Sermon notes January 5th, 2025

2 Peter 1

Teaching and learning are important because it involves truth and error. What a student learns becomes ingrained in the heart and soul. The student develops an attachment to it. If this “learning” is false—if the student comes to believe that something untrue is actually true—so much the worse. It will be hard to convince the person otherwise. And if the truth or error involves our eternal destiny, the stakes only go up. This is why Peter wrote his second epistle. The Christian faith that Peter had faithfully preached was not just a matter of philosophy, it was a matter of eternal life and death. Yet there were those who were peddling their own propaganda, falsehoods that contradicted the truth. Peter had to say something; he had to confront these falsehoods so they would not be mistaken for the truth.

1. Date and Recipients Second Peter can be dated sometime between a.d. 64 and 68. It was probably written from Rome, where early church tradition has the apostle spending the closing years of his life. Peter died a martyr around a.d. 68, and the epistle was written shortly before that (see 1:14, 15).
2. Peter addressed his letter “to those who have obtained like precious faith with us” (1:1), a way of saying “to all believers everywhere.” This includes you and me.
3. He had written 1 Peter to the widely scattered Christians in the Asia Minor provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. By the time he wrote 2 Peter, they were no doubt even more widely scattered. Some have noted that 2 Peter seems to be addressed to a group whom Peter knows well and who were facing a specific false teaching. Even if this is the case, the readers seem to be largely Gentiles (because of the multiple references to impure lifestyles, a characteristic of Gentiles) or a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, probably living in one of the provinces mentioned above. Word of their difficulties with false teachers had reached Peter in Rome, and he dispatched this letter to them to encourage them and warn them of the dangers they faced.

His execution was ordered by the Roman Emperor Nero, who blamed the city's Christians for a terrible fire that had ravaged Rome. Peter requested to be crucified upside down, as he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ. History also tells us that they killed Peter’s wife at the same time.

2 Peter 1                                         New King James Version

1   Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

1. Simon Peter introduces himself as a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. At once we are struck by his simplicity and humility. He was a bondslave by choice; an apostle by divine appointment. He uses no pompous titles or symbols of status. He has only a grateful acknowledgment of his obligation to serve the risen Savior.
2. All we are told about those to whom the Letter was written is that they had obtained the same precious faith as Peter and his colleagues. This may indicate that he was writing to us, Gentile believers, the point being that they had received the same kind of faith as believing Jews, a faith that was in no way deficient. All who are saved by the grace of God enjoy equal acceptance before Him, whether they are Jews or Gentiles, male or female, slave or free.

2   Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 

1. How can these blessings be multiplied? It is in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The better we know God, the more we experience grace and peace. We do better by dwelling in the secret place of the Most High than by making occasional visits there. Those who live in the sanctuary rather than in the suburbs find the secret of God’s grace and peace.

3   as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 

1. The power to live a holy life comes through the knowledge of Him who called us. Just as His divine power is the source of holiness, so the knowledge of Him is the channel. To know Him is eternal life (John 17:3) and progress in knowing Him is progress in holiness. The better we get to know Him, the more we become like Him.
2. Our calling is one of Peter’s favorite themes. He reminds us that: 

1. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). 

2.  We have been called to follow Christ in a pathway of suffering (1 Pet. 2:21). 

3.  We have been called to return blessing for reviling (1 Pet. 3:9). 

4   We have been called to his eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:10). 

5   We have been called by glory and virtue (2 Pet. 1:3). This last reference means that He called us by revealing to us the wonders of His Person. Saul of Tarsus was called on the road to Damascus when he saw the glory of God. A later disciple testified, “I looked into His face and was forever spoiled for anything that was unlike Him.” He was called by His glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:4-7

4   by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

1. Included among the “all things” which God’s power has given to promote a life of holiness are His exceedingly great and precious promises in the word. It is estimated that there are at least three thousand promises in the Bible. John Bunyan once said, “The pathway of life is strewn so thickly with the promises of God that it is impossible to take one step without treading upon one of them.” 
2. The promises of God are the last of seven precious things mentioned by Peter in his Letters. 

1. Our faith is more precious than gold (1 Pet. 1:7). 
2. The blood of Christ is precious (1 Pet. 1:19). 
3. Christ, the Living Stone, is precious in God’s sight (1 Pet. 2:4). 
4. He is precious also as the Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6). 
5. To all who believe, He is precious (1 Pet. 2:7). 
6. The imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit is very precious in God’s sight (1 Pet. 3:4). 
7. And finally, the promises of God are precious (2 Pet. 1:4).

2 Peter 1:5-7

5   But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 

6   to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 

7   to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 

1. After all, he is writing to Christians—to those who have already exercised saving faith in the Lord Jesus. So, he does not tell them to furnish faith; he assumes that they already have it. Allow me to translate this scripture like this:

1. Add to your faith the virtue and courage of David; and to the courage of David the knowledge of Solomon; and to the knowledge of Solomon the patience of Job; and to the patience of Job the godliness of Daniel; and to the godliness of Daniel the brotherly kindness of Jonathan; and to the brotherly kindness of Jonathan the love of John.

2 Peter 1:8-10

8   For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9   For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

10   Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 

1. And so, Peter exhorts his readers to confirm their call and election. These are two facets of God’s plan of salvation. Election refers to His sovereign, eternal choice of individuals to belong to Himself. He chose us before He made the world.

John 10:28-29                               New King James Version

28   And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

29   My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

2. The call refers to His action in time by which the choice is made evident. Our election took place before the world was made; our call takes place when we are converted. Chronologically, there is first election, then call. But in human experience we first become aware of His call, then we realize we were chosen in Christ from all eternity.
3. Living a holy life will keep us from stumbling. It is not a question of falling into eternal perdition (hell); the work of Christ delivers us from that. Rather, it refers to falling into sin, disgrace, or disuse, loss of life here. If we fail to progress in divine things, we are in danger of wrecking our lives to the point of ending our lives. But if we walk in the Spirit, we will be spared from being disqualified for His service. 
4. God guards the Christian who moves forward for Him. The peril lies in spiritual idleness and blindness.

2 Peter 1:11-13

11   for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

12   For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 

13   Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 

1. Not only was it Peter’s intention, but it was his duty to stir the saints up through frequent reminders as long as he lived. He felt the fitness of keeping them from spiritual drowsiness as he approached the close of his life.

2 Peter 1:14-15

14   knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 

15   Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

1. The Lord had already revealed to Peter the fact that he would die and the manner in which he would die.

John 21:18-19                                New King James Version

18   Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”

19   This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me”

1. Many years had elapsed since then. The aging apostle knew that in the normal course of events, his death was near. This knowledge gave added driving force to his determination to care for the spiritual welfare of God’s people during whatever time remained.

2 Peter1:16-21

16   For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 

1. He emphasizes that the apostles’ testimony was based on fact, not on myth. They did not follow cleverly devised fables or myths when they made known to the readers the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

17   For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

1. Then there was the testimony of hearing. The apostles heard the voice of God saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This audible expression of honor for the Lord Jesus came to Him from the Excellent Glory, that is, from the bright, shining glory cloud, called the Shekinah, which symbolized the presence of God.

18   And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

1. Speaking of James, John, and himself, Peter emphasizes that they distinctly heard the voice of God when they were with the Lord on the holy mountain. 

2 Peter 1:19-21

19   And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 

20   knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 

21   for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

1. This verse confirms the explanation just given in verse 20. For prophecy never came by the will of man. As someone has said, “What they wrote was not a concoction of their own ideas, and it was not the result of human imagination, insight, or speculation.”
2. The fact is that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In some way which we cannot fully understand, God directed these men as to the very words to write, and yet He did not destroy the individuality or style of the writers. This is one of the key verses in the Bible on divine inspiration. 
3. In a day when many are denying the authority of the Scriptures, it is important that we stand firmly for the verbal, plenary inspiration of the inerrant word.
4. By verbal inspiration we mean that the words as originally penned by the forty or more human writers were God-breathed (see 1 Cor. 2:13). 

1 Corinthians 2:13                      New King James Version

13   These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1. That’s why we interpret scripture with scripture.
2. God did not give a general outline or some basic ideas, then let the writers phrase them as they wished. The very words they wrote were given by the Holy Spirit.