Sermon Tone Analysis

*Peter’s Call to Remember*

/2nd Peter 1:1/

 

 

July 1, 2007

Sun Oak Baptist Church

 

 

*Introduction*

 

          A.

Please take your Bibles and turn with me to 2nd Peter 1:1.

Remind about new issue of “What in the World.”

B.

I don’t mind saying that I am very grateful God allowed me to be born an American.

I am proud to be an American, and along with other Americans, this Wednesday I will be celebrating and remembering our country’s independence.

We’ll talk to our children about the significance of that day.

That’s one of the points of the 4th of July – a time to remember our freedom from the tyranny of English rule.

And this morning, as Christians, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Table and remembering, not freedom from the rule of England, but freedom from the penalty of sin that has been offered mankind through and by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 22:19 and 1st Cor.

11:24 say:  “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke /it/, and gave /it/ to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”

So similar to the 4th of July when Americans remember the price paid for their freedom, our celebration of the Lord’s Table is a day to remember the price that was paid for our freedom, freedom and deliverance from the eternal penalty of sin – paid for by our Lord’s death on Calvary.

C.

*Read 1:1-2.*

This morning I had every intention of covering these two (2) verses but the more that I studied for this morning’s message the more I was stopped cold at the second coma, here in verse one (1).

*Read 1:1a.*

Understand that in the original autographs, in this letter as well as the rest of the NT, the writers did not use commas – all of the punctuation marks, verse numbers, chapter headings, paragraph divisions and so on that we have in our Bibles were added by the translators.

But 2nd Peter does follow the pattern of letters written during NT times when the first line or two (2) were used to introduce the writer of the letter; identify who they are writing to; and third to give a greeting.

1.       Go to James; Philemon; Titus.

2.       Go back to 2nd Peter.

The same pattern we just looked at in these examples is followed for most of the twenty-one (21) epistles, or letters in the NT.

And letters not in the Bible that were written during New Testament times that archaeologists have discovered follow the same pattern.

The letters we write today also follow a pattern or style, but it’s different.

We begin letters by identifying the recipient – who we are writing to:  “Dear so and so.”

And we wait until the end of a letter to identify ourselves and give a greeting such as “Sincerely,” or “love,” or “very truly yours.”

But in New Testament times they put all of that up front – right at the beginning of the letter.

3.       Look at verse 1 again.

This identifies Peter as the writer; next the people he was writing to – “those who have obtained like precious faith;” and then a greeting:  that grace and peace will be multiplied in these peoples’ lives through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord.

D.

This morning I want to call our attention to what I’m calling Peter’s reminder – just verse 1, up to the second coma, where the apostle Peter identifies himself, following the letter writing style of his day, but in a different way than he does in the first letter, and I want us to see that there is a good reason for this difference.

Today we will be remembering our Lord’s death; this Wednesday, Lord willing, we will be remembering our country’s independence; and after much study, I have concluded that Peter changes the way he introduces himself in this letter for the purpose of reminding his readers of some things about him that are important and fundamental, to the subject matter he will be addressing in this 2nd letter.

*Pray.*

E.

In a subtle, but yet profound manner, the unique way Peter identifies himself in this 2nd letter reminds his readers, and future Christians, of what Jesus Christ accomplished in his life.

In verse 1 Peter identifies himself “Simon Peter;” then classifies himself as “a bondservant;” and third, he establishes the authority by which he’s writing – he’s an apostle of Jesus Christ.

*I.

So first of all, notice the unique way that Peter /identifies/ himself.*

Flip back to 1st Peter 1:1 just for a moment.

We have already seen a few weeks ago that the same man wrote 1st Peter and 2nd Peter but in his 2nd letter, unlike the first one, Peter refers to himself as “Simon Peter:” not just “Peter,” but Simon Peter.

*Read 1:1.*

Now go with me to Mark 1:14.

A.

Do you remember Simon – Peter’s former name and the man he was before He met Jesus Christ – Simon the simple fisherman with foot-in-the-mouth disease?

*Read 1:14-18.*

1.       Remember names were significant in Jewish culture and in the Bible God also placed a big significance on a person’s name.

When God called Abram he became “Abraham;” Sarai became “Sarah;” and when Saul of Tarsus was saved he became “Paul.”

Names are important in the Bible so it’s not a stretch to suggest that Peter changed the way he identifies himself in this 2nd letter for a reason.

His name at birth was the Jewish name “Simon” which meant “heard” – and I like that – it fits.

But when Jesus called him, and his call is not recorded here in Mark’s gospel, He gave Simon the name “Peter.”

Flip over to John 1:40.

*Read 1:40-42.*

“Peter” here is the Greek translation of the Aramaic word “Cephas” which meant a “stone or a rock.”

So from the moment that a brash and simple fisherman named “Simon” responded to Christ’s call he became a “stone.”

This name change from “heard” to “stone” is significant because a stone speaks of strength, hardness, and durability – characteristics that Peter clearly did not have for many years to come.

Remember this is the same man that denied his Lord.

2.

Throughout the Gospels and even in the Book of Acts Peter is often referred to by the double name “Simon Peter.”

Scholars suggest that this served as a reminder to him of what he was and what he should be in Christ – a means of acknowledging and remembering the past, but confirming the future.

But interestingly, Jesus often referred to Peter just as “Simon,” but only when He was correcting or rebuking him – as if to say that the person you were before I called you did that.

You were Simon, but now you are Peter.

And this makes sense – especially in the culture of Peter’s day.

3.

Just think how we might feel if there was a particular area in our life that disappointed us or fell short of the Christian ideal.

So, to encourage us, people started calling us a new name that reminded us of the change that needs to occur.

“John” means “God’s grace,” and at 6ft 4in tall and over 250 pounds, coupled with a tendency to have a large personality, as I thought about Peter I began to think of how it would effect me if people started to called me “John – the less…the little one” to remind me to be “small.”

B.

Go back to 2nd Peter.

What is a possible explanation for Peter identifying himself in the 2nd letter as “Simon Peter” instead of just “Peter” like he did in the first letter?

It’s a reminder to his readers that he is one who was transformed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ from a brash and a simple fisherman into a “fisher of men.”

Remember this transformation is one of the key themes in this letter.

*Read 1:1-4.*

A key word in this letter is “knowledge” and in chapter 1 Peter contrasts the difference between having a true knowledge of Christ that transforms us and having a false knowledge.

The true knowledge of Christ changes us – it takes a person that lived in the corruption of the world and makes them a partaker of the divine nature.

It takes a “Simon” that sinks like a stone and makes him a “Peter” – a stone that floats on water.

*II.

Secondly Peter /classifies/ himself as a “bondservant.”*

Notice that before ever saying a word about his apostleship, Peter classifies himself as a bondservant – which again, is significant.

A.

For example, by referring to himself as a “bondservant” Peter acknowledges that he’s just like any other believer.

Yes, he’s an apostle, but before that he’s a bondservant – something every Christian is supposed to be.

 

                   1.

There are at least five (5) Greek words that are translated “servant or slave” in the NT, but the particular word Peter uses here is the word “doulos.”

And “doulos” is the word that referred to the most abject form of slavery – the lowest of the low.

A “doulos” was a slave that was in complete bondage – they had no rights.

Historians estimate that at the time Peter wrote this letter around AD65 or so well over 60 percent of the population of the Roman Empire was made up of bondservants, not servants, but “doulos’.”

One of the ways the Romans ruled was by conquering cities or a region militarily and then subjugating them – making them slaves.

So when Peter identifies himself as a “bondservant” it was a concept very familiar to his readers.

2.

This title also sets the stage for how he defines the true Christian later in the letter because a “doulos” is someone whose will is completely surrendered and subjected to their master.

Bondservants live under someone else’s authority; they live to carry out the wishes of someone else; their life is no longer their own.

Jesus isn’t just our Savior – He’s also to be our “Lord” and Peter’s use of this word communicates the truth that a Christian understands they are first a “doulos,” and then a husband, a businessman, wife, a banker, a fisherman, or whatever.

B.

So this unique way that Peter introduces himself here serves as a reminder to his readers.

I’m “Simon” – the one that denied my Lord.

But I’m also “Peter – the stone” living out my new life in Christ.

And remember I’m also a “doulos” – a bondservant.

A Christian is no longer their own.

We don’t belong to our selves.

We belong to Him who paid the price to redeem us and purchase us – in the same way someone in Peter’s day would have purchased a slave.