Christian Living (2 Peter 3:14-18)

I. Review (vv. 14-15)

A. Context: Second Peter 3 ... will Jesus judge sin and sinners or not? The big idea Peter ends up with is “new creation.”

B. In v. 14, Peter moves to talking about our response to the coming new creation promised by Jesus.

II. The Culture of a Faith Community (v. 16)

A. The culture of a faith community is determined by how that community handles the Scriptures—both what is taught and what is modeled. (Compare v. 5 with v. 16).

B. “Theology is the result of Scripture, clarified by tradition, explained by reason, and tested by experience” (Tenny).

III. The Best Defense is a Good Offense (vv. 17-18)

A. Compare 3:17 with 1:10 ... Peter is compelled by care for his readers.

B. 3:18 is Peter’s deep-seated desire for his readers ... our knowledge of Christ gives us (1) grace and peace in abundance, 1:2; (2) everything we need for life and godliness, 1:3; (3) escape from the corruption of the world, 3:20. Therefore, it is in our interests to grow in this knowledge!

C. Bounded-set vs. centered set.

IV. Regen Reflection Q’s

A. What things have you found to lead you closer to Christ?

B. What things have you found to lead you away from Christ?

C. What will you take-away from this message?

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Christian Hope (2 Peter 3:1-13)

I. Introductory Discussion

Three discussion questions:

A. What problems in the world cause you the most grief and anguish?

B. What do you see as the solution to these problems?

C. What is the hope of the Christian (more generally)?

II. Three Broken Relationships

A. Humanity’s relationship with God is broken.

B. Human persons’ relationships with each other are broken. (Cf. community group study on 06-25-09.)

C. Humanity’s relationship with the earth, its realm of sovereignty, is broken. [Watch excerpt from Sylvia Earle’s TEDTalk, 10:36-12:06 min.]

D. Working conclusion: God created everything good: you, me, the earth, the entire cosmos. It was all created good. And it has all been broken by sin and death and decay.

III. Exposition of vv. 1-9

A. In Peter’s day, scoffers were scoffing at Christian hope (vv. 3-4). This still happens today.

B. Peter argues against them by pointing to three big acts of God in human history: creation itself, the flood of Noah’s day, and the end of history as we know it (vv. 5-7).

C. So why are there still problems in the world that cause us grief and anguish, two thousand years after the King of Kings and Lord of Lords walked upon this earth? Simply put, because the Lord’s patience means salvation (vv. 8-9).

IV. Reaction to vv. 10-13

A. What is your first reaction to these verses?

B. Read Isaiah 24:4-6; Rom 8:18-23; Acts 3:18-21; Matt 19:28-30; Col 1:19-20; Isaiah 65:17-25, 66:22-24; & Rev 21:1-5, 22-27, 22:1-6. What light do these shed on the hope of the Christian?

C. Read Matt 5:12; Luke 16:22; John 14:2-4; & 2 Cor 5:1. Compare and contrast these to the previous set of verses. Which seem more clear? Which seem more ambiguous? What light do these verses shed on the hope of the Christian?

V. Exposition of vv. 10-13

A. Interpretation

1. “[W]e should note that the translation of v. 10 in some versions (e.g., KJV; ASV; NASB), which has ‘the earth and everything in it’ being ‘burned up,’ is almost certainly incorrect. The text is notoriously difficult, but almost all modern versions and commentators assume that the reading ‘will be found’ is original. What it means is more difficult to determine, but perhaps the idea of being ‘laid bare’ before God for judgment is the best option” (Moo, JETS, 7).

2. “[T]he language of burning and melting that is found in vv. 7, 10, and 12 must be read against the background of the OT, where the language is often a metaphorical way of speaking of judgment. And even if some reference to physical fire is present, the fire need not bring total destruction” (Ibid.).

3. “[T]he Greek word for ‘destroy’ in vv. 10, 11, and 12 is a verb that denotes, as Louw-Nida put it, ‘to destroy or reduce something to ruin by tearing down or breaking to pieces’ . . . ‘Destruction’ does not necessarily mean total physical annihilation, but a dissolution or radical change in nature. The widespread metaphorical sense of the venerable English verb ‘undo’ might accurately convey something of the sense. When a character in a C. S. Lewis novel exclaims that he is ‘undone,’ he does not mean that he has ceased to exist but that the very nature of his being has been destroyed . . . The parallel with what God did when he ‘destroyed’ the first world in the Flood of Noah suggests that God will ‘destroy’ this world not by annihilating it but by radically transforming it into a place fit for resurrected saints to live in forever” (Ibid.).

B. The big picture (i.e. 2 Peter in the context of the whole NT and all of Scripture)

1. The teaching of Romans 8 about the liberation of the cosmos

2. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body (which demands a significant continuity of some kind between this world and the next)

C. Eschatological living (v. 11)

VI. Conclusion

Big idea: God created everything good: you, me, the earth, the entire cosmos. It was all created good. And it has all been broken by sin and death and decay. And God wants to redeem all of it.

(Download mp3)

For further reading, see “Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment” by Doug Moo in Journal of the Evangelistic Theological Society. I highly recommend this article. It is well worth your time.

Truth & Falsehood (Second Peter 2)

Okay, we are getting back into 2 Peter this Sunday night, so I wanted to post something reviewing where we left off.

Second Peter is a book for people with questions, doubts, and frustrations about their faith.

In Paul’s message on 2 Peter 1:12-21, we discussed the questions, doubts, and frustrations that we sometimes have with the Scriptures as they have been delivered to us. After all, isn’t it possible that we are all just following a bunch of cleverly invented stories? I think we can all benefit from engaging with this question.

For Peter’s audience, the Old Testament Scriptures delivered from God by the prophets were trustworthy and true, and he affirms this in his letter. But weren’t there also false prophets in Israel? Weren’t there false teachers in Peter’s day? And aren’t there false teachers in our day? How do we discern if someone is trustworthy and true? This is the subject of Chapter 2 in Peter’s letter.

Any discussion or discourse on false teachers assumes that there are such things as truth and falsehood. But what is truth? This is a question that humanity has wrestled with for thousands of years.

Philosophers have proposed at least three theories of truth: (1) correspondence theory, which says: “A statement is true if and only if it corresponds to the facts” (Velasquez, 427); (2) coherence theory, which says: “A statement is true if and only if it coheres or fits in with that system of statements that we already accept” (Ibid.); (3) pragmatism, which says: “A statement is true if and only if it effectively solves a practical problem and thereby experientially satisfies us” (Ibid.).

There are strengths and weaknesses to each of these theories. For the most part, I would say that the Scriptures use something like correspondence theory: “truth” is what corresponds to reality, to the way things are. “Falsehood” is what is deceptive, what does not correspond to reality.

What do you think?

There is a group of teachers whose lifestyle and teaching Peter believes to be deceptive. Commentator Peter H. Davids suggests that they may have been Epicureans. Whatever the case, their lifestyle and teaching do not correspond to what we have in Christ, and Peter does not want them influencing the congregations to whom he is writing.

They secretly introduce destructive heresies (v. 1). What is heresy? Mary Veeneman says: “I usually define heresy as a belief that is so fundamentally problematic it renders human salvation via Christ impossible” (source).

They bring the way of truth into disrepute (v. 2). They are lovers of money, likely exploiting the gospel for financial gain (v. 3). They despise authority (v. 10); oftentimes when someone despises authority, it is so that they can set themselves up as an authority instead.

Clearly, their influence is destructive. Peter spends over half of the chapter (vv. 13-22) talking not about the content of their doctrine (which he addresses briefly in vv. 1-2) but about the content of their lives. We must not miss this: false living is false teaching.

Here is the best definition of teaching I have ever heard: “Teaching is causing someone to learn.” Teaching is more than just the transfer of information. False teaching, the kind that Peter is concerned with, is more than the transfer or proclamation of false doctrine, although it includes that, to be sure. Simply put, false living is false teaching. And this is Peter’s concern (see esp. vv. 13–14, 17–20). He does not want these false teachers to influence otherwise healthy, growing congregations.

So what is the application for us? In 1 Tim 4:16, Paul says to Timothy: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Some people are really good about watching their doctrine. They quote verses such as Jude 3, Gal 1:8-9, etc. This is good and necessary. Some people are really good about watching their lives. They quote verses like James 1:27, Micah 6:8, etc. This is also good and necessary.

But if we are in Christ, we must watch our life and doctrine closely. We dare not preach a false gospel with our doctrine, but we also dare not preach a false gospel with our lives. False living is false teaching. Therefore, let us watch our life and doctrine closely. Let us strive to have a positive, godly influence on all those around us, by God’s grace.

As we learn to cling to Jesus instead of ourselves, his lifestyle and teaching will become our own.

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2 Peter 1:12-21 - Connecting to Christ through Scripture

Although I have referred to this before, I once again presented some helpful questions to ask when reading the Bible. I don't go through these questions explicitly very often, but I find that it is a great exercise every once in a while to go back and study out a text using these questions for redemptive reading.

The discussion time at tables was fascinating this week as we discussed why we trust the Bible and what doubts we have. Everyone came at it from different directions and with different reasons, and it was encouraging to hear all these diverse ways that can lead us to trust the Bible and, by the witness of Scripture, in Christ.

Here is just a summary sampling of the responses that were shared at my table:

• I trust the Bible because I have seen too many things in life that cannot be explained outside of God's supernatural intervention.
• I trust the Bible because it makes sense of life and explains my experiences.
• I trust the Bible because, out of all the religions and worldviews out there, it is the only one that is really coherent.
• I trust the Bible because Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, proving his identity as God-in-flesh. If Jesus trusted the Bible, so can I.
• I trust the Bible because of the many miracles of God that are visible in creation.

Whatever our reasons are for trusting Scripture, this passage from 2 Peter encourages us to pay attention to it since the Bible, both Old Testament and New, testifies to Christ and the blessings of gospel power that are available through knowing him by faith. We always have to remember that Scripture was given as "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit". Whenever we read the Bible we are reading both what "men spoke" (the human origin) and what they spoke "from God" (the divine origin). Only by holding both of these together can we understand what God intends for us in Scripture.

Recommended Reading:
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible by Dr Gordon D Fee, Dr Douglas Stuart
A General Introduction to the Bible By Norman L. Geisler, William E. Nix
The Canon of Scripture by F. F. Bruce
God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts

(Holly and I generally own the books that I recommend, so if you are interested in borrowing any of them, let us know.)

Sermon Audio

2 Peter 1:5-11

When you think about it, there are a lot of things that Christians are supposed to do. We are supposed to (1) pray, (2) read our Bibles, (3) gather with other Christians for worship, (4) be a true community, (5) help the poor and the needy, (6) preach the gospel, (7) share our faith, (8) live morally, i.e. don’t abuse substances, don’t have sex outside of marriage, etc., (9) be generous financially toward our local church, missionaries, etc., (10) study and obey God’s Word . . . the list goes on and on!

Have you ever felt like you are trying to do all of these things (or at least some of them) and it’s just not working?

Those of us who are in Christ experience at least three frustrations, seemingly on a regular basis: (1) Why can’t I repent of sin? (2) Why can’t I live a godly life? (3) Why can’t I be effective in ministry?

Paul took us through the first few verses of 2 Peter, showing us that our knowledge of Christ gives us two things: (1) grace and peace in abundance, 1:2, and (2) everything we need for life and godliness, 1:3. Later on, in 3:20, we will see that our knowledge of Christ also gives us escape from the corruption of the world.

So the question becomes, “How can I be effective and productive in my knowledge of Christ, if I really have everything that I need?” This is where we feel the tension. Why is “life and godliness” oftentimes so frustrating if we have everything we need?

In 2 Peter 1:5-11, we find a different kind of list from the one at the beginning of this post. It is a list of things we ought to add to our faith: (1) goodness, (2) knowledge, (3) self-control, (4) perseverance, (5) godliness, (6) brotherly kindness, and (7) love.

The first list was a list of “doing” (i.e. things we ought to do). This list is a list of “being” (i.e. the kind of people we ought to be).

In Peter’s text, these two lists produce two different kinds of people: (1) those who forget the gospel, v. 9, and (2) those who live out the gospel, v. 8.



Those who forget the gospel stumble through life blind to the truth and guidance and direction and power and glory of God. They are Christian without being Christ-like. In contrast, those who live out the gospel are effective and productive in their knowledge of Christ. By God’s grace, they (1) repent of sin, (2) live godly lives, and (3) are effective in ministry.

If we are ineffective and unproductive, it is only because we have forgotten the gospel.

What is the key, then, to being effective and productive in our knowledge of Christ? Cultivating the gospel in our lives. (To see what I mean, cf. the use of “godliness” in 1:3 and 1:6.) Simply put, “being” informs “doing.” Who we are informs what we do. The kinds of people we are inform the extent to which our outward actions will be Christ-like. And the extent to which our outward actions are, in fact, Christ-like is the extent to which we will be effective and productive in our lives and ministry.

Specifically, Peter is saying that the qualities listed in vv. 5-7 must inform our lives and ministry if we hope to be effective and productive.

Peter concludes in vv. 10-11 with an encouragement: if we make every effort to cultivate the gospel in our lives, then the result will be a warm welcome into the kingdom of God: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (to quote Matthew’s Gospel).

“Being” informs “doing.” Therefore, we must focus on cultivating the gospel in our lives, rather than focusing on conforming to some list of prescribed actions.

(Download mp3)

2 Peter 1:2-4

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
     His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

I don't know what everyone else got out of this first section of 2 Peter, but I found it to be a very encouraging passage. Often I feel like I need something more to have a "successful" Christian life. For me, the struggle is most often in feeling like I ought to be doing more, especially in being better at connecting with people and forming new friendships. As I shared with my table on Sunday night, I would take a "spiritual superpower" of being able to stretch time to get done all the things that I have ideas to do or else have a superpower of strong charisma that would enable me to connect quickly and easily with people. Somehow it can feel like I'm not doing what God wants me to—and can even feel like I'm not able to do it!

What Peter points to in this passage is encouraging because it reminds me that I don't need a spiritual superpower to be who God wants me to be or to do what God wants me to do. Who I need to be is in Christ and what God wants me to do, fundamentally, is to know Jesus. Through knowledge of Christ, I have been given everything I need for life and godliness! Through knowledge of Christ, I am given God's "very great and precious promises". (As 1 Cor 1:20 says, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ.")

This frees me to live out my life for God because I am no longer focused on myself and my own inadequacies and the spiritual superpowers that I wish I had. Instead it points me to look continually toward Jesus and the divine power that he exercises to give me everything I need for life and godliness. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Heb 12:2-3)

Recommended Reading: The Cross-Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

Introduction to 2 Peter

Second Peter is a book for anyone who has ever had questions about their faith.

Questions like, is my faith really making any difference? Why doesn’t my faith seem to be working? Why it is so hard to repent of sin? Why is godliness so difficult? Why do I feel ineffective and unproductive in my faith? Why is ministry so hard?

Questions like, isn’t it possible that we are all just following a bunch of cleverly invented stories? How do we know the most significant events even happened? Are they recorded elsewhere in history outside of the Bible? Even if we grant that the events did take place, how do we know that the Bible was written anywhere near the actual time of the events? And even if it was, isn’t it stretching intellectual integrity just a bit to say that these sixty-six books have remained intact and true to their original form after thousands of years? How do we know the Bible is true? How do we know the Bible is trustworthy? And even if it is, isn’t it stretching intellectual integrity just a bit for modern people like us to hang their entire lives on the words of some ancient text?

Questions like, what really distinguishes true from false? There are so many competing teachings and perspectives and opinions and even lifestyles... who can I really trust? How do we handle all of these competing ideas and lifestyles and perspectives? Who’s right? And who’s to say? What is a Christian to think? What is a Christian to do?

Questions like, isn’t it possible that our Christian hope is just wishful thinking? After all, our faith is not empirical. We can’t test our future hope. There’s really no way to know for sure that Jesus is coming back. There’s no way to confirm the reality of a final judgment day. The new heavens and new earth sound more like fanciful myth than real hope, don’t they?

And even if I had the answers to all of these questions, how should I live? What am I to do with what I know?

Second Peter is a book for anyone with questions about their faith. Second Peter is a book for anyone who has ever had deep-seated doubts. Second Peter is a book for anyone who has ever been frustrated as a Christian in life and ministry.

Because where there is honesty, there are questions.

Why do questions about faith matter? Because faith in Jesus is “precious” and infinitely valuable (1:1). Therefore, we dare not ignore our questions. We must face them, alongside Peter and his readers.