Lesson 5 Part 3 – 2 Peter 3: 11-13
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening[b] the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! 13 But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
First Impression
Following the model of my friend Dave, I caught on the “what sort of persons ought you to be” part. We have a running joke about some mean old lady who knows the words of God deep in her heart but is mean all the same.
(Discuss each topic individually)
With all to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be
A new movie based on the book Dune is coming out and I took the opportunity to read the book again before I see the movie. I read many of the authors books, and while he is probably not a literary genius, this book is or at least was one of the bestselling science fiction books of all time. Maybe right there alongside Dianetics for those who want a little humor. While Dianetics was written by a science fiction author, it has spawned a religious movement as full of worthlessness to rival the religion utilized in Dune to put a druggie in charge of the known universe.
All that being said, we are to live as people who know the truth of the Bible and the falsehood of everything else that cannot be supported by the Bible and to know that the only accomplishments worth having are those that impact where others spend eternity.
Lives of holiness and godliness
Lives of being set apart and of love. This is not to be confused with conforming nor being tolerant. The new Texas amendment that was built upon not letting the government shut down Sunday morning church service is probably worded too broadly and will be used to allow Satanist to do things people should not be allowed to do and to allow Muslim extremist to treat their women as poorly as they do in the worst parts of the Middle East. We are to be holy, set apart, not in isolation and without positive impact on those around us. We are to be Godly, protecting those who cannot defend themselves and showing love to our enemy.
What is the key to 5 6 5
This is for my mentor who read Deuteronomy (the fifth book in the Bible) 6:5 about loving God that is followed by Deuteronomy 6:6-9 that is about ways to remind yourself to love God. He did not seem to like my question about where these commands were literal or symbolic. Do I need to have a frontlet between my eyes or can I simply have His commands integral with my thoughts?
Hastening the day of the Lord
It is now hard to believe this was not the center of my first impression. After going through the lesson, I was sure our job was to pray that Christ come back as soon as possible. Not really. I was sure that our mission was to share God as if that would bring us closer to reunion with Christ that much quicker. It is a subtle difference, but huge. I believe this week our pastor discussed a plan being a “want to” with a “how to”. We are to want to get to the point of reunion with Christ, but our plan has to help us achieve His goal of reaching everyone with the opportunity to deny Him. I stated that backwards, but we have the choice accept or deny. Our job is to present the choice, not achieve the acceptance by others.
New Heavens and New Earth
I still cannot get that picture of a big gold cube sitting on the only slightly bigger earth out of my head. Regardless of how accurate it is, the image I have always carried of the new heavens and the new earth is more like my picture of Eden before the wrong apple was eaten.
In which righteousness dwells
Righteousness. This is the big deal. Being right with God. Having that relationship ahead of all others. We can have this on earth now. God can dwell in our hearts, and we can let Him lead us around like cats on a leash. (humor there) When sin is gone and all that is left is our love for God, then we will have eternity in heaven.