WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE SHOULD WE BE?

by Tammy Phillips
October 9, 2021

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:10-13 NKJV)

Peter describes the day of the Lord in 2 Peter 3:10-13:

1. It will come as a thief in the night.
2. It will come quickly when no one is expecting it.
3. The heavens will pass away with a great noise.
4. The sinful earth and all in it will melt with fervent heat, be burned up and purged from its vast sin.
5. The heavens will be dissolved, being on fire.
6. He promises new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

I do not mean to imply ignorance, but this is a warning that many “Christians” are not heeding.  Jesus is coming.  When He comes, the time for do-overs has ended.  True, we are living in the age of grace now, but many believers have taken the grace of God for granted, I have. Forgive me, Lord? Forgive me?  Grace and mercy are freely given by God but should not be abused nor exploited.   Any time we do not do what we know we ought to be doing, we are sinning against God.  We are taking advantage of His grace.  Have you murmured and complained?  Have you gossiped?  Have you borrowed and not returned? Have you indulged in food, alcohol, sex outside marriage?  Sin is serious and not to be taken lightly. In my terms, it hurts the heart of God.  It hurts others, too.

In light of Jesus returning at any time, and the knowledge that the world and all in it are going to literally melt away, Peter questioned, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be…?

 He answers his question within his question.  “WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE SHOULD WE BE?”  What is necessary? What is right and proper?

We should be holy in conduct. We should be full of awe, reverent, pure, consecrated, set apart for God and His exclusively in conduct, behavior, conversation, and all manner of life.  We should be busy walking and talking for Him.  We should be busy in overturning, turning upside down, right side up and turning back to Him. We should walk set apart.  If the 2.5 out of 8.7 billion professing followers of Christ would be holy in conduct and walking set apart, the world would be a different place.

We should be in holy in godliness.  We should be reverent and respectful.  Honoring the Lord in heart and in the practice. We should habitually obey His words and what he asks us to do.  We should be fully devoted to the service of God.

We should be looking for the Lord. We should be seeking His kingdom first.  We should live like we are expecting a knock on the door from Him at any time.  We should be waiting for Him and not trying to run ahead of Him.   How many times in the Bible does He say, “Watch!”  We need be watching out for Him.

We should be hastening the day of the Lord.  We should eagerly be awaiting His return and diligently urging Him to come on. How do we do that? We hasten Him on by preparing, praying, and living right. We say, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

All of these things are things we ought to be doing.  Are we?

I enCOURAGE you to ask yourself, “What sort of person should I be to bring glory to God?”  It is a hard question with difficult answers if we are not living set apart. If you knew your home was going to burn down tomorrow, how would you be living today?  We should be livin’ like we are forgiven. We should be living on fire for Him.  We should do the little things right, as well as the big things.

Father:  Purge my heart! Purge my body, soul, and spirit.  Purge me from every propensity to sin! I want to walk and talk just like you.  I want to bring glory to Your Name alone and draw others to You.  AMEN