II PETER 3:11: “All these things will be destroyed in this way. So think of the kind of holy and godly lives you must live” (GW)
OBSERVATION: What about “Global Warming”? This is one of those subjects, like evolution, that have more to do with personal bias than it does with scientific fact. I am no scientist, but the evidence for “global warming” is still not all in – or is it? There is a global warming that no one likes to talk about, but the Bible clearly warns us about. Peter, in his second epistle, reminds us all:
- “They are deliberately ignoring one fact: Because of God’s word, heaven and earth existed a long time ago. The earth ⌊appeared⌋ out of water and was kept alive by water. Water also flooded and destroyed that world. By God’s word, the present heaven and earth are designated to be burned. They are being kept until the day ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.” (2 Peter 3:5-7 GW)
Who are “They”? Peter refers to “they” as those who ignore God’s Word, who ridicule His promises, and who are racing toward the pathway of meeting “global warming” face to face. Just as the world was once destroyed by water during the great flood, so the present world will be destroyed by fire at the final judgment. Those who embrace God’s Word will be saved. Those who dismiss it as a mere myth will meet an untimely reality – “Real Global Warming”!
How should this truth affect our lives?
If you are a doubter, God’s love and mercy are calling you to repent and believe in the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ! Jesus came and gave His life for you and I so that we could inherit eternal life and escape the judgment that is coming to the world. And as sure as God shut Noah up in the Ark, and those who doubted were left outside to meet a watery grave, so those who reject God’s love through Jesus Christ will meet the final “global warming” of judgment.
For the believer in Jesus Christ this is a call to look soberly at the life we now live. To cling to the things of this life is futile. It is like clinging to a log for the fire that will be thrown into the flames. If everything in this life is transitory, if everything is truly reserved for the day of judgment, Peter exhorts us to live holy and godly lives. This a life that is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ, transformed by amazing grace, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is a life that is abiding in the Word of God and living out the Love of God! It is a life that is looking heavenward for the blessed hope of Jesus Christ’s return – while daily reaching out to the lost to bring the last harvest in before that final trumpet sounds!
Understanding this does not give us an excuse to neglect taking care of our environment. We all are called to be good stewards and do what we can to make our world a better place for those who are alive today, and those who will be alive tomorrow, should the Lord tarry. However, we do not worship the environment. We hold it in its proper perspective and know that it too will be redeemed by the Cross of Christ – when He alone brings forth the new heavens and the new earth! The redemption of the world will not be accomplished by man, but by the Lord Jesus Christ!
Lord, help me to walk and live a life that is holy (set apart), and godly (like Christ). Give me discernment in these times to walk according to Your Word, and to weigh all purported truth by the counsel of what You have declared. Let me pray for the lost each and every day, and always be ready to share the Good News so that all may come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – and escape the coming “Global Warming”!
In Jesus Name!
