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"What Manner of Persons Ought Ye To Be?" 2 Peter 3:11
Again today, we are considering one of the great questions of the gospel age. This question was
asked after the apostle Peter had predicted the end of the material universe, as we know it. He
said, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet 3:11).
Based upon this premise, that is, that the Lord will come, the heavens shall pass away, the
elements melt, and the earth and the works therein shall be burned up, Peter asks the question:
"What manner of persons ought ye to be?" Listen, my friends, if you knew that tomorrow would be
the end of the world, as we know it, what kind of life ought you to live today? We cannot say with
any degree of assurance that the end of the world will take place tomorrow, but neither can we
say that it will not. Peter said that it would come as a thief in the night. That means it will be
sudden, unexpected and with no warning.
Therefore, because the day of the Lord could be today, or tomorrow, or at any time, we ought to
be living holy and godly lives.
We Ought to be New Creatures in Christ
Jesus taught plainly: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:3).
The fact that one is to be born again, or be a new creature, suggests conversion or change.
Many people fully expect to be saved without any change or conversion, but to be ready for the
great day which the apostle Peter describes, one must be converted-changed. He must remove
his affections from sin and the things of this world and center them upon Christ and his way of life.
The disciples whom Jesus selected to help him in his work were good men but they once
quarreled over who should be greatest in the kingdom. Jesus called a little child and set him in the
midst of them and said, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." One cannot please God without conversion—change.
One who is still in love with sin is not fit for the society of heaven. He would be miserable if he
should suddenly be placed in such holy company. Sinners are miserable on earth in the midst of
those who are singing, praying, preaching, and worshiping God, and they would not be changed
merely because they moved from one country to another. Peter said, "Repent and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Again, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins
may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19). One cannot go to heaven with his sins. They must be blotted out,
or remitted. That is, one must change his purposes or aims.
There are many today who seem to feel that they are good enough. This is a very dangerous
ground to occupy, because such a person is not likely to put forth an effort to change, if he feels
that he is good enough. If he can only be made to realize that he is lost, and in danger of eternal
destruction, then he may cry out for salvation. If so, he should realize that there is no hope out of
Christ. Peter also said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:13).
The apostle Paul said, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). It makes no difference how good
morally a man may be, for if he is not in Christ, he is not a new creature.
The Lord has taught us the importance of being in Christ and of being a new creature in the
example of Cornelius, (Acts 10). Here was a man who was devout, who gave much alms, who
prayed three times a day, and worshipped God with all his house, and who even saw an angel.
Yet with all of this good record, the angel said, "Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose
surname is Peter" (Acts 11:13). Now, Peter was one of the twelve who stood on the mountain top
and heard the Son of God give the Great Commission, when he said: "Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk.
16:15-16). Cornelius was a good moral man, from the viewpoint of good works, but he was not in
Christ. The New Testament affirms that there is no salvation out of Christ, and there is no other
name among men given whereby they must be saved. What happened when Peter arrived? The
good moral man was told to become a disciple. He was a believer, but he was commanded to be
baptized. "And he commanded them to baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48).