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This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast. A podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. Thank you, John, for leading us in worship this morning, including one of my favorite songs, How Firm a Foundations.
That was a nice touch. Go ahead and open your Bibles with me to 2 Peter 1. Our pastor has been away this week teaching at the Master's Seminary, which is where he is this morning as well.
And it's a joy for me to fill his place here in the pulpit on Sunday mornings any chance I do. So I'm excited to open God's Word with you this morning. And in 2 Peter, we need to recognize the historical context.
Context, as you know from coming to this church, is all important when we're studying the Bible. And usually what we mean by that is, what are the words saying around our passage? What's the flow of thought that the author has within the text itself?
And when it comes to 2 Peter, the historical context is even more helpful than usual. The historical context or background is what's going on in the life of the author.
What's going on in the church to whom he is writing. And in 2 Peter, we know that Peter is about to die. Peter is about to pass away, just as Jesus told him.
And you can see that in chapter 1, verses 14 and 15, that he knows the time of his departure is soon. And so what will a dying man say who can choose his last words?
As Peter picks up his pen one last time to leave parting words to his churches, what is on his heart? What does he want his people to remember after he's gone?
Dying men use their final words to talk about what is most important. And the theme that dominates this short letter is Scripture.
Peter is letting his readers know that there is a day coming when there will be no more living apostles on earth. And when that day comes, he wants them to stick to the Scriptures.
He wants them to stick to the Bible as their authority and their guiding principle in all of life. And based on what he talks about in chapters 2 and 3, false teachers had already begun to creep into his churches.
False teachers had already crept in and started to undercut the authority of the Bible that he preached to them. And they were twisting and contradicting the Scriptures by outrightly denying that Christ would ever come back.
They were mocking the Christians for believing that Christ would return in power and glory. And in their theology, having no threat of an impending judgment, no threat of a return from Christ, their lives descended into immorality very quickly.
And as Peter documents, we'll see in the first three verses of chapter 2, their lives were marked by sensuality, greed, lust, and deception.
Because corrupt theology always leads to corrupt living. And Peter calls them out directly. And he calls them out not only by confronting their faulty lives in chapter 2, but confronting their faulty doctrine in chapter 1.
And Peter combats their heresy, which was denying the return of Christ, by showing us the nature and origin of Scripture. What is the Bible?
Where does the Bible come from? These are the questions Peter is wanting to answer for his people at the end of chapter 1. And we learn that the Word of God is God's Word.
Our passage today shows us that one of the main reasons we need to rightly understand and appreciate the Bible is because false teachers will creep in to undercut Scripture's authority.
False teachers will attack the church on this very issue. And so do you believe the Bible? Do you believe that the Bible is God's Word?
Do you believe that every word on the pages of Scripture comes from the mouth of God? And almost every false teacher would answer all of those questions in the affirmative.
They will give lip service to the Bible. They will say they believe the Bible, but when it comes to this topic, actions speak louder than words. They will claim Christ with their lips and deny Him with the way they live their lives and the way they use the Bible.
And it's just as Jesus told us in Matthew 7 verse 16, speaking of false teachers, you will recognize them by their fruits. Not only in their immoral lifestyles, but also in the way they twist the Scriptures.
And false teachers in our own day usually don't come out and boldly state that they think the Bible is wrong. They don't come out and just brashly claim that the Bible is in error, but they will add qualifications and limitations to its authority.
So they'll say, I believe God's Word. But then when it addresses sexuality, women's roles in the church, creation, they're quick to remind us, well, the Bible was written in a particular cultural context that doesn't exactly line up with our modern and more advanced and smarter society today.
They give lip service to the Bible, but deny its power. They give lip service to God's Word, but they subject it to their own wisdom and understanding when it says things that don't advance their career, that don't make them popular.
And in Peter's particular situation, these false teachers were sowing seeds of doubt among his people regarding the Scriptures' teaching on Christ's return.
And so Peter, in chapter 1, 16 through 2, 3, is really saying two things. Jesus will return according to the Scriptures. And secondly, false teachers will be judged according to the Scriptures.
And in our passage, Peter gives us a soaring view of Scripture, teaching us that God's Word is more reliable even than our own experience because God's Word is truth itself.
And he calls us to cling to it in this dark world until Jesus comes back. Let me read our text for us today. 2 Peter, chapter 1, starting in verse 16.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to Him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven for we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and a morning star rises in your hearts.
knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
And many will follow their sensuality. And because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Pray with me. Our Father, we are so grateful for your Word. As this text says, your Word comes from the Holy Spirit moving men as they spoke from you.
And so Father, help us to understand the Scriptures. Open our eyes through your Spirit so that we can understand and love your Word. and Father, give me the Spirit that I can proclaim boldly and truthfully what your Word teaches.
It's for the glory of your Son. Amen. In our text, Peter is arguing that Christ will indeed return.
And he points us to two things in chapter 1 that show us that. He points us to the transfiguration and he points us to the Bible. And so I want to break our text down into three points this morning.
In verses 16-18 we see a trustworthy witness. Verses 19-21 we see the more trustworthy Word. In verses 1-3 of chapter 2 we see why it matters.
So number 1, verses 16-18 we have a trustworthy witness. And the focus of Peter's first line of reasoning for the return of Jesus is based on the transfiguration of Jesus.
An event he had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. And what he tells us is that this event anticipates the return of Christ in glory.
And that's not necessarily how we always think about the transfiguration. As we're reading through the Gospels it seems to almost not fit with what's going on. What's the point of this happening in Jesus' life?
Why are the authors recording it the way that they do of Jesus being changed? Of his glory being made more radiant and his robes turned to dazzling white?
But let me show you that Peter is arguing that this event proclaims the second coming of Christ. And he begins this in verse 16 by saying for this is an explanation of why he's reminding his readers of these things as he said he would do in verse 13.
He said we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter is saying we weren't making this stuff up.
The false teachers are claiming that we've fabricated this story to get people to behave. The skeptics are saying that we've made up that Jesus is coming back to get people to give us money and power and submit to us.
But we weren't making stories up. We were telling you what we had seen and what we had heard when we were with Jesus when he was transfigured.
Peter makes it clear they had received divine revelation from God the Father. And he says when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a reference to the apostles' proclamation. summation. The summation of what they were preaching was the return of Jesus in power and glory and judgment.
He said we were revealing this to you based on what we had seen and heard from Jesus himself. And so for instance at the end of Paul's sermon in Greece in Acts chapter 17 he says God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man he has appointed.
And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. The apostles' message was one that Christ was crucified and is coming again in judgment.
And Peter says we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter had seen a preview of the return of Christ.
And if you remember the transfiguration which is what he is describing here Jesus took Peter, James, and John onto a high mountain and there the Lord revealed himself to Christ and his disciples.
God spoke to Jesus and said this is my beloved son listen to him. And Moses and Elijah also appeared next to Christ and they were talking about his departure from the earth.
And it's a picture showing Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets by Moses and Elijah being there. And in your mind what is the point of the transfiguration?
Why did this event take place? Jesus' face started to shine his robes became dazzling white and Peter tells us here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that this demonstrates that Jesus will return.
He says in verse 17 for when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
And I want us to pay attention to how Peter is retelling this story. This story is recorded in all three synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And Peter's description is slightly different because he himself was an eyewitness and he's retelling this in a certain way to get us to pick up on something about Christ.
He describes him as having received honor and glory from God the Father. And there's another place in scripture where honor and glory are found right next to each other.
In Psalm 8 which is a familiar psalm it says that the Father has made mankind for a little while lower than the angels of the earth bestowing him with glory glory and honor.
And that psalm gets quoted in Hebrews 2 saying this is about Jesus. Jesus received glory and honor from his Father. And interestingly that psalm begins and ends by saying oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth.
Peter says that we've seen Christ's majesty when God speaks to Christ he describes God as the majestic glory and in this psalm that he's referencing it proclaims the majesty of who God is.
Peter is portraying Jesus as the exalted Lord at the event of the transfiguration. And then God speaks this is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased.
The Father was completely delighted with everything that Jesus said and did and thought during his earthly life. And Peter remembers this with great clarity.
It says we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven for we were with him on the holy mountain. And Peter here is making a reference to yet another messianic psalm.
We have here Christ proclaimed as the beloved son of the Father and Peter is saying this event took place on the holy mountain. And if you read Psalm 2 verse 6 the Father says I've set my king on Zion on my holy mountain.
And he goes on to say today I have begotten you you are my son. And the psalm concludes with the son pouring out judgment on his enemies and being enthroned in Israel.
Peter by retelling the event the way that he does is proclaiming to us that Christ will return. The skeptics can scoff. The mockers can make questions and make accusations against us but the Father has spoken.
His son will be enthroned regardless of what anyone says who tries to undercut what scripture is stating. He will come back.
And this might seem like a strange event for Peter to appeal to in order to argue that Christ would return but we need to remember the words of Jesus himself about this event.
In all three of the gospels that record the transfiguration right before that takes place there's a little comment given by Jesus in Matthew Mark and Luke.
And in Mark 9-1 it says Jesus said to his disciples truly I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.
Jesus himself is saying this event is an anticipation of my return in glory and in power and in honor and we need to understand it that way.
Peter's presenting this as a sneak preview of the second coming and we need to follow his logic as he's presenting this to us. And if we just step back and evaluate Peter's argument so far it might seem like he's appealing to his experience in order to prove something that the Bible teaches.
It might seem like he's appealing to something that he's experienced in his personal life in order to prove the skeptics wrong. But if this were Peter's only argument what would the skeptics say?
That's great Peter where's your proof that that happened? That's a cool story Peter but that's just your interpretation of it. How would we know that he's coming back based on something you've experienced personally?
And as helpful and as true as Peter's experience was the word of God is more helpful and more true. And so our second point is the more trustworthy word verses 19 through 21.
Peter says we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed. Is Peter saying that his experience made the Bible more true?
Is he saying that the experience that he had proves that the Bible is true? No. He's saying the Bible is more reliable than what I know I saw and heard.
The Bible is a more trustworthy word than the testimony of an apostle. There's something more certain and more reliable than Peter's eyes and ears, namely the Bible.
And so despite all of his first-hand witness testimony, he summits it all to the written word of God. The light from scripture is more steady and more strong than any experience we could have, no matter how memorable or how miraculous.
Scripture is more certain than what you know to be true. we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.
And ultimately, what did the transfiguration accomplish? What did it do? It pointed back to God's written word where he declared that his son would return in glory.
The transfiguration itself pointed to the written word of God. And so your experience does not validate the Bible.
The Bible validates our experience. The Bible is the reason and the cause of why we have experience because it's the word of God that spoke this universe into existence in the first place.
And so the Bible does not answer to our experience. The Bible does not answer to our feelings. The Bible does not answer to our wisdom. The Bible is the norm.
The Bible is the standard. truth. The Bible is truth itself regardless of your experience. The Bible needs no validation.
Why is Peter making such a point to say his experience isn't as valid as the word of God? Because the false teachers were appealing to their experience of the world in order to undercut scripture.
If you look with me at chapter 3 verse 3 Peter is talking about these false teachers and he says knowing this first of all scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing following their own sinful desires and they will say where is the promise of his coming?
For ever since the fathers fell asleep all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. And so the false teachers were undercutting the authority of scripture by saying I don't experience what the Bible is saying to be true.
I know the Bible claims this. I know the apostles are teaching this but I haven't experienced it and therefore it's not true. And so Peter is saying submit your experiences to the written word of God.
It is more reliable and more sure than anything you could experience. And so for us in this room what do we do when our experience seems to contradict what the scriptures say?
Jesus said he came that we may have joy to the fullest. What do you do when you don't feel joy? Jesus said that his word will sanctify his people.
how do you respond when you see sin in your life even though you've read your Bible every day? Will you subject the word of God to what you experience or will you submit to God's word as it's written?
That's a question we all face. Are you willing to trust the Bible even in the midst of darkness? And this is a crucial point that we need to wrestle with because for so many people around us maybe even people in this room personal experience is the most important guiding principle.
People will justify their sin by saying I feel peace about it. They're submitting God's word to their experience of life.
So what will you do with the Bible? What will you do with God's word? And Peter's emphasizing here that the second coming of Jesus is not derived from a myth or his own interpretation of an experience he had about 30 years ago.
The coming of Jesus is declared in God's written word and so it will happen in God's time. And what does this mean for us?
That God's word is more trustworthy even than the experience of an apostle? It means for us that our faith isn't inferior to the faith that the apostles had. Yes, they witnessed and participated some truly amazing and miraculous things but as Peter says, the word of God is more authentic than any sign we could see or any miracle we could witness including seeing the glory of Jesus Christ.
Seeing is not essential to belief. reading the Bible is. And so if you're here and you doubt God's existence or if you struggle with faith, I want you to submit to Peter's logic here as he's inspired by the Holy Spirit.
It's so easy for us to say, it would be easier to believe if I saw a sign. It would be more easy for me to have faith if I heard God's voice with my own ears.
But friends, that's not true. If you reject the scriptures, a miracle will not help you. If you doubt what God has said in his word, a miraculous sign will not give you faith.
Just see the life of Jesus. How many people saw a miracle and yet refused to believe the scriptures? If Jesus were to show up here in our worship service and preach this sermon instead of me, would you have stronger faith?
You might because his sermon would be a lot better than mine. But just by seeing him, you wouldn't have stronger faith. If such an appearance were to occur, your faith wouldn't be any stronger than it is now.
And Jesus himself said this in Luke 16. He said, if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone rises from the dead, they won't believe.
And do we believe Jesus' words in John 16 when he says it's to your advantage that I go away because you'll have the Holy Spirit with you?
We actually are at an advantaged situation, having the Spirit within us, having a completed Bible in front of us to know God and to understand who he is.
So the only guiding principle we have as believers are the words of the apostles and prophets as they've been given through them by God himself. And so Peter says going on in verse 19 that you will do well to pay attention to this prophetic word.
He's saying this is the right thing to do. This is not an option. This is not a good alternative. This is the right thing to do as a believer.
Pay attention to his word. It's an absolute necessity because it's the only way to truly know God. And interestingly, this word pay attention appears in Zechariah 1.4 saying as the Israelites come back from exile, Zechariah is telling them, you went into exile because you didn't pay attention to God's word.
You didn't hold on to God's word. You didn't believe what the prophets were saying and I sent you into exile. And the way he describes it is that God's word overtook them.
They didn't listen to God's word but God's word judged them and sent them to a foreign country. And so when Peter says pay attention to this word, we need to understand how desperate our need is for God's word.
And he describes it as a lamp shining in a dark place. God's word is a light to my path.
And that's not just true of the Old Testament in days past. The prophets will shine a light into our dark world today. God's word is living and active and we need to pay attention to it.
And don't just undervalue what Peter is saying here. This is a desperate time he's describing. The world is a dark place and it's dangerous because false teachers are on the loose.
Focus on the light. Pay attention to the scriptures as if your life depended on it. And how long are we to do this?
How long are we to focus on God's word? How long should we devote ourselves to God's word? Peter says, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
This is the day of Christ's return. When Christ comes back in the honor and glory that Peter saw in the transfiguration, we won't have a need for scripture anymore.
When Christ appears in all of his glory and all of his splendor, the prophetic word will be fulfilled in full and it will be eclipsed by the glory of the word made flesh, Jesus Christ.
But until then, we must pay attention to the Bible. Until then, we must hold on to God's word for everything we've got. And Peter says that when that day dawns and the morning star, rises in your hearts.
If you write down numbers 24, 17, there's a prophecy given about Christ talking about a star rising.
And if you read Revelation 2 and Revelation 22, Christ is called the bright morning star. This is a reference to Christ and the word he uses is actually the ancient world's word for Venus.
And if you wake up before the sun rises and see the dawn start to emerge, you'll see a star. And the word given to that star is light bringer.
And Peter uses that word to apply it to Christ. Christ is the one who will bring this day in. Christ is the one who will initiate this judgment. He's the one who will come to pour out his wrath and be enthroned receiving the blessing of his father.
God's word will take us home. How can you be made ready for heaven? How can you make it to heaven? How can you survive the deception of false teachers?
How can you have faith? How can you be sanctified? Pay attention to God's word because it will get us there. Cling to the scriptures. They will bring us to Christ.
And just as Peter's teaching on the second coming didn't come from his own imagination, he now makes clear in verses 20 and 21, nothing in the Bible came from the initiation of human beings.
He says in verses 20 and 21, knowing this first of all, this is what you need to know to pay attention to the word, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.
And Peter's not simply saying that God's word doesn't come from the actions of men. He's also saying the interpretation of that word also comes from God.
There is a right way to read the Bible. And we've all heard arguments of, yes, that's good for you, that's your interpretation of the Bible. I've got mine and we disagree.
The important thing is that we believe in Jesus. No, because not just the scripture has come from God, but also the meaning. There is a right way to read the Bible and so we need to be good students of this book because it doesn't come from man.
It comes from the mouth of God. The Bible is not a human record of mankind's belief in God. The Bible is God's authoritative account of this world.
It is from God's own mouth and he is the perfect communicator. In verse 21, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Spirit. They didn't simply speak about God, they spoke from God. Verses 20 and 21 are, is a textbook definition of what we would call inspiration.
The Bible is God's word written by human beings. It's from God according to God's own initiative. And it says they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
That word, as I'm sure you've heard, is used in Acts 27 to describe a storm driving a ship across the sea. God was in control as the apostles and prophets wrote his word.
And kind of big picture from the end of chapter 1 so far, there's one word that appears four times. And it doesn't come across in my ESV, but if you look at verse 17, it says the voice was born to Jesus.
And in verse 18, we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven. Verse 21, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man.
Men spoke from God as they were carried by the Holy Spirit. The word for born, twice, produced, and carried is the same word in Greek.
Peter is saying the God who we heard speak on the holy mountain speaks through the Bible. So if you want to hear God's voice, read His word.
And if you read chapter 1 verses 3 and 4, Peter's starting here with the power of Scripture. He says, God's given us a book that contains all the essentials for life and godliness, verse 3, which contains very great and precious promises, verse 4, that's intended to progressively conform us to the image of His Son.
Also in verse 4, while we wait for the power and coming of His Son. So if you struggle to appreciate Scripture, if you struggle to pay attention to it, think about the return of Christ.
It's when He will execute justice on the wicked and redeem His people from sin and death and from the futility of this life.
Now we come to why it matters, verses 1-3 of chapter 2. Why should we pay such close attention to God's word? Why is it that Peter is pushing God's word on us so strongly?
Because false teachers are coming. False teachers will arise among us. In chapter 2, he takes us back to the past, saying false prophets arose among the people just as false teachers will arise among you.
Just as Israel was redeemed out of slavery and then plagued by false teachers, false teachers will be false teachers will be afflicted by them as well. The warning's clear.
False teachers will arise and they will deceive many, but they have a tell. Their immoral lifestyles will give them away. And Peter describes them as secretly bringing in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them.
And so we need to pay attention to the prophetic word, also recognizing that not all prophets come from God. As Kent read earlier, 1 Peter 5, 8, our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, and he shows up as preachers and teachers.
And so we need to pay careful attention because false teachers will arise. And Peter's words are remarkably relevant in this book because this is a problem that still plagues the church today.
And it's easy for us to read the Old Testament and think, Israel, you're so foolish. How could you not just believe God's word and not listen to this false prophet? We can look around us at churches today, so-called churches, and say, how are so many people deceived by this false doctrine and this heresy?
But I think this danger is more close than any one of us might realize. What about the person who does their quiet time but only draws meaning from a devotional that takes one verse out of context?
What about the small group leader who reads a passage and his only question is, what does this mean to you? What about the pastor who says he preaches the Bible but really only reads a few verses off the iPad when they fit the mold of the message that he wants to deliver?
What is this telling us about their view of Scripture? says they will come in secretly. And please don't fall for the lie that false teachers are easy to recognize.
They will creep in and cause destruction by their false teaching. And our only defense is to know our shepherd's voice.
The only resource we have is paying attention to God's word. And so if you're not familiar with God's word, you are vulnerable to false teaching. So how are so many people deceived by out and out false teachers we see around us today?
They don't know the Bible. He says even denying the master who bought them. And Peter is not somehow implying that Christ actually paid for their sins with his death and now they're rejecting.
But he's saying they claim to be Christians. They claim to follow Jesus as Lord but they deny him by their sinful lifestyles which he goes on to catalog.
He mentions their sensuality that will lead many astray. He talks about them causing the way of truth to be blasphemed and talks about their greed. These are the signs of false teachers.
And he says at the end of verse 1, they will bring upon themselves swift destruction. And it's ironic because this is what they're trying to avoid by their false doctrine.
They're trying to get rid of the idea of Christ's return and that in itself will bring destruction to them. They're twisting God's word and it's God's word that will judge them in the end.
And he says at the end of verse 3, their condemnation from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep.
Peter pictures their destruction as an executioner waiting at the door. False teachers will perish but God's word will not. False teachers will wither and heretics will fade but the word of our God will stand forever.
forever. And so Peter says false teachers will bring in destructive heresy, lead in sensuality, cause the truth to be blasphemed, and be greedy.
Which is why I think the New Testament is at such pains to spell out the qualifications for pastors. Because among the qualifications for pastors, you'll see they must hold on to the trustworthy word as taught.
They must be above reproach. They must lead faithful lives. They must not be greedy for money. And Peter mentioned in chapter 1 verse 19 that the word of God is a lamp shining in a dark place.
And there's great darkness in our world. How is it that this church can ensure that we remain a beacon of light in the darkness that envelops us?
Pay attention to God's word. Do that as an individual and our church will stay strong in the midst of darkness. Hold on to God's trustworthy word as it's been taught to us in the Bible because the word of God is powerful.
The word of God created the universe that we see around us. Genesis 1. The word of God now sustains the universe. Hebrews 1. The word of God convicts us by laying open our hearts.
Hebrews 4. And the word of God was made flesh. John 1. Jesus came in the flesh to ransom his people from their sin.
And his word can give you a new heart. His word can save you from the destruction that's coming when he returns in power. So what will you do with the scriptures?
Will you believe his word? Will you cling to his word? Will you love his word? Will you obey his word? Will you share his word? Or will you ignore his word bringing judgment on yourself?
Will you obey his word? We will not be judged by how relevant and appealing we make the Bible. We will not be judged by the world's perception of us. We will be judged by how we respond to the word.
So let us pay attention to the trustworthy word of our God because it will bring us home. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.