Global warming is the theory that there has been an unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century, primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels. While many scientists believe this theory, over 31,000 scientists signed a document in 1997 saying there was not enough evidence to prove the point of global warming. The global warming issue was, from the beginning, very controversial and political. Much money and time have been spent trying to prove and disprove this theory. I’m not convinced that the theory of global warming is correct, but one thing I do know is that one day this earth will burn up. However, it won’t take thousands to billions of years, as some calculate it would take. It will happen in an instant.
In II Peter 3:10, we see the “day of the Lord” coming. This is when Jesus shall return, and everything will change. Commentator Albert Barnes says, “This is the day Jesus will be the grand and prominent Judge of all.” There will be no more opportunity to repent and get right with God. The opportunity will have passed. He will come when no one will expect Him. Just as a thief comes unexpectedly, Jesus will come suddenly and unexpectedly. The earth as we know it will be destroyed with fervent heat.
II Peter 3:8-10 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
This act of consuming the earth with fire is not something that God is anxious to do. We see that he is longsuffering toward us. He desires that everyone will repent and surrender their life to him before it is too late. He is loving and patient, but He is also a God of justice, and one day His wrath against sin will be executed. This will be a tragic day for those who do not know Him as the Lord of their life. We can wish, hope, and even plan as if it won’t happen, but it will do no good. God is in control, and He always will be.
Since we can’t change what will happen, what are we to do? Peter asks and answers this question in verses 11- 14. Verse 14 tells us to be diligent about our relationship with Him. We are to be doing what He left us here to do. That task is to win others to Him before it’s too late. Our lives should reflect Jesus. We are to be Christ-like in all our attitudes and actions. So, if this is how we are to act while waiting for His return, what would that look like?
II Peter 3:11-14 “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”
We are to be found without spot or blemish. We are to give maximum effort to live a holy life. Jesus would never participate in activities that did not give the correct opinion of His Father. His desire was always to do the will of the Father. Jesus was compassionate. In John 11:35, we see Jesus weeping at the tomb where Lazarus was laid. He wasn’t crying because Lazarus was dead, He knew He was going to raise Him from the dead, but He saw the pain that Lazarus’s family and friends were experiencing. In Romans 12:15, we are to weep with those who weep. We need to walk alongside them and empathize with them.
Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
Jesus went out of His way to reach people with salvation, just as He did with the woman at the well in John chapter 4. We, too, should go out of our way and get out of our comfort zones to reach others. Jesus was never concerned about what others thought or said about Him. He was busy with His Father’s business, and nothing else mattered. He lived a sinless life even though He dealt with every temptation that is common to us.
We should also be busy seeking to live like Jesus in everything we do. We should examine our lives daily and make great efforts to remove every sin from our lives. We must have a deep feeling that we will soon stand before God. We should be looking for Christ’s return and understand that when that time comes, there will be no more opportunity to do anything. To answer the original question, do I believe in global warming? The answer would be “yes.” One day everything will be burned up with fervent heat. If you are right with God, you have nothing to fear, but if not, you too will be consumed with fire on this earth and then judged to spend eternity in the lake of fire.
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