TEXT: 2 Peter 3:14-18
TEACHER: Mark Driscoll
RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2009

Persevere because God is not finished saving you (2 Pt. 3:14–15)

• Jesus “Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pt. 1:19)
• Beloved “without spot or blemish, and at peace”

Order of Salvation (ordo salutis)

1. Election (God’s sovereign choice in eternity past; Eph. 1:4)

• 1 Peter 1:1-2 “elect…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”
• 1 Peter 2:9 “a chosen race”
• 2 Peter 1:10 “make your…election sure”

2. Gospel Call (hearing of Jesus’ person and work)

• 1 Peter 1:12 “preached good news”
• 1 Peter 1:25 “the good news that was preached to you”
• 2 Peter 1:10 “make your calling…sure”

3. Regeneration (born again by the Holy Spirit, new heart)

• 1 Peter 1:3 “born again”
• 1 Peter 2:2 “like newborn infants”
• 2 Peter 2:4 “partakers of the divine nature”

4. Conversion (Holy Spirit-enabled faith [trust in Jesus] and repentance [hatred of sin] from the new heart)

• 7 times 1 & 2 Peter speaks of a believer’s “faith”
• 1 Peter 4:6 “live in the spirit the way God does”
• 1 Peter 4:14 “the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you”
• 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord…is patient…, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”

5. Justification (legal standing before God)

• Jesus takes away our sin and gives us his righteousness, not because of our works, but because of his grace
• 1 Peter 1:1 “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”

6. Adoption (membership in God’s family, the church)

• Through sin we are estranged from God; through Jesus, our brother, we are adopted
  (6 times in 1 & 2 Peter Christians called “beloved”)
• 1 Peter 2:9 “a people for his own possession”
• 1 Peter 3:8 “brotherly love”
• 2 Peter 1:7 “brotherly affection”

7. Sanctification (ongoing growth in holiness to be increasingly like Jesus)

• 1 Peter 1:2 “the sanctification of the Spirit”
• 1 Peter 2:2 “grow up into salvation”
• 2 Peter 3:18 “grow in the grace”

8. Perseverance (ongoing loving relationship with Jesus as a Christian)

• All of 1 & 2 Peter is in the face of suffering, injustice, false teaching etc.
• 2 Peter 3 is all about perseverance until the Second Coming of Jesus

9. Death (soul goes to be with Jesus while body goes into the grave)

• 1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things”

10. Glorification (resurrection body like Jesus’ reunited with the soul)

• 1 Peter 1:3-4 “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
• 1 Peter 2:12 “day of visitation”
• 2 Peter 3:7 “the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly”

God is using everything to save you. Live your life in light of this fact until you see him face to face.

Persevere because God is not finished teaching you (2 Pt. 3:15–17)

• Peter: trained by Jesus for 3 years, leader of leaders, wrote books of the Bible
• Did not always get along with Paul, but was humble and repentant when rebuked by him (Gal. 2:11)
• Said that Paul is hard to understand:
  • Predestination, tongues, male elders, husbands as head

  • Shouldn’t be discouraged if you don’t understand something
  • Keep at it – further study or maturity could help

Two options when reading Scripture

1. Ignorant & unstable – twist to destruction

• Premarital sex/homosexuality are OK
• No distinction between men/women
• Living by rules/religion

Not liking/understanding something could mean you are hard hearted.

2. Humbly submit, learn, repent

• Scripture (“graphe”) appears 50 times in New Testament, always translated as “the Bible” (e.g. James 4:5).

Persevere because God is not finished welcoming you (2 Pt. 3:18)

• God welcomes you to enjoy life with him
• God welcomes you to be a lifelong learner
• God welcomes you to be a grace seeker

1 Peter 1:2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
2 Peter 1:2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

• Grace is not only forgiveness for sin, but also changing us so we can stop sinning
• Grace is to ill-deserving sinners (not just undeserving)
• Grace appears over 400 times in the OT; nearly 200 times in the NT

1. Common grace — God is good to everyone everywhere

• Sun rises on God’s children and enemies
• Common grace is only good on this earth; not through eternity

2. Saving grace — Common-plus; this life and eternity

• Sin goes to Jesus, he dies in our place, gives us new heart/life

3. Persevering grace — Peter wants us to be grace seekers in everything

• A grace seeker believes by faith that God is good—and is constantly looking to see evidence of this.
• A grace seeker rejoices in what they have rather than coveting what others have.
• A grace seeker celebrates grace wherever they find it (including in enemies).
• A grace seeker worships God in response to his grace RIGHT NOW and forever!

Mars Hill Media:

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