Christians come from different family background and culture, have the different problems in the natural, psychological and spiritual areas. We have read about those people as the epitome of the righteousness and if we could live the way those saints did, then our life will be pleasing to the Lord. Yet, as much as we all believe these truths, we often fail to live them out in our daily lives. They have not become a reality to us in the ways that God has intended. Multitudes of regular church goers do not have Shalom. Like to people of Israel many believers have experiences only short seasons of peace between their lengthy periods of distress. That is why, many believers rush all over the world looking for signs, miracles and deliverance. But nobody truly gets to know the Lord that way.
People who claim to be Christian must believe that the Christians hope, grounded in the Jewish prophetic tradition is that one day there will be a new or renewed creation that represents the complete victory of God over evil and all of its expressions. Therefore, the biblical writers wrote a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:10-13) .It’s a new powerful image to reflect the reality of God’s ultimate establishment of His kingdom. False teachers had entered the church and were leading astray some of the believers. The scoffers had said that nothing would change and Christ would not return. They pointed to the long delay and the fact that all things were continuing as they had been since their fathers ‘fell asleep’, (2 Peter 3:4).
To this situation, Peter affirmed that the Christ would return and the creation that seemed so solid and unchangeable actually would be destroyed completely. The kingdom of God will be established finally and fully with the return of Christ. That is, the new heaven and the new earth refer to a complete break with the past. “The heaven will disappear with a roar… everything will be laid bare… the destruction of heaven by fire… we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:10-13). The promise of new heavens and the new earth becomes an exhortation to righteous living in this creation. The gospel is not to be viewed as moral license but as a call to ethical dignity.
Casual Christian have no vision of a holy God, so they have no motivation for destroying their sinful habits. Therefore, you may be tempted to look another person as being more spiritual than you. But that person could be struggling hard to keep up an appearance of righteousness. This leads directly to the kind of tragic end and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. As such, the vanquishing of evil requires a remaking of the old order so that it can become new and worthy environment for God and the redeemed. Since, godliness and holiness belong to the new order, those who will participate in that new order exhibit these qualifications now.
Keduovilie Linyü
