Teaching | Understanding 2 Peter: Awaiting the End (2 Peter 3)

How often do you think about the second coming of Christ? This critical doctrine of our faith either gets sensationalized with respect to current events or passed over for the sake of other more relevant topics like marriage, parenting, or anxiety management. But the second coming of Christ dominated the mind of the Apostle Peter. His focus on the second coming only increases as his death nears. Our lack of attention to the final judgment reveals a distorted vision of our place within history. We think primarily about God entering into our story. We did not know him and now we do. That’s true and good. But that’s not the emphasis of the New Testament. The New Testament frames the Christian life in terms of getting our story into Christ’s. Of seeing our own lives as part of a larger narrative that encompasses all of creation. When we reframe our perspective in light of God’s story in the theater of history we realize to a greater degree our absolute dependence upon his mercy. But fixing our eyes on the second coming does not lead to passivity, but rather diligent effort toward holiness. The second coming of Christ for us, just as for Peter’s audience in the first century, spurs us on toward love and good deeds as we await the kingdom of righteousness God promises to those who love him. This is Understanding Second Peter.