Sermon: Fourth Quarter Living – 2 Peter 3:11–18 (10/4/26)
Introduction
Scripture
Turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter 3.
Today we finish our series studying this short, important, and often neglected book of the Bible.
Suggested Bible Conference
I've been thinking about hosting and teaching a Bible conference in November.
Conference title: The End Is Near and We Have Charts
Nightly themes:
The Identity of the Antichrist: We’ve Narrowed It Down to Three and One May be Running for Senator of Texas
What is the Mark of the Beast, Apple vs. Android
Blood Moons, Red Heifers, and Your Retirement Account
Trump vs. Iran: Is Armageddon on the Calendar?
The Date Nobody Knows and Why We Think It Is a Week from Thursday
The Lost Tribes of Israel: Scattered Among the Nations? Or Just Outside Lufkin?
And then for our big finale...
THE RAPTURE FLIGHT PLAN: WILL YOUR CEILING FAN BE A PROBLEM?
What do you think our attendance would look like?
I'm telling you, we would have to host it at the COLISEUM!
The only problem with that lineup is that it is not a very biblical approach!
Peter essentially does this end-time prophecy conference in his writing of 2 Peter 3...
And he does not include any of those topics.
Peter's End-Time Prophecy Conference Themes...
The Lord Is Returning, So What Sort of People Should We Be?
The Lord Is Returning, So How Do We Live Without Spot or Blemish?
The Lord Is Returning, So How Do We Make Every Effort to Be Found Faithful?
The Lord Is Returning, So How Do We Guard Yourself Against Error?
Friends, we could host that Bible conference in our CHAPEL!
Here is the point of all of that...
Jesus IS coming back!
To bring a final judgment.
And there ARE things we should and must know and do to prepare!
And they are mostly being IGNORED by many of the high-profile and popular preachers of today.
Let us lean in...
Let us lean in to what Peter says are the real preparations we must make.
Scripture
2 Peter 3.10 | But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.(CSB)
We read and studied this verse last Sunday.
We learned...
The Lord is coming back.
The day of the Lord will come...
The Lord's return is imminent.
Will come like a thief...
No one knows the day or even the year, decade, generation, or century.
Like a thief...
2 Peter 3.11 | Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness (CSB)
It is clear what sort of people you should be...
By saying this phrase, Peter is telling us that knowing and embracing the fact of the return of Christ should make us a different "sort" of people.
Different in what way?
Different by what measurement?
In holy conduct and godliness...
"Holy conduct" emphasizes external actions and behavior.
"Godliness" emphasizes internal heart attitudes and reverence.
2 Peter 3.12 | as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. (CSB)
Wait...
We will see the word "wait" not only here but also in the next two verses.
This is a key word in this passage.
Greek: προσδοκῶντας.
BDAG: to give thought to something that is viewed as lying in the future, wait for, look for, expect the context indicates whether one does this in longing, in fear, or in a neutral state of mind.
In this context, WAITING is not passive.
We see the word, προσδοκῶντας, translated "expecting" in Luke 8.40...
Luke 8.40 | When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. (CSB)
We see it translated "waiting expectedly" in Luke 3.15...
Luke 3.15 | Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. (CSB)
See, there are two ways we wait...
You can wait passively.
Or you can wait actively.
To wait actively is to greatly anticipate...
Groundhog Day is coming whether children think about it or not.
But most children are not counting down the days.
That is passive waiting.
Christmas is different.
They think about it, talk about it, and look forward to it.
That is active waiting.
Kids do not count down the days to Groundhog Day.
They do count down the days until Christmas.
This waiting is the second kind of waiting.
We eagerly anticipate the return of the Lord!
Wait... and hasten its coming...
Hasten: σπεύδοντας.
BDAG:
to be in a hurry, hurry, hasten
to cause something to happen or come into being by exercising special effort,hasten
to be very interested in discharging an obligation, be zealous, exert oneself, be industrious
It is difficult to know exactly what that means.
But at least from a human perspective, we hasten or make the day nearer as we eagerly await and prepare for that day.
The heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat...
With the Lord's return even the earth will be judged and renewed.
This is important because of everything that falls under this category.
Our human achievements will disappear...
Our human fame and recognition will be meaningless...
Our human wealth will be inconsequential...
Everything this world treats as permanent and impressive stands under God’s judgment.
Our accomplishments, reputation, and possessions cannot provide lasting security.
WE MUST EVALUATE THEM IN LIGHT OF WHAT MATTERS TO GOD.
2 Peter 3.13 | But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (CSB)
Based on his promise...
This is based on a promise of God!
We wait for new heavens and a new earth...
The Lord will give us a renewed heavens and earth.
Where righteousness dwells...
Peter personifies RIGHTEOUSNESS.
This is where righteousness lives.
What does it mean that righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and the new earth?
Everything that is right and good and God-honoring...
Nothing that is not...
No deceit, exploitation, cruelty, or injustice.
Everything that promotes love and peace and joy and worship...
Nothing that leads to temptation and sin...
Every relationship and every activity CONSISTENT with God’s righteous character.
2 Peter 3.14 | Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. (CSB)
Therefore...
Because we are awaiting God’s promised new creation, where righteousness dwells…
While you wait...
Third time we have seen this word in these last three verses.
Make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace...
Make every effort...
This is not just trying harder.
We learned about this in the first message in this series.
If you go back to 1 Peter 1, Peter says to "make every effort" there.
But he qualifies it...
He says it is understanding that as Christians, we have been given everything we need to flourish as a Christian and bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Look back at what he wrote...
2 Peter 1.3 | His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.(CSB)
2 Peter 1.4 | By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. (CSB)
2 Peter 1.5 | For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, (CSB)
God has supplied what we need for godliness.
Therefore, we are responsible to make full use of what he has given us.
To be found...
Aorist passive infinitive...
These words emphasize that there will be a point of evaluation and judgment.
How will YOU be "found?"
Without spot or blemish in his sight...
The first part, "without spot or blemish" points to the moral purity and blameless conduct demanded.
We will come back to this in a few minutes.
The second part, "in his sight" points to...
No sin that has not been repented and trusted to the forgiveness of Christ.
Ultimately our hope is in the forgiveness of Christ.
Romans 8.1 | Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, (CSB)
At peace...
Greek: εἰρήνῃ.
Peace in one's fellowship with the Lord.
How do you test for peace in your fellowship with the Lord?
What if I told you that you were going to die (or meet the Lord) in ten minutes...
You cannot reach out to anyone or contact anyone...
All you can do is pray to the Lord...
What would be your demeanor?
The answer to that question tells you much about whether you truly have peace with the Lord.
Is there a sin you would desperately confess?
Is there a defense you would quickly make?
Is there something you know he has called you to do that you would feel compelled to explain?
What would you be trusting in as you faced him?
2 Peter 3.15 | Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. (CSB)
The patience of our Lord...
We spent a long time studying God's patience last week.
2 Peter 3.9 | The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. (CSB)
Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation...
The APPARENT DELAY in the Lord's return serves our salvation.
This is not delay.
This is patience.
Every day before his return is another expression of his patience...
Another opportunity for people to repent and be saved...
As our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him...
This is the apostle Paul.
What has Paul written about?
Look to the next verse...
2 Peter 3.16 | He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures. (CSB)
We looked at this verse last week.
I will make just a couple observations...
Just because there are some parts of Scripture that are difficult to understand does not mean we should not be diligent to study all of Scripture.
We must be careful to be good students of Scripture because there will always be people who will seek to twist Scripture for their own purposes and to their own destruction.
Peter doubles down on this in the next verse.
2 Peter 3.17 | Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. (CSB)
Fall from your own stable position...
None of us are immune from being deceived or confused or tempted...
None of us can risk or afford to not be constantly in God's word.
2 Peter 3.18 | But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. (CSB)
We grow in BOTH grace and knowledge.
In grace by trusting the Christ more...
In knowledge by being better students and followers of Scripture...
Qualities of Fourth Quarter Living
Why does Peter write these words?
In these verses, Peter closes his letter by imploring his readers to live in a CERTAIN way because of a CERTAIN reason.
What is the reason?
The return of the Lord!
Now, the return of the Lord did not happen in Peter's lifetime.
And he at least suspected that might be the case.
2 Peter 1.13 | I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, (CSB)
2 Peter 1.14 | since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. (CSB)
But whether the Lord comes back in our lifetime (and he may very well) or not (and he may not), living with this anticipation is the right and God-honoring way to live.
Fourth Quarter Living
Peter is saying we need to live like it is the fourth quarter of the football game...
Have you ever seen what many football teams do as soon as the buzzer sounds at the end of the third quarter of the game?
They raise four fingers...
The history of this practice is unclear, but it may have started at Oklahoma in 1967 with Coach Carl “Buck” Nystrom.
What do they mean by the raising of the four fingers?
"We are going to win this quarter!"
"We will finish strong!"
Or to quote Peter in 2 Peter 3.14, "We will make every effort!"
Those coaches and players know that a great team is almost always a team that wins the fourth quarters.
So, great players give extra effort in the fourth quarter...
Great players make any and all required sacrifices in the fourth quarter...
Great players ignore their fatigue in the fourth quarter...
Peter is admonishing us to live like it is the fourth quarter.
Live like Jesus is returning soon!
Four things...
Let us take these verses we have studied and note four important things that must be true if we are going to live like it is the fourth quarter.
I. We Must Live with URGENCY.
The fact that Christ is coming back should give urgency to every part of our Christian life.
We have seen this throughout 2 Peter 3...
2 Peter 3.10 | But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. (CSB)
2 Peter 3.11 | Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness (CSB)
2 Peter 3.14 | Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. (CSB)
2 Peter 3.17 | Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.(CSB)
And we see it throughout the New Testament...
Romans 13.11 | Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. (CSB)
Romans 13.12 | The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (CSB)
Romans 13.13 | Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.(CSB)
Romans 13.14 | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. (CSB)
Matthew 24.42 | Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.(CSB)
Matthew 24.43 | But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. (CSB)
Matthew 24.44 | This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (CSB)
Luke 21.34 | “Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly (CSB)
Luke 21.35 | like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth.(CSB)
Luke 21.36 | But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” (CSB)
2 Timothy 4.1 | I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: (CSB)
2 Timothy 4.2 | Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. (CSB)
2 Timothy 4.3 | For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. (CSB)
How does the soon (imminent) return of Christ motivate us?
A. It challenges our assumption that we will always have more time.
Matthew 24.44 | This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (CSB)
B. It removes our excuse for postponing what God has already told us to do.
Romans 13.11 | Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. (CSB)
Romans 13.12 | The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (CSB)
C. It reminds us that our lives will be evaluated by the Lord.
2 Peter 3.14 | ...to be found...
D. It motivates us to keep serving when we are tired.
E. It reminds us that faithful obedience will not be wasted.
1 Corinthians 15.58 | Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(CSB)
It is the FOURTH QUARTER...
We must live with active expectation of the end...
We must SERVE while we can serve...
We must GIVE while we can give...
We must WALK FAITHFULLY while we can...
We must DEMONSTRATE GODLINESS AND HOLINESS while we can honor the Lord that way...
Have you ever noticed how motivated people get as deadlines approach...
At the beginning of the semester, the professor assigns a 30-page research paper.
You ignore the assignment for the fifteen weeks of the semester...
Then on the last week, on top of all of the other end-of-semester work you have to do, you have to pull three all-nighters to get the paper done.
And you know...
Had you approached the assignment with just a little bit of urgency the last fifteen weeks, you would have completed it without breaking a sweat and you would have done a way better job.
That is what these warnings about the return of Christ are all about.
First, they are about the TRUTH of the soon return of Christ.
But they also serve to raise our sense of urgency!
Now...
With a research paper, you know the deadline.
With the return of Christ, you do not.
Jesus has not given us a date to put on the calendar.
He has given us work to do today.
What have you been postponing that you already know the Lord wants you to do?
We do not know how much time remains.
We do know that obedience should not wait.
II. We Must Live with PRECISION.
Peter wrote...
Scripture
2 Peter 3.14 | Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. (CSB)
Notice how thoroughly Peter describes the holiness we should pursue...
Without spot or blemish...
We cannot pursue that while deciding that certain sins do not matter.
Notice again the words he uses to describe sin...
Spot...
Blemish...
Those are important words.
Men, let us test how well you know how to receive instructions from your wife...
What if your wife asked you to straighten up the kitchen?
What if your wife asked you to clean every spot or blemish?
Do you understand the difference in the assignments?
Peter is saying that as the return of Christ looms...
Not that we must focus on straightening a few things up...
But that we must focus on removing every spot or blemish!
Living with PRECISION...
What do I mean by "precision?"
Too often we are way too casual and even sloppy about honoring God with...
Our actions...
Our words...
Our attitudes...
We dismiss so many sins because we deem them small or unimportant.
That is not precise living.
That is why Peter says we must...
MAKE EVERY EFFORT!
TO BE FOUND WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH!
How fast do you drive down North Street on a typical day?
How carefully do you make sure you are under the speed limit, maintaining proper spacing, always using your signals when you change lanes, and never looking at your phone while you are driving?
How does that change when you notice a law enforcement officer following you?
You look in your rearview mirror and see a law enforcement officer, and all of a sudden, your driving becomes more PRECISE.
You knew the rules before you saw him.
But AWARENESS OF HIS PRESENCE makes you pay much greater attention to how you are driving.
That illustrates how awareness sharpens our attention.
Peter wants the certainty that we will stand before Christ to sharpen our attention to how we live.
Our actions matter.
Our words matter.
Our attitudes matter.
Ephesians 5.15 | Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— (CSB)
Even the sins we have grown comfortable excusing matter.
But our relationship with Christ goes much deeper than a driver trying to avoid a ticket.
The one who is coming is our Savior, who loved us and gave himself for us.
We want to please him because we love him.
2 Corinthians 5.9 | Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. (CSB)
2 Corinthians 5.10 | For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (CSB)
And we take his commands seriously because we will answer to him.
Peter is calling us to SERIOUS READINESS, not constant dread.
Our confidence rests in Christ’s forgiveness.
His grace should make us attentive to our sins and eager to turn from them.
If we are looking forward to seeing him, we should pay attention to how we are living before him now.
What spots or blemishes will be FOUND at the Lord's coming?
What dishonesty have you excused because it benefits you?
What hurtful speech have you defended by saying, “That’s just how I am”?
What resentment have you allowed to remain because you believe you are justified?
What private behavior would you condemn if someone else did it?
III. We Must Live with CLARITY.
Peter raises the question in our minds...
Since all these things are to be dissolved... What sort of people should we be?
2 Peter 3.11 | Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness (CSB)
Here is the question...
If all of these things will be destroyed and lost, then what is truly important?
My favorite and often repeated illustration of renovating a hotel room bathroom...
To renovate the bathroom in a hotel is foolish because the next morning you will check out and never see the inside of that room again.
Not only will you waste much effort and money...
But you will also fail to receive the one benefit you had the hotel room for in the beginning... A good night's sleep.
No. When you check into a hotel room, you need to have the clarity about your time there that comes with knowing the next morning you will forever leave that hotel room.
The Lord could have made his return a complete surprise.
Not just the timing of it, but even the fact that he would ever return...
He could have made the whole enterprise a surprise.
But he has chosen the opposite approach.
He has told us to live ALWAYS expecting the return.
Why?
Because expecting the end gives CLARITY to the present.
It helps us more clearly see...
What is truly important in life...
What is truly trivial in life...
May I tell you about both the worst and best sermon I have ever heard?
It was the fall of 1986.
I was a high school senior.
I had only been a Christian for about six months.
I had very little Bible knowledge.
I had very little understanding of what I should be doing as a Christian or why I should be doing it.
I certainly knew nothing about the return of Christ.
My youth minister held a lock-in.
He brought someone in to speak...
The speaker told us students, with a lot of drawings and charts, that the Lord would come back no later than Rosh Hashanah in 1988.
September 11–13, 1988.
I believed every word that man said.
I should not have.
But I did.
That Friday night at that lock-in marked a significant change in my life.
It changed my conduct...
It changed my attitude...
It gave me courage to share my faith and lead several of my friends to Christ...
Now, why do I say it was the best and the worst sermon I've ever heard?
It was the worst because it was...
Wrong...
Unfaithful...
Irresponsible...
And it likely served to undermine the confidence some people had in God's word.
It was the best because...
The Holy Spirit used it to teach me something about how the promised return of Christ should motivate us to determine what is truly important and live for those things!
How would your priorities change if you actually embraced the return of Christ?
Peter says...
2 Peter 3.13 | But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (CSB)
How can our priorities line up with the new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells?
What are you treating as tremendously important today that will seem terribly unimportant when you stand before Christ?
What are you neglecting today that you will wish you had taken seriously?
IV. We Must Live with GOSPEL-NESS.
Peter wrote...
2 Peter 3.15 | Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. (CSB)
Gospel-ness...
I am not sure that is a word, but it should be.
What I mean by this word is that we should see every day that Christ has not yet returned as the Lord's patience and the Lord giving us an opportunity to spread the gospel message.
If the Lord’s patience means opportunity for salvation, what are we doing with that opportunity?
GOSPEL
EVANGELISM
Conclusion
Fourth Quarter Living...
Friends, it is the fourth quarter...
And the scoreboard clock has gone out...
The referee is keeping the clock on the field...
And you and I have no knowledge of when the game will end...
All we have is TODAY and the NEXT PLAY...
To live with...
URGENCY
PRECISION
CLARITY
GOSPEL-NESS