II Peter 2:1-3

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The next part of II Peter dove into the problem of false teachers. It goes on for quite a few verses so let's take them a bit at a time.

2 Peter 2:1-3 ...

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them - bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

How does one spot a false teacher?

There appears to be two areas they err: ideology and behavior.

What are their ideological mistakes?

Heresies are ideas that conflict with the established norm. Thus, if one claims to be a Christian, there are certain beliefs that are part of that claim, in particular beliefs about Jesus the Christ. These false teachers "denied the Sovereign Lord (Christ) who bought them!" If they didn't get the central thing right, they were definitely off to a bad start. Since Peter used the plural for heresy, there was probably other things they had incorrect. But, obviously, if the central teaching of Christianity, who Christ is, was off-line, they were false teachers.

Nothing has changed in a couple thousand years: people today have all sort of ideas about who Jesus was and is. In some cases, they don't claim to be Christians and so at least there is clarity. But, of course, the dangerous ones are those who claim to be Christians yet have odd ideas of who Jesus was and is.

Aside from ideology, there is behavior. What gave them away in 2 Peter's time?

"Shameful ways" ... "Bring disrepute" ... "Greed" ... "Exploitation" ...

Can some of these phrases be used to describe some of the scandals of religious leaders today?

Sadly, many examples can be found for each one of these.

The church is far from perfect. And so what makes an authentic Jesus folllwing community different than a group led by a false teacher?

Hopefully, we turn our shame into confession of sins and eventual reconciliation.

Hopefully, we do our best to make restitution to those we have hurt rather than continue to bring disrepute by covering up sins.

Hopefully, we are characterized by giving of our resources not gathering them in greed.

Hopefully, we are marked by a attitude of being a servant of others and not an exploiter of others.

Lord, help us, as the church who follows the living Lord Jesus, the Christ, be all this and thus true to who you want us to be. Amen.

II Peter 1:12-21

image source: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/?p=537

Previously, Peter discussed the journey of faith his readers were on. Now, he went on to discuss the truthfulness of that faith.

I once heard Greg Koukl say, "The heart cannot believe for very long what the mind rejects."

Faith isn't (and shouldn't be) believing something one knows to be false. Rather faith is trust in something we have some indication to be true and trust in someone whom we have some basis to consider reliable.

And so the Apostle Peter dived into the foundation of faith and the truthfulness of it.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

Peter leaned upon his eyewitness testimony.

For instance, Peter recalled when Jesus told Peter about the manner of Peter's death.

This passage also specifically called upon the indelible images of the Transfiguration when for a brief moment, he, James and John got a glimpse of Jesus' glory like how Moses got a hint of God's glory up in Mt. Sinai. Peter, in a bit of self-deprecating humor, referred to his life as a tent which recalled his remark at the Transfiguration of wanting to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

There was a body of eyewitness testimony about the life of Jesus. Certainly, the teachings of Jesus were eagerly preserved. But also, episodes of His power and glory were part of that body of testimony. Jesus was much more than a good teacher.

And on top of the testimony about Jesus, Peter called upon the prophets of old ...

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The message of God came to humanity through the Prophets. The message of God came to us through Jesus. And indeed, the Prophets pointed to Jesus. The Christian faith holds to a unity of ideas about God and life from the Hebrew Scriptures into the New Testament.

The Scriptures contain what God wants us to know... men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. It wasn't dictation. The writers weren't robots. In their personality, with strength and weaknesses, God worked through them to get His message out.

And so, in the Scriptures, there are direct teachings of what is good and right and true but also life stories that are far short of God's standards. Yet, even those things are meant for us to gain understanding of how life is to be lived.

Lord, thank you for intervening. You have spoken through the prophets. You went even so far as to send Jesus. And now, you have preserved your message by providing Scripture. And you have asked us, flawed and weak people who call you Lord, to carry your message to the world in the way we live our lives. Lord, help me to be live it out and be bold and ready to point people to you. Amen.

II Peter 1:3-11

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Continuing on in 2 Peter ...

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I usually try to link to some image that I think connects to the text at hand. We all have biological life, hence the plant image above. However, is there more to life than just biological existence?

Indeed, Saint Peter talks of godliness and participating in the divine nature.

God doesn't merely exist but has character. Likewise, we don't merely exist but have the potential to take after God's character or to take after "the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

Are we left on our own to fend for ourselves?

We are provided promises and power from God!

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus, we start with faith. Another word I like is trust. When we trust someone, we will do what they recommend. When we trust the pilot of the airplane, we give over our safety to the pilot. Thus, we start with trust in God.

On top of that:
goodness
When we speak of someone is good, what do we mean? I think of a person that seeks the well being of another. Someone who strives to do what is right.

knowledge
There is "book learning" but isn't there more to knowledge than that? There is also a sense of clarity of seeing things as they really are.

self-control
The ability to recognize the impulses we have and to deal with them. We have impulses to that aren't good and self-control is the ability to refuse them. We have impulses that are appropriate but must be regulated, i.e. too much of a good thing becomes bad.

perseverance
The ability to wait. The ability to plow ahead even if positive reinforcement isn't present.

godliness
What are the characteristics of God? Are we striving for those characteristics? What does God value? Do we hold the same values?

brother kindness
The picture in my head of this is meeting another person's need. We are family and we help each other out. We are part of the human family and we help each other out.

love
There is probably no better description of love than 1 Corinthians 13. Love is patient, love is kind ... It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres ...

Also, check out Eugene Petersen's interpretation of these virtues.

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

There is a tension between God's part and our part in this journey. Without God reaching toward us through Jesus, we have no hope. Now that God has done this, we respond and we strive. But as mentioned at the top of the passage, even in our responding, we need to rely on God's promises and power in our lives, thus the final destination is sure ... a welcome into the eternal kingdom!

Lord, give me power to live for you. Help me call upon your promises for wisdom and strength. Please transform my mind from its tendencies toward selfishness and discouragement. Amen.

II Peter 1:1-2

image source: http://www.mystudios.com/art/bar/rembrandt/rembrandt-apostle-kneeling.html

Moving ahead now to 2 Peter.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

What is my identity?

Simon Peter described himself as a servant.

That is certainly one of the top virtues emphasized by Jesus.

Mark 9:35, Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

Peter also recognized that he did have a particular role as one of the original 12 and thus rightly claimed the title of Apostle.

Yet, in the very next breath, he diminished that distinction by saying that the faith of his readers was just as precious as his and his fellow apostles.

The reason: that faith was made possible by "the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

On top of the faith, grace and peace comes along because his readers know God and Jesus.

Christianity isn't just a collection of intellectual ideas, it is transformative of lives and a relationship with God.

In I Peter, this was emphasized in the context of the suffering that the believers faced. In II Peter, we will be seeing a different challenge that believers then and now, face.

Lord, it is all grace. Without what Jesus did, I'm lost. Without your preserving the faith and the faithful through the generations, I would not have heard of the message of Jesus. May more people in our cold-hearted and warring world come to know you and thus experience peace and grace. Strengthen those who follow you in difficult places. Amen.

Outline of 1 Peter

Introduction 1:1-2

Reflection on the grand scope of the new birth and salvation
1. Its future inheritance, 1:3-5
2. Its present suffering, 1:6-9
3. Its anticipation by prophets and angels, 1:10-12

Living life in the Now - Four rounds of exhortation in action/motive pattern
1. Action (prepare your minds...)
motive - God is holy, 1:13-16
2. Action (live in reverent fear...)
motive - Precious blood of Christ, 1:17-21
3. Action (love...)
motive - Born through the living and enduring word of God, 1:22-25
4. Action (rid yourselves of all malice...)
motive - Tasted the Lord's goodness, 2:1-3

Theology: our new standing in Christ
1. Metaphor of living stones on the Living Stone, 2:4-8
2. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, 2:9-10

How then shall we live?
1. Good lives, Good deeds, 2:11-12
2. Submission
a. To authorities, 2:13-17
b. To masters, 2:18-20
c. The example of Christ, 2:21-25
d. In marriage, 3:1-7
3. Treat others well even if they don't deserve it, 3:8-12

Facing up to suffering
1. Our example is Christ's undeserved suffering, 3:13-22
2. Our example is Christ using suffering to defeat sin, 4:1-6
Summing up, 4:7-11
3. Our encouragement is that we are sharing in Christ's suffering, 4:12-19
Summing up, part II, 5:1-11
Postscript, 5:12-14