5.15.16-Do Not Overlook

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East Cooper Baptist Church May 15, 2016 Do Not Overlook 2 Peter 3:8-10 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 8 

Combating the false teachers is a major theme of the book of 2 Peter. The false teachers: 1. Came in among the believers in the early church. 2. Secretly introduced destructive heresies. 3. Because of their teachings involving primarily being centered around sensuality, Peter said many would follow them and the way of truth would be blasphemed. These false teachers “deliberately overlook” (3:5) the creation, the destruction by the flood, and the coming judgment. “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:18-19 The modus operandi of the teachers: 1. They mocked/scoffed at the character and existence of God. 2. They scoffed at the Day of Judgment. *The patience of God. (Psalm 103:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, Genesis 15:16, Matthew 23:32) Overlooking and self-deception (Ephesians 4:17-18) The belief seems to be spreading that intellectuals are no wiser as mentors, or worthier as exemplars, than the witch doctors or priests of old. I share that skepticism. A dozen people picked at random on the street are at least as likely to offer sensible views on moral and political matters as a cross-section of the intelligentsia. But I would go further. One of the principal lessons of our tragic century, which has seen so many millions of innocent lives sacrificed in schemes to improve the lot of humanity, is – beware of intellectuals.” Paul Johnson, Intellectuals, p. 342

“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; and consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption… For myself, as no doubt for most of my friends, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation.” Aldous Huxley, quoted in Fools Talk (Os Guinness), pp. 82-83 Overlooking and conclusions Every [unbelieving] man is somewhere along the line between the real world and the logical conclusion of his non-Christian presuppositions. Every person feels the pull of two consistencies, the pull towards the real world (with its orderliness and beauty and signals of transcendence) and the pull towards the logic of his system (of unbelief). To have to choose between one consistency or the other is a real damnation for man (without the concept of God). The more logical a man is to his own presuppositions, the further he is from the real world (of beauty and order and transcendence).” Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There, p. 123 The uber-caffeinated jolt to our system: the Day of Judgment “As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there will be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity, so he will have the day unknown to men, that they make shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come, and may they ever be prepared to say, come Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen.” 1689 London Confession of Faith, Of the Last Judgment, 32-3 Questions for Discussion: 1. What does 1 Thessalonians 2:16 mean when it says, “fill their sins to the limit”? 2. How does overlooking and self-deception lead to hardness of heart? (Ephesians 4:17-18) Why would the imminent British historian Paul Johnson say, “beware of intellectuals”? 3. Why did Aldous Huxley and his friends deeply want for there to be no God who is selfdefining, preexistent, and given us standards to live by? 4. Why is the world view of the false teachers a world view that, if logically held to, leads to ultimate despair and discouragement? 5. What are some of our diversions? How will all diversions ultimately disappoint and then in tandem with that, why should we be very wary of “settling for less than God’s will in our lives”?