1 Study through 2 Peter Introduction “Alertness” All is not well in the professing church. There are dangerous people and dangerous doctrines abroad, and God’s people need to be alert. The church is suffering from a false view of separation, as well as a false view of cooperation. Too often we are aiding the enemy and injuring the brotherhood through attitudes and actions that are contrary to God’s Word. “Discernment” 2 Peter can help us exercise discernment and detect the counterfeits that have secretly entered the church. It can also help us discover the false doctrines that these apostates are teaching, doctrines that today are passing for Christian truth. Warren Wiersbe Lesson 1 A Fruitful Life 2 Peter 1 Sometimes it’s easy to forget that God has provided us with everything we need for life. Instead, we seem to focus on what we think we lack. Ask God to show you all He has provided you for a fruitful life in Him as you begin this lesson. The Christian life begins with faith. Peter called it “like precious faith.” It means that our standing with the Lord today is the same as that of the apostles centuries ago. They had no special advantage over us simply because they were privileged to walk with Christ, see Him with their own eyes, and share in His miracles. It is not necessary to see the Lord with our human eyes in order to love Him, trust Him, and share His glory. From the very outset of his letter, Peter affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ. “God” and “our Savior” are not two different persons; they describe one person, Jesus Christ. Paul used a similar expression in Titus 2:10 and 3:4. Peter reminded his readers that Jesus Christ is the Savior by repeating this exalted title. A savior is “one who brings salvation,” and the word salvation was familiar to the people of that day. In their vocabulary, it meant “deliverance from trouble,” particularly “deliverance from the enemy.” It also carried the idea of “health and safety.” A physician was looked on as a savior because he helped deliver the body from pain and limitations. A victorious general was a savior because he delivered the people from defeat. Even a wise official was a savior because he kept the nation in order and delivered it from confusion and decay. 2 Read 2 Peter 1 This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. 2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. 13 And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. 14 For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, 15 so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone. 16 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” 18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Peter 1 NLV Pray and answer the following questions: 1. What are some of the ways we use savior to describe people in society today? What are the unique ways the title savior applies to Jesus? Why is this critical to our faith? 3 2. When you are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, you are born complete. The false teachers claimed that they had a “special doctrine” that would add something to the lives of Peter’s readers. Why is the message from these false teachers dangerous? What happens when believers start to think they need more than what God has already given? 3. Choose one verse or phrase from 2 Peter 1 that stands out to you. This could be something you’re intrigued by, something that makes you uncomfortable, something that puzzles you, something that resonates with you, or just something you want to examine further. Record your insights here. “Going Deeper” 4. Review 2 Peter 1:5–7. What are the seven characteristics of the godly life? How do they work together to produce godliness? Choose two of them and describe how growth in one strengthens the other. 5. Review 2 Peter 1:8. Why is fruitfulness such an important character quality? How do we become fruitful? 6. How does Peter confirm the dependability and durability of God’s Word in 2 Peter 1:12–21? How does a firm foundation of faith help believers with discernment? Why is discernment so important to the life of individual Christians? 4 “Going Forward” 7. How do you grow in fruitfulness? What is God’s job in this process? What actions are necessary on your part? 8. What does remembrance mean to you? How does remembering your past help you live in the present? What are the dangers of looking backward too much? How do you find balance between remembering and moving forward in faith. “Real Life Application Ideas” 9. What spiritual impact does living and working among sinful people have on you? 10.“Write a prayer below inviting God to work on your mind and heart in those areas you’ve noted above. Be honest about your desires and fears. 11. During the coming week, ask the Holy Spirit to continue to reveal truth to you from what you’ve read and studied.” 1 Study through 2 Peter Lesson 2 False Prophets and True Believers 2 Peter 2:1-16 The picture painted here in chapter 2 is not pretty! When you read the epistle of Jude, you will find him using similar language. Peter knew that the truth of God’s Word and the false doctrines of the heretics simply could not coexist. There could be no compromise on his part, any more than a surgeon could compromise with a cancerous tumor in a patient’s body. The theme of “deception” runs throughout the entire chapter. To begin with, these teachers’ message is false; Peter called what they taught “destructive heresies”. The word heresy originally meant simply “to make a choice,” but then it came to mean “a sect, a party.” Promoting a party spirit in a church is one of the works of the flesh. Whenever a church member says to another member, “Are you on my side or the pastor’s side?” he is promoting a party spirit and causing division. A false teacher forces you to make a choice between his doctrines and the doctrines of the true Christian faith. Peter’s purpose was not just to denounce the apostates; he also wanted to encourage the true believers. He once again reached back into the Old Testament and cited two examples of deliverance. First, God delivered him from the pollutions of the world around him. For 120 years, Noah faithfully proclaimed the Word of God to people who would not believe it.