Untitled Sermon

Be sure of your Source

2 Peter 1:12–21 LEB

Therefore I intend to remind you continually concerning these things, although you know them and are established in the truth that you have. But I consider it right, for as long as I am in this habitation, to stir you up by a reminder, because I know that the removal of my habitation is imminent, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will also make every effort that you are able at any time, after my departure, to recall these things to mind. For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following ingeniously concocted myths, but by being eyewitnesses of that one’s majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice such as this was brought to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we ourselves heard this voice brought from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain, and we possess as more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well if you pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, recognizing this above all, that every prophecy of scripture does not come about from one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Ephesians 4:14–15 (LEB)

so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow into him with reference to all things, who is the head, Christ,

Desperate to find answers to life’s important questions, people will sometimes trust anyone who claims to possess the truth. The churches that Peter addressed in 2 Peter were infiltrated by persuasive teachers who were probably intelligent, well-educated, and like able. Yet, they themselves were deceived as well as deceptive, leading others into the same dangerous errors.

Peter wasn’t the only apostle concerned about vulnerable Christians. Paul warned his readers about people who “try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:14). Like Peter, Paul sought to anchor Christians to God’s Word so they wouldn’t “be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching” (4:14).

Today’s shady influencers are equally skilled at tricking people into believing anything that sounds good or feels right. It’s not uncommon for even Christians to dabble in praying to deceased relatives, wearing crystals for “positive energy,” or calling on the universe for help.

Why do people do this? Why are the masses eager to follow the latest guru or some expert with secret knowledge? Primarily because of our deep longing for truth. Peter points us to a single authoritative source of truth, and in this source we can be sure.