2 Peter 3:4-6
4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.”
Those in this passage are attempting to comfort themselves in their disbelief. Their point is “Jesus said He would come back. It’s been a long time. Life goes on as it has been. Our ancestors have come and gone and life goes on without any intervention from God. He’s not coming back.”
Many today attempt to comfort themselves in their disbelief. Some say, “I’m young. I’ll have time to come to Christ.” Some take comfort in evolution. They think it’s a plausible replacement for God. Some who are environmentally sympathetic feel that Christianity is harsh towards it. They ally themselves with nature and animals. They feel safe there. Some distort God’s love. They say “God is a loving God who wouldn’t send anyone to hell.” Others take comfort in the company of others. They think “this is a smart (or good) person. I trust his (her) judgement. I’ll follow their worldview.” These include some very common false beliefs.
These beliefs are false comfort. They are almost like pain killers. Life can be painful if we think our beliefs are out of sync with God’s. Our conscience will haunt us. God Himself interacts with us to get our attention. His Word (bible) has it’s message. If we aren’t obedient to these, it’s unsettling. The false beliefs in the previous passage act as a salve to numb the pain within us.
Peter points out the error in today’s passage. In saying Jesus won’t come back in judgement, they forget the world was once destroyed by water. He says they deliberately forget this. They must know that their argument is weak. Yet, cling to it anyway.
1 John 1:8 speaks of deceiving ourselves. We all do this to some degree. With some it keeps them from the faith, with others it keeps them from healthy obedience. We need to pray for God’s mercy and help to point these things out and ask for help to extract ourselves from this false comfort.
Lord, have mercy on us. Show us our error and give us the courage to leave it.