It’s sometimes easy to idealize the early church, to think of it as a time of great peace and harmony among the earliest believers in Jesus. That would be a mistake. Even from the days of Jesus the church faced struggles, often from within (think of Judas). As the New Testament epistles show, many of … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Pet. 2:1-22, John 8:34-36, Matt. 12:43-45, Jude 4-19, Gen. 18:16-33. Memory Text: “They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them” (2 Peter 2:19, NRSV). In his first epistle, Peter, with great pastoral concern, sought to encourage readers in … Continue reading –>
“It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help we are … Continue reading –>
As we have seen, Peter placed great emphasis on the Holy Scriptures. Second Peter 1:19-21 is a powerful affirmation of the importance of the Bible to our Christian experience and to the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. His point is clear in 2 Peter 1:21. The Bible is not the product of human will, human … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Peter 1:19-21. To what prophecies is Peter referring? What does he mean when he says that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation? In stressing that Christianity is not based on cunningly devised fables (2 Pet. 1:16), Peter offers up two lines of evidence: first, eyewitnesses (2 Pet. 1:16-18); second, the … Continue reading –>
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19, NKJV). Read this text carefully. What is Peter saying that is so important to us, even today? … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Peter 1:16-18. What other evidence does Peter say he has for his faith in Jesus? Besides the prophetic word, Peter was an eyewitness to many of the things that he preached about. Christianity, he said, is not founded on “cunningly devised fables” (2 Pet. 1:16, NKJV), but on real events that happened in … Continue reading –>
All through his epistles, Peter writes with a sense of certainty. He knows what he is talking about because he knows whom he is talking about. And one reason is that he knows that Jesus was the One to whom the Old Testament prophets pointed. It was Peter’s trust in the Written Word that helped … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 53:1-12; Dan. 7:13-14; 2 Pet. 1:16-20; Matt. 17:1-6; 2 Tim. 3:15-17. Memory Text: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise … Continue reading –>
As we saw, Peter knew that he was soon to die. And he knew (and for a long time, too), how he was going to die. That’s because Jesus Himself had told him. “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are … Continue reading –>
