2 Peter 1:12-18
(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry
Reynolds)
March 20, 2014
1. So
far in our journey through 2 Peter 1 we have explored six (6) specific things
about the Christian life: It is a life of--
--equal standing
before God (v.1)
--knowing God in personal,
intimate way (v.2)
--sharing in the
power of God (v.3)
--being
recipients of the precious and magnificent promises of God (v.4)
--growing and
maturing in our walk with God (vv.5-9)
--persevering in
the faith (vv.10-11)
In this session we are
going to explore the seventh thing Peter tells us about Christianity in this
chapter, and that is it is rooted in history (vv.12-18)
2. Many
of us are like the man who said “I still can learn things but I can’t remember
them!” There is an old story about an
absent-minded professor who had habit of becoming so absorbed in his work would
forget the simplest of details...one morning as he was leaving for work his
wife said, “Now honey, don’t forget that we are moving today. I’m putting a note with our new address in
your pocket. That’s where you need to go
when you finish teaching.”...the day passed and the man completely
forgot that conversation...he went home to his old house, walked in, and found
the place empty...confused by that, he walked out and sat down on the curb in
front of the house...after a while he noticed a little boy sitting there on the
curb beside him...he turned and asked, “Little boy, do you know the
people who used to live here?”...to which the boy replied, “Yeah,
dad. Mom said she was sure you’d
forget!”
3. The
Apostle Peter certainly understood the importance of remembering...in 2 Peter
1:12-18 three times Peter uses a word which means “to remember”...
--the first
use of that word is in v.12 where Peter says, “I shall always be ready to
remind you of these things...”
--the second
use of the word is in v.13 where Peter speaks of stirring them up “by way
of reminder...”
--the word
is used again at the end of v.15 where Peter says he desires for them “to
be able to call these things to mind (or to remember)...”
4. Now,
with that in mind follow in your Bible as I read 2 Peter 1:12-18...
T.S. - Specifically, what is
it that Peter wants us to remember?...think the answer to that question is in
v.16 - “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known
to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses
of His majesty.”...Peter wants us to remember that our faith is not
built on some made up story...the phrase “cleverly devised tales” means
myth or fable which has no basis in fact or in history...that phrase was used
to describe something which did not really happened...”cleverly devised
tales” means something which has been merely made up...in the 1st
century world, a world heavily influenced by Roman and Greek mythology, such
tales were very common and many religions were built on such fables or myths...
In contrast to that, Peter
seems to go out of his way in these verses to remind us that Christianity has
it roots not in fables and myths and tales...Christianity has its roots in
historic events.--
--Christianity
is built on an historical person, the person of Jesus Christ...
--Christianity
rests on an historical event, the coming of Jesus to our world...
The very foundation of our
faith is that at a particular, specific time in history--
--Jesus was
born in Bethlehem of Judea...
--Jesus grew
up in Nazareth, a small village in northern Israel...
--Jesus was
baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River...
--Jesus was
lead by the Spirit into the Judean wilderness to be tempted by Satan...
--Jesus
moved to Capernaum and began to teach and minister in the towns and villages
around the Sea Galilee...
--Jesus
called to Himself 12 disciples, real men who lead real lives...
--Jesus was
crucified on Friday of Passover week just outside the gates fo Jerusalem,
laying down His life for the sins of the world...
--Jesus was
placed by some friend in a borrowed tomb near the place of crucifixion...
--Jesus rose
from the dead early on Sunday morning...
--Jesus
appeared to His followers on numerous occasions after the resurrection...
--Jesus
ascended from earth back into heaven from a hilltop near Jerusalem...
Those things are not
fables...not myths...not cleverly devised tales...they are facts of
history...how do we know that?...we know because reliable people like Peter
were eye-witnesses to those events of history as he tells us in the last part
of v.16...they saw Jesus...they walked with Him...they were taught by
Him...they witnessed His miracles...they touched the resurrected Lord...and
they have passed those truths along to us...
Want to point out to you
from this passage two things...
I.
From
time to time we need to be reminded about the historical facts of the gospel
1. William
Barclay has an interesting definition of preaching. He says that “...preaching is very
often reminding a [person] of what he/[she] already knows...”[Barclay,
p.363]... and that is pretty much what Peter says in v.12 - “I shall
always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know
them...” The Apostle Paul said essentially the same thing to the
Philippians when he wrote in 3:1, “To write the same things again is no
trouble to me, and it is a safeguard to you.”
2. We
need to be reminded because there is something about us which causes us, in the
words of Warren Wiersbe, “To forget those things we should remember, and
to remember those things we ought to forget.”... the truth is, we can
become so familiar with sacred things that we push them to the back of our
minds...we forget, not in the sense of not knowing, but in the sense of not
allowing the things that we know to impact our lives as they should...when we
get to the point where we talk or sing in a matter of fact way about the
amazing thing God has done for us in Jesus, we are not really remembering it in
the right way...
3. In
v.13 he tells his readers that he reminds them of things they already know for
a purpose...and that purpose is “...to stir you up...”...the verb
translated “stir you up” means “to awaken, to arouse”...it’s
the same word used in John’s Gospel to describe a storm stirring up the surface
of the Sea of Galilee...and we need to be reminded of the basic historic facts
of the gospel because those facts should stir us, motivate us to a deeper love
for Jesus and a greater commitment to Jesus...when we stand again before the
cross...when we remember what He gave for us...we can’t help but be stirred,
awakened, aroused in our spirit...
1. One
of the things in my life I will never forget is my first trip to Israel... from
my earliest days I had heard the gospel story...I knew the historic facts of
Jesus life...but to go there gave me a new appreciation of those facts and it
brought the story alive to me...to—
--visit
the Church of the Nativity, place of His birth...
--see
Nazareth, the town in which he grew up...
--stand
on the hillside near Capernaum where He delivered the Sermon on the Mount...
--sail
on the Sea of Galilee with which He was so familiar...
--be
at Golgotha, the place of the skull, where He was crucified...
--enter
an empty tomb which could have been His tomb...
touched
me spiritually like I had never been touched before...being there reminded me
of the reality of things I already knew...
2. And
from time to time we need to be reminded of those things we have long known...
II. We need to pass along those things we know
and remember to those who come after us
1. V.15
almost sounds like a riddle when you first read it...Peter says, “And I
will be diligent (saw that word in v.5 and again in v.10...means to be
eager, to be characterized by sense of urgency) that at any time after my
departure (means Peter’s death) you may be able to call these
things to mind.”...what in world does Peter mean by that?...there is
debate about that among Bible scholars, but some suggest (and I agree with
them) that Peter is referring to the Gospel of Mark...it is widely believed
that Peter was Mark’s major source for his gospel...and I think Peter is saying
here before I depart this world I want to make sure I leave for you a
systematic record of the historical events on which our faith is built...and
because Peter sensed that his death was approaching, he felt a sense of urgency
about getting that task done...
1. There’s
an important lesson in us for that...not enough just for us to know and
remember the historical realities of our faith...we must have about us a sense
of urgency about passing along that historical record and what it means to
those who come after us...the old saying that ”Christianity is always
only one generation away for extinction...” is true...if we don’t tell
the story over and over again, those who come after us will not know it...the
very best thing we can do for the generation coming behind us is to instill in
them the historical reality of what God has done in the coming of Jesus to our
world...
1. Carol
and I are blessed to have four of our grandchildren living very near to us…they
spend a lot of time with us and we get to have an impact on their lives…and of
all the things we share with them, nothing is more important than sharing our faith...that
will make a greater difference, a more positive difference in their lives both
in this world and in eternity than anything else we can give them...and that is
true for every parent and grandparent...I will never understand how parents and
grandparents can be so careful about making sure their children get proper
health care and a good education and are kept safe from things that would harm
them, but seem to have no concern about the spiritual welfare and training of
their children...
2. This
part of 2 Peter reminds us of the importance of passing along those things we
know and remember to those who come behind us...
CONCLUSION
1. As
I studied this passage this week, couldn’t help but ask myself why Peter was so
adamant about his readers remembering the basic things of the faith... why
mention three times in the span of four verses the important of remembering?...
2. Then
the thought struck me...Peter had experienced first hand the negative
consequences of forgetting...remember what happened to Peter on the night Jesus
was arrested...earlier in the evening he professed his absolute, total,
complete loyalty to Jesus...he told the Lord that he would stand beside Him no
matter what...but just a few hour later Peter forgot that commitment and as a
result three times he denied even knowing Jesus...
3. Remembering
what Jesus has done in history and remembering our commitment to Him, helps us
to be faithful, to live for Him today... ”Therefore, I shall always be
ready to remind you of these things...”
