Our society is rapidly deteriorating. We have gone from
condemning sin... to condoning sin... to celebrating sin. Everywhere we look,
in almost every facet of our culture, those who are called 'leaders” - those who are looked up to and followed, are in full-blown, overt rejection of God and
active mockery of His Word. Truth is
suppressed. History, experience and logic are discarded. Wisdom is not found in
our schools, our courts or among our lawmakers. Why? Because
the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… and there is no fear of the Lord.
Claiming to be wise we have become
fools, exchanging the truth of God for a lie... knowing God's righteous decrees
regarding sin and death, we continue in sin, even approving of it and encouraging
it. Eager to justify our sin, we throw
off God and His boundaries saying, “I have no need of God, he is archaic and
outdated.” Shaking our fist in His face we declare, “I do not, and will not, accept
His authority over me, I will not be bound by anyone’s rules!” … blinded to the
fact that in so-doing we are rushing headlong into slavery, judgment and destruction. Still, God’s heart is to save us from His
just wrath. He takes no pleasure in the
death of the wicked. He is not willing
that any should perish but that all come to salvation! Yet, as it is written, “There is none that is righteous, no, not one; no
one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together
they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an
open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their
lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to
shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they
have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Jesus weeps over us
as he did over Jerusalem, “You who kill the prophets and stone God's
messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen
protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.”
God is
patient, full of grace and mercy. But do not be deceived, God will not be
mocked. Whatever we sow, so also shall
we reap. Men who suppress the truth by
their wickedness are sowing evil seed among us.
They secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign
Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many are following
their depraved conduct even bringing the
church into disrepute. In their greed these teachers exploit
us with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them,
and their destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did
not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in
chains of darkness to be held
for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he
brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of
righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what
is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who
was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for
that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his
righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this
is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the
unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
This is especially true of those who
follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. ..
these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like
unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and
destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with
harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad
daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they
feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning;
they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood … blackest
darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful
words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people
who are just escaping from those who live in error. They
promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people
are slaves to whatever has mastered them” … Of them the proverbs are true: “A
dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her
wallowing in the mud.”
I want you to
recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given
by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. Above all, you must understand
that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil
desires. They will say,
“Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything
goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately
forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth
was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also
the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same
word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not
forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his
promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a
roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done
in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what
kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as
you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.That day
will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will
melt in the heat.
But in keeping with his promise we
are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness
dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this,
make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear
in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul
also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all
his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things
that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as
they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends,
since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried
away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be
glory both now and forever! Amen.
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