Live the Word Bible Studies

2 Peter Study Three: 3:1-18

Dear Student of the Word,

My, it's been too long - since before Christmas - since I have sent you the next and final installment from Peter's second epistle. I had a great holiday season and I am busily preparing for a life transition as I step away from my role at church to engage more writing and publishing. I will continue to edit and publish, however, these studies that I began in 2001, for as I do, I continue to learn and grow in my ability to handle God's word. In this week's edition, Peter gave us his interpretation of what the end of time would be like, as you can read from this third part of the seven-part study that you can download below:

Study Three, Part Three

6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

3:6 – The flood is a fascinating study, and I took some time in seminary to do just that.  When I fly over some interestng rock formation or visit a geographic wonder like the Grand Canyon, I don’t believe that it took millions of years to form. I attribute it to the Noah’s Flood. One of the things that dawned on me in my study is that the Flood wasn’t regional; it was worldwide. nd it had to cover the highest mountain peak with enough water to allow the ark to float over. What’s more, many ancient civilizations had their own Flood account, so that the account, while varied, isn’t just found in the Bible.

My point is that I believe that there was a literal Flood whose waters covered the whole earth. I think is an important point, because it points to the reality that God destroyed the earth once and will do it again as promised. God spared Noah, but destroyed all other human life. (Some creation scientists believe that there could have been one billion inhabitants on earth at the time of Noah’s flood.)

3:7 – God promised He would not destroy the earth by water ever again (see Genesis 9:11). The next judgment will be by fire when the Lord returns to establish a new heaven and new earth. It is interesting to me how many movies incorporate an end-of-the-world theme, and it usually is considered a “horror” or science fiction movie. There must be something in our human subconscious that attests to the truth of a cataclysmic end. For us as believers, the only one who could orchestrate that end is the Creator, God Himself.  For that reason, the believer and only the believer can rest in the truth and reality of the end, for God will destroy the wicked and preserve His righteous ones when the end does indeed come.

3:8 – I use this verse when I teach on time management. In this context, Peter was refuting those who denied the reality of the coming judgment. They were saying that there would be no judgment, that things would go on in creation as they always had.   Peter was warning these skeptics not to misinterpret God’s gracious patience. In the next verse, he went on to explain why God delays His coming judgment.

Before we move on, let me explain how I use this verse in time management training. I urge those I train to have faith for time, just like they would for money. I point at that a 1,000 years is like a day to the Lord. That means that one hour would be the equivalent of 47 years and one minute would be equal to nine months. So I go on to say that if the Lord ever indicates that He will help you in just a minute, you may have to wait some time before the help actually comes!

But notice that that the opposite is also true—a thousand years is like a day. That means that something you thought would take a long time could happen quickly. We often procrastinate because we don’t think we have enough to do a project or do t well. With faith, what we thought would take a long time could be done quickly (nine months can be like a minute). So we can use this verse to spur us to action, trusting that God will help us do what we don’t think we have time to do. Are you procrastinating out of fear that you don’t have enough time to do what’s in your heart, or enough time to do it well? Then perhaps you need to have faith for time, using this verse as the basis for your trust.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished daily devotional entitled A Daily Taste of Proverbs. Thank you and I will be coming back to you in a few weeks with a new study from a different New Testament book.

Download 2 Peter Study 3

2 Peter Study Two: 2:1-22

Dear Student of the Word,

Merry Christmas from my house to yours. I am sittting here tonight and decided to process one more installment of God's Word before the holidays begin and the year ends. I had hoped to finish 2 Peter this year, but will have to produce the last study after January 1. In this second epistle, Peter was obviously addressing the issue of false teachers and prophets in circulation. We need not focus on the false, but only need to keep our eyes on the real - Jesus and God's Word - to avoid the deception of those who are false peddlers of God's word. In this seven-part installment, I wrote the following in part seven:

Study Two, Part Seven

20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

2:20&21 – Someone who has seen the things of God but then twists those things to use them for selfish ends is in trouble. Peter stated that it would have been better had they never gotten involved than to have found the Lord and then perverted His ways. Why?  Because once they confuse the spirituality of Christ with greed, they produce a hybrid faith that blurs their vision and reduces their discernment.  They begin to use their spirituality for personal gain, believing they have a right to such benefits and developing a persona and image that is almost impossible to change.

Help me, Lord, and protect me from ministry greed.   Don’t allow me, Lord, to profane your name or to rip off Your people.  Lord, if I am ever close to bringing dishonor to Your name, I pray that You will take me to You before that happens.  Amen.

2:22 – Perhaps the problem is how we produce “conversions” today, sometimes being more interested in making converts than disciples. We urge people to come to Jesus to have their sins forgiven and lives saved, but don’t emphasize the hard work that needs to be done in cooperation with the Spirit to put their fleshly deeds to death. We have made it too easy for those who want to “do” ministry to perform. And we have not emphasized theological training for those who show spiritual gifting, rushing them into a public role before they are ready.

I suppose there are many reasons, but the main reason is that the devil is always working to discredit the gospel. He is producing counterfeits or trying to pervert the real deal so that the cause of Christ is damaged and God’s creation enslaved. I cannot change the world. All I can do is define and walk out my ministry values in humility and with God’s help.

I am not the church’s policeman nor am I spiritual or smart enough to spot every bogus minister. I must simply develop safeguards with those around me to protect me from error, be open to correction and trust the Lord.  I must also follow my heart and if something doesn’t seem right, then I must rely on my gut feeling without judging or condemning.  And of course, the main safeguard is diligent study of God’s word that is supplemented by trusted servants of God.

We are in a spiritual war and I should expect some enemy spies who will attempt to pervert my communication from headquarters. But I serve a great God who knows all things and if I keep my eyes on Him, I am certain He will protect me and mine from error and harm.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volume of The Faith Files. And once again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

Download 2 Peter Study 2

2 Peter Study One: 1:1-21

Dear Student of the Word,

I am sitting in my home on a cold winter's night, and decided to warm myself up by editing the next installment of my online studies, this time from Peter's second epistle. This epistle historically was questioned as to its validity, but ultimately made it into the canon of Scripture and my own interpretation is that it belongs there. I don't believe the Spirit would allow an imposter's work to be included in the inspired Word!  At any rate, in this first chapter of this short epistle, we look at what Peter had to say about being fruitful and productive. I wrote this in part five of this seven-part study:

Study One, Part Five

13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

1:13&14 – No one will live forever. In fact, no one is sure how long they will live. I know that sounds ridiculously basic, but how many know that to be true, yet act in a manner that is contrary to the truth?  For instance, how many leaders don’t have a plan of succession if they should die (especially pastors).  Many people I know, especially young people, don’t have a last will and testament. We make plans for what we will do when conditions are hopefully more ideal or less stressful in 10 or 20 years, and we talk like we have those years guaranteed to us. We ignore the truth the Bible teaches us:

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). 

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil (James 4:13-16). 

Peter was writing because he knew he would die, and it sounded like he felt his departure was imminent. It’s not clear whether the Lord had revealed this to him or whether it was just that he was getting older.

1:15– Peter was willing to make every effort to insure that the flock would be able to remember what he taught after he was gone.  That meant he was making an effort to write.  Writing is indeed an effort. It takes time, first of all, and then a commitment to edit and clarity so that those who read may understand. That is why if you are serious about writing, you must identify an editor, someone who will critically appraise your work and give you valuable input and perspective. 

I teach and preach that everyone should be writing in some capacity, if not for publication, then for your own journal to record your journey in Christ.  Do you write?  You may ask, “Who will read it?”  Well, you will for one and the Lord for the other.  There are people like Wesley, Fox and others who wrote journals and those journals were published after their deaths.  I admit that these cases are few and far between and those men founded movements and had followings, but it can happen.  It will never happen, however, if you don’t write.  No one can publish or read what you don’t write. 

1:16 – The fact that Peter alluded to cleverly invented stories meant that some had the capability to concoct such tales and others had accused the apostles of doing just that.  Even today you hear some speakers telling tales of angels they’ve seen and experiences they’ve had. I was in Ohio recently and I heard a preacher who held the people in the palm of his hand with his rhetorical skills—but he had nothing to say!  Yet he was a craftsman and knew how to speak, that’s for sure.

I determined long ago that, if the Lord ever released me, I wanted to be the best speaker I can be in both delivery and with content. And the only content I am interested in is truth from or truth that the Bible corroborates. It doesn’t have to be “either or.” One doesn’t have to be a good speaker without content or a boring speaker with content.  Jesus was a great teacher and speaker.  I want to be like Him and I think He can teach how, don’t you?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:  "'The Lord said to my Lord:  "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."' David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?" The large crowd listened to him with delight (Mark 12:35-37 emphasis added). 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volume of The Faith Files.

Download 2 Peter Study 1