Do you remember this scene with Steve Martin from The Pink Panther?

“Who are you?”

“I am Yuri, the trainer.”

“And what is it you do here, Yuri the Trainer?”

“...I… train…”

“So you are Yuri the Trainer who trains… hmpf…”

There’s a bit of that comedy of language going on in 2 Peter 3:3. However, far from being the product of an aloof and ditsy detective, Peter pens these words with all the seriousness of a dying apostle - “Scoffers will come with scoffing.”

His exhortation to the believers is simple: don’t forget, scoffers will infiltrate the church and lead the way into a lifestyle of sin. These people are not those who are wholly opposed to the gospel, but those who profess Christ. They identify with christians, however, their true identity is that of a scoffer, it is how they sneak in and corrupt the faith. But not just general scoffing, they scoff at something specific - they scoff at the imminent return of Christ. That is what Peter means by saying that these scoffers will come with scoffing. They come into the faith willing to accept everything except one truth: that Christ will soon return to judge the world.

This scoffy thinking is rooted in intentionally “overlooking” two fundamental truths about God’s judgment: His method and His timing. And oh how devastating these oversights can be! This type of scoffing often creeps into the church unnoticed. The subtle message comes across that we can have Christ and the things of the world, that we need not get all worked up about holiness because God is merciful. And besides, it’s not like Jesus is coming back tomorrow! We obviously know that!

Such thinking is far from innocent. It is driven by sensuality and wickedness. It may seem innocent or maybe just immature, but it is thoroughly wicked. It is the strategy of the scoffing scoffers that come with scoffing.