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“Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” – (2 Peter 3:14-18) -- Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Seven)

A Sense of Urgency

Knowing that his life was likely drawing to a close, the Apostle Peter arranged for the composition of the brief epistle we know as 2 Peter. Part sermon, part letter, there is a profound sense of urgency in Peter’s second letter. In it, the apostle makes three key points. First, Peter urges that Christians, who are already recipients of God’s grace, manifest those moral virtues which reflect their faith in Christ. These virtues include knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Second, Peter warns us that false teachers and false prophets will secretly introduce destructive heresies into the churches, and that Christians ought constantly to be on guard for such disruptive individuals. These men live to indulge the flesh. Although they attract large numbers of followers, God will punish them harshly while rescuing his people from their clutches, just as he did with Noah and Lot. Third, even though the false teachers deny that Jesus will return a second time, it is certain that our Lord will come again to purge the present heaven and earth, removing every trace of human sin, and then creating a new heaven and earth–the home of righteousness. While we long for that glorious day of Christ’s return, Peter exhorts us to wait patiently during this age of salvation, all the while growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We now conclude our time in 2 Peter. Although too often overlooked, 2 Peter is a remarkable letter. It is packed with important apostolic teaching, and reflects Peter’s righteous anger toward those who speak false words and utter false prophecies so as to lead the people of God astray. Peter opens his letter by reminding us of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ, which not only saves us from the guilt and power of sin, but at the same time empowers us to live Godly lives. As the false teachers and prophets seek to indulge the flesh, Christians should seek to produce those Godly virtues enumerated by Peter in the first chapter of this epistle, all the while waiting patiently for the very thing the false teachers say will not come to pass–the second coming of Jesus, the final judgment, and the creation of a new heaven and earth, our eternal home.

2 PeterKim RiddlebargerNovember 6, 2023Final exhortations, Sense of urgencyComment

“The Day of the Lord Will Come Like a Thief” (2 Peter 3:1-13) -- Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Six)

Jesus Is Coming Back

Peter has lambasted those false teachers and prophets who were secretly introducing destructive heresies into the churches, and then leading people away from Christ so as to indulge the lusts of the flesh. As Peter has told his readers, the chief heresy being taught by these false teachers and prophets is the denial of our Lord’s bodily return at the end of the age, to judge the world, raise the dead, and to make all things new. If, as the false teachers were contending, Jesus is not going to return, then there will be no final judgment. And if there is no final judgment, then, as the false teachers were apparently arguing, there is no reason to restrain the lusts of the flesh.

But Peter was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. The apostle was given a glimpse of Jesus’s glory which will be fully manifest when Jesus returns at the end of the age. Peter was also present with Jesus on the Mount of Olives (the Olivet Discourse) on that fateful night when Jesus spoke of his second coming as sudden–like a thief, who comes at an hour when you least expect him. The denial of something so clearly taught by Jesus and his apostles lies at the basis for the great irony spelled out by Peter in his second epistle–that these men who despise authority, and who are enslaved to the passions of the flesh, will find themselves facing the very same Savior on the day of judgment whose coming they deny, and standing before him for a final judgment in which they do not believe.

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2 PeterKim RiddlebargerOctober 25, 2023A New heaven and earth, scoffers will comeComment

“The Armor of Light” (2 Peter 2:10b-22) – Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Five)

“Here They Come!”

In the first three verses of chapter two of his Second Epistle, Peter warns the churches that false teachers will arise throughout the course of the age and disrupt the church. They will do so until Jesus comes back a second time–which is, ironically, a doctrine which the false teachers denied. According to Peter’s warning, false teachers and false prophets will arise within the churches and secretly introduce destructive heresies, utter false prophecies, and speak blasphemies against God. Peter warns us that their motives are sinister–because of their greed, false teachers and prophets seek to exploit the people of God. The apostle tells us that these false teachers and prophets are like the angels who rebelled against God in the days before the great flood. They are like those evil men who mocked Noah as he built the ark. They are like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah–men who lived to gratify the lusts of the flesh. Such false teachers and prophets will say and do anything to exploit the people of God. But their ultimate destruction is as sure as is the prophetic word (Scripture) given by God.

Peter Does Not Hold Back

In the last half of the second chapter of 2 Peter 2, Peter describes these individuals in the harshest of terms. The reason why Peter can speak so harshly when referring to them is the damage these people do is not slight. They disrupt the peace of the churches. They despise Christ’s authority and his word. They place their own made-up prophecies above the authority of Scripture. They seduce others so as to steal their chastity, their money, and their reputations. The methods and attitudes of these false teachers and prophets are so callous and deceitful that Peter can say of them that it would have been better for them to have never known the way of the truth, than to turn their backs upon Jesus (the master, who they claim “bought” them), while seeking to abuse and exploit Christ’s sheep. Peter minces no words when describing these people, their shameful ways, and their inevitable destruction.

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“There Will Be False Teachers Among You” (2 Peter 2:1-10) – Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Four)

Peter Continues to Warn the Churches

It is not a question of if, but a matter of when. False teachers and false prophets have come, they will continue to come, seeking to introduce destructive heresies until the Lord returns. In his 2nd Epistle–which is Peter’s “testament,” i.e., his final words to the churches–Peter warns the churches of his day that false teachers and false prophets were already working their way into the churches and wreaking havoc. Peter tells us that these false teachers will speak false words and utter false prophecies. They blaspheme God and they seek to secretly introduce destructive heresies. They willfully seek to exploit the people of God–looking for any struggling saint weak in faith, or for those who have even the slightest bit of apathy regarding the truth of Christian doctrine. Their doctrinal errors provide justification for indulging the lusts of the flesh, instead of manifesting those Christian virtues which Peter has described in verses 5-7 of the first chapter of this letter. As Peter has told us in verse 19 of chapter one, we have the prophetic word (the Scriptures) which is more sure than any human opinion and which is the light shining in the dark, and the standard by which we discern truth from error.

As we continue to study 2 Peter, we come to Peter’s dire warning (in this chapter and in the next) about false prophets and false teachers who will arise, infiltrate the churches, and seek to lead the people of God astray. There is a very good reason why believers need to be concerned with how they live, and why they should live their lives in eager anticipation of Jesus’ return–so as to contrast themselves with those who have been deceived. The false teachers and false prophets described by Peter were undermining the very foundation of the Christian life–that God has saved us from the wrath to come, and then called us to reflect his glory through our conduct. Even as they encourage professing Christians to live no differently than the pagans around us, the false teachers are denying one of the fundamental doctrines of Christian theology; the bodily return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.

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2 PeterKim RiddlebargerSeptember 25, 2023Dealing with False Teachers, false teachingComment

“The Prophetic Word” (2 Peter 1:12-21) – Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Three)

Peter is writing to warn those reading his second epistle of serious doctrinal error in the churches. Knowing that he does not have long to live, Peter leaves us with his testament (this epistle). In extending to us his final words, Peter includes an exhortation that Christians must strive to manifest those God-given virtues which flow from that eternal life given to us as a gift by the power of God. The desire to see these virtues manifest in the lives of God’s people stands in sharp contrast to the desire to serve the flesh, which is characteristic of the lives of those who have departed from the truth. But in order to properly rebuke the false teachers, Peter must first establish his apostolic authority, as well as that of the prophetic word (the Scriptures). Peter has seen the glory of Jesus with his own eyes. The apostle relates how the glory he has seen on the holy mountain is but a foretaste of much greater glory yet to come when Jesus returns at the end of the age. In Jesus Christ the prophetic word (the Old Testament) is confirmed because all such prophecy comes from God, not from the will of men. God’s prophets are carried along by the Holy Spirit, giving to us that to which we commonly refer to as “Holy Scripture.”

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2 PeterKim RiddlebargerSeptember 11, 2023Prophetic word, The transfigurationComment

“Make Your Calling and Election Sure” (2 Peter 1:3-11) – Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Two)

Sound Doctrine — Dealing with Truth and Error

There is a reason why Peter’s second epistle is not well-known, or widely read and preached upon in the churches. In this letter, we find emphatic warnings about false teachers and the dangers of false doctrine they spread. For those who embrace the church-lite ethos of American Christianity, the message of 2 Peter will not be appreciated, nor warmly received. While many preachers and churches wish to emphasize the positive, 2 Peter reminds us of the negative. There is truth and there is error. It is a biblical reality that if we believe the one (truth) we will encounter the other (error). When our contemporaries tell us that doctrine does not matter, 2 Peter reminds us that it does. If our contemporaries seek unity and avoid controversy to the point of fostering a willingness to make peace with false teaching, then 2 Peter warns us of the great dangers of doing exactly that.

This is not to say unity is a bad thing–Christians are to seek unity around the truth of those doctrines passed down to us by Jesus and his apostles in the pages of Holy Scripture. Reformed Christians identify our own doctrinal standards as the “Three Forms of Unity” for a very important reason. We believe particular doctrines, and unite around them by confessing a common faith–a faith which we believe to be biblical and which is clearly and concisely summarized in our confessions. Unity is very important, so long as it grounded in the truth of those things taught in God’s word.

The Psalmist tells us “behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” ( Psalm 133:1). Jesus prays that his people would be one (John 17:11). Paul likewise speaks of Christians standing together because we are one body and indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. We have one common hope, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Eph 6:4-5). We may each be different parts, but we are all members of the body of Christ. This is precisely why false doctrine is so dangerous–it is as though one part of the body has cancer, or has become gangrenous. Such serious illness in one part of the body must be dealt with immediately when it arises, and even perhaps removed, to maintain the health of the whole.

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“The Righteousness of Our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1-11) – Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part One)

Challenges to the Authenticity of This Letter

Following up on the previous series (an exposition of 1 Peter), we begin an eight-part study of the Second Epistle of Peter. But from the moment we open this all-too often overlooked, but very important letter ascribed to the apostle Peter, it soon becomes apparent that there are a number of problems faced by anyone who attempts to exposit this letter, or treat it as a genuine apostolic document that belongs among those God-breathed writings which make up the canon of the New Testament. The problems we encounter with this epistle are significant enough that the vast majority of biblical scholars dismiss even the possibility that this epistle was written by the apostle Peter–in spite of the opening words in which the author claims to be “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.”[1] Despite the judgment of so many scholars to the contrary, I think a good case can be made for Petrine authorship of this short epistle, and that it does indeed belong in the canon of the New Testament.

A series of expositions (Bible studies) is usually not a good (or even an appropriate) place to tackle complicated questions of New Testament introduction. Because these difficulties are so apparent in 2 Peter, and since we will spend significant time in this letter, we cannot ignore the matter. So, we will address the questions of authorship and authenticity, and then survey some of the theological themes in the first of our series on this epistle, before we conclude by briefly taking up the opening greeting from Peter found in the first two verses.

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2 PeterKim RiddlebargerAugust 14, 2023Peter wrote 2 Peter Comments