Rev. David Holwick  ZS                                       CHRISTMAS DAY
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 25, 1994
                                                             2 Peter 3:1-9
                     
                       Would YOU Have Believed?


  I. How real was Christmas?
      A. If we had been tourists there, what would it have been like?
          1) Shepherds - realistic, even likely.
          2) Star - we wouldn't be able to tell a new one, we see
                so few here in New Jersey.
          3) Angels - a little tougher.  We don't experience them on
                a regular basis, especially not gobs of them at once.
          4) A little baby in a feeding trough.
              a) Not impressive at all.
              b) Would we have appreciated the significance?

      B. Those who notice, are aware.
          1) Not everyone believed the first time.
              a) The original manger was not a crowded scene.
              b) Even as he grew up, Jesus did not gain large numbers.
                  1> He did get popular as a celebrity, for a while.
                  2> But true believers were few and far between.
              c) We can only guess our response, since we are after fact.

          2) How many believe in the second visit?
              a) Jesus Christ is coming back.
              b) When?  That's always been the issue.
              c) Would you be ready?  Are you ready NOW?

 II. Our thinking needs to be stimulated.                        3:1
      A. Wholesome thinking.
          1) Prophecy is not intended to lead to escapism.
              a) It happened even back then, but they were rebuked.
              b) God wants us involved and forward-looking.
          2) The renewal of our minds is the key to Christian growth.
              a) God's perspective is different from world's.
              b) "Wholesome" refers to positive, life-affirming thought.

      B. Recall the words.                                       3:2
          1) "It is not sufficiently considered that men more frequently
                require to be reminded than informed"
                                                     Dr. Samuel Johnson
          2) Recall the words the prophets, and of Jesus through the
                apostles.
              a) Note that OT and NT are considered a unity.
              b) Best way to recall them, is to READ them.
              c) (A study of prophecy first got me into Bible.)

III. Last-day scoffers.                                          3:3
      A. Skepticism is nothing new.
          1) Our scientific mindset has its roots in ancient Greece.
          2) To non-believers, Jesus's promises seem pretty hokey.

             The liberal commentator Donald Kaul loves the Second Coming
                as much as he does Newt Gingrich.   (not much)
             In one column in 1991 he mentioned how he was approached by
                a Christian.
             He said the pleasant woman handed him a pamphlet.
                He thanked her, and read:
             "In the near future, many Christians will suddenly disappear
                from the Earth."
             Right away that got Kaul's attention.
                Good news always does that to him, he added.

             The pamphlet continued:
             "Such a wonderful event is called 'Rapture,'
                There will be quite a confusion in the world after Rapture:
              The families left behind will look for a large number of
                 vanished people.
              The mass media will be busy with reporting this mysterious
                 event."
             Kaul imagined the headlines:
               "Religious Right Disappears, National IQ Surges."
             He then added,

             "But don't imagine that The Rapture will leave the rest of us
                sinners free to run around and have a good time,
                   unencumbered by the harsh looks, to say nothing of laws,
                      thrown our way by the virtuous.
             After The Rapture comes Seven Years of Tribulation, which
                will entail drought, hail, war, earthquakes, volcanic
                   explosions, famines, plagues and "big disasters from
                      heaven."

             Kaul thought this sounded a lot like California.
             It's interesting that Kaul feels morally restricted by
                Christians.
             Peter himself says a big motivation of the scoffers is
                that they want to follow their own evil desires.
                                                                  #1652
      B. The Second Coming is not something made up by Fundamentalists.
          1) Jesus's own words predict it.
              a) If they are wrong, then he is wrong.
              b) Jesus even predicted people would like he was taking
                    to long to come back.              Matt 24:28; 25:5,19
          2) Churches which ignore his prophecies are shortchanging
                the gospel.
              a) The Second Coming is a major emphasis in the NT.

      C. Uniformitarianism - nothing changes.                    3:3
          1) According to book of Ecclesiastes, it is a typically
                worldly perspective.                         Eccl 1:9-10
          2) Scientists have used it to reject any catastrophic
                events on the earth.
              a) If we don't observe something happening now, it
                    could not have happened in the past.

 IV. God did it before, he'll do it again.                       3:5
      A. Sudden Creation of heaven and earth.
          1) Only God is eternal: our universe was created at a distinct
                time in the past.
          2) Even scientists are coming around to this:  Big Bang theory.
              a) Previously scientists believed in an infinite and
                    timeless universe.
              b) Only in last ten years has Big Bang gained acceptance.
                  1> This year's COBE results, and Hubble data.
                  2> Contrasts with steady state view of philosophers.
              c) Doesn't mean God HAD to do creation this way, but
                    indicates even scientists now see a finite universe.

      B. Sudden flood of the earth.                              3:6
          1) Almost all ancient societies have stories of a huge flood.
          2) Even scientists have had to acknowledge catastrophic
                events in the past.
              a) Huge crater discovered in Yucatan, Mexico.
              b) Buried impact zone caused by asteroid that probably
                    caused extinction of majority of earth's life forms.
          3) Meaning of flood:  God is not only Creator, but Judge.
              a) Jesus makes the same point.    Matt 24:37-39
              b) God doesn't just work on the individual level, he
                    can judge the whole world.

      C. Future, sudden burning of earth.                        3:7
          1) Another judgment, just as certain, is coming in the future.
          2) "Reserved for fire" is uncomfortably close to nuclear
                warfare.
              a) God doesn't have to use nukes.
              b) But it is disconcerting that we could do this ourselves.
          3) History is not open-ended:  God will bring a conclusion.

  V. When?
      A. The timing of the Second Coming has always been a controversy.
          1) The timing of the First Coming was just as debated.
              a) Some Jews thought it would be soon.
              b) Others expected it in tens of thousands of years.
          2) The uncertainty of date-setting discourages many.

             Remember when Donald Kaul was given that pamphlet about the
                Rapture?
             One thing that really grabbed him is that it told precisely
                when The Rapture was going to happen:  October 1992.
             It didn't.
             In spite of Jesus's own warnings, Christians have been
                setting dates for centuries.
             And so far, they've always been wrong.
             Because they have been wrong so often, even good-hearted
                people have become skeptical.

      B. God's perspective on time.
          1) Day can equal ten thousand years.          Ps 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8

             Conversation between God and a young boy:
                Boy to God:  "Is it true that one trillion dollars is like
                                 10 dollars to you?"
                God to boy:  "Yes, my son."
                Boy to God:  "It is true that 1000 years is as a day to
                                 you?"
                God to boy:  "Yes, my son."
                Boy to God:  "Then could you loan me $10 million?"
                God to boy:  "Give me a day to think about it."
                                                                    #2543
          2) God has always seemed slow to humans.
              a) Even the prophets complained on how long God took.
              b) Our lives are but a vapor compared to eternity.
              c) God is not slow, but has his reasons.

 VI. God's purpose in waiting.                                   3:9
      A. God is patient, not slow.
      B. God is loving:  doesn't want any to perish, but all to be saved.
          1) We prefer to rush to judgment.

             Irving Stone's classic history of the American West, "Men to
                Match My Mountains," contains a passage on early justice.
             During the Gold Rush, San Francisco had a rash of crime.
             It got to the point where the police were more corrupt than
                the criminals.

             So in 1851 a group of concerned citizens formed a
                "Vigilance Committee."
             The word "vigilante" is derived from it.
                It was not just a lynch mob.
             They elected Sam Brannan as president, drew up a constitution
                and set up parliamentary rules.
             Only responsible citizens were allowed to join and they only
                acted in emergencies when the law was ineffective.

             The first official act of the group was to arrest John
                Jenkins, who had stolen a safe and dropped it into a boat.
             Tried in Brannan's office before a committee jury, Jenkins was
                declared guilty.
             An 1851 law said that grand larceny was punishable by death.
             But most of the committee seemed reluctant to hang someone
                for only stealing a safe.

             At this point William Howard threw his cap disgustedly on
                the table and cried:
             "Gentlemen, as I understand it, we came here to hang somebody!"
             So that's exactly what they did.
                                                                    #1539
          2) If God acted like this, where would you be right now?

      C. We don't get what we deserve, unless we turn down God.
          1) God doesn't delight in zapping people.
              a) Instead, he wants to save them.
              b) Every single one, if possible.
              c) He gives you as much time as you need.

          2) What we need is to come to repentance.
              a) God cannot force us into the Kingdom.
              b) He did not force the shepherds or Wise Men to worship
                    Jesus.  They had to choose it.
              c) We also need to make a choice.

      D. Be ready, for the end is coming.
          1) A time will come when it is too late.
              a) (...parable of virgins with oil lamps)         Matt 25:1
          2) Be ready now.  Today is the day of salvation.


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