Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. As always, I am thankful that the Lord has provided me with the opportunity to post the message this week. I hope and pray that everyone is having a good week.
Today, we are starting a new series of messages on the book of II Peter. If you've been reading the blog for a time, you will remember that we went through the book of I Peter a few years ago. My plan is to study II Peter for the next couple of weeks. I will then post a couple of messages for the Christmas season, and then we will resume our study of II Peter. In this first message of the series, I want to give a little background into the book of II Peter, and then we will see what the first verse has to teach us.
There is some debate about who actually wrote II Peter. Some believe that the Apostle Peter was not the author. In order to support this theory, scholars will point to the fact that there are major stylist ic differences between I and II Peter. They will also point to the fact that the author of II Peter refers to the writings and teachings of the Apostle Paul in chapter 3 verse 15. They believe that Peter would not have had the opportunity to have read the letters of Paul, and would not be familiar with their content. Some scholars point out that II Peter and Jude are very similar. In fact much of chapter 2 of II Peter is identical with portions of Jude. Jude is controversial because it makes use of extra Biblical sources such as the Book of Enoch and The Assumption of Moses. The scholars who doubt the authorship and canonicity of Jude also doubt the authorship and canonicity of II Peter.
Another group believes that the Apostle Peter is most certainly the author of II Peter. This is my belief. The author identifies himself as the apostle. Furthermore, as we will see, the author states that he was with Jesus during the event of the Transfiguration. This is recorded in II Peter 1:16-18. We know that Peter, James and John went with Jesus up on the mountain. They saw Moses and Elijah visit with Jesus, and they heard the words spoken to Jesus by the Father.
Now, when was this epistle written. It appears from I Peter 1:14 that the epistle was written shortly before Peter was put to death. He references in the verse that he is about to put aside the tent of his body. Church tradition holds that Peter was crucified during the reign of Nero.
We have seen who wrote II Peter and approximately when it was written, but what is the epistle about? There are several important themes in II Peter, and we will find out about them more in depth as we study the book. The first chapter of II Peter deals with making sure of one's salvation. It also tells us about the importance of the word of the Lord. In the second chapter, Peter deals with false teachers and false teachings in the church. The final chapter speaks about the fact that Jesus is coming soon. Peter encourages believers to look for the coming of the Lord and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.
Now that we know a little bit about what II Peter is all about, I want us to look at the first verse of the book. II Peter 1:1 states, "Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."
This first verse relates to us how Peter thought of himself. He regarded himself as first and foremost the servant of Jesus Christ. From the day that Jesus called Peter to become a fisher of men on the Sea of Galilee, Peter followed Jesus. He proclaimed the word of the Lord boldly on the Day of Pentecost, and he would preach the words of Jesus faithfully to both Jew and Gentile. Our lives are to be devoted to following the words and the teachings of the Lord Jesus. If we acknowledge Jesus as Lord, we are to be His true servants. Servants do what the master asks without question.
Peter states that he is writing to those who had the same precious faith that he had. This is an important phrase, "precious faith". Our faith and trust in Jesus is the most precious thing that we have in all of the universe. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Nothing on this earth can compare to knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord. As Jesus told us in one of His teachings, it is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man goes and sells all he has so that he can buy the field with the great treasure. It is like a pearl of great price. Jesus would also say, "What does it profit a man if should gain the whole world but lose his own soul."
Our salvation is precious. The Lord of glory came down as a human. He suffered and lived among us to show us the way. He bore our sins. He did all of this for us that we might be redeemed and have an eternal relationship with Him.
Peter states that we have been saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When we confess our sins and turn to the Lord Jesus, He takes away our sins. They are removed from us as far as the east is from the west. In place of our sin, we receive his righteousness. As it states in II Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Finally, in this first verse, Peter acknowledges that Jesus is both God and Savior. Jesus is the divine Son of God and God the Son. He is the only one who can save us from our sins. Amen.
Prayer Requests And Other Matters
This was a very good week in my writing work, and I would like to thank the Lord for this. I would ask that you please pray that I will feel better. I've been a little under the weather this week.
In prayer this week, please be in prayer regarding the measles outbreak around the world. Samoa and Congo are having real problems with this. Pray that those who are sick will recover soon. Also please pray for an end to the Ebola problem in Congo.
The Philippines had a typhoon hit that country earlier this week. Pray that those who need aid will receive the aid that they need. Pray for those in the Bahamas who still have so many needs.
Continue to pray for an end to the terrible fires in Australia. Also, pray for an end to the fires in the Amazon and California.
Pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya and Ukraine need our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Indonesia and Mongolia. Pray that many will hear of the love of Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our series in II Peter. I will post the verses on Monday. On Wednesday, we will begin our annual reveal of the best dog, cat and animal books of the year. May God bless you all. Amen.
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