2 Peter 1-3
(Scripture version - New Living translation)
Peter gives a reason for this second letter at the start of Chapter 3. His desire is to stimulate wholesome thinking, refresh our memory of what is written in scripture, and to warn us against false teachers and scoffers. (see 3:1-2) In that day, Peter refers to the writings of the prophets in what we know as the Old Testament. I believe that today, as we read his words of encouragement the call is for us to be rooted in the whole of scripture including the Old and New Testaments. With the letter Peter calls us to holy living, to godly living, to deep roots in scripture, and to have a consistent look-out for those who would want to lead us astray!
“Peter’s Call to Be Pure & Grounded in Scripture”
1 Peter 1
5-9 “…make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”
Meditation – Peter gives us a list of things to fortify our faith in Christ and it seems that each item builds off the other and into the next. How do you think these fit together and work together to fortify our faith in Christ?
Moral Excellence -> Knowledge -> Self-Control ->
Patient Endurance -> Godliness -> Brotherly Affection -> Love For All
Following that call to righteous living Peter then stresses the importance of Scripture and paying close attention to what we read:
15 “…I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.”
19 “Because of that experience, (Peter refers to the Apostles personal experience of seeing Christ and hearing from God about who Christ is, v,16-18) we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”
Meditation – “Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my Path”. (Psalm 119:105) Peter stresses the importance of scripture, of knowing it and remembering it. In his own words he refers to the Psalm as he states that scripture is like “a lamp shining in a dark place…”. In a dark and fallen word this message comes to us as a beautiful imagery that compares God’s Word to light that guides us through darkness. That’s how important it is for us to be grounded in scripture for if we are not, the opposite of Peter’s teaching here is that we would be floundering around in the darkness trying to slowly feel our way through it. But with scripture, we have clarity, sight, and confidence. You must learn The Story that you may know God’s will, God’s heart, and see His path clearly set before your feet.
“Be Aware of False Teachers and Scoffers”
1 Peter 2 – 3:7
Key verses – 2:1 “'But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.”
3:3 “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.”
Meditation – Peter goes into a lot of detail in this section about the false teachers and scoffers and what peril awaits them. He even makes refence to the days of old before the flood and to the fallen angels who joined Satan’s desire to rebel against God. A dark and God-less pit of fire and torment await them AND awaits those who continue to teach falsely and mock the things of God. Peter’s intense warning about these people is here to help us stay focused on God. To keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and as such, we are protected from falling away into their false teachings. With Christ we have a light to clearly guide us in the darkness of false teaching’s declarations, that we may firmly stay rooted in God and not be lured away by the façade of false teaching.
“Be Diligent”
1 Peter 3:8-18
Key verses – 8-11 “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. (See also v15, the Lords patience gives time for people to be saved!) He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live.”
14 “And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.”
Meditation – It might be possible to sum up Peter’s second letter simply by saying that he desires his readers to be grounded in scripture, to be on the look-out for false teachers, and to diligently live out the holy and godly lives our Lord calls us to. In this final section, Peter does not want us to lose sight during the waiting… to fall away during the waiting… or to be distracted. He even puts the pressure on with the mystery of when Christ will return. In that, since we have no way of knowing we should always be ready by living holy and godly lives. While we continue to carry on until Christ’s return, live peaceful lives and be blameless in all you do. I believe a good test of this is to return to the first chapter of this book and check ourselves against the list of “supplements” that will fortify our faith. Look also to Galatians 5 and the qualities of a life in Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.
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