2Pe 3:1-4 “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye 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 Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 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 the creation.”
As he is reaching the close of this writing and the close of his earthly existence, Peter again reminds us why he has written both of his letters. It is Peter’s desire to stir us up. There are many in the world today who want to stir us up. They want us to be angry, to feel slighted in some way, to feel threatened, and even to run to violence. We get stirred up when we watch our favorite sports team. We are stirred when they win and we are stirred when they lose, just in different ways. We are stirred up when we have the promise of spending time with those we love and don’t get to see often.
I point this out for this reason; being stirred up is about more than just thinking on something. Peter says he stirs our pure (Strong’s says “judged by sunlight”) thoughts. He does this by causing us to remember, but being stirred up by that remembrance means more than just to consider it. As illustrated in the previous paragraph, being stirred up elicits a strong reaction in us. We want to do something, for good or ill. Peter certainly is stirring us for good by calling us to consider the truth we have in the light. That consideration should spur us to action.
We of like precious faith should always bear in mind the topics (Jesus and His kingdom) of the holy prophets. We should always bear in mind the authoritative direction (commandments) of the apostles of Jesus. Throughout my life, the reason I was instructed to bear something in mind was because it was to affect my action. We are not called on here to merely consider a concept, but to govern our desires and our actions by being mindful of the teaching of the holy prophets and the men that Jesus called with a purpose. There is a reason why we need to keep these things in our mind. There will be false teachers (scoffers) in the last days.
Beloved, we are certainly living in the last days. In studying God’s word, I find that the last days began when God ceased to speak to his people only by the prophets and began to speak to them (and us) by His Son (Heb 1:2). We are not here to just recognize that there are scoffers (false teachers) who are stirred by their own devices. We are here to point to the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. These false teachers tell us that nothing has changed since the beginning of creation. They say that the coming of Jesus has, up to this point, been empty words either by denying His birth or else by denying His resurrection from the dead.
In truth, so much has changed in His coming. It is not just an empty promise. The promises of God were sealed in His coming. Every time you experience that peace which passes all understanding you are affected by His coming. When you can look at the empty cross and the empty tomb, you know that His coming is not “just a promise.” You know that He is come because He dwells in you.
When we are stirred by remembrance, we testify by our walk that things do not continue as they were from the beginning. When Jesus becomes a reality in our lives, everything changes. When we are in Christ, we are a new creature and everything around us is new (2Cor 5:17). The way we put the scoffers to silence is not through endless debate, but by walking in the newness of the life we have through the coming of Jesus Christ! It is not so much that we will silence their words as it is that we will silence the effect their words have on those around us who are seeking for a witness that Jesus is real. The best proof is for us to bear about the dying of the Lord in our body so that the life of Jesus is made evident in our body as well (2Cor 4:10).
May we remember the instruction of God through both the prophets and the apostles so that we are motivated in living a life that is pleasing unto Him!
