patience toward those who oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ by faithfully living and proclaiming the truth of God's word.
Power--Discernment	"16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;" As the old saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed". Be careful with Holy Scripture because many will twist it to satisfy themselves and pervert your faith in the process.
Procurement-- Grace & Knowledge	"18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." Continue your pilgrim journey on this Earth with the pattern of growing in your understanding, appreciation, and appropriation of the grace and knowledge of God our Savior.

Reflect on YOUR life: Never feel bad for yourself when someone mocks your faith in God and belief in His word. It is the word of God which created the universe (Gen. 1), the word of God which sustains the present universe (2 Pet. 3:7), and the word of God which will be spoken one day in judgment of the universe (2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 19:15,21). Rest the foundation of your life on God's word revealed in the Old and New Testaments. The truth you find in it will be pleasing to your soul. Scoffers will come and go but "The word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8, NIV).

End Notes:

*1 Morris, Dr. Henry M., "Defending the Faith", article from the ICR publication "Back to Genesis", number 97, January 1997, p. b.