Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20111127.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
2 Peter: Effective Christian Growth For Combating Spiritual Apostasy
Part III: Utilizing Peter's Apostasy-Proof Personal Apologetic
(2 Peter 1:12-21)
  1. Introduction
    1. One great way to guard ourselves against apostasy, against departing from the Christian faith in doubting its truth, is to consider the great testimonies of the eyewitnesses of Christ and the origins of Christianity.
    2. One such testimony is given in 2 Peter 1:12-21, and since it was given in an epistle that focused on combating spiritual apostasy, we view it for our edification as follows:
  2. Utilizing Peter's Apostasy-Proof Personal Apologetic, 2 Peter 1:12-21.
    1. Peter was highly motivated to direct fellow Christian readers to guard against apostasy, 2 Peter 1:12-15:
      1. Desiring that his reader's gain a blessed entrance into Christ's Kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), Peter wrote he would always remind them of the truths on Christian growth he taught in 2 Peter 1:5-10; 2 Peter 1:12.
      2. Indeed, Peter added that as long as he was alive, he would remind them of these truths, 2 Peter 1:13.
      3. In fact, aware that he would shortly be martyred as Jesus had predicted in John 21:15-19, Peter clarified that he would try to enable his readers to remember these truths after he had passed, 2 Peter 1:14-15.
    2. Having thus certified these beliefs as true since he was about to die in martyrdom as evidence they were true, Peter testified a credible eyewitness report of the Christian faith and of Scripture, 2 Peter 1:16-21:
      1. First, Peter testified a credible eyewitness report of the Christian faith itself, 2 Peter 1:16-18:
        1. Peter claimed that he and the other apostles had not followed "cleverly invented stories" proposed by apostates and false teachers when the apostles had testified of the power and coming Kingdom of the Lord Jesus, but that they were eyewitnesses of His majesty as Messiah, 2 Peter 1:16 NIV.
        2. They witnessed that majesty that God the Father gave Jesus while on the Mount of Transfiguration when the voice of the Father spoke amid Christ's glorious translation to say, "This is My Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (2 Peter 1:17 NIV with Matthew 17:1-5)
        3. Peter claimed he (with James and John) personally heard this voice of God the Father when they were with Christ on the holy mountain, 2 Peter 1:18. He thus claimed the reality of the event itself.
      2. Peter applied his credible eyewitness report to support Scripture's divine inspiration, 2 Peter 1:19-21:
        1. Experiencing the Mount of Transfiguration event made the Old Testament Scriptures that had predicted Christ's coming Messianic Kingdom "more certain" to Peter, James and John than what they previously had been to them, 2 Peter 1:19a. This is a very strong statement for an Orthodox Hebrew like Peter to make, for the Old Testament to him was already viewed as God's inspired, authoritative Word, cf. Rene Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture, 1971, p. 162-164.
        2. Accordingly, Peter directed that his Christian readers do well to pay attention to the Old Testament Scriptures as to a light that shines in a dark place of an unbelieving world until the Scriptures illumine their hearts and minds in full faith in the truthfulness of what it foretells, 2 Peter 1:19b.
        3. Above all, Peter's readers were to realize that no prophecy of Old Testament Scripture, and, by application to us today, none of the New Testament prophecies either, originated with the prophets as humans themselves: the Greek word epilyseos rendered "interpretation" (KJV, NIV, ESV) literally means "unloosing" (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 869), and ginetai rendered "came about" (NIV ), "comes from" (ESV), "is of" (KJV), suggests "originated from," suggesting Peter meant that "(t)he prophecies did not originate with the prophets themselves," Ibid.; 2 Peter 1:20 NIV.
        4. No, no prophecy of Scripture ever had its origin in the will of man, but "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit," 2 Peter 1:21 NIV.
Lesson: The credible eyewitness in Peter, writing in awareness of his impending death for his support of the Christian faith, gave a powerfully credible witness to the validity of Christianity and to the validity of the written Word of God that predicted the arrival of Christ's future Messianic Kingdom!

Application: May we apply Peter's apostasy-proof apologetic to uphold the truth and avoid apostasy by (1) noting his testimony was backed up by his will to face martyrdom for it and by (2) noting the credibility of the written Scripture's divine inspiration that Peter's eyewitness report upholds.