Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
Summary: What will God be looking for in the ashes of his creation? When everything is “laid bare” what will be left that is of interest to our Lord? The answer lies in what God thinks is important.
Part I of our meditation on this passage dealt with the spiritual nature of our existence. What happens when we leave this world behind? How do our decisions and actions here affect our life after death? In Part II, we will look at Peter’s question more directly.
There are many ways to divide up how we look at people. We can divide people by race, ethnicity, intelligence, experience, favorite sports teams, food preference, or color of eyes and hair. In the final analysis, when everything has been destroyed, and the earth is “laid bare,” none of this will matter. What will matter is what you believed and what you did.
There is a fascinating parable in Matthew’s Gospel about a man who has two sons (Matthew 21: 28-32). He tells them both to do some work in the vineyard. One says “no” but changes his mind and does the work. The other says “yes” but does not go. Jesus then asks, “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” (Matthew 21: 31)
The story is a poke in the nose at the Pharisees who are so busy deciding who is a believer and who is not that they miss the whole point of doing God’s will. But are Christians any different? Do we find ourselves in the position of making lists of things people have to agree with in order to be a Christian? At the end of the age, when everything is “destroyed by fire” and “laid bare,” will it matter if your name is on a piece of paper saying you were baptized and went to church, or will God be more interested in what you thought and what you did?
I suspect there are people in the world who are more godly than I am but who do not believe what I believe. They do not go to the same church I do. They may not even go to church at all. If they have a heart for the poor and the vulnerable, if they act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God (Micah 6:8) are they doing God’s will? What if they do not know about God because we who call ourselves Christian cannot agree on what it means to know God? We argue about who is in charge (Pope or pastor), what day we should worship on, and whose opinion about “election” is right. Is it any wonder that the worldly are confused about what it means to be a Christian?
Matthew’s Gospel includes this terrifying passage:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7: 21-23)
Our God is a God of love and mercy (Ephesians 2: 4-10). I do not fear for my soul or yours if you have faith in Jesus Christ. Even so, Peter’s words challenge us to reflect on our faith in Jesus and our application of that faith.
Application: Think about what it means to be God’s people. Keep this question in mind as you read His Word.
Food for Thought: When everything is “laid bare,” what do you think God will be looking for?
When everything is “laid bare,” what do you think God will be looking for?
I believe God will be looking for the very thing He offered us all along: the Truth. There will be no more distractions or alibis, just you giving God an account of your life. Even more, it will be less of a “what” you thought and then did, and more of a “why” you thought and did.
Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Matthew 12:36-37 “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Romans 2:6-8 “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
Chris,
Thank you! You have touched on an important aspect of truth; what actually happened rather than what we wanted to happen. Eve, for example, did not want to be kicked out the Garden of Eden but she did do what she was told not to do. The “why” did not really matter.
If the question is what will God be looking for as He judges each individual, I think He will be looking for sincere faith in His Son. John 3: 36; 1 John 5: 11 – 13; John 17: 3; Romans 3: 21 – 26.
Thank you, Rich.
Those are great verses!
01-04-2022, 2 Peter 3:11a Part 2, When everything is “laid bare,” what do you think God will be looking for?
Hebrews 4:13, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
God is omniscient, knows everything:
Jesus said every time a sparrow falls to the ground, God notices. He knows the exact number of hairs on your head and knows our hearts.
Matthew 10:29-31, Luke 12:7, Acts 15:8.
God knows all about the past, present, and future
Nothing is new to God. He knows every action and every thought that will lead to every action. Jesus is our High priest, already knows our every weakness, and we approach the throne of Grace with confidence and will receive mercy.
Hebrews 4:15a-16
He knew each of us before we were formed in our mothers womb, He knew all the choices we would make and in this foreknowledge He predestined each of us to be who we are, by our choices.
Jeremiah 1:5
To God, everything is now laid bare, so what would He be looking for??
Hebrews 4:12 tells us, For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God the Father will observe as Christ, the ONE the entire Bible points us to, the WORD who created all things, will one day sit as the living and active WORD of God and separates the faithful from the unfaithful.
John 5:22-27, Matthew 25:31-32, Revelation 19:15, Colossians 1:16
Ron,
Thank you! Your words are pointing us to a very deep truth about God.
When everything is “laid bare,” what do you think God will be looking for?
I agree with all the previous comments. But in particular I feel like God will be looking at the same thing He mentions so many times in the bible ( not sure exactly how many times) the Heart!!! 1 Samuel 16:7 Jeremiah 17:10
Tim,
This is so very true, and this truth is what makes it hard / impossible for us who live on this side of the grass to judge. Only God can know the heart.
I always find this confusing. My heart is deceitful and wicked. The amount of times I will do/think the wrong thing far exceeds doing what is right in God’s eyes. But perhaps it’s the number of times you repent genuinely, meaning to turn away from that wrongness and go back to Him in faith that you are forgiven that will matter?
I mean isn’t our faith that he died for our sins what matters? I’m not saying that overtime and during our sanctification process we will not be changed and do the right thing more often and more naturally than when we first started-however we all know even what we do on the outside that seems good often times on the inside it is forced for other motives…eg. ‘Being a good Christian’.
It’s only when the heart is softened by the Holy Spirit that we do the right thing genuinely our hearts fully engaged in His will that it matters does it not? If we are gritting our teeth do the right thing I don’t think that’s what he’s looking for…
Remember that, as part of the new covenant we got a heart transplant with God’s law written on it
Ezekiel 11:19-21, 36:26-27, Jeremiah 32:38-40, 2 Corinthians 3:3-6, Hebrews 8:10
And we get to put on His righteousness as His covenant partner.
Romans 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:53-57, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:12-17
So I’d say, yes, it is our faith that matters. Only those of genuine faith in Jesus as Lord will have the capability to have a heart devoted to God.
Like the two sons sent to work in the fields.
Prayer is always an answer and praying for a change of heart is what David asked and in other places like psalm 51:10
Cathy,
First, I want to say “Welcome to the blog!” 🙂 I appreciate you joining our conversation.
Second, in response to your question: Yes, what matters is that Jesus died for our sins. (John 3: 14-15 is one of my favorite verses relating to this.)
So how can we truly have faith when our hearts are, as you accurately point out, “deceitful and wicked”?
Recognizing our sinful nature is what keeps us humble. Humility before God leads to repentance – a continual turning away from sin to follow God. Repentance leads to sanctification. All of this is done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What can make this confusing is that we think about sin as we think about golf scores; the higher the score, the more likely we are to lose. But this is not how it works.
(Forgive me for rambling on here… you asked a question that started me thinking, so I am just prattling on with my thoughts. I realize you probably know all this… )
For those who have a hard heart / who are not repentant, etc, it does not matter how many good things they have done. (See Ezekiel 18) This brings us back to Jesus for forgiveness. (Matthew 26: 28, Acts 2:38)
Your final point, about whether or not our heart is “fully engaged” is a very good one. Is this what God is looking for? Yes, but not in a judgmental sense. Being fully engaged with His Spirit is where God is leading us to.
No one in human form will ever be 100 percent “fully engaged.” We can’t be. The curse of Adam and Eve’s sin (Genesis 3) includes “knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). This means that as long as we are in the flesh, we will always struggle against the pull of evil.
Our human journey, until the day we shed our worldly body, will be marked by the struggle between good and evil. Walking hand in hand with Jesus, through the power of his Spirit and the Word, we allow Him to lead us through life, trusting that even in our failures he is able to glorify the Father (Romans 8:28).
Aka…Constant progress with abiding struggle. I think the bottom line is are we fighting the good fight?
Our flesh never wants God’s will, but do we want to want it, I certainly do!
Yes! Well said! 🙂