2 Peter: Power Under PressureSample

Everything God creates, Satan counterfeits. God creates teachers, Satan counterfeits with false teachers. God creates truth, Satan counterfeits with lies. God creates freedom from sin, Satan counterfeits with slavery to sin. 

Romans 12:9 says Christian discernment is required to, “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Peter spends this entire chapter illustrating this very point in incredibly passionate and clear terms to warn us about a deception that is often powerful, pleasurable, and profitable but ultimately demonic, deceptive, and damnable.  

Peter says Christianity is built on people and things that are real – like Jesus’ birth to Mary, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead. Other religions and false teachings are not built on historical facts like these but rather on untrue myths and speculation. They make things up that are not true, which means people who believe those things are being hurt because they are being kept from Jesus.  

Peter calls Jesus “Lord.” Peter means Jesus is God who rules and reigns over everyone and everything from as King. For the Christian, Jesus is our Lord which means we want to listen to what He says, do what He asks, and love people as He does.  

God the Father called Jesus his Son at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus called himself the Son of God (e.g John 10:36) and often referred to God as Father. Peter also calls Jesus the Son of God. He means Jesus is the same as God the Father; they have the same attributes, such as both being the Creator just like a child oftentimes has a lot in common with their parents. When the Bible says Jesus is the Son of God, it means Jesus is God.  

Peter says he was an eyewitness to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter also mentions being present at the baptism of Jesus when God the Father spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove so that the entire Trinity was revealed. Peter was a disciple of Jesus who learned from Jesus as they spent time together for three years. Peter heard Jesus teach, saw Jesus perform miracles, saw Jesus die, and saw Jesus after his resurrection. Therefore, no one knows more about Jesus than Peter.  Peter had nothing to gain from telling lies about Jesus and was even crucified upside down for worshiping Jesus. He would not have done that if he was not sure Jesus was God

Peter says this world is a lot like being in the dark. It can be scary, confusing, and hard to understand what is happening. This is why most kids like to have some light in their room at night. For the Christian, the Bible is like a nightlight that God gives us for this dark world. 

Peter says the men and women who wrote the Bible did not make up what it says. Instead, they said what God the Holy Spirit inspired them to say. Inspiration means God the Holy Spirit helped people write the exact words God wanted them to write  (see also 2 Tim. 3:16). So, Peter is teaching that the Bible was written by men and God working together, with the Holy Spirit leading them to write God’s Word perfectly. This makes the Bible perfect and unlike any other book ever written or ever will be written. 

When we fly a kite, the key is to get it filled with the power of the wind. Once a strong wind fills a kite, it jumps into the air to dance and soar. God wants Christians to be like a kite. For this to happen, we need to be “carried along by the Holy Spirit”. This is how the people who wrote the Bible lived, and how God wants us to live.

Questions: 

What does it mean by Jesus is Lord?  

What are “cleverly devised myths” you have fallen into believing in your past or present?   

Are there any changes you should make to your routine to increase your time in God’s Word (e.g. listening to the Bible on your commute or while doing chores)?  

How important is it to you to know that Peter was an eyewitness to the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? How does Peter’s life experience with Jesus add to his credibility about Jesus?