Maximum Effort is Required - II Peter 3

As we look back over the past three months of Bible study regarding the preparedness that we should be making for the second coming of Christ we are made to tremble at the opposition that came against the early Christians. False teachers grew faster than those who were sincere followers, and one of their most successful false teachings had to do with the second coming of Christ. I was more fortunate than most young people since my parents believed in Christ and they believed that he would keep his promise and come again to receive those who chose to trust him for their salvation and proved it by following him. Neither of my parents finished high school but both knew the Bible as well or better than I. As I look back, I am most appreciative of the fact that they did not follow false teachers. When I was about fourteen to sixteen years old—I was sure they were nuts. [Here is a conversation between me and mom.]

Me: “Mom, the community dance will be over at the “Deweans” home next Saturday. Ken-I –go?” Mom. “No.” Me. “Why, cause all my friends er-goen.” Mom. “I don’t care who is…you ain’t.” Me. “Jest tell me why, please.” Mom. “I don’t have to tell you why…it is just because I said so.” Me. “Well, now mom, are you some kind of final authority? “No I aint.” Mom says, “But let me tell you something I do know…Ifin Jesus does come back next Saturday night…I don’t want to be at no country dance. And I shore don’t want my only son to be there…either.” Note: My biblical point is that just because my parents did not finish any kind of Bible school…they still KNEW THAT CHRIST WAS/IS COMING BACK. My parents knew that Christ would return and did not know when it might happen but that did not matter to them…they just wanted the family to be ready.

Do you want to know why so many do not believe that Christ is coming again? It has been promised for over 2000 years …and it hasn’t happened yet…so it probably won’t. Oh no, you had better believe that it will happen. Listen, my saintly friend. If you promise one of your children something miraculous is going to happen to them pretty soon, and then it doesn’t happen in the next few minutes…you are considered to be a counterfeit. I guess that parents have lost all authority when it comes to discipline in the family. There was a time [about 80 years ago] when all the parent had to say was—“because I said so.” And, you know, for some reason I found out [the hard way sometimes] that if they said so…it really was so.

Dear class mates, sometimes the proof of true and complete faith can be expressed so clearly with a simple statement. Think about this for a moment. Every phase of history since the life of Christ on earth has been marred by some group that refused to believe in a positive fact about God and his Son. Peter told us about the group that did not believe in the second coming of Christ and they were called false teachers that were teaching others the wrong way also. However strong the false movement against Christ were, there was always the small remnant {like my parents} that found the true way and believed.

Look at this. Stick with me. I will finally make myself clear. I know that they believed in the second coming, because there were places that they would have like to go, and things they would have liked to do—but they did not want the “returning Christ” to find them there…doing that. Ok...here it comes…I know because I am wearing the same shoe. {There are some places I would like to go. There are some things that I would like to do. And. These places and things would probably not cause me to wind up in hell…but I abstain because I believe Christ is returning soon, and I do not want him to find me sitting there doing that. This is a case where we let our actions speak louder than our words.

We have all heard that actions speak louder than words. Oh, that is so true. But, what this usually means is that we hear people talking about doing the right thing, and then when they know their neighbor is not looking they do as they please. It works both ways…and the final result is the proof of a man’s love, integrity and dependability.

I admire Peter. Peter is one of my favorite disciples. Know why? He did some things that even make me look pretty good. I like that. If you were honest you would admit that you have just a little bit of the same kind of pride. Then I am glad he considers me his dear friend. He meant to include you too. In chapter 3 he included us as his friends…he told us that he had written us two letters and both were to help us stimulate our wholesome thinking. Peter recommends the writings of the other apostles and emphasizes that all apostles are only relaying to us what Christ would have us know. In essence, Peter tells us to listen to him and the other apostles who have given us the truth and that we should use their truth to stimulate our wholesome [right] thinking.

He told us about the scoffers that would come and use whatever means to keep God’s people confused. They will be followers of their own evil desires. Out of their teachings will come statements that disapprove God…and prove that he is a fake? They will remind all that the promise of the second return has not happened and indicate that it probably will never happen.

The statement given here by Peter is one of my favorite statements in the Bible. It came at a time of need and it pertains to every person that ever has a wonderment that crosses their mind…causing them to have doubts and sometime fears.

He said; “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends; With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Some in our class have already been around four-score and more years and have been told since youth that many things happening each day are signs that are pointing to the immediate return of the Lord. Children have a difficult time waiting for the next Christmas and it has never been more than one year off. Children of God sometimes wonder…and are often skeptical about the statement that Christ will “soon” return. How soon is soon? No one knows, but Peter helped us to understand that if we should find out that Christ will definitely return within at least ten days—that could seem like 10,000 years to the human race [ten-thousand years].

It is important for you to remember that most men live 100 years or less—and so this means that for each one of us…God will be coming back to claim his own in less than a hundred years. Christ walked the dusty roads of his homeland and warned for three years that he would die. arise, ascend, and return again. We are still waiting for this great day, and Peter warns us that it is close at hand.

It is graduation time all across America…and the Lord didn’t leave Juanita and me out. Our last “Grand” Cassie Bolding, will be graduating from Germantown High School in Tennessee this week-end, and we will be attending her graduation. Lord willing, I will be back in class with you next Sunday.

Spiritual Error is Rampant - II Peter 2

Misinterpretation of the scripture is rampant in today’s society
This whole second chapter was written to warn us about false teachers.

I was born and raised in the northern edge of rice country and that means there were a lot of flat lands, low elevation, swamps and big mosquitoes. How big were they? Some could stand flat-footed on the ground and eat out of a wagon bed. Well, nearly. In flat country, section lines run straight and most roads follow the section lines. When it is rice country most of the timber has been removed and one can stand at a cross-road and watch traffic traveling east and west for several miles in the distance.

The level land orientation as a youth gets the credit for me being able to have an inherent knowledge of direction. In all my travels down through the years I invariably knew when I was going in the right direction. The things that have caused some problems along the way are the mountainous areas. Mountains form an obstruction that prevents long range sight, and after I go around one side of one mountain then up and over another, I have lost my direction. Living on the river has not helped. Roads on section lines that always run north and south help. Little Red River that takes the water from the water shed west of Clinton to the White River at Georgetown forgot to stay on sections lines and is deceiving. Water running down is not always running south. The truth is that it is running almost due west as it passes my house.

When we lose our way while traveling the interstate, state, county roads or unmarked pig trails, it will hardly ever be disastrous, although it is always an inconvenience. There is always more than one solution and something will usually work. We can check the map again; watch for known road signs or remembered landscapes, and we could stop and ask the man at the gas station or even a policeman. Finally, the extreme option could be to just go home. [If you can find the way]

When we loose our way along life’s spiritual journey toward heaven it becomes a more serious matter. There is only one bible sign that points in the right direction. There is only one spiritual message with the correct directions included. And there is only one dependable messenger [Not a cop] but Christ. Finally, the extreme option found in earthly travel—of just going back home is not available—we must go on home even if it is the one that is in a bad location with no electricity or water. The sad truth is that our culture today has many fine-sounding slogans that are delivering deadly spiritual messages. It makes no difference who the author is, or what church or spiritual group is sponsoring and approving the message—Peter labeled these messages as deception by False Teachers [2: 1-3]. Some of the phrases you will hear come from the New Age movement and other Liberal groups and cults and here are just a few of those I have heard in recent years.

· “It may be true for you, but not for me.”
A. Truth is truth and applies to every one.
· “All roads lead to God.”
A. Only one road and it is narrow and only a few find it.
· “All that matters is that you believe there is a God.”
` A. The Devil believes God is. We must believe IN god, repent & trust.
· “All that matters is that you believe in God.”
A. We must believe IN, but also repent, trust, submit to and live for him.
· “It doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere.”
A. What if you sincerely believe in a God that does not exist?
· “Truth is relative.”
A. Truth is constant, and never changes and does not depend on what men think.
· “Absolute truth is fiction.” [That means you can play-like it is truth]
A. Absolute truth does exist as surely as God does. He is truth.
· “A literal burning hell does not exist.”
A Then where was the rich man when he begged for a drop of water for his tongue?
· “A loving God will not send good people to burn.”
A. That is true. God gave man freedom of choice; and so man decides…he makes his own choice to accept Christ or burn in hell. It is not God’s will that any should be lost. He gave his Son to prevent it.

There may be some who sincerely believe one or more of these errors to be truth—but they are heading in a tragically wrong direction. Each one of us…each individual has the responsibility to recognize spiritual error and stand for spiritual truth. Some of you may ask the question: “How can I know the truth?” Jesus said, “I am the truth.” Therefore, all you need is to know Jesus as your personal savior, and there is only one book that contains the instructions that each person must follow. That book is the Holy Bible which is the inspired word of God.

The insight that Peter had regarding the growth in the numbers of false teachers is a miracle in itself. He told us that the motivation behind the growth in false teachers is greed; and we know that one of the strongest influences toward sinful living and false teaching is the greedy desire of man for wealth and power. I hesitate to name individuals and ministries that are subject to question when it comes to preaching truth and nothing but truth for no other purpose than to lead sinners to know Christ, grow God’s church and glorify our Lord. Peter introduced this subject for our good and I believe that we should carefully examine any leader or movement before we become a part of the movement or support it in any way.

We have examples of many false teachers who have promised freedom and delivered slavery and death. One church story that is still hard to believe was started here in the USA by a pastor said to be an inspiring preacher and teacher that preached about God and even claimed the power to heal and perform miracles. The first most unbelievable thing was that he decided to move his church to another country—and most of his congregation went with him. This should have been the warning that they were following man and not God. Then 780 members of the Peoples Temple Christian Church trusted this false teacher [pastor] Jim Jones and joined him and each other in drinking Kool-Aid laced with cyanide poison and all died in vane. False teachers can and do exercise unbelievable power to control the minds of his/her followers.

The Dali Lama, exiled from his home land, has refuge in Chicago where his followers have constructed a throne for him. This was in the Arkansas paper, two weeks ago. He was said to have assured everyone that we are all headed for the same place. This is one of the most common errors being taught by false teachers—they will tell you that all roads lead home. If you believe this and live in Heber Springs—the next time you are in a hurry to get to Little Rock, take highway No. 5 North—you will save time and gas money.

In my opinion, the most dangerous of all false teachers are among the big name T V Evangelist that are promoting their personal ministries and that are not affiliated with any church body or movement that has any right or power to monitor the ministry in any way. With no attempt being made to rank the most questionable ones operating big-time, I simply suggest you think twice and hard before you send your hard earned money to promote any of the following: Note: The spelling of the proper names are guess-work, as I did not have time to search for proper spelling. If they spend more time begging for your money than they spend preaching…watch out!


Duplantis: This is a personal ministry based in Louisiana and not responsible to any denomination therefore free to use all monies received at his personal discretion. One of his egos is ownership of private jet planes with personal pilots. His message to his people is that if they will stuff his pockets and continue to make his lavish life-style possible, God will put two cars in their garage.

John Hagee: Claims to have been a Southern Baptist until he learned better. His ministry is not affiliated with any source that would be able to offer any kind of reasonable audit control. He has extensive knowledge of the Bible and was able to set himself up as a leader of people that can help them all become prosperous as he is. One of his greatest accomplishments is that he was a poor boy—done well, by requesting a huge plantation in Texas which God has blessed him with…using the gullible “Partner’s” money as capitol. One of his greatest interests is that he must sell more books and other personal writings.

Oral Roberts: Is one of the first to tell everyone about the importance of “Seed-Faith.” Now, seed are very important. No seed…no corn, or beans, or watermelon, not even a tomato and everyone knows that. Well, you gotta plant “Seed –faith in order to reap a harvest from God. These seed are made from paper [good grade] and green, and must be engraved with the words—“In God we trust”. And they gotta be planted in Tulsa Oklahoma soil in order to grow into a university and keep the family flying high. And of course, it doesn’t require a board or any kind of controlling officers to decide who will be the next pastor in charge of the church or president of the university…Oral can and did make that decision. All you need to do is just plant your “Dollar seed” in Oral’s pockets.

I listened to Joel Olsten this week. Someone asked him what denomination he was and he didn’t know. They asked if he was an evangelical and he admitted that he didn’t know what an evangelical is or was. He got his position as pastor of the largest church in North America from his dad. He doesn’t account to anyone and runs the whole show. [Note: Many of these very important pastors refer to their weekly programs as … SHOWS.] One good point…Joel gives an alter call at the end of each message. Many…in fact, most of these big timers do not have time to give an alter call.

Ed Young in Texas is a young modern preacher. He uses cantaloupes, fancy sports cars and bass boats to get your attention. He has a big church and needs money. keep growing, He does use the Bible some and quotes scripture and really does put on a pretty good show.

God's Word is Essential - II Peter 1:12-21

You can read it regularly or starve to death spiritually!

I have been attempting to teach God’s word from the level of teen-agers through adults for over sixty years. Baptist study guides are prepared to take us through the bible from Genesis to Revelation once every eight years. That means that I have gone over the same scriptures at least seven times. Admittedly we sometimes cover more than one chapter in a lesson, but one would think that this would amount to at least three or four times of thorough study. Truthfully I tell you that I am learning more new things about his word than ever before. I often wonder and ask; “How have I missed something so important for so many years?”

Very often just a little knowledge helps to reveal new and additional understanding each time you study the word—the more you know—the more you will learn and the possibility for learning is inexhaustible. The word tells us that we are not to know and understand all things here and now and that there will always be new revelations as we return to study the bible anew. The bible promotes regular and detailed study as being necessary in the life of a Christian; God’s word teaches that we are to study to show ourselves approved in the sight of God.

Every time I hear a church member dismiss Sunday school as if they had already learned all there is to know I think about all of these years of my continuous study and wonder if I have been a slow learner. Some will actually say that they have never needed to study the bible—or that they no longer feel a need to study. Parents such as these are the ones that will drop their children off at church for bible study telling them it is important—and then return later to pick them up with their actions proving that they do not believe what they said about it’s importance. Their actions speak louder than their words—and it becomes clear that their peers and today’s culture has shaped their lives with much more results than bible study has. Any child born into a poverty stricken home will suffer, and may starve to death. Any child, regardless of the amount of wealth in the home that is denied the privilege of study in God’s word will spiritually suffer and may die a sinner’s death. Listen to me…eat nourishing food or die physically—study the bible and pray or die spiritually. The bible—God’s instructions to and for man—is essential.

In olden times God spoke to his people through dreams, visions, angels, audibly and at least one time through a donkey—but today he speaks through his written word. He talks to each of us through the bible and he offers new insights when we study it reverently and with expectation. The bible applies to all people, however it has personal messages in it for each individual and it requires careful study and prayer for the bible to speak to you personally. One thing is for sure…it will never speak to you if you never take time to open the pages…read the words…and apply them to your own needs. Do you ever feel depressed? Find and read a list of the “Promises of God” realizing that each one applies to you individually. Believe and trust God and then call your Shrink and tell him/her that you will not need another appointment.

The salvation story of Jesus Christ for sinful man has been misunderstood and misinterpreted in so many ways that it stands in its own way of being accepted. With all of the testimony written by eye-witnesses and recorded in the sixty-six books of the bible available in our home libraries…the problem should not be as great as it has become in recent years. When Peter was writing his two books, very little if any of the Holy Bible was available for personal study in the homes. About one half of the New Testament had not been written and all that was completed still remained in crude, hand written scrolls that were still just single copies, available only to the author and his few close friends and church leaders.

I have read that the apostles [and other knowledgeable spiritual writers] wrote other books that were not included in our bible when it was canonized. This does not mean that these other books would contain false teaching, it was just necessary to reduce the amount of books that were available into one book—the bible. God inspired the authors of the bible and the message is without error.

Men canonized the scripture. [That means that man decided what would be included and what would be left out of the final pages of the Bible.] God spiritually inspired those men to include everything that was necessary for man to know; and he also inspired them to remove, or leave out, everything that God did not want man to know. The fact that is so important and that relates to our study in Peter today is that there were many false profits and false teachers that were teaching and writing at the same time and their conflicting teaching was already causing trouble in the Christian Church.

The greatest problem with the false teachers was that they would single out some of the fundamental and absolutely necessary teachings of the apostles and deny necessary truths and also add unnecessary false concepts. These differences were very important to the faith. Some of the arguments regarded core issues such as: 1. the two covenants; 2. legalism or law vs. grace and faith; 3. Christ being both man and God or physical and spiritual; 4. resurrection or life after death; 5; hell and heaven. Peter and the other writers addressed these problems directly and with passion. False teachers were probably the greatest stumbling block in the way of Christian progress. That has not changed greatly.

Without calling any names of the different churches…just think with me for a few moments about some of the key differences taught by different dominations. This conflict in teaching has caused confusion among people…confusion to the point that many do not believe in and join any church because they are not sure which one is right. Here are just a few of the different teachings that are confusing. 1. How to be saved, that is, the exact steps that are absolutely necessary; 2. Is baptism absolutely essential; 3. Sprinkle or immerse? 4. Lord’s Supper required or optional; 5. Wine and bread symbols or do they turn into flesh and blood; 6. How, when and what are the results of receiving the Holy Spirit; Speaking in other tongues.

7. Belief/disbelief in physical healing; 8. Who intercedes for man? Is intercession individual and personal or does it require another person; 9. Abortion; 10. Women in leadership roles; 11. And one of the last is homosexual acceptance. In the lesson today, Peter tried to steer the congregation back to correct theology. We must KNOW THE TRUTH! How? The answer to this question is the one that makes bible study so important, because the only way you will ever know the truth is for you to study the materials written in red letters [by Christ] and the rest of the inspired word of God. The most important expression—BY FAITH—comes into play here…because you must BELIEVE the word to be absolute truth.

The lesson title today is “God’s Word is Essential.” I was tempted at the beginning of the lesson simply to tell you that truth—and then just end the lesson by stating that you must accept the word by faith or close the Bible and go fishing.
Some who are not interested in regular bible study; and maybe not even be interested in the weekly lesson at Sunday school, will probably say that they have heard the same thing over and over and feel that they already know what is being taught. Peter addressed this in verse twelve. He says it is important that people be reminded even though they already know the entire bible well and are firmly established in its teachings. Have you ever known a parent of an outstanding athlete that will argue with the coach that his son does not need to practice the basics any more…because he has already done that for three years? “Coach, my son is always high point man in every game, he blocks more shots than any other guard you have; and he leads the team in steals and assists—I want you to excuse him from all practice sessions during his senior year.” Will this fly with the coach? No. And it doesn’t please God when anyone refuses to practice the reading of his word.

Peter knew that his life would soon end…Christ had made it plain to him…but even though he had only a short time left, it was best that he spend that time teaching God’s word. He was martyred for his faith in about AD 68 and was placed on the cross head down at his own request. I wonder what percentage of Baptist believers would die for their faith if they were given the opportunity to renounce their faith and live. It is a frightening thing to think that the majority of the people on earth today would make this demand of Americans if they were in power.

You will find one of the strongest statements regarding the inspiration of Scripture in verses sixteen through eighteen. Peter is referring to the transfiguration where Jesus’ divine identity was revealed to him [Peter and the other disciples]. The others confirmed the same truth. Did all of the apostles lie? If they did lie, would they have all told the same story? Listen, Peter was there…Peter was an eye witness…and he confirms that our God is real! He is! And forever will be!

Growth is Intentional - II Peter 1:1-11

Most parents are very concerned about the intellectual growth of their children, and will go to just about any extreme to see that thy begin school at entrance age or before if possible. I will never forget my most extreme example of the point at hand. It was in the late 1950’s while I was employed as an elementary principal. You must realize that this was before Arkansas elementary schools included kindergarten and first graders had to be six years old to legally attend public school which usually started in mid August each year. First graders would register in the late part of the spring and were supposed to bring their birth certificate as proof of age. There were always a few that would not have the certificate, and this gave them the summer months to obtain the certificate before opening day. One parent registered the cutest little black headed doll, and promised to obtain her birth certificate. The experienced first grade teacher was suspicious that the child was underage and tagged her enrollment forms. The summer passed and the expected proof of birth was never received. The doll showed up the first day of school with no certificate and the parents were called…the mother said that she did not have the money to waste on a birth certificate. As principal, I ordered the certificate and when it came to the office it confirmed that the child was barely four years old. Most parents complained when their children would barely miss the deadline. Much has been learned about how fast children can learn at a lower age. Kindergarten for five year olds is now mandatory and many schools offer pre-kindergarten for four year olds. It is sad, heart breaking, when young parents may be overly-concerned about the intellectual training for their children but remain completely unconcerned about their spiritual training. They will sue for the right of the child to receive public education—but will refuse free training to improve life spiritually. GROWTH IS INTENTIONAL. There are three areas of growth in a child—they are physical, mental, and spiritual…and they are all INTENTIONAL. That means that neither will be successful without some interested person [parent preferred] intending or making an effort to see that success does occur. Without proper food the body fails to develop properly and may die. Without proper instruction the mind is impaired and may be wasted. Without concerned role models including parents, teachers, and Christian friends starting at an early age—every child is at risk. It is appalling to concerned Christian people when they stop to realize the lack of emphasis that is place on spiritual teaching in comparison to intellectual teaching. If my calculation is anything near correct a child with perfect attendance at church and in school will spend about 30 hours a week in school and about 3 hours a week in spiritual training…that ratio is 10 to 1. Think about this for a moment. Do you feel that our priorities are in the right place? We all will agree that is important for a child to master the three R’s…but is it ten times as important as know how to live? In verse one Peter says he is writing to all people both Jew and Gentile, and then in verse two he prays for our grace and peace and he indicates that it comes through our knowledge and understanding of God and Christ. This means we must learn…and we learn by study which requires teachers… and Peter warns against the false teachers that are cropping up even as he wrote. We must realize that our ability to grow, in strength and goodness does not come from within ourselves—but, it must come from God. Our grace and peace is ours but it is not in us…it must come through our growing knowledge of Jesus our Savior. Many want this grace and peace but are unwilling to put forth the effort to obtain it. It only comes through our true knowledge of God. True knowledge comes only through study and prayer. You must want to pray and study. It must be your intent to pray and study that you may grow spiritually. That is what the title of this lesson means…you will only grow intentionally…and it will never be accidentally. The same concept regarding his power is found in verse three…his power is not from within us, we only have access to his power when we study…it comes through knowledge and knowledge comes from self study under good teachers…and Peter warns us that these cannot be ‘false teachers.’ Verse five tells us that we must have more than just faith. Peter says that we should add to our faith things like goodness and knowledge and self-control and perseverance and godliness and kindness and finally LOVE. Baptist likes to say that we are saved by faith and not works, that we could boast about. That is true. However, James tells us that “Faith without works is dead.” Is this a contradiction? No it is not. The works must me added to our faith…not to save us but to show that we are saved. Look again at what Peter is saying. We are saved by faith…But then we must add to our faith [not to save us but to prove that our salvation is alive and working]…he says to add goodness, knowledge, self-control…and finally Love. If we are saved by grace through our faith—and we are… then why are some additional works necessary? Look at verse eight and Peter makes it very easy to understand. If you possess these qualities [knowledge, control, perseverance, and love] the more they increase, the more they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive. One can say they have faith…however works like these prove they have faith. When you say you believe in God is that the same as saying that you have faith in God? Not really. The devil believes in God, but I doubt that he has faith to believe that God will save him, Faith must be more than belief in certain facts—faith must result in positive action, growth in Christian character and a positive practice in moral discipline and if it does not produce these works it will die see [James 2: 14]. These were the days when immorality was rampant and the false teachers were saying that works have nothing to do with spirituality. False teachers were saying that self-control was unnecessary, because deeds do not save the lost or help the believer. It is true…good deeds [works] will not save a person but they are important for a saved person to look and act like Christ and serve others. True faith goes beyond what one believes. Faith becomes a part of what we do when and if our deeds are righteous. Salvation does not depend on good deeds but it surely will result in good deeds—and when it does not…it is questionable. Peter realized that there were a bunch of complacent believers that were willing to listen to any teaching that tickled their ears. They wanted their salvation and their immoral lives and wanted to believe there was no conflict. Peter told them that they needed to examine themselves to see if they were indeed saved. He was literally saying that he could tell by their life examples and deeds that they were being misled. Are there any false teachers around in the twenty-first century? Oh yes. There are so many that we have more problems than the early Christians had. I worry about this problem…no wonder the bible warns that “few” will enter the narrow gate as compared to the “MANY” that will find the broad road and wide gate. There is no doubt that the number of false and non believers today will far out number the confessed believers…and many of them will hear Christ say—“Depart from me I never knew you.” Please continue to study…to show yourself approved…by God.

Introduction to Second Peter

Any time you start to read a book, any book, in the bible or at random from the library, the first thing you should do is find as many vital statistics about the book as you can. Who wrote it? It’s purpose. When and where was it written? Etc. For this reason, I think we should survey some of these pertinent points that will help us to better understand the primary lessons taught in Peter’s letter.

First Peter was written just before the time that Nero, the Roman Emperor went completely crazy and started persecuting the Christians about A.D. 63 or 64. His first book was written to warn the churches that impending dangers were ahead and that they would find their persecutions increasing. In this book, 2 Peter, his main purpose is to warn Christians about the false teachers that would increase soon and to tell them that their only way to survive would be to grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that this could only come by their intensive study of the word. It is now about AD 67, he is in Rome, and he may have heard rumors that Nero was out to get him—at least he knew that his time was limited so he wrote what was on his heart that he thought might be of help to his readers.

In the first verse there is a subtle reference to the people to whom he is writing. Read the first verse. Peter is a Jew and considers it a privilege to be one of the God’s original people. God called Jews “My people.” Look! He writes “To those to whom there has been allotted a faith equal in honor and privilege with our own.” When Christ came the gentiles were added to the house of his chosen people. One verse in the NT reads—“If my people will humble themselves…and pray…I will hear…” It is plain to see that both Jews and Gentiles are now considered as his people. As I said, this fact is subtly hidden by Peter here…but there is no doubt in my mind. Back in 1 Peter 2: 10 he said: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” He is reminding us that at one time we were not ‘God’s people…only the Jews were.

Peter was probably in Rome at the time of the beginning of the great persecution by Nero and wrote this book while he was living there. Later in the persecution, Peter was executed there in Rome. His decision regarding his execution confirms the high regard he had for his Lord. He chose to be crucified with his head down because he did not feel that he was worthy of hanging there in the same position as Christ did. Now we will move on to the subject chosen for our study today. Growth is not accidental.