Introduction
Congregational Bible Experience Day #77
Bible Reading: 2 Peter 1-3
If 1 Peter was written that we might SHOW the true grace of God to a hostile, unbelieving world, then 2 Peter was written that we might intentionally GROW in the true grace of God through being attentive to His Word, and so deepen our understanding of God and in our experience of knowing Him personally (2 Peter 1:10-12). Now, there is a critical and ever present danger to be aware of that "stimulates us to wholesome thinking" (3:1) in this respect: failure to grow in our faith and in the depth of our personal relationship with God (3:18) makes us vulnerable prey to attractive and seductive false teaching that entices us away from Gospel truth. And there is plenty of false teaching doing the rounds to make this a necessary insight to hold onto. The pursuit of Christian maturity, as Peter makes clear, is not a take-it-or-leave-it option for Christian discipleship; the pursuit of Christian maturity is Christian discipleship.
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They were what we
might call today 'theological liberals': scoffing at a conservative
understanding of Biblical doctrine, and therefore were more tolerant of a
relaxed, worldly attitude to sin and lifestyle issues, where ‘truth’ - in their
minds - does not really matter. It's also a present problem in some circles
today…
More generally,
Peter writes this letter "to stimulate you to wholesome thinking"
(3:1). Specifically he writes, firstly, to challenge his readers (including
ourselves) to continuous spiritual growth through a deepening understanding and
experience of the grace of Christ (1:2-15), by reminding us of what God has
done for us in the Gospel and how we should respond in light of that; secondly,
to reaffirm the truthfulness and trustworthiness of the apostolic testimony and
the prophetic Word of God (1:16-22), that the Bible can be trusted to help us
truly understand God and the Gospel, our own hearts lives, the world around us
and what will happen in the future; thirdly, to warn us of the dangers of false
teachers and their life-destructive doctrines (2:1-22), because he does not
mention their specific teaching, we can use this chapter to assess all that is
taught in the name of the Bible and verify its claims to be true - or see if it
is false; and finally, Peter writes to encourage watchfulness and steadfastness
in light of Christ’s certain and impending return (3:1-18), when this present
world will be dissolved to be renewed as part of God's new creation, and where
all true believers will physically live in the presence of God for all eternity.
Congregational Bible Experience Day #77
Bible Reading: 2 Peter 1-3
If 1 Peter was written that we might SHOW the true grace of God to a hostile, unbelieving world, then 2 Peter was written that we might intentionally GROW in the true grace of God through being attentive to His Word, and so deepen our understanding of God and in our experience of knowing Him personally (2 Peter 1:10-12). Now, there is a critical and ever present danger to be aware of that "stimulates us to wholesome thinking" (3:1) in this respect: failure to grow in our faith and in the depth of our personal relationship with God (3:18) makes us vulnerable prey to attractive and seductive false teaching that entices us away from Gospel truth. And there is plenty of false teaching doing the rounds to make this a necessary insight to hold onto. The pursuit of Christian maturity, as Peter makes clear, is not a take-it-or-leave-it option for Christian discipleship; the pursuit of Christian maturity is Christian discipleship.
---
Peter's second
letter was written to bring assurance to Christian believers (possibly the same
group to which his first letter was addressed) who were being troubled and
deceived by false teachers (there we are again!). These teachers were not teaching a version of
'grace + religious works = salvation' that the Apostle Paul had to frequently
counter (although it's possible there was an element of that present). Instead,
they were promoting a what we might call a 'secularised spirituality' (or a
'de-spiritualised Christianity'). In
other words, they may have used same Christian vocabulary and spoke about
'grace', 'mercy', 'peace' and 'glory' and the rest; but what they meant by
these words was a lot different from the true Gospel teaching. They robbed
these words and ideas of the riches and depth of the Apostles' teaching. The
false teachers that were a danger to Peter's readers denied the truthfulness of
core Christian beliefs: they denied the authority of the Apostles and Old
Testament writings; they denied the reality of the promised Second Coming of
Christ in judgement, and so Christ’s authority over all things; they denied the
temporality of present world, and they denied the possibility of a future
eternity.
Peter addresses his
situation – by exhorting Christians to keep on growing in both their
understanding and experience of God. The
real and present danger of spiritual instability from false teachers is to be
countered by a deliberate commitment to ongoing spiritual maturity (see 3:18),
growing in the grace and knowledge of God (see 3:18, possibly the key verse of
the letter). If we are not actively
pursuing Christian maturity (remember Hebrews? James?) through continually
engaging with God’s Word, then are more open to false teaching and so may be
more easily spiritually side-tracked and derailed. See 1:5, 8-10.
More generally,
Peter writes this letter "to stimulate you to wholesome thinking"
(3:1). Specifically he writes, firstly, to challenge his readers (including
ourselves) to continuous spiritual growth through a deepening understanding and
experience of the grace of Christ (1:2-15), by reminding us of what God has
done for us in the Gospel and how we should respond in light of that; secondly,
to reaffirm the truthfulness and trustworthiness of the apostolic testimony and
the prophetic Word of God (1:16-22), that the Bible can be trusted to help us
truly understand God and the Gospel, our own hearts lives, the world around us
and what will happen in the future; thirdly, to warn us of the dangers of false
teachers and their life-destructive doctrines (2:1-22), because he does not
mention their specific teaching, we can use this chapter to assess all that is
taught in the name of the Bible and verify its claims to be true - or see if it
is false; and finally, Peter writes to encourage watchfulness and steadfastness
in light of Christ’s certain and impending return (3:1-18), when this present
world will be dissolved to be renewed as part of God's new creation, and where
all true believers will physically live in the presence of God for all eternity.
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