2 Peter Simplified

Author & Audience

Author: The Apostle Peter

2 Peter 1:1 (NASB95)

1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Audience:

Peter Refers to this as His 2nd Letter to These Christians

2 Peter 3:1 (NASB95)

1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

So We can Assume the Recipients are the Churches in the 5 Provinces of:

Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia

Purpose

2 Peter 1:13–15 (ESV)

13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Peter Knows He is Going to Die Soon

This is His Farewell Letter

His 1st Letter Dealt with Persecution and Mistreatment Coming From the World

This 2nd Letter Deals with Problems Within the Church

False Teachers will Deceive and Entice Many Christians…

To Live Wicked, Self-Indulgent Lives

Peter is Afraid that After He Dies…

These Christians will Be Led Astray

So He Writes this Letter to Remind Them of the Words of the Prophets and of Jesus

Condemnation and Destruction is Coming…

And Only Those Who Continue Living Like/For Jesus will Be Saved

Summary

Chapter 1:

God has given us everything that pertains to eternal life and godly living

What has he given us?

He Gave Us Jesus…

As a Redeeming Sacrifice, a Mediating Priest, and a Merciful King

Our knowledge of Jesus, both his glory and goodness…

Show us what we are to do to inherit eternal life and live godly lives

Look at Jesus, who is the embodiment of the character of God…

And imitate him

Through his glory and goodness he has given us precious promises

These precious promises enable and empower us to have part in the divine nature

Sharing in His Nature Doesn’t Mean We Become Gods

It Means We Become Like God

We Become Like God When We

Escape the corruption of the world that comes from evil desires

Add to our faith Christlike qualities, such as:

Goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, affectionate love, and devoted love

If we continue to grow in these characteristics…

They will make us effective and productive Christians

Those who don’t possess these characteristics…

Are short-sighted and blind

They’ve forgotten that they were cleansed of their sins

They Just Waltz Back into Their Old Sinful Ways

Peter urges Christians to try their very hardest…

To make sure that they’re a part of God’s chosen people

He’s referring to working hard to embody those Christ-like qualities:

Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, affectionate love, and devoted love

If we do, we will never fall into a lifestyle of sin and rebellion against God

And that will result in us being abundantly welcomed into Jesus’ everlasting kingdom

Peter knows that his death is drawing near

So he wants to remind his readers to live by these qualities…

So that when he is gone, they will continue to remember them

Peter and the others were not making things up when they said that Jesus is going to return in power and glory

Peter, himself, was an eyewitness to Jesus’ glory…

And he heard the voice of God on the mount of transfiguration

So Peter and the apostles aren’t just sharing a prophetic message…

They witnessed the real thing with their very eyes and ears

But, regardless of that, Christians should believe what the Prophets said

What they foretold about Jesus didn’t come from their own imaginations

It came from God through the Holy Spirit

Chapter 2

But there were also false prophets back then

And there will be false teachers among Christians

They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even to the point of denying Jesus

Many people will follow their shameful, unrestrained lifestyles

This will lead to the Gospel and the Christian lifestyle being slandered

Out of greed, they will speak lies in order to make money off of you

But rest assured, their judgment and destruction is coming

If God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned…

And if He didn’t spare the world of Noah’s day…

Or the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah…

Then He won’t spare these wicked people on the day of judgment

But even when God destroyed the world & Sodom and Gomorrah…

He still saved the righteous from the destruction (Noah & Lot)

Jesus is also able to save His people when He brings destruction upon the wicked

He will especially bring His punishment upon those who:

Indulge their selfish desires

Despise authority

Are stubborn and arrogant

Act like animals just following their instincts and selfish desires

Pretend to be Christians, but are only interested in their selfish indulgences

Have eyes full of adultery and non-stop sin

Entice weaker Christians to participate in their sinful lifestyles

Have hearts that are trained in greediness

Leave the Christ-Like lifestyle to pursue their love of the world and all its empty treasures

They promise freedom and happiness, but they can’t deliver

Their fate is the blackness of darkness

2 Peter 2:18–22 (NLT)

18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

These False Teachers are Doomed and They are Dooming Others as Well

They are Leading People Away From Christ-Like Living

And Peter Wants These Christians to Know…

Following Such People Because Their Teachings and Lifestyles…

Appeal to Your Natural Urges and Lusts…

Will Only Lead to Emptiness in this Life and Then Eternal Destruction

Chapter 3

Peter mentions that this is his second letter that he’s writing to these Christians

He wrote both of these letters to stir up their minds in reminding them…

Of the words of the prophets and of Jesus through his apostles

They need to know that in these last days there will be mockers

They’ll say, “Where is this ‘coming’ that Jesus promised?”

They’ll claim that nothing has changed since the creation

By saying this, they willfully forget that God spoke and all things were created

And then God spoke and said He would flood the world with water and it happened

God also spoke and said that the present world will one day experience destruction by fire

Every time God has spoken in the past, what He said happened

Judgment by fire is going to happen as well

They believe Jesus isn’t coming back because of how long it’s taken

Don’t forget that time is nothing to God

A day is like 1000 years in 1000 years is like a day

If it seems like God is taking a long time to keep his promise…

It’s not because he doesn’t plan on keeping that promise

He’s being patient

He doesn’t want anyone to perish in the flames

He wants all people to repent

A fiery destruction is coming, and it will come like a thief in the night

Knowing that, we ought to live holy and godly lives as we wait eagerly for that day to arrive

God’s promise of destruction is coming

But His promise of a new heaven and a new earth is coming as well

A new heaven and earth where all unrighteousness has been removed

There will be nothing but righteousness

Since we are looking forward to the fulfillment of this wonderful promise

Let’s try our best to be found, spotless, blameless, and at peace with God

God’s patience in bringing about the fulfillment of that day…

Is so more people can be saved…

Not so we can live according to our lusts and desires

Paul wrote about all of these things in his letters as well

They’re sometimes difficult to understand

Untaught and unstable people will often twist his words to their own destruction

Peter has given us a forewarning

Let’s not follow in their footsteps

Let’s be on guard so that we don’t get carried away by false teachings…

And fall from our security in Christ

Instead, let’s grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus

Key Passage

Peter Talks a Lot in Chapter 2 About the Punishment and Condemnation…

Coming Upon Those Who are Enslaved to Their Own Lusts and Desires

Sometimes We can Push So Hard Against “Once Saved, Always Saved”…

That We Get the Impression that We are “Once Saved, Barely Saved”

Or “Easy to Get Saved, Nearly Impossible to Stay Saved”

That’s Not the Gospel Peter is Preaching…

And that Gospel is Not Found Anywhere in the NT

Peter Told Us in the Beginning of His Letter…

What to Do to Ensure that We Never Fall Away

2 Peter 1:4–11 (NASB95)

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

To Ensure that We Never Fall Away and Experience Judgment with the Wicked…

We are to Partake of the Divine Nature

What Does that Mean?

It Means Escaping the Corruption of the World By Lust

To Give Our Faithful Allegiance to Jesus and Resist Sin…

By Refusing to Allow Our Desires to Control Us

How Do We Do that?

We Add to Our Faith in Jesus the Qualities of God that We See in Jesus:

Moral Excellence - Doing What is Good in Whatever Circumstance

Knowledge - Knowing the Character of God Revealed Through the Scriptures

Self-Control - Controlling Your Desires Instead of Allowing Them to Control You

Perseverance - To Patiently Endure Hardships

Godliness - Great Level of Respect Toward God

Brotherly Love - Love Your Siblings in Christ as Your One True Family

Love - The Greatest and Ultimate Quality of God that We See in Jesus

A Dedication to the Well-Being of Others…

Regardless of Whether or Not They Deserve it…

And Regardless of How it will Affect You

This is the Nature of the Divine

And We are Called to Partake in These Qualities

If We Do, We will Never Fall Away From Our Salvation in Jesus