NOTE: This will be the last in the Peter series. The rest of the book does not lend itself to the kind of study I wish to do in this class. In this last essay I do not have a central theme. I am going to just sort of skip through the chapters and comment on things which strike me as relevant, things we will discover if we stop to think. Next week we begin a new study. In teaching the gospels, we often emphasize the story, which is important, but it sometimes obscures the real message Jesus came to bring from heaven. As a consequence, I propose that we take the book of John, and search out the heart of that message, as Jesus reveals it in what He says and does in this book. This will be similar to the recent series we had on the Concerns of
Jesus.
A Brief Look at II Peter
Verses 9 & 10, chapter 1: We sometimes emphasize the "new birth", or baptism and having our sins forgiven, as the be all and end all of Christianity.
Peter here says if we don't proceed to develop the Christian personality, we have forgotten our sins were forgiven. The implication is that having our sins forgiven initially does no good toward our eternal salvation, unless we then make every effort to become more like the personality of Christ.
In verse 10 he says, "...make your calling and election sure". God calls all who place their faith in Jesus Christ. They are the predestined ones...the people of faith. However, being called does not guarantee your eternal salvation. Peter states here that only those who diligently seek to be more like Him will be "elected" to eternal life. It would be hard to see this admonition any other way.
Verse 12, chapter 1: "I will always remind you of these things, even though you...are firmly established in the truth you now have". Note the two words.
First, Truth. Truth is not the same as a fact. Truth is the implication of that fact, and the motivational power it has to alter your behavior. Therefore, it can be lost...not the facts, but the power of them to change your life. I think this is a very important point. Second, Peter says you are doing well now, but don't get lax, take your faith for granted, and forget that Jesus is Lord of your life.
Verse 20, chapter 1: "No prophecy...came about by the prophet's own interpretation". This verse says two things we should note as we study the Bible. First, it says the prophet did not just come up with his version of the truth. The Word came from God, and the prophet was only the messenger. Second, it also emphasizes that no prophecy is isolated from the rest of the Bible to be read and understood by itself. Too many preachers and teachers try to prove some point of doctrine by amassing isolated proof passages. Every passage of the Scriptures is a part of a complete picture, and can only be properly understood when it is viewed as a part of the whole complex of the Bible.
Verse 10, chapter 2: As we said in our last paper, Peter here defines what he means by a false teacher: "...those who follow the corrupt desires of their sinful nature and despise authority". This does not include other Christian teachers who differ with your interpretation of the Bible.
Verse 3, chapter 3: "...in the last days scoffers will come...". In the first Psalm, David extolled the virtue of the man who did not "sit in the seat of the scorners". It is much easier to deal with someone who wants to argue with you that you are wrong, than it is to deal with one who laughs at the foolishness of your faith. It has long been the stock in trade of Hollywood to picture religious people as backward, stupid, judgmental and inept. Peter says we should not be surprised that the hedonist society and self-centered world about us should scoff at the message of the Cross. It condemns every motivation of their lives, but its truth is so real they have no logical answer. The only alternative is ridicule.
Toward the end of the third chapter, Peter says two things which remind us of how limited we are in our understanding, and how dependent we must be on God to lead us home. He says (verse 8), "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day". The limitations of time, in this
little box where I live, make all our wisdom about life as the babblings of a child, when we stand in the presence of Him who is outside of time and space,
and who created it all. No wonder His will is the only will that can be tolerated in heaven or earth.
In verse 13, Peter speaks of "a new heaven and a new earth". The word for "new" here is not a word which means "new in time", but it means a heaven and earth of a different kind from what we have known. Not a polished up world, but a totally different kind of existence. Heaven, being infinite, cannot be a place, for the very word "place" implies location, and location is limited. Heaven is to be a state of eternal, perfect bliss, engulfed in the Spirit of God, and without anything to stain its perfect love and joy. When people ask me if we will be able to do this or that, or to have this or that in heaven, my answer is that there will be nothing you want to have or do that you will not possess in the perfectness of God's world. I don't mean you will get all the things you want here, or think you will want there. I mean your being will be so changed and perfected that nothing will be lacking in your joy.
I have selected just a few verses to let you see how rich the study of the Bible can be if you just stop and think about the words the writer is using. The Bible is a very small book to contain all we can know about what happened before the world existed, and what will happen when it is no more. In addition, in this book are contained all the secrets of a happy and successful life, and it is the only place where you can find a satisfactory answer to the questions, "What am I doing here?" and "What is life all about?" Because these great truths are contained in such a small space, each word needs to be carefully examined for every tiny gem of truth it contains. Glorious is the quest.
