2 Peter 3:17-18 Podcast
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:17-18)
In his heart man knows there is a God, this is why there are so many religions in the world. Pride is at the heart of religion. It is the fuel for man's desire to measure up to God. And, it is natural for the human heart to give safe haven to pride.
This is why the apostle Peter advises us in v.17 to not be self-confident, but we should be on guard "so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position." How are we protected from the error of the lawless? The answer is given in v.18.
In v.18 Peter says, "grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus is the answer. The antidote to deception and destruction is growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
Through God's grace, believers in Christ have become "partakers of the His nature," the penalty and power of sin has been broken. We have been set free from the demands of the law, set free to live for Christ, motivated by the gratitude that grace creates in our hearts.
The more we grow in the grace of God, the more we find that He is extending to us His undeserved favor. This creates a greater pathway for us to know Him. This knowledge does not encourage us to take His grace lightly, or to live apart from His definition of life for us; rather we are challenged to live fully for Him.
In v.18 Peter's last words are, "To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." The apostle turns his eyes away from himself toward Jesus, and prays that his Lord may be glorified.
The book of Revelation, tells us that Jesus is the Overcomer. In fact, He has won! We are on the winning side. He is coming back to set things right, and in the light of His coming, Peter tells us that our priorities should be about the rule of God in our lives and through our lives. Ironically, we have been rescued from the distortions of the enemy, so that our lives would play a role in others being rescued as well.
Showing posts with label 2 Peter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Peter. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
2 Peter 3:14-16
2 Peter 3:14-16 Podcast
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:14-16)
In light of the end time results, Peter implores us in 2 Peter 3:14 to do three things: 1) be found spotless, 2) be found blameless, 3) be found at peace with God.
To be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God by whom? First, be found by God. Second, be found by the people with whom we have influence.
If we are not declared by God as spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him, what is the point? We must be diligent to make sure that we are in Christ, if we are to be found by God in this way. These three are not the products of our own doing. No, these are the products and gifts of God to us through His Son's finished work on the cross.
To be spotless is to be without spot. The Greek word that Peter uses here for spotless is "aspilos", which means without defect or blemish. aspilos is used four times in the New Testament. This word is also used in 1 Peter 1:19 where Peter describes the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross. In light of being made spotless by Christ in the eyes of God, believers should strive to live a life that is without spot or blemish in order to point the unsaved to Christ. That they may cry out to Him for the gift of salvation through His shed blood on the cross.
To be blameless is to not be in a position to be charged for anything wrong. The Greek word Peter uses here is "amōmētoi." Like "aspilos", this is a word that is used of the Lord Jesus and applied through His cross to the believer. It is as if God sees us through the lense of His Son. Yet, Peter encourages us to live out of the position of being blameless.
Believers in Christ are to be found by Him at peace with Him. The Greek word Peter uses here for "peace" is "eirene" which means the absence of strife. Since there is no strife between God and the believer in Christ, the believer should be at peace with all men.
The goal of all of this is that the culture of God would not be distorted and men of all walks of life would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers in Christ should be the most secure people in the world, because God has chosen us to be on His side. And, He wants to use us in the process of bringing others to faith in His Son.
G.K. Chesterton wrote in this regard, "Orthodoxy is like walking along a narrow bridge: one step to either side is a step of disaster. Jesus Christ is God and Man; God is love and holiness; Christianity is grace and morality; the Christian lives in the world and lives in the world of eternity. Over stress either side of these great two-sided truths and at once destructive heresy enters in. One of the most tragic things in life is when a man twists certain Christian truths and holy Scripture into an excuse and even a reason for doing what he wants to do, instead of taking them as guides for doing what God wants him to do."
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14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:14-16)
In light of the end time results, Peter implores us in 2 Peter 3:14 to do three things: 1) be found spotless, 2) be found blameless, 3) be found at peace with God.
To be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God by whom? First, be found by God. Second, be found by the people with whom we have influence.
If we are not declared by God as spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him, what is the point? We must be diligent to make sure that we are in Christ, if we are to be found by God in this way. These three are not the products of our own doing. No, these are the products and gifts of God to us through His Son's finished work on the cross.
To be spotless is to be without spot. The Greek word that Peter uses here for spotless is "aspilos", which means without defect or blemish. aspilos is used four times in the New Testament. This word is also used in 1 Peter 1:19 where Peter describes the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross. In light of being made spotless by Christ in the eyes of God, believers should strive to live a life that is without spot or blemish in order to point the unsaved to Christ. That they may cry out to Him for the gift of salvation through His shed blood on the cross.
To be blameless is to not be in a position to be charged for anything wrong. The Greek word Peter uses here is "amōmētoi." Like "aspilos", this is a word that is used of the Lord Jesus and applied through His cross to the believer. It is as if God sees us through the lense of His Son. Yet, Peter encourages us to live out of the position of being blameless.
Believers in Christ are to be found by Him at peace with Him. The Greek word Peter uses here for "peace" is "eirene" which means the absence of strife. Since there is no strife between God and the believer in Christ, the believer should be at peace with all men.
The goal of all of this is that the culture of God would not be distorted and men of all walks of life would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers in Christ should be the most secure people in the world, because God has chosen us to be on His side. And, He wants to use us in the process of bringing others to faith in His Son.
G.K. Chesterton wrote in this regard, "Orthodoxy is like walking along a narrow bridge: one step to either side is a step of disaster. Jesus Christ is God and Man; God is love and holiness; Christianity is grace and morality; the Christian lives in the world and lives in the world of eternity. Over stress either side of these great two-sided truths and at once destructive heresy enters in. One of the most tragic things in life is when a man twists certain Christian truths and holy Scripture into an excuse and even a reason for doing what he wants to do, instead of taking them as guides for doing what God wants him to do."
To invest in BYM, click here
Monday, March 18, 2019
2 Peter 3:10-13
2 Peter 3:10-13 Podcast
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13)
The end of the world is coming. According to 2 Peter 3:10-11, Peter says the materials within the earth will be used to destroy it. We have fire all around us. We have the sun, for example, some 93 million miles away. The sun's core is 29 millions degrees hot. We also know that the core of the earth is made of molten rock, with a temperature of 12,400 degrees fahrenheit. The whole earth is like a ticking nuclear bomb.
In Colossians 1, we learn that it is Jesus Christ who holds this world together. He is the Creator of that which holds all things in this earth together. And, one day, He who has always held this earth and its universe together, will let it go. He will undo what He has done. And, this is described in many passages in the Bible (see Daniel 12, Joel 2, Matthew 24, Revelation 6-16).
Peter's point in our text today is clear: since life, as we know it on this earth, will be destroyed, we should live lives that are marked by the knowledge that God has favored us through His Son. And, we should look for opportunities to share this good news with all who we come into contact with.
In v.12, Peter says we should be "looking" for signs of the end. Then in v.13, Peter writes "In keeping with His promise." Peter says, "we are looking for new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells."
We should not be surprised, for this was predicted in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 65:17 we read, "Behold I will create new heavens and a new earth . . . " In Revelation 21:5 we read, "He that sits on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." God will create a perfect home filled with redeemed people willing to serve their Creator and enjoy him forever. In Isaiah 66:22, we learn that this will be a new heaven and a new earth which will last forever.
In the end, the marriage of God's faithfulness and the believers' faith will be realized. Think of it, how great will that be? We will realize that which we have always hoped for. We will breathe a sigh of relief, because we will realize that His promises are and forever true.
Jim Cymbala once said, “We like to control the map of our life and know everything well in advance. But faith is content just knowing that God's promise cannot fail. This, in fact, is the excitement of walking with God.”
To invest in BYM, CLICK HERE
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13)
The end of the world is coming. According to 2 Peter 3:10-11, Peter says the materials within the earth will be used to destroy it. We have fire all around us. We have the sun, for example, some 93 million miles away. The sun's core is 29 millions degrees hot. We also know that the core of the earth is made of molten rock, with a temperature of 12,400 degrees fahrenheit. The whole earth is like a ticking nuclear bomb.
In Colossians 1, we learn that it is Jesus Christ who holds this world together. He is the Creator of that which holds all things in this earth together. And, one day, He who has always held this earth and its universe together, will let it go. He will undo what He has done. And, this is described in many passages in the Bible (see Daniel 12, Joel 2, Matthew 24, Revelation 6-16).
Peter's point in our text today is clear: since life, as we know it on this earth, will be destroyed, we should live lives that are marked by the knowledge that God has favored us through His Son. And, we should look for opportunities to share this good news with all who we come into contact with.
In v.12, Peter says we should be "looking" for signs of the end. Then in v.13, Peter writes "In keeping with His promise." Peter says, "we are looking for new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells."
We should not be surprised, for this was predicted in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 65:17 we read, "Behold I will create new heavens and a new earth . . . " In Revelation 21:5 we read, "He that sits on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." God will create a perfect home filled with redeemed people willing to serve their Creator and enjoy him forever. In Isaiah 66:22, we learn that this will be a new heaven and a new earth which will last forever.
In the end, the marriage of God's faithfulness and the believers' faith will be realized. Think of it, how great will that be? We will realize that which we have always hoped for. We will breathe a sigh of relief, because we will realize that His promises are and forever true.
Jim Cymbala once said, “We like to control the map of our life and know everything well in advance. But faith is content just knowing that God's promise cannot fail. This, in fact, is the excitement of walking with God.”
To invest in BYM, CLICK HERE
Friday, March 15, 2019
2 Peter 3:5-10
2 Peter 3:5-10 Podcast
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:5-10)
Our text today begins with Peter informing us that these false teachers "deliberately forgot" that the world was made by God and that it's order was determined by His word. The key word here is "deliberately". This is a choice. The old adage, "The problem with the self-made man is that he worships his maker" is quite descriptive of these false teachers.
At the time Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, he was asked, "What made it possible for the Russian Revolution to take place and for Communism to rise to power?" His reply was simple: "Men forgot God."
Peter, in v.6, goes on to argue that God brought judgment on the world through the flood in Noah's day. As then, the laws of nature tirelessly whisper the existence of God. The earth is 4/5's water consistent with the Creation account in Genesis.
We have discovered there is great evidence for the flood that took place during the days of Noah. In fact, we have discovered sea life in Michigan and Ohio and in Wyoming (7000 feet above sea level). Only an event like the Flood explains how these sea creatures got to these places.
In the future it will be destroyed by fire at the second coming of Jesus Christ. If the false teachers were not so blinded by their own lusts (v. 4), they would be able to see that it is crazy to not believe in the Lord.
So, naturally in v.8, Peter points us to Christ. And what seems to us to be a long time, isn't so long for God. The false teachers said His return hasn't happened, therefore we do not believe He is coming back. From God's point of view, it hasn't been a very long period of time, like 2 days. For man, who do not have the view from eternity, it has been 2000 years.
The irony is that the false teachers take God's patience, which is giving them an opportunity to turn to Him and escape judgement, and use it against God as evidence that Christ is not coming. It will be an unanswerable indictment on the judgment day, when God asks the false teachers, "Why did you take my gift and use it as a prop for your unbelief?"
In v.9, there is a very important word: patient. The Greek word used here is a combination of two words: macro and thumei. Macro means large. Thumei means anger or wrath. God has an amazing capacity to be patient with fools.
The Lord is gracious to delay, allowing mankind to repent, to turn away from their unbelief. According to v.10, it is a sure thing that the Lord will come back.
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:5-10)
Our text today begins with Peter informing us that these false teachers "deliberately forgot" that the world was made by God and that it's order was determined by His word. The key word here is "deliberately". This is a choice. The old adage, "The problem with the self-made man is that he worships his maker" is quite descriptive of these false teachers.
At the time Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, he was asked, "What made it possible for the Russian Revolution to take place and for Communism to rise to power?" His reply was simple: "Men forgot God."
Peter, in v.6, goes on to argue that God brought judgment on the world through the flood in Noah's day. As then, the laws of nature tirelessly whisper the existence of God. The earth is 4/5's water consistent with the Creation account in Genesis.
We have discovered there is great evidence for the flood that took place during the days of Noah. In fact, we have discovered sea life in Michigan and Ohio and in Wyoming (7000 feet above sea level). Only an event like the Flood explains how these sea creatures got to these places.
In the future it will be destroyed by fire at the second coming of Jesus Christ. If the false teachers were not so blinded by their own lusts (v. 4), they would be able to see that it is crazy to not believe in the Lord.
So, naturally in v.8, Peter points us to Christ. And what seems to us to be a long time, isn't so long for God. The false teachers said His return hasn't happened, therefore we do not believe He is coming back. From God's point of view, it hasn't been a very long period of time, like 2 days. For man, who do not have the view from eternity, it has been 2000 years.
The irony is that the false teachers take God's patience, which is giving them an opportunity to turn to Him and escape judgement, and use it against God as evidence that Christ is not coming. It will be an unanswerable indictment on the judgment day, when God asks the false teachers, "Why did you take my gift and use it as a prop for your unbelief?"
In v.9, there is a very important word: patient. The Greek word used here is a combination of two words: macro and thumei. Macro means large. Thumei means anger or wrath. God has an amazing capacity to be patient with fools.
The Lord is gracious to delay, allowing mankind to repent, to turn away from their unbelief. According to v.10, it is a sure thing that the Lord will come back.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
2 Peter 3:1-4
2 Peter 3:1-4 Podcast
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:1-4)
The great hope of the Christian is: Jesus Christ is coming back. In 2 Peter 3 Peter redirects us back to the theme of 2 Peter 1, namely, that God has given us His promises, so that we will have power to resist temptation and remain in His way. Second to the subject of faith, the Second Coming of Christ is mentioned most in the Bible. God speaks of His Second Coming 1845 times.
In v.1, Peter literally desires to wake up his hearers. Interesting concept. Like these believers, we need awakening. We have so much truth, we tend to become
After our family recently went through a very difficult time, I found myself much more alert to the presence of God in my life. After that period of difficulty, I have found my awareness of His presence is different. It is the fallen human default mode to be less aware of the presence of God in our lives.
In v.1 Peter uses the word "wholesome" to describe the thinking that he wants them to have. The Greek word used for "wholesome" is "eilikrinē" which means that which being viewed in the sunshine, that which is found clear and pure, spotless, sincere, ingenuous.
This is to say, when we see things through the eyes of God, we will have the fuel to endure any difficulty, understanding that the difficulty is a means to the end which is the truth.
In today's text, Peter confronts the denial of these false teachers about the second coming of Christ. They got the Second Coming wrong due to the fact that they got Jesus wrong (see 2 Peter 2).
In v.3-4 Peter points out these false teachers are part of prophetic fulfillment. He quotes them: “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
These false teachers were as they were because they were enslaved to their evil desires or evil lusts. Have you ever noticed that the more you give in to sin, they further you experientially remove yourself from the Lord? In my life, I have seen this principle played out over and over.
This introduces another very important point: we must be very careful to not feed the flesh, the evil desires within. In Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
Instead of meditating on our flesh we must meditate on God's Word day and night! Not just on Sundays....but all the time....then we will recognize the wisdom within.
Tomorrow, we will consider Peter's response to this question.
#2Peter #byoungministry #Bible #discipleship #A.C.T. Intl
To invest in BYM, click here
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:1-4)
The great hope of the Christian is: Jesus Christ is coming back. In 2 Peter 3 Peter redirects us back to the theme of 2 Peter 1, namely, that God has given us His promises, so that we will have power to resist temptation and remain in His way. Second to the subject of faith, the Second Coming of Christ is mentioned most in the Bible. God speaks of His Second Coming 1845 times.
In v.1, Peter literally desires to wake up his hearers. Interesting concept. Like these believers, we need awakening. We have so much truth, we tend to become
After our family recently went through a very difficult time, I found myself much more alert to the presence of God in my life. After that period of difficulty, I have found my awareness of His presence is different. It is the fallen human default mode to be less aware of the presence of God in our lives.
The principle that emanates out of 2 Peter 3:1 is:
the cure for spiritual lethargy is biblical prophecy.
In v.1 Peter uses the word "wholesome" to describe the thinking that he wants them to have. The Greek word used for "wholesome" is "eilikrinē" which means that which being viewed in the sunshine, that which is found clear and pure, spotless, sincere, ingenuous.
This is to say, when we see things through the eyes of God, we will have the fuel to endure any difficulty, understanding that the difficulty is a means to the end which is the truth.
In today's text, Peter confronts the denial of these false teachers about the second coming of Christ. They got the Second Coming wrong due to the fact that they got Jesus wrong (see 2 Peter 2).
In v.3-4 Peter points out these false teachers are part of prophetic fulfillment. He quotes them: “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
These false teachers were as they were because they were enslaved to their evil desires or evil lusts. Have you ever noticed that the more you give in to sin, they further you experientially remove yourself from the Lord? In my life, I have seen this principle played out over and over.
This introduces another very important point: we must be very careful to not feed the flesh, the evil desires within. In Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
Instead of meditating on our flesh we must meditate on God's Word day and night! Not just on Sundays....but all the time....then we will recognize the wisdom within.
Tomorrow, we will consider Peter's response to this question.
#2Peter #byoungministry #Bible #discipleship #A.C.T. Intl
To invest in BYM, click here
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
2 Peter 2:20-22
2 Peter 2:20-22 Podcast
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)
In 2 Peter 2:20-21 we discover that if a person "outwardly" starts down the road of the Christian life, escaping from the defilements of the world, and he turns away from the Lord, he probably wasn't a follower of Christ in the first place.
This underscores a very important principle: a sign that we have been born again and come into a personal relationship with God is that we persevere in the faith. On the other hand, the more we know of the reality of Christ, the more severe our judgment.
Now, Peter is not teaching that we could lose our salvation. He is teaching that people who make outward professions of faith and even begin to clean up their lives can turn away from Christ and be lost. In fact, in v.22 he explains we should not be overly surprised at this: dogs characteristically return to their vomit; and no matter how clean you make a pig on the outside, if it is still a pig, it will return to the mud.
In biblical times dogs were very rarely kept as household pets. They were used sometimes to herd sheep. They were dirty, greedy, snarling, often diseased and vicious, dangerous and despised. And they were just as likely to eat their own vomit as anything else. The Jews treated dogs with contempt because of their filth. They lived on garbage. They carried disease. They ate the garbage and then returned to eat what the garbage produced in them, filthy creatures, filthy creatures.
These false teachers are now marked by having returned to their old lifestyle without any remorse. Peter says in v.20, "they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." He then goes on to say in v.21, "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness."
These false teachers had reformation, but not salvation. Their problem was they had turned to Christianity but they had not turned to Jesus! This is the story of Judas and it underscores that being saved and being moral are not one in the same. Judas was probably the most buttoned up of all of the disciples, yet he lacked a personal relationship with the Lord.
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)
In 2 Peter 2:20-21 we discover that if a person "outwardly" starts down the road of the Christian life, escaping from the defilements of the world, and he turns away from the Lord, he probably wasn't a follower of Christ in the first place.
This underscores a very important principle: a sign that we have been born again and come into a personal relationship with God is that we persevere in the faith. On the other hand, the more we know of the reality of Christ, the more severe our judgment.
Now, Peter is not teaching that we could lose our salvation. He is teaching that people who make outward professions of faith and even begin to clean up their lives can turn away from Christ and be lost. In fact, in v.22 he explains we should not be overly surprised at this: dogs characteristically return to their vomit; and no matter how clean you make a pig on the outside, if it is still a pig, it will return to the mud.
In biblical times dogs were very rarely kept as household pets. They were used sometimes to herd sheep. They were dirty, greedy, snarling, often diseased and vicious, dangerous and despised. And they were just as likely to eat their own vomit as anything else. The Jews treated dogs with contempt because of their filth. They lived on garbage. They carried disease. They ate the garbage and then returned to eat what the garbage produced in them, filthy creatures, filthy creatures.
These false teachers had reformation, but not salvation. Their problem was they had turned to Christianity but they had not turned to Jesus! This is the story of Judas and it underscores that being saved and being moral are not one in the same. Judas was probably the most buttoned up of all of the disciples, yet he lacked a personal relationship with the Lord.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
2 Peter 2:17-19
2 Peter 2:17-19 Podcast
17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” (2 Peter 2:17-19)
In today's text, the Apostle Peter describes in more detail these false teachers. He writes in v.17 that they were "springs without water and mists driven by a storm", which means there was no substance to their message or ministry. Instead of the words of God, they spewed out the words of the flesh, which were empty, arrogant, lustful, and enticing.
Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." These false teachers had never experienced the living water springing up from within, therefore their appetite was for something that is far less substantive and fulfilling.
Part of the problem in the church at that time the people did not have enough spiritual depth to ward off these false teachers. The church fold were guilty of "outward change." When we have outward change without inward change we will be trapped in a prison of the false.
In 2 Peter 2:18, Peter describes these false teachers as arrogant and boastful. In Galatians 6, we discover that lives which are described by these words are lives that are destroyed in the end. When we have a false illusion of ourselves, when we are arrogant, we think more of ourselves than we should.
Peter is addressing a group of people who did not have good theology and they therefore did not understand who they really were in Christ. And, these arrogant and boastful false teachers were taking advantage of this situation by making these immature believers think that they were inferior to them.
As a result, these false teachers held out a promise of freedom, all the while they themselves had no freedom of their own. They were slaves to their own depravity.
As believers in Christ, we understand that everything that happens to us does not happen because of some impersonal, unknowable fate. It happens because there is a loving Father in heaven who is seeking to bring forth His purpose in our lives. Years ago, I heard Ron Dunn preach about "the ministry of temptation."
You see these young believers who Peter is addressing in this letter were tempted to walk the way of these false teachers. And for some time they did. And, God allows us to be tempted with the goal to teach us His ways in comparison to the emptiness of the false.
Finally, temptation itself is not sin. Giving into temptation, allowing it to master us is when it mutates into sin. But, God allows us to be tempted in order to enlarge our capacity for Him.
When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land God did not drive out all of their enemies, so that Israel would be prepared in battle. The same is true for us, but we must stay near to Him by daily soaking in His word, listening to Him throughout our day and hanging out with people who are pursuing Him for themselves.
Some time ago I heard a great quote from Henri Nouwen that is appropriate to end this blog.
"Spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says something else, that says, "You are the beloved and on you my favor rests."... I want you to hear that voice. It is not a very loud voice because it is an intimate voice. It comes from a very deep place. It is soft and gentle. I want you to gradually hear that voice. We both have to hear that voice and to claim for ourselves that that voice speaks the truth. It tells us who we truly are."
Monday, March 11, 2019
2 Peter 2:13-16
2 Peter 2:13-16
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. (2 Peter 2:13-16)
In our text today, Peter reminds us these false teachers will experience the law of reciprocity for their behavior which included the desire to harm others, openly displaying irresponsible partying, adultery, seduction of the vulnerable, and greed. Such is life, what we sow is what we reap.
Can you imagine there were "teachers" like this in the church in Peter's day. My question is why did they have a following? We shall see why as we work through today's text.
Peter is about to die and these are his last words. He is warning the believers to not follow these so called teachers. In v.15, Peter tells us that these "false teachers" followed the way of Balaam, not the examples of the afore mentioned Noah and Lot.
This brings up a very important point: God always gives us good examples to follow. Now, Noah and Lot were not perfect, by they believed in the God of the Bible and they were defined by Him at times. And, even though they had their own problems, this life is about emulating their faith. This merely underscores that it is not the amount of our faith that makes us right with God, it is the object of our faith.
Note the words they, these and them. These words describe the false teachers. It is healthy to distinguish those who are not defined by God from those who are. Conclusion: we must be careful who we walk with and are influenced by in a given day.
These "false teachers" went to way of Balaam. The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22. The Israelites had left Egypt and were approaching the land of Moab, Balak, the king, was afraid of them and sent for Balaam, a prophet, and offered him money (Numbers 22:7) to come and curse the Israelites.
The story of Balaam illustrates that he loved gain from someone willing to pay for his prophetic services. These false teachers were charging the believers of their day for their special teaching. Having paid for their teaching, these believers took their teaching more seriously!
According to 2 Peter 2:15 these false teachers "had left the straight way and wandered off." I find it instructive that throughout the New Testament God warns us about the things that would derail us from following Him. In today's text, we are warned about "leaving the straight way." There will always be those who challenge God's narrow truth. The people of Noah's day said that.
We leave the straight way when we forget the God who placed the knowledge of Himself in us. We leave the straight way when we are not careful to evaluate, to think deeply, to be guided by the word of God.
To help us to stay on the straight way, each day we must be careful to be framed up by the definitions of God on a given subject. In addition, it is a good practice to find people who are defined by God's culture and learn from them.
In order to lead the orchestra, we must turn our backs to the crowd.
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13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. (2 Peter 2:13-16)
In our text today, Peter reminds us these false teachers will experience the law of reciprocity for their behavior which included the desire to harm others, openly displaying irresponsible partying, adultery, seduction of the vulnerable, and greed. Such is life, what we sow is what we reap.
Can you imagine there were "teachers" like this in the church in Peter's day. My question is why did they have a following? We shall see why as we work through today's text.
Peter is about to die and these are his last words. He is warning the believers to not follow these so called teachers. In v.15, Peter tells us that these "false teachers" followed the way of Balaam, not the examples of the afore mentioned Noah and Lot.
This brings up a very important point: God always gives us good examples to follow. Now, Noah and Lot were not perfect, by they believed in the God of the Bible and they were defined by Him at times. And, even though they had their own problems, this life is about emulating their faith. This merely underscores that it is not the amount of our faith that makes us right with God, it is the object of our faith.
Note the words they, these and them. These words describe the false teachers. It is healthy to distinguish those who are not defined by God from those who are. Conclusion: we must be careful who we walk with and are influenced by in a given day.
These "false teachers" went to way of Balaam. The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22. The Israelites had left Egypt and were approaching the land of Moab, Balak, the king, was afraid of them and sent for Balaam, a prophet, and offered him money (Numbers 22:7) to come and curse the Israelites.
The story of Balaam illustrates that he loved gain from someone willing to pay for his prophetic services. These false teachers were charging the believers of their day for their special teaching. Having paid for their teaching, these believers took their teaching more seriously!
According to 2 Peter 2:15 these false teachers "had left the straight way and wandered off." I find it instructive that throughout the New Testament God warns us about the things that would derail us from following Him. In today's text, we are warned about "leaving the straight way." There will always be those who challenge God's narrow truth. The people of Noah's day said that.
We leave the straight way when we forget the God who placed the knowledge of Himself in us. We leave the straight way when we are not careful to evaluate, to think deeply, to be guided by the word of God.
To help us to stay on the straight way, each day we must be careful to be framed up by the definitions of God on a given subject. In addition, it is a good practice to find people who are defined by God's culture and learn from them.
In order to lead the orchestra, we must turn our backs to the crowd.
To invest in BYM, click here
Friday, March 08, 2019
2 Peter 2:9-12
2 Peter 2:9-12 Podcast
9 ... if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. (2 Peter 2:9-12)
We continue today with the destiny of the false teachers who had infiltrated the church. We will always have false teachers among us, and one way we can identify them as such, is to take note of their selfishness. The flesh always expresses itself contrary to the ways of God, unrighteous, corrupt, despising authority, arrogant, heaping abuse, bringing God's judgement upon themselves, unreasoning, instinctual, and will perish.
Peter tells us these false teachers heaped abuse on the "celestial beings", which means some of their teachings aligned with God's judgement on the evil angels who chose to rebel with Satan so long ago. Such is the case with false teachers, they mix truth with the false. In doing so, they follow the lead of the Evil One, Satan himself.
The truth is objective not subjective. By and large, today's church has lost its ability to discern truth from error. This is the result of not being students of the Word. We are more committed to nice sound bites than we are the whole counsel of God. Of course, when we become students of the Word, we will be in the position to discern the false.
In v.10-11 Peter informs us that even the good angels who, unlike the false teachers, are stronger than the evil ones, nevertheless do not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment on them. The good angels humbly leave the judgement of these corrupt teachers to God.
Note the difference between the evil and the good angels in v.10-11, the good angels submit to the authority of God, but the evil angels, like the false teachers, resist God's authority.
In v.12 Peter notes that the false teachers are like "unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish."
In the end truth will prevail and those who resist the truth will perish. I trust you are know the One who is the Truth. (John 14:6) The old saying is true: those who move the world are not moved by the world.
9 ... if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. (2 Peter 2:9-12)
We continue today with the destiny of the false teachers who had infiltrated the church. We will always have false teachers among us, and one way we can identify them as such, is to take note of their selfishness. The flesh always expresses itself contrary to the ways of God, unrighteous, corrupt, despising authority, arrogant, heaping abuse, bringing God's judgement upon themselves, unreasoning, instinctual, and will perish.
Peter tells us these false teachers heaped abuse on the "celestial beings", which means some of their teachings aligned with God's judgement on the evil angels who chose to rebel with Satan so long ago. Such is the case with false teachers, they mix truth with the false. In doing so, they follow the lead of the Evil One, Satan himself.
The truth is objective not subjective. By and large, today's church has lost its ability to discern truth from error. This is the result of not being students of the Word. We are more committed to nice sound bites than we are the whole counsel of God. Of course, when we become students of the Word, we will be in the position to discern the false.
In v.10-11 Peter informs us that even the good angels who, unlike the false teachers, are stronger than the evil ones, nevertheless do not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment on them. The good angels humbly leave the judgement of these corrupt teachers to God.
Note the difference between the evil and the good angels in v.10-11, the good angels submit to the authority of God, but the evil angels, like the false teachers, resist God's authority.
In v.12 Peter notes that the false teachers are like "unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish."
In the end truth will prevail and those who resist the truth will perish. I trust you are know the One who is the Truth. (John 14:6) The old saying is true: those who move the world are not moved by the world.
Thursday, March 07, 2019
2 Peter 2:4-8
2 Peter 2:4-8 Podcast
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) (2 Peter 2:4-8)
Yesterday, we considered 2 Peter 2:1-3 which describes the methods of false teachers. In 2 Peter 2:4-8, Peter describes their destiny.
In our text for today, Peter presents three examples of God's judgement: the fallen angels who were cast out of God's presence with Satan, those God swept away who ignored God's warnings through Noah, and, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who were burned to ashes because they embraced ungodliness.
I have often wondered: "Is it that God punishes that which is contrary to His definition of things? Or, is it, if we do not live according to God's definition of things, we suffer the consequences of the wrong definitions?"
Peter uses these three illustrations as a warning to those who were falsely teaching. He also gives the second and third illustrations to instill hope in his hearers who were living amid those who were trying to derail them.
The idea that Peter is communicating here is this: everything will look bleak and you will be tempted to go the way of the world, but do not forget how in the past God has always preserved His children out of it all.
In the context of this teaching, the believer is responsible to live in the truth, being defined by it, and, by example, help others recognize the dangers of the false. Just remember ... "God uses those who are weak and feeble enough to depend upon Him." Hudson Taylor
Years ago, Winkie Pratney wrote an excellent article. In that article, he wrote, “The Bible is full of mistakes…The first mistake was when Eve doubted the Word of God. The second happened when her husband did, too. And mistake after mistake is still being made because people insist on doubting God’s Word. The Bible is full of contradictions…It contradicts pride and prejudice. It contradicts lust and lawlessness. It contradicts sin, yours and mine." A lot to think about.
To read the Winkie Pratney article in its entirety, go to
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a63ca49a803bbb2281732b1/t/5a98f3adf9619ad906d6492d/1519973293982/%E2%80%9CThe+Bible+is+Full+of+Mistakes%E2%80%9D+by+Winkie+Pratney.pdf
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) (2 Peter 2:4-8)
Yesterday, we considered 2 Peter 2:1-3 which describes the methods of false teachers. In 2 Peter 2:4-8, Peter describes their destiny.
In our text for today, Peter presents three examples of God's judgement: the fallen angels who were cast out of God's presence with Satan, those God swept away who ignored God's warnings through Noah, and, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who were burned to ashes because they embraced ungodliness.
I have often wondered: "Is it that God punishes that which is contrary to His definition of things? Or, is it, if we do not live according to God's definition of things, we suffer the consequences of the wrong definitions?"
Peter uses these three illustrations as a warning to those who were falsely teaching. He also gives the second and third illustrations to instill hope in his hearers who were living amid those who were trying to derail them.
The idea that Peter is communicating here is this: everything will look bleak and you will be tempted to go the way of the world, but do not forget how in the past God has always preserved His children out of it all.
In the context of this teaching, the believer is responsible to live in the truth, being defined by it, and, by example, help others recognize the dangers of the false. Just remember ... "God uses those who are weak and feeble enough to depend upon Him." Hudson Taylor
Years ago, Winkie Pratney wrote an excellent article. In that article, he wrote, “The Bible is full of mistakes…The first mistake was when Eve doubted the Word of God. The second happened when her husband did, too. And mistake after mistake is still being made because people insist on doubting God’s Word. The Bible is full of contradictions…It contradicts pride and prejudice. It contradicts lust and lawlessness. It contradicts sin, yours and mine." A lot to think about.
To read the Winkie Pratney article in its entirety, go to
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a63ca49a803bbb2281732b1/t/5a98f3adf9619ad906d6492d/1519973293982/%E2%80%9CThe+Bible+is+Full+of+Mistakes%E2%80%9D+by+Winkie+Pratney.pdf
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
2 Peter 2:1-3
2 Peter 2:1-3 Podcast
1 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. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
In 2 Peter 2:1-3 Peter is describing the ways of the false teachers. In 2 Peter 2:4-10, he describes their destiny.
In 2 Peter 2:1, Peter reveals that these false teachers will always be among us. They look the part of a Christian, they say all the right things, but they don't really believe in the Lord Jesus. These false teachers bring the false in alongside the true. Their message doesn't appear to be different. The false mesmerizes it's hearers, so that if we do not know the truth for ourselves, we will be caught in its grasp.
The word "heresies" used in v.1 means to make a choice. The writers of the Bible used this term because to them any choice other than the gospel was heresy. What we believe about the cross of Jesus Christ is the bottom line choice. Peter tells us these men "deny the sovereign Lord who bought them."
In v.2 Peter describes the morality of these false teachers. "Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute." This word "depraved" refers to anything that has to do with the senses. Sensual people base their lives on what tastes good, what looks good, what feels good.
Such people live for the now. Now-money, now-cars, now-clothes, now-prestige, now-power. Power, fame and the latest fad is the focus of the sensual person's thinking. They use people to win things instead of using things to win people to Christ.
In v.3 we see they exploit people's hunger for God. They will spiritually rip them off with plastic words. Our word "plastic" comes from the Greek word which is translated here as "false." They tell people what they want to hear. They manufacture words in order to appeal to them, and they will exploit them.
Peter says, "Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." God will judge people who live out that sort of lifestyle, who teach others to live sensually. Their judgment will not go down with the sun.
1 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. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
In 2 Peter 2:1-3 Peter is describing the ways of the false teachers. In 2 Peter 2:4-10, he describes their destiny.
In 2 Peter 2:1, Peter reveals that these false teachers will always be among us. They look the part of a Christian, they say all the right things, but they don't really believe in the Lord Jesus. These false teachers bring the false in alongside the true. Their message doesn't appear to be different. The false mesmerizes it's hearers, so that if we do not know the truth for ourselves, we will be caught in its grasp.
The word "heresies" used in v.1 means to make a choice. The writers of the Bible used this term because to them any choice other than the gospel was heresy. What we believe about the cross of Jesus Christ is the bottom line choice. Peter tells us these men "deny the sovereign Lord who bought them."
In v.2 Peter describes the morality of these false teachers. "Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute." This word "depraved" refers to anything that has to do with the senses. Sensual people base their lives on what tastes good, what looks good, what feels good.
Such people live for the now. Now-money, now-cars, now-clothes, now-prestige, now-power. Power, fame and the latest fad is the focus of the sensual person's thinking. They use people to win things instead of using things to win people to Christ.
In v.3 we see they exploit people's hunger for God. They will spiritually rip them off with plastic words. Our word "plastic" comes from the Greek word which is translated here as "false." They tell people what they want to hear. They manufacture words in order to appeal to them, and they will exploit them.
Peter says, "Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." God will judge people who live out that sort of lifestyle, who teach others to live sensually. Their judgment will not go down with the sun.
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
2 Peter 1:19-21
2 Peter 1:19-21 Podcast
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, 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. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21)
2 Peter 1:16-21 gives two things that provide stability to our faith: (1) the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ (1:16-18); and, (2) the revelation of God through the Scriptures (1:19-21).
Today we will consider the second of these.
Our faith gains a measure of stability by the revelation of God through the Scriptures.
In 2 Peter 1:12-15, Peter employs the first person pronoun, I, to make his points. But in 2 Peter 1:16-18, he uses the plural pronoun, we, in order to include the testimonies of James and John who experienced the transfiguration of Jesus while on the mount of transfiguration. Peter, James, and John all saw and heard, and collaborated this real event.
Truth is the revelation of God through His chosen apostles and prophets as recorded in His Word (John 17:17). Such truth supremely focuses on God’s revelation of His Son who said (John 18:37), “for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.” He also said (John 14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” The truth about Jesus is made known to us through the scriptures.
Jesus is the eternal Son of God who laid aside His glory and took on human flesh through the virgin birth. He is fully God and fully man. He voluntarily laid aside the use of some of His divine attributes as He took on the form of a servant and became obedient to death on the cross.
As the apostle John put it (John 1:14), “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In our text today, we have the testimony of a man who spent more than three years with Jesus Christ. For most of those three years, he saw the humanity of Jesus. He saw Jesus hungry, tired, and finally, rejected and crucified by sinners. But he also saw Jesus feed the 5,000, walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead. He saw Jesus in His glory on the mount of transfiguration. He saw Him risen from the dead and he saw Him ascend into heaven, with the angelic promise that He is coming again in power and glory.
This witness to Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith.
I will close with the appropriate words of C.S. Lewis.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, 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. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21)
2 Peter 1:16-21 gives two things that provide stability to our faith: (1) the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ (1:16-18); and, (2) the revelation of God through the Scriptures (1:19-21).
Today we will consider the second of these.
Our faith gains a measure of stability by the revelation of God through the Scriptures.
In 2 Peter 1:12-15, Peter employs the first person pronoun, I, to make his points. But in 2 Peter 1:16-18, he uses the plural pronoun, we, in order to include the testimonies of James and John who experienced the transfiguration of Jesus while on the mount of transfiguration. Peter, James, and John all saw and heard, and collaborated this real event.
Truth is the revelation of God through His chosen apostles and prophets as recorded in His Word (John 17:17). Such truth supremely focuses on God’s revelation of His Son who said (John 18:37), “for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.” He also said (John 14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” The truth about Jesus is made known to us through the scriptures.
Jesus is the eternal Son of God who laid aside His glory and took on human flesh through the virgin birth. He is fully God and fully man. He voluntarily laid aside the use of some of His divine attributes as He took on the form of a servant and became obedient to death on the cross.
As the apostle John put it (John 1:14), “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In our text today, we have the testimony of a man who spent more than three years with Jesus Christ. For most of those three years, he saw the humanity of Jesus. He saw Jesus hungry, tired, and finally, rejected and crucified by sinners. But he also saw Jesus feed the 5,000, walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead. He saw Jesus in His glory on the mount of transfiguration. He saw Him risen from the dead and he saw Him ascend into heaven, with the angelic promise that He is coming again in power and glory.
This witness to Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith.
I will close with the appropriate words of C.S. Lewis.
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Monday, March 04, 2019
2 Peter 1:16-18
2 Peter 1:16-18 Podcast
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 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.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)
2 Peter 1:16-21 gives two things that provide stability to our faith: (1) the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ (1:16-18); and, (2) the revelation of God in Scripture (1:19-21).
Today we will consider just the first of these.
Stability is added to our faith by the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ.
There were false teachers accusing the apostles of following cleverly devised tales, but Peter writes, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
The difference between cleverly devised stories and the Christian faith is the teachings of Christianity which are the result of historical eye witness truth. Christianity is based upon truth, and Peter, himself, was an eye witness to the transfiguration of Christ as recorded in Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2–3, Luke 9:28–36.
When Peter, James and John went up on that mountain they heard the voice of God and they saw the glory of God settle on Jesus. They were there, they heard, they saw, and they gave collaborative evidence of the Father defining Jesus as deity.
I find it instructive that on that mountain came Moses and Elijah. The glory of God didn't rest on the one who represented the Law or the one representing the Prophets, it rested on the One who was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
As a side note, God told us that we do not arrive in His eyes through our efforts to live out the teachings of the Law and the Prophets. No, our acceptance before God only comes through the performance of the Lord Jesus to measure up and fulfill the demands of the Law and the Prophets.
"As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life." Albert Einstein
#2 Peter #byoungministry #bible #discipleship #A.C.T. Intl.
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16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 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.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)
2 Peter 1:16-21 gives two things that provide stability to our faith: (1) the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ (1:16-18); and, (2) the revelation of God in Scripture (1:19-21).
Today we will consider just the first of these.
Stability is added to our faith by the witness of the disciples to the deity of Jesus Christ.
There were false teachers accusing the apostles of following cleverly devised tales, but Peter writes, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
The difference between cleverly devised stories and the Christian faith is the teachings of Christianity which are the result of historical eye witness truth. Christianity is based upon truth, and Peter, himself, was an eye witness to the transfiguration of Christ as recorded in Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2–3, Luke 9:28–36.
When Peter, James and John went up on that mountain they heard the voice of God and they saw the glory of God settle on Jesus. They were there, they heard, they saw, and they gave collaborative evidence of the Father defining Jesus as deity.
I find it instructive that on that mountain came Moses and Elijah. The glory of God didn't rest on the one who represented the Law or the one representing the Prophets, it rested on the One who was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
As a side note, God told us that we do not arrive in His eyes through our efforts to live out the teachings of the Law and the Prophets. No, our acceptance before God only comes through the performance of the Lord Jesus to measure up and fulfill the demands of the Law and the Prophets.
"As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life." Albert Einstein
#2 Peter #byoungministry #bible #discipleship #A.C.T. Intl.
To invest in BYM, click here
Friday, March 01, 2019
2 Peter 1:12-15
2 Peter 1:12-15 Podcast
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:12-15)
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:12-15)
In 2 Peter 1:3 Peter wrote, "God's divine power has already given us all things which lead to life and godliness." Since God has given us the power of his Spirit, our efforts to experience eternal life now has great possibilities. We must never forget that we do not work to earn God's favor.
According to v.12, the things Peter is writing about are already known. Peter's readers are well grounded and established in the truth. Just before Peter denied Christ three times, Jesus said to him (in Luke 22:32) "When you have turned again, establish your brothers." This is the same word used here in 2 Peter 1:12. It is the truth that establishes or gives us the type of security that causes us to stare down the monsters in life.
In v.14 Peter's departure from earth is close. The Lord has shown him it will not be long. This implies that when we die, we go to be with the Lord. Peter says our bodies are like a coat and death means we lay the coat aside for a while and leave. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8, "We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
In addition, the death of the believer is not accidental. In John 21:18-19 Jesus predicted Peter would die by crucifixion. And, we know Peter died upside down on a cross.
Since Peter's hearers were established in the truth, and Peter's time was short on earth, Peter reminds us of these things. The word remember appears 166 times in the Bible.
I understand Peter's thinking. My father was told he had five months to live. And, sure enough after he was told in May, he died in October (1981). After my father found out his time was limited, he started teaching me what was most important in this life.
Even though we know the truth and are established in it, we need repeated reminders of the greatness of God's ways or we will forget. This is why God works in such ways in our lives. He wants us to persevere in the truth, but He is the secret behind our success. We must be diligent to not resist His lessons, even when they are unpleasant and difficult to receive.
I can't help but think of that scene in the movie Lion King when Simba hears his father remind him to remember who he is. This is what Peter is doing here in our text for today. We must remember that our value is best measured at the cross of the Lord Jesus. This is our greatest motivation to be engaged in the work that He has called us to in this world.
To invest in BYM, click here
According to v.12, the things Peter is writing about are already known. Peter's readers are well grounded and established in the truth. Just before Peter denied Christ three times, Jesus said to him (in Luke 22:32) "When you have turned again, establish your brothers." This is the same word used here in 2 Peter 1:12. It is the truth that establishes or gives us the type of security that causes us to stare down the monsters in life.
In v.14 Peter's departure from earth is close. The Lord has shown him it will not be long. This implies that when we die, we go to be with the Lord. Peter says our bodies are like a coat and death means we lay the coat aside for a while and leave. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8, "We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
In addition, the death of the believer is not accidental. In John 21:18-19 Jesus predicted Peter would die by crucifixion. And, we know Peter died upside down on a cross.
Since Peter's hearers were established in the truth, and Peter's time was short on earth, Peter reminds us of these things. The word remember appears 166 times in the Bible.
I understand Peter's thinking. My father was told he had five months to live. And, sure enough after he was told in May, he died in October (1981). After my father found out his time was limited, he started teaching me what was most important in this life.
Even though we know the truth and are established in it, we need repeated reminders of the greatness of God's ways or we will forget. This is why God works in such ways in our lives. He wants us to persevere in the truth, but He is the secret behind our success. We must be diligent to not resist His lessons, even when they are unpleasant and difficult to receive.
I can't help but think of that scene in the movie Lion King when Simba hears his father remind him to remember who he is. This is what Peter is doing here in our text for today. We must remember that our value is best measured at the cross of the Lord Jesus. This is our greatest motivation to be engaged in the work that He has called us to in this world.
To invest in BYM, click here
Thursday, February 28, 2019
2 Peter 1:9-11
2 Peter 1:9-11 Podcast
9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:9-11)
Near sighted people have to work hard to see things, trying to figure out what is before them, but they can not see it. In 2 Peter 1:9, Peter refers metaphorically to the darkened spiritual understanding of some because they do not see what God is doing. This happens to us when we lose sight of God in the midst of our trials and become consumed by them. This is when we are defined by our emotions, and we have lost sight of trusting God's promises and trusting Him with our hearts.
Peter says when we do this, we have forgetting that we have been cleansed from our past sins. The structure of the sentence suggests there is almost a deliberate forgetting. We would rather believe the lie than believe God's promises.
God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins and offer us forgiveness based on His sacrificial death for us. He then rose from the dead to give us hope of the life Jesus died to give us now. In addition, God wants to show us that His power will free us from the fears that have long shackled us. We do not have to be slaves any longer to sin, we are now slaves of righteousness.
When we have forgotten the necessity of trusting God at His word and following His definition of things, the result is blindness and lack of the vision that faith in the God of the Bible brings.
In v.10, Peter uses the word confirm. In the Greek this is the word "bebaian" which means to be firm, steadfast, sure, well-grounded, and unwavering, and in this verse it means to be steadfast concerning God’s calling on one's life. When God's teachings give definition to our lives, His type of life and plan become a spiritual reality. As a result, we will have great motivation to live out of His kingdom right now, even though it may look bleak at the moment.
I experienced this over the past month and a half. As you know, we went through a great trial. On the heals of that trial, a relatively small trial came as I got sick for a week. Then on the heels of that trial, I discovered that my monthly support was severely low. I began to worry, my biggest sin. Based upon my 37 years of learning the ways of God, I knew that He was up to something, I just couldn't see it and I was tired. I grumbled, but heard God say, "pray, son!" No sooner had I begun to pray, God started providing. I can't tell you all of the details, as other people are involved, but I just asked the Lord to lay it on His people's hearts. And guess what, He is doing just that. If you are one of the ones whom He has touched in this way, thank you for helping me do this ministry.
If you are being led to invest in BYM, click here.
9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:9-11)
Near sighted people have to work hard to see things, trying to figure out what is before them, but they can not see it. In 2 Peter 1:9, Peter refers metaphorically to the darkened spiritual understanding of some because they do not see what God is doing. This happens to us when we lose sight of God in the midst of our trials and become consumed by them. This is when we are defined by our emotions, and we have lost sight of trusting God's promises and trusting Him with our hearts.
Peter says when we do this, we have forgetting that we have been cleansed from our past sins. The structure of the sentence suggests there is almost a deliberate forgetting. We would rather believe the lie than believe God's promises.
God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins and offer us forgiveness based on His sacrificial death for us. He then rose from the dead to give us hope of the life Jesus died to give us now. In addition, God wants to show us that His power will free us from the fears that have long shackled us. We do not have to be slaves any longer to sin, we are now slaves of righteousness.
When we have forgotten the necessity of trusting God at His word and following His definition of things, the result is blindness and lack of the vision that faith in the God of the Bible brings.
In v.10, Peter uses the word confirm. In the Greek this is the word "bebaian" which means to be firm, steadfast, sure, well-grounded, and unwavering, and in this verse it means to be steadfast concerning God’s calling on one's life. When God's teachings give definition to our lives, His type of life and plan become a spiritual reality. As a result, we will have great motivation to live out of His kingdom right now, even though it may look bleak at the moment.
I experienced this over the past month and a half. As you know, we went through a great trial. On the heals of that trial, a relatively small trial came as I got sick for a week. Then on the heels of that trial, I discovered that my monthly support was severely low. I began to worry, my biggest sin. Based upon my 37 years of learning the ways of God, I knew that He was up to something, I just couldn't see it and I was tired. I grumbled, but heard God say, "pray, son!" No sooner had I begun to pray, God started providing. I can't tell you all of the details, as other people are involved, but I just asked the Lord to lay it on His people's hearts. And guess what, He is doing just that. If you are one of the ones whom He has touched in this way, thank you for helping me do this ministry.
If you are being led to invest in BYM, click here.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
2 Peter 1:7-8
2 Peter 1:7-8 Podcast
7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 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. (2 Peter 1:7-8)
As we considered yesterday, Peter is giving us certain qualities produced by the Spirit of God in the life of the yielded believer who is feeding the Spirit and thus experiencing the life of God in his everyday life.
Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:5-6, "5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness..."
Faith plus goodness plus knowledge plus self-control plus perseverance plus godliness. Today, we add to these mutual affection and love.
I don't believe Peter means that these quality traits are added to our character in just this sequence. There is a lot of overlapping among these qualities. For example, love is already present in patience (1 Corinthians 13:4). Therefore, I believe Peter is saying: true Christians do not stop pursuing growth in God's grace (2 Peter 3:18). They apply themselves with diligence to increase in these things (see 2 Peter 1:8).
The word Peter uses for "mutual affection" is "philadelphian", which is brotherly love, companionship love. The word Peter uses for love is "agapen" which is commitment love.
The literal translation of 2 Peter 1:5–7 is, "So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." (The Message)
In 2 Peter 1:8, Peter begins to frame up this arsenal that he has given to the follower of Christ. I'm sure you know it is possible to make a start in the Christian life, but then to become indifferent and unfeeling and careless to the grace of God.
Of course, when we become indifferent to God and His culture, we will drift away from His provisions and into destruction of some form. If we are not feeding the Spirit and subsequently being defined by God, we will be defined by our flesh which will bring corruption according to Galatians 6:8.
The answer is that we are motivated by God's promises which will spur us on to strive against the tide of self, resulting in fruitfulness and the ability to spot the false when it comes knocking on the door of our souls.
In order to invest in BYM, click here.
7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 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. (2 Peter 1:7-8)
As we considered yesterday, Peter is giving us certain qualities produced by the Spirit of God in the life of the yielded believer who is feeding the Spirit and thus experiencing the life of God in his everyday life.
Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:5-6, "5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness..."
Faith plus goodness plus knowledge plus self-control plus perseverance plus godliness. Today, we add to these mutual affection and love.
I don't believe Peter means that these quality traits are added to our character in just this sequence. There is a lot of overlapping among these qualities. For example, love is already present in patience (1 Corinthians 13:4). Therefore, I believe Peter is saying: true Christians do not stop pursuing growth in God's grace (2 Peter 3:18). They apply themselves with diligence to increase in these things (see 2 Peter 1:8).
The word Peter uses for "mutual affection" is "philadelphian", which is brotherly love, companionship love. The word Peter uses for love is "agapen" which is commitment love.
The literal translation of 2 Peter 1:5–7 is, "So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." (The Message)
In 2 Peter 1:8, Peter begins to frame up this arsenal that he has given to the follower of Christ. I'm sure you know it is possible to make a start in the Christian life, but then to become indifferent and unfeeling and careless to the grace of God.
Of course, when we become indifferent to God and His culture, we will drift away from His provisions and into destruction of some form. If we are not feeding the Spirit and subsequently being defined by God, we will be defined by our flesh which will bring corruption according to Galatians 6:8.
The answer is that we are motivated by God's promises which will spur us on to strive against the tide of self, resulting in fruitfulness and the ability to spot the false when it comes knocking on the door of our souls.
In order to invest in BYM, click here.
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