2Peter Lesson #09

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RETURN TO THE LIST OF LESSONS

2PETER 1:10-21
Lesson #09
THE TEST OF TRUTH

• Memory Verse: 2Pet 1:10

• Usually much importance is placed on the words that a person says just before his death because they speak from the experience of all of his life and because they are spoken truthfully. These are the words of Peter’s deathbed declaration.

• Continuing from the first half of the chapter, because it is possible for the Christian to become spiritually blind and deceived by false doctrine and false teachers, the believer must maintain his faith in the truth of the Word of God. This is Peter’s concern.

• Read 2Pet 1:10-15
  • Peter begins this section of scripture with the word “wherefore”.
    • Peter has told us that the believer in Jesus Christ has the security of salvation. However, he must constantly keep that relationship with God alive and vital. The assurance of salvation is an important doctrine in scripture, but if the believer does not live in that assurance, doubts can creep in that defeats the Christian’s triumphant walk with Christ.
    • Because of this possibility of letting our relationship with Christ become stale, Peter tells us we must, therefore, be diligent to make sure of our salvation.
      • The foundation of assurance of salvation is important in keeping the believer firmly in the faith.
  • Entrance into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (11)
    • There is only one entrance into the kingdom of Jesus Christ and that is by means of the new birth through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
      • When a person receives Jesus Christ into his heart and life, he is born again by the Spirit of God who comes to live inside the believer.
        • It is this action that takes us out of Satan’s kingdom and places us into the Kingdom of God so that we are now children of God.
        • However, the millennial kingdom of Christ on earth is still in the future. We must wait for the second coming of Christ when He will reign on earth for 1,000 years. Believers in Jesus Christ will return to earth with Christ and reign with him on earth.
    • Peter promises his readers that he will constantly remind them of their duty to be diligent Christians. He wants them to be firmly established in the faith and not fall away from the Lord. (12)
      • Peter knows he will not be with them long. The Lord told him he would die a violent death, so Peter knows his time is short. In verse 13 he mentions his tabernacle.
        • Read Joh 21:18-19
          • Why did Jesus tell Peter how he would die when He did not do that for all of the disciples?
            • Impetuous Peter had boasted that he would follow Jesus anywhere even to death, but then Peter had denied Christ. He could not keep his promise even for a short time. . (Mat 26:35)
        • Jesus appears to Peter after the resurrection in n Joh 21 and forgives him of his sin of denial and then encourages him with the prophecy of his death to indicate that Peter was going to become a strong enough Christian to be able to keep his original promise
        • What is “the tabernacle” in verse 14?
          • The tabernacle was a temporary tent. Both Peter and Paul used the word to mean the physical body. Therefore, Peter knows his time on earth is short. He is writing close to his own crucifixion.
  • Summary:
    • What things does Peter want believers to remember? (12-13, 15)
      • Peter wants believers to guard their faith by growing in their relationship with Christ so that they mature in sound doctrine by the power of the Holy Spirit.

• Read 2Peter 1:16-21 True doctrine

 

• “…we have not followed cunningly devised fables…”

 

(16)
• Peter clearly separates his doctrine from that of the Gnostics. He calls their doctrine “cunningly devised fables.”
• Peter’s doctrine is that of the apostles, based on scripture, and proved by eyewitness testimony.(16)
  • How do we know what is true doctrine and what is not?
    • With so many deceptions in the world, is there a way we can determine true doctrine? Yes, the Bible gives us the test of a true prophet or teacher and his message.

 

• THE TEST OF A TRUE PROPHET AND HIS MESSAGE

 

Mat 7:15-16 2Pet 2:1-4, 10-22

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER	SCRIPTURES TO OBSERVE
Is the message true regarding Jesus Christ?	Joh 16:13-14 Deu 13:1-3 1Joh 4:1-3; 2:21-22 1Cor 12:3 Joh15:26
Is the message true to the rest of scripture?	2Tim 3:16 Isa 8:19-20 2Pet 1:20-21
Does the prophet’s message produce internal peace?	Col 3:15 Deu 13:1-5 1Joh 2:20,27
Does the prophet’s message come to pass?	Deu 18:19-22
Is the message confirmed by other believers?	2Cor 13:1
Does the message lead people into spiritual liberty or bondage?	Rom 8:1,15 2Pet 2:15-19, 1Cor 14:3
Is the message consistent or does it confuse and change doctrine?	Deu 18:20-22
Is there an anointing from God on the message and the messenger?	1Joh 2:20
Does the life of the messenger live up to his message?	Gal 5:22 1Tim 3:1-13 Mat 7:15-20

 

• True doctrine according to Peter is verified by the power of God. It is not made up by man. (16)
• Peter is speaking of the miracle of the transfiguration when he witnessed the appearance of Elijah and Moses with Christ clothed with glory. (17-18)
  • It is a miracle accomplished by the power of God to verify the identity of Jesus Christ.

• Read Mat 16:28 Mat 17:1-8
  • The purpose of the event of the transfiguration in Mat 17 is to give us a glimpse of the glory of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ based on the testimony of the Law (exemplified by Moses), and based on the words of the prophets (exemplified by Elijah) and to verify Jesus Christ as the Messiah. (17-18)

 

• “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed…”

 

(19)
• What does Peter mean by this verse?
  • Peter has just finished telling us about his eyewitness account of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, but he wants us to know that there is more than that. There is the “sure word of prophecy”. This refers to the entire body of inspired scripture that is alive and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.
    • Peter tells us to “take heed”. In other words, we must consider it seriously as words directly from God.
      • The Bible consists of words written by men but inspired by God so that they are consistent and empowered by God. The books of the Bible do not contradict each other even though they are written by many different authors over thousands of years of time. It is just as true a testimony as Peter’s eyewitness account of Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration.
    • Peter tells us why we must consider the Word of God seriously. It is a light for our life. (19) Because it is truth and knowledge that comes from God, it brings light and understanding in a dark world. There is no other source of light in the world. The Gnostic false doctrine is not light but darkness because it does not come from God.
      • The light of scripture has a drawing power. Just like a lighted porch light draws moths to it at night, the truth of the Word of God draws man to God. That is the power behind the Word. This light of the Word of God will continue to draw man to God until Jesus Christ returns.

• What is the meaning of the end of verse 19?

 

• “…until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”

 

(19)
• The day Peter speaks of is what the Bible calls “the Day of the Lord”. This is the period of time that includes the tribulation period of 7 years, the event of the second coming of Christ, and the reign of Christ on earth for 1000 years.
• The dawn of that day is the event of the second coming of Jesus Christ to this earth to establish his earthly kingdom.
• The “day star” is a title given to Jesus Christ. He is “the bright and morning star” in Rev 22:16.

 

• “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

 

(20)
• Peter takes us back to the determination of what is true and false doctrine discussed at the beginning of our lesson.
  • Doctrine that is determined by man has many contradictions and brings confusion.
    • The common philosophy in this current age is called post-modernism. It says that each person determines his own truth. What is truth for you may not be truth for me. What confusion! In other words there is no such thing as universal truth.
    • God gives us a better model. His Word is truth determined by God himself and written in the Bible. It is the universal truth. It is not privately determined by individuals. And as expressed in our chart at the top of this lesson, is the interpretation true to the rest of scripture bringing peace and liberty, and not confusion or bondage.
  • Private interpretations are subject to change from generation to generation. You can document it in the changes of doctrine in false cults such as Jehovah Witness and Mormonism, etc.
  • The stability of interpretation of the Word of God brings great peace and assurance that we can in fact know the truth directly from the mind of God.

 

• “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

 

(21)
• Peter refers here to the supernatural inspiration of God.
  • Read 2 Tim 3:16
    • What is the inspiration of God? What exactly do we mean when we say that the Bible is inspired by God? How did the writers of the Bible experience this “inspiration”?
      • Peter tells us that the writers of the Old Testament did not write words according to their own will, but that they were holy men (set apart for this specific purpose) that God used. The Holy Spirit moved them to write the words that God wanted them to write. In obedience to God, they wrote the ideas and the choice of words that God told them to use. However, they each were human and used their own style.
        • Therefore, being fully human we can see the different styles in their writing. For example, Malachi was very direct and blunt while David was very introspective and poetic.
        • Being fully human and of different intellectual and educational levels, we can see the difference in writing between a highly educated Paul and a not so educated Peter.
        • Being fully human we can see the personal character of each writer of scripture.
        • Being fully inspired by God the words of these many authors do not clash nor contradict each other even in the smallest details. Any apparent contradictions are easily explained and reconciled using the rest of scripture.
  • Peter uses the word “prophecy” to refer to the Word of God. Prophecy contains prognostication (prediction) of future events and this is what we usually think of by the word prophecy. However, the word, prophecy, also includes the declaration of God’s truth. One third of the Bible had predictions of future events at the time it was written, but all of it is the declaration of God’s truth.
    • Why does Peter use the word, prophecy? It is because fulfilled predictions of future events validate the authenticity and truth of the message. This is how we know that the Bible is true. This is how we know that it comes from God. This is how we know that the Bible is universal truth that will never change.
    • The central theme of the entire Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It begins in Gen 3:15 with the first prophecy and culminates in an eternal future with Jesus Christ in Revelation 22.
      • There are 333 details of prophecy concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ. All of them fulfilled perfectly. What are the chances that all the details of the second coming of Christ will be fulfilled? Based on God’s faithful reputation in the past, it’s 100%.

HOMEWORK
2Peter 2:1-22
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the techer forcorrection.

• Application of 2Pet 1:10-21
  • In what ways have you believed the lies of this world that tell you there is no universal truth and that the Bible is a book of myths and fantasies?
  • On what will you base your life for the future? Why?

 

• Preparation for 2Pet 2:1-22
• Read 2Pet 2:1-22
  • What are the characteristics of false teachers and false prophets according to Peter?

• Memory Verse: 2Pet 2:19