Text: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:14-18)
Tweet: Scripture teaches us that a sure way to detect false professors of Christ and feigned Christians is by whether or not they’re guilty of lawlessness, either by perpetrating it or by promoting it. According to the Bible, anyone who is doing either in their life, is exposing the lawlessness in their hearts (Matthew 7:23; 23:28 ESV). Regardless of their profession, Christ is not Lord of the lives of the lawless, whose lawlessness proves their hearts are far from Him.
The Bible also teaches us that there is no possibility of a partnership between a righteous cause and a criminal riot. The two are mutually exclusive and totally incompatible (2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV). Lawlessness, according to Scripture, inevitably leads to more lawlessness (Romans 6:9 ESV). Indeed, Jesus predicted that the unprecedented increase in lawlessness at the end of time will not only lead to more lawlessness, but also to an unprecedented decrease in lovingness (Matthew 24:12 ESV)
The Scripture solemnly warns us that the puzzling and perpetual lawlessness that increasingly permeates this fallen world will peak when personified at the end of time by a lawless civil leader, who will rise to power on a wave of anarchy, and a lawless church leader, who will rise to power on a wave of apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ESV). In addition, the Scripture exhorts the Christian to faithfully persevere and patiently wait for Christ’s return, being ever-diligent not to be deceived by the deceptive lawlessness of the last days (2 Peter 3:14-18 ESV).
In his famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter proclaimed that Christ was crucified by the hands of lawless men (Acts 2:23 ESV). It was not just lawless men who crucified Christ in history, but who still crucify Christ today—in their hearts, in their homes, in their communities, and in their country. Lawlessness is sin and sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4 ESV). Wherever it is found, Christ is crucified; and whoever is lawless, is a crucifier of Christ.