April 20, 2008
Sun Oak Baptist Church
Introduction
Review because it’s been 2 months since we have been in 2nd Peter.
Peter will soon be martyred for his faith; God has shown him he’s about to die; it’s very possible he was sitting in prison awaiting execution that might come at any moment as he wrote the very words we have in front of us; and the burden of his heart for these early Christians and future Christians was being certain of 3 core and fundamental truths regarding the Christian life.
1. In chapter 1 his burden and focus is the critical and eternal importance of being certain that we are saved. See 1:10-12.
2. In chapter 2 Peter’s burden was to warn Christians about the absolute certainty that false teachers will be in the church and that their teachings will affect many people. See 2:1-2a.
3. In chapter 3 it’s being certain that Jesus is coming again.
Chapter 3 is the culmination of this letter. There are a couple of indicators that this chapter was the most important to Peter.
1. For example: the New King James Version has Peter using the word “therefore” 4 times in this letter: once in chapter 1 – but 3 times in this chapter. See 3:11, 14, and 17.
2. Also: Peter uses the word “beloved” 6 times in the letter: once in chapter 1, but 5 times in chapter 3. See 3:1, 8, 14, 15, and 17.
The launching pad of this final chapter is the first 2 verses. Why did Peter write both letters? The answer is in 3:1. Peter’s singular goal in his first letter and in this letter is to stir up our minds – to stir up our minds and he tells us he’s going to do this how: by way of reminder.
Let me try to frame these 2 verses in such a way that we can appreciate how important they are: why Israel’s failures, and not just a lot of them, a complete failure; why does the church seem to be getting weaker and weaker? What are the contributory causes – what kinds of things are in common with the Garden, with Israel and with the church that have produced such seeming failures when God is such a powerful and glorious God? It can’t be and isn’t God’s fault.
The answer I’m looking for is immediately obvious answers such as sin, the devil, the influence of the world and so. These are obviously the root causes and the driving forces – but Peter and the rest of the Bible point to us to 2 things, 2 fundamental reasons why.
Obviously the problem could be not truly being saved, but here in these verses Peter identifies 2 of the biggest and most common stumbling blocks that inhibit or prohibit people from living fruitful and victorious Christian lives and they’re this: we are prone to settle and prone to forget. See 3:1.
“To settle” is the opposite of “to stir” and “to remember” is the opposite of to “forget.” All of us, every single human being from Genesis chapter three (3) forward are prone to be Christian couch potatoes and senile when it comes to the things of God – we are prone to settle and prone to forget.
In the first 2 verses of chapter 3 Peter exposes 2 of the biggest and the most common stumbling blocks that we face when it comes to living a fruitful and victorious Christian life – and he also tells us how to correct these 2 problems.
I. We are prone to settle. See 3:1.
Look at how a simple fisherman from Bethsaida deals with this problem.
A. The importance of the word “beloved” and the word “now.”
1. “Beloved” frequently used by New Testament writers to express endearment to their readers. Jude uses the word “beloved” to signal his readers that he’s beginning the body of his letter. See 1-3.
2. The word “now” in the Greek is emphatic. One of its functions here is to grammatically emphasize both of Peter’s letters.
B. Now: the first of 2 fundamental problems that every child of God faces from Genesis 3 forward that inhibits or prohibits spiritual growth: we are prone to settle. So what’s the solution – what’s the remedy, or the cure, from being a Christian couch potato? See 3:1.
1. It’s stirring – and specifically, notice that it’s stirring what – our minds. The way to keep from settling in the Christian life is to stir our minds. See 2nd Tim. 1:6; Heb. 10:24; and 2nd Peter 1:13.
2. So what does Peter mean? I’m going to start by telling us what Peter doesn’t mean: he doesn’t mean “meditation” in the eastern mystical sense of the word; he’s not referring to contemplating nature or our belly button; he’s not suggesting that we head to our local Christian bookstore and pick up a book on the subject of contemplative spirituality or mystical Christian experiences and expect that that will somehow turn our minds towards a deeper relationship with Christ.
In recent church history the church and false teachers are preaching the message that the answer to the settling is the baptism in the Holy Spirit; inner healing; psychological counseling; exorcism; more progressive music; and one of the biggest false answers out there today, right now, on the shelves of Christian bookstores this very moment is the idea of a mystically driven, mind guided approach to a person’s relationship with God. One website lists over 50 Christian colleges and seminaries that teach or write or practice the stirring of one’s mind through contemplative spiritual methods that are based on eastern mysticism of one type or another.
II. Second: we are prone to forget. See 3:1b-2.
Please note: Lord willing this message will be concluded next Lord’s day.
III. The solution to these 2 problems.
Conclusion
The life story of Robert Robinson who wrote: “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”