2 Peter 1:12-21 - Attending to God’s Word

Introduction

Over the last several weeks (and especially the last two) many cultural and political conservatives in America seem to have had their eyes opened to the reality that there really are only two ways to live – either believing and submitting to Christ and His word or rejecting and rebelling against Christ and His word. This is true for individuals, for families, and for civilizations (i.e., cities, states, nations).

It’s been said that there are moments in history when something like a flare goes up and illumines the dark landscape so that we can all see where everyone stands. I think the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the stark responses to this heinous act is one of those moments. Some Americans have responded with grief and anger – a young husband and father and an exemplary representative of Evangelical Christianity in the public square was gunned down for nothing more than promoting a conservative Christian way of thinking and living. I am in this camp, the grieved and angry camp, and I think many of you are as well.

The more I learn about Charlie Kirk – I only knew a little about him before – the more I learn about him, the more grieved and angered I am. As I said last Sunday, I believe both of these feelings are warranted and right for Christians to experience. It is a grievous thing that’s happened, and we are right to be angry at the wicked young man who did this and also at those who wicked people who would celebrate and justify it.

Kirk’s murderer deserves justice, and this is the fundamental responsibility God has given to government – the American justice system has the power of the sword, and capital punishment is exactly what this crime deserves (Rom. 13:3-4).

But – and it may seem shocking to say it – there is another camp in American culture, a significant swath of Americans celebrated and justified the vigilante execution of Charlie Kirk. Some of their justifications – the ones I’ve heard – are that Kirk was a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a transphobe, and an Islamophobe. And even if all of this were true, Christian ethics (and traditional American ethics) still demand an unequivocal condemnation of Kirk’s murder.

But these labels have been thrown out at Charlie Kirk for believing and saying the sort of things that most of us believe – that men cannot be women, that young people should get married, that married people should stay married, that children should be protected (even in their mothers’ womb), that Christ is the only way to right relationship with God, and that Christians should want a society that reflects these beliefs and values.

Friends, it is clear to me that some Americans want (at least generally) to believe and live according to a biblical worldview, and other Americans think that a biblical worldview ought to be stamped out with extreme prejudice. Of course, there are a whole lot of undecided and/or uninterested Americans between these two poles, but these are the two options.

For decades (maybe longer), many committed Christians in America (and those who at least give lip-service to Christianity) have assumed that it is possible to have basic agreement on fundamental issues without religious underpinnings… that is, many what we might call “traditional” Americans thought they had basic agreement on fundamental issues with other Americans who are atheists, or Muslims, or secular progressives.

You can hear this in phrases from some American Evangelicals –

like “I just preach the gospel; I don’t want to be political”

or “Churches shouldn’t do politics; they should just preach Jesus and make disciples.”

or “You can’t legislate morality, so we shouldn’t try.”

or “We are a liberal democracy, so we shouldn’t force our Christian beliefs or ethics onto those who do not believe as we do.”

Many American Evangelicals believed that they could disagree with their neighbors about the gospel, about marriage, about children, about the dignity and purpose of man, and yet they could get along just fine in the same communities, the same states, and the same nation. But this is false. What we believe will come out in how we live, and fundamental disagreements on the most basic questions of life and purpose will inevitably clash.

Friends, it is one thing to be kind and respectful toward those who do not believe what we do about God, about Christ, about fallen humanity, and about our desperate need for a Savior… it is one thing to be friendly with those who do not believe what we do about marriage, gender, family, children, and the like… and it is also true that we ought to primarily aim for the conversion of sinners – sharing the gospel so that non-Christians will come to believe and follow Christ willingly.

But it is another thing entirely for Christians to give away the cultural and political and religious heritage that we’ve (generally) enjoyed in America… for Christians to neglect the family structure and routines that foster spiritual life and growth… for us to pretend that our personal use of time, treasure, and talent can be divided between godless pursuits and godly ones without any detrimental effect… all because we are unwilling or unable to grasp that believing and obeying God’s word is the only thing that keeps any individual, any family, and any society from going into full-on self-destruct mode.

And if we are going to be the sort of Christians who influence others around us for good… if we are going to be the kind of Christians who share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who do not believe and follow Him… if we are going to be the sort of Christians who persevere ourselves in believing and following Christ (all the way to the end)… then we are going to have to be the sort of Christians who believe and live according to God’s word – all day, everyday… at home, at work, and everywhere else… when it costs us little, and when it costs us dearly.

Today, we are continuing our study through Peter’s second letter addressed to Christians scattered about in the ancient Roman world, and we’ve come to a passage that highlights our great need to believe and live according to Scripture.

Peter is emphatically concerned that his readers will face obstacles to their perseverance in faith – namely false teachers and scoffers. And Peter wants to edify or build up his readers so that they will be able to endure – to keep on believing and keep on living in line with biblical teaching and instruction.

To that end, Peter gives his readers a few reasons to prioritize attending to God’s word. Peter wants Christians to “pay attention” to Scripture “as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises” (2 Pet. 1:19). Let’s consider these reasons together, and let’s prayerfully commit ourselves to believe and live according to Scripture… for our own good, for the good of others around us, and for the glory of Christ… until He comes to make all things right.

Please stand with me as I read our main passage for today – 2 Peter 1:12-21.

Scripture Reading

2 Peter 1:12-21

12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 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.

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. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

19 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 the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 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.

Main Idea:

Christians must believe and live according to the written word of God because Christ came, because Christ will come again, and because the Scriptures are our present encounter with the voice of God.

Sermon

1. Believe and Live

Christians must believe and live according to the written word of God.

Let’s first look at Peter’s concern for his readers and also his aim or intentions for them – he’s concerned about threats to their perseverance, and his aim is to give them what they need to persevere.

Peter’s concern centers on false prophets/teachers and scoffers.

False prophets/teachers (ch 2) – inside the Christian community

Peter says, “there will be false teachers among you… and many will follow [them]… and in their greed they will exploit you with false words” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Friends, how are you preparing yourself to defend against the exploitation of false teachers (within the local church, and more broadly within the “Christian” media world)?

Are you regularly reading and thinking about Scripture?

Are you regularly setting your mind on what is true and aiming your actions toward what is good and right?

Are you regularly putting yourself around other Christians who can challenge you, who can encourage you, and who can give you a good example to follow?

Scoffers (ch 3) – outside the Christian community

Peter says, “scoffers will come… with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Peter 3:3).

These are people out in the world who reject the idea that Christ will come on the last day to judge and to save.

Friends, how are you building yourself up in truth and virtue in order to endure and even rebuke such scoffing (from those who think Christian beliefs and ethics are ridiculous)?

Are you regularly remembering the coming day of the Lord?

Are you waiting for and eagerly expecting that great fulfillment of God’s promise to bring the new heavens and the new earth?

Are you regularly putting yourself around other Christians who believe as you do… and who are also living today in light of that coming day?

Peter’s aim is to remind Christians of certain “qualities” and “truth” (v12)

Peter said, “8 if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ… 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance” into Christ’s eternal kingdom (2 Peter 1:8-11).

Qualities

What are they?

Faith, virtue, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (v5-7).

Peter “intended” to “always remind” them of “these qualities” (12).

Peter believed it “is right” to “stir” Christians “up” by “reminding” them of these qualities (v13).

This is reminiscent of the exhortation we read in Hebrews 10 – “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day [of Christ] drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25).

Friends, we need to be constantly reminded and regularly stirred up to live as consistent Christians in the world – according to the qualities that mark us out as Christians – so that we will all persevere in faith through to the last day.

Truth

The first “quality” Peter named was “faith” or “belief” (v5).

And Peter wrote of being “ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v8), which implies that the “qualities” he’s promoting are built on, produced by, and springing out of a “faith” which based upon “knowledge” of Christ (v8).

Peter affirmed that his reader was already “established in the truth” (v12), but he wanted to ensure that they would be “able at any time to recall these things” (v15).

Friends, how fresh and accessible is your knowledge of the gospel, your reason for hope in Christ, or your motivation for praising and obeying God?

Are you ready to defend yourself against false teaching?

Are you confident to endure and contradict scoffers?

Are you able to explain (at least the basics of) what you believe and why you believe it?

Are you a useful witness for the Lord Jesus in the world?

Friends, God means for His people to believe biblical truth and live according to biblical ethics. This is how we “confirm” our “calling and election” (2 Pet. 1:10). This is how we ensure that “there will be richly provided for [us] an entrance” into Christ’s eternal kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11). Indeed, this is how we set ourselves apart in the world… and how we bear witness of Christ in the world.

2. Christ Came

Christ, who fulfilled God’s word, did come.

Peter’s whole letter is shot through with references to Christ’s first coming and Christ’s sure return. Peter wants his reader to believe and to live according to a faith that is grounded in both (the historical fact that Christ did come and the eager expectation that Christ will come again). Indeed, Peter believed that the antidote to false teachers and scoffers (i.e., deception and persecution) is for Christians to have a strong and growing conviction that Christ did come and He will come again.

We might put it like this: Why must Christians believe and live according to the written word of God? Well, first, because Jesus Christ really did come… as historical fact, according to eye-witness testimony and divine testimony.

History, not myth

In v16-18, Peter refers to his own personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ – that occasion on which the curtain was peeled back for just a moment, and Peter bore witness to the “majesty” or “grandeur” of Christ.

Matthew recorded the experience in his Gospel, in ch. 17 (v1-3).

“Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with [Jesus]” (Matt. 17:1-3).

Peter is telling his reader (in our main passage) that this was a real and historical event… not a mythological back-story of human imagination.

He says, “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” (2 Pet. 1:16).

Friends, whatever we might think of Jesus, we cannot think of Him as a mythological character of human invention.

The biblical testimony universally claims that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah of old, and the God-man… who lived and died and rose again for His people.

C. S. Lewis’s well-known options are (I think) appropriate and right – Jesus (and the biblical record) can only be lying or lunacy… or legitimate… Jesus is the Lord as presented.

Eyewitness testimony, not here-say

One reason I think we ought to believe that Jesus is the Lord He claimed to be, and the Lord the NT authors believed Him to be, is because His lordship is affirmed by eyewitness testimony.

Peter says, “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16)… and “we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet. 1:18).

This is not to say that eyewitness testimony cannot be inaccurate or wrong, but it is to say that Peter and the others claimed to have seen and heard with their own eyes and ears this revelation of Jesus as Son of God.

When you consider the results of Peter’s testimony, it is implausible to think that he was just making this up.

It is possible that one would die for a lie that he does not know is a lie, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone to die for a lie he knows is a lie.

Divine testimony, not mere men

The strongest testimony we are given (that Jesus Christ, the God-man, came) is from none other than God Himself.

“[Jesus] received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (2 Pet. 1:17; Matt. 17:5).

And Matthew’s Gospel includes another short phrase at the end of this divine affirmation… God the Father commanded, “listen to him” (Matt. 17:5).

This is (I think) Peter’s point in our passage today.

Peter is not saying that Christians ought to believe and live according to God’s word simply because it’s true (though it is), nor is he saying Christians should believe and live according to God’s word just because it’s good (though it is). Rather, Peter is saying that Christians must believe and live according to God’s word primarily because Christ (who is the fulfillment of OT Scripture) came!

Friends, this is one of those things that sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world. Christians believe the truths the Bible teaches, and Christians live according to the ethic or moral standard the Bible commands… not merely because the Bible is better at explaining the world around us, or just because the Bible is better at diagnosing our fears and failures, or just because the Bible gives us a better moral standard by which to live.

The Bible does do all of this, but these are not the main reasons Christians believe it and live by it. The main reason we have for believing and living according to God’s written word is a person – Jesus Christ. The God of heaven stepped into creation in the person of Jesus Christ – He lived, He taught, He performed miracles, and He showed Himself to be the true Son of God. Ultimately, Jesus died and conquered death, and He ascended to the throne of glory.

And this same Jesus claimed to be the fulfillment of the OT, He referred to the OT as true and trustworthy, He believed the OT was the written word of God, and He commissioned His messengers (Apostles and those closely related to them) to write what they did (in the NT) about Jesus’s life and death… about Jesus’s resurrection and ascension… and the implications of all this.

And this, brothers and sisters, is why we tenaciously believe all of Scripture and live according to it… because our faith/belief and our way of life are centered on a person – the Lord Jesus Christ who did already and really come!

3. Christ Will Come Again

Christ has given us His word to guide us until He comes again.

As I said in my previous point, Peter’s whole letter is shot through with references to Christ’s first coming and Christ’s sure return. Peter wants his reader to believe and to live according to a faith that is grounded in both (the historical fact that Christ did come and the eager expectation that Christ will come again).

We’ve just looked at Peter’s affirmation that Christ did come, but now I want to highlight Peter’s emphasis on Christ’s return.

Again, we might ask the question: Why must Christians believe and live according to the written word of God? Well, first, because Jesus Christ really did come; and second, because Jesus Christ will most certainly come again.

Christ’s “coming” is two-fold.

Peter said that his message (and that of the other Apostles) was “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v16).

This is what Peter “made known” to those who believe (v16).

And we have an example of what Peter meant by this in his preached message recorded in Acts 2 (on the day of Pentecost).

Peter said that what they were experiencing in his day was the fulfillment of OT prophecy (Acts 2:16-21).

Peter reasoned with his hearer that “Jesus of Nazareth” was “attested” or “proved” or “showed forth” by God to be “the Christ” or “Messiah” (Acts 2:22-31)… especially by His “resurrection” from the dead (Acts 2:31).

And Peter claimed that this same Jesus was and is now “exalted at the right hand of God,” making His “enemies” His “footstool,” and bearing the titles of “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:33-36).

Notice how the “power and coming” of Christ is two-fold –

Jesus did come, demonstrating Himself to be the Christ.

And Jesus will come again, completing the work that He began as the Christ – which includes both salvation and judgment.

Peter’s call (on the day of Pentecost) was to “repent and be baptized… in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38), and Peter said, “save yourselves” by doing so (Acts 2:38, 40).

Friends, because Christ came the first time to live and die and conquer death for His people, and because Christ will come again to bring full salvation to His own and final judgment to those who continue in unbelief, it is imperative that we hear and believe and respond to the message about Christ!

We must believe that Jesus is the Christ – the savior of sinners.

We must repent (or turn away) from our sin and unbelief.

We must be baptized in the name of Christ – or take on and receive this designation of Christ’s visible people in the world.

And we must continue in belief and obedience to King Jesus, even as we await that coming day when He shall return.

Friend, have you done that, and are you doing that?

Have you become convinced that Jesus is the Christ?

Have you turned away from your sin and unbelief?

Have you committed yourself to be publicly recognized as a Christian (through baptism) and committed yourself to live in keeping with Christ’s teaching and commands from here on out?

If you haven’t, then don’t wait!

If you have, then how is your repentance and faith and eager hope of Christ’s second coming affecting your daily life?

Christians live now between Christ’s two advents.

Peter says (in v19) that Christians “will do well to pay attention” to “the prophetic word more fully confirmed” (v19) or to the “Scripture” which was “produced” by “men” who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v20-21).

It is this written “word” or “Scripture” which is “a lamp shining in a dark place” (v19), and this written word preserves and matures Christians “until that day dawns and the morning star arises in [their] hearts” (v19).

Notice how Peter points back to Christ’s first coming as the fulfillment of OT Scripture and how Peter points forward to that future day when “the morning star arises” (i.e., when Christ returns [see Rev. 2:28, 22:16]) as two reasons to “pay attention” to “the prophetic word” (v19) or to the “Scripture” which was “produced” by “men” who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v20-21).

It is during this period between Christ’s first coming and His second that we live in “a dark place,” and it is here that we need “a lamp shining” (v19).

Friends, who can argue that we are not living in a dark place? Darkness is a symbol in the Bible of ignorance, of wickedness, and of disorder. And the further individuals or families or nations get away from believing and living according to God’s word, the more ignorant and wicked and disordered they become.

When God’s word is rejected, people become ignorant of basic reality – that God is, that God deserves honor, that morality is not relative, and that human nature is not adjustable to our desires… even if we become so arrogant as to legislate those desires in our law and defend them in the highest court in our land.

When Scripture is set aside as a relic of the past, people embrace wickedness in every way – children are not protected and trained, but they are commodified, abused, and indulged; women are not shielded and honored, but they are exploited, exposed, and expected to act as men; men are not self-disciplined and noble, but they are spurned, emasculated, and lawless.

When the Bible is ignored and even ridiculed, people become disordered in every area of life – marriages break down, young people pursue self-indulgence over procreation and family building, leisure and distraction replace productivity and thoughtful engagement, and because we are inherently religious (as humans), we give ourselves to every ridiculous superstition.

But, friends, Christ came and Christ is coming again, and we ought to be sobered by these facts. We (especially those of us who believe)… we ought to pay attention to God’s written word as a lamp shining in a dark place, so that we will stay sober, so that we will keep our heads, so that we will persevere in believing and obeying Christ, and so that we will be ready to meet Him when He returns.

4. The Voice of God

Finally, we hear and know God in His word; therefore, we must pay attention to it!

With this final point, I’d like to emphasize the third reason (as I see it) that Peter gives his reader to believe and to live according to the written word of God. It is not only because Christ came, not only because Christ will come again, but also because the Scriptures are our present encounter with the voice of our God.

The Scriptures are the voice of God.

Many of us would have loved to be with Peter on the Mt. of transfiguration.

What a life-changing and mind-altering experience it would be to see the Lord Jesus Christ in His “majesty” (v16).

What a gripping moment it would have been to hear the voice of God from heaven say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v17).

But Peter says (in v19), “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed” (2 Pet. 1:19).

And what is that “word”?

It is the “Scripture” (v20) or the words that were written by “men” as they “spoke from God” being “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v21).

This is what the Bible is – it is the written word of God as He inspired it or breathed it out through the pens of men.

Friends, how do you know that the Bible is truer and more reliable than any other word you might hear or think? You can know because it is the voice of God!

It is here, in Scripture, that we can know who God is.

It is here, in the Bible, that we can know what God is like.

It is here, in the written word, that we can know what God has done, what He commands, what He intends for us, and how we can live for Him.

Friends, if you want to hear the voice of God, then don’t wait for a feeling or a burning in your bosom… Simply open your Bible and read it!

Read it quietly. Read it out loud. Hear it preached. Talk about it with your friends. Pray it back to God in prayer. Commit it to memory. Make it part of your daily routine to expose yourself to God’s voice, so that all other voices you hear in the day will have to be filtered through the superior voice of all.

Brothers and sisters, if you want to live a life of increasing faith and growing holiness, then prioritize your time so that God’s word is known, it is heard, it is pondered, and it is believed and obeyed.

Conclusion

I began today by pointing out that we (in American culture) have been confronted by the reality that there really are only two ways to live – either believing Christ and living according to His word or rejecting Christ and rebelling against His word. I believe that this is radically, ultimately, and practically true. It’s true for us as individuals, it’s true for our families, and it’s true for our nation.

Now, maybe more than ever, Christians in America are waking up to this reality. And we have a decision to make. The decision is not unique to Christians in America today. Christians always and in every place have this same decision.

We can give lip-service to the Bible. We can say that we value it as individuals, as churches, and as citizens, but we can live as though the Bible has little (or nothing) to say about what we should actually believe or how we should actually live. We can do church any old way we like. We can prioritize leisure, distractions, money, and a slew of other things. We can make it our chief aim to be inoffensive, likable, and winsome to our unbelieving friends and family. And we can try to avoid all the hard conversations and the unpopular-but-necessary conclusions that the Bible presses upon us.

Or we can commit ourselves to be people of the Book. We can pay attention to what the Bible teaches and what it commands of us. We can prioritize our exposure to the Bible (reading it regularly, talking about it often, gathering weekly to sing it, to pray it, and to hear it preached). We can consider what the Bible teaches us regarding our beliefs and practices – as individuals, as husbands and wives, as mothers and fathers, as grandparents, as young men and women, as employees, as neighbors, and as citizens.

If we choose option one, we may face a little less ridicule and persecution for a time, but we will inevitably find ourselves at odds with the very God we claim to know and serve. It is impossible for us to withstand the false teaching and the scoffing against Christ and His people if we neglect the very thing God has given us to persevere in believing and obeying.

If we choose option two – if we commit to be a people of the Book – then we may face more ridicule and persecution. In fact, we may find ourselves at odds with some of our own friends and family. We may even have to believe hard things, and we may even have to do the opposite of what we want to do.

But we can rest assured in these facts – Christ has come, Christ is coming again, and God meets us and speaks to us in and through His word. There is going to be no Christian on the last day wishing that he or she would have given less time and attention to the Scriptures. No believer is going to look back on their lives and think that they should have spent less effort attending to God’s written word.

May God help us to commit to attend to His word. May God help us believe His word. May He help us live according to His word. And may God grant us all the benefits of hearing and obeying His voice… until Christ comes.