Monthly Archive for May, 1998

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2 Peter 1:14c

Published on May 21, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.”
 
 
just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me
 
Peter ministered over thirty years knowing that he was not going to die a natural death. He knew he was not going to die in bed. The Lord Jesus revealed this to him in the gospel of John,
 
21: 18 “’Most assuredly, I say to you [Peter], when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’ 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’”
 
Peter’s death hung over his head for thirty years. All of us know that we will die eventually if we are not raptured first, but most of us think we will die a natural death. Peter knew he was to die a violent death. Most of us think that we will die of natural causes. That is a comforting thought to some extent. 
 
Peter now writes 2nd Peter in the face of his imminent death. He knew that this would be the last time he would write them. Paul knew when he wrote 2nd Timothy that that epistle would be his last letter as well. 
 
2 Ti 4: 6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure [death] is at hand.”
 
Paul gives his perspective on death in Philippians,
 
1: 21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.”
 
Paul could not help the folks at Philippi if he had died and gone to heaven. This statement gives a lie to spiritism (contacting of the spirits of the dead in the other world). 
 
A great section of Scripture that deals with the body and death is 2 Corinthians five. The word “tent” occurs twice in the opening verses.
 
2 Co 5: 1 “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
 
Paul talked of being in the body and out of the body,
 
2 Co 12: 2 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
 
The only part of the human being that “sleeps” when death occurs is the body. The soul does not sleep. “Soul-sleep” is not Scriptural. The word “cemetery” means “sleeping place” but it is only a “sleeping place” for the body.
 
PRINCIPLE: Death causes us to take stock of eternal things.
 
APPLICATION: When death approaches, it makes us all take stock. Peter’s death was coming near, therefore, he was taking stock of himself and those to whom he was writing. The thing that is upon his heart is truth. He wanted them to remember certain truths or doctrines about going to heaven.
 
Peter saw clearly that the body is not the soul. It merely houses the soul. The body is destructible but the soul is not. Except for the time of the rapture, all of us will put off our bodies. Our bodies will lie in the grave until the resurrection of our bodies.
 
Does Psalm 116:15 sound strange to you?
 
Ps 116: 15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.”
 
If using the word “precious” in terms of death is strange to you it is because you are earth-bound. You are chained to the values of this life. You are earth oriented rather than heaven oriented.
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2 Peter 1:14b

Published on May 20, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.”
 
 
I must put off my tent,
 
If God were to destroy our “tent;” that is, destroy our earthly body, He will give us another body (“a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”). That is our permanent body that we receive at the first resurrection. The tent in which we now live is temporal and subject to death. When they drop our present bodies into the grave, they will go back to dust. 
 
PRINCIPLE: When a Christian dies, he or she goes immediately into the presence of God in heaven.
 
APPLICATION: When we go out to the cemetery, we should not go under the delusion that we buried our loved one there in that cold, icy grave. If you have a religion like that, trade it in. Find the truth as it is in Scripture. Your body goes to the grave but your soul and spirit goes to be with the Lord. If a non-Christian dies, they go to a Christless eternity. When a Christian dies, he goes immediately and instantaneously into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
2 Co 5: 8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
 
There is no break in time between death and a Christian entering the presence of the Lord Jesus. The moment death strikes the body of the believer, he goes non-stop into the presence of the Lord Jesus. We say, “Good night” here and “Good morning” there. No Christian should be apprehensive of death. 
 
He 2: 14 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
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2 Peter 1:14

Published on May 19, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.”
 
 
Knowing
 
This is the second occurrence of “knowing.” Knowing is how we form principle. As long as Peter is in his body, he is going to teach the Asia Minor Christians principles about eternal perspectives.
 
that shortly
 
“Shortly” means impending, near at hand. Death is near at hand for Peter. 
 
I must put off my tent,
 
“Put off” is a metaphor of taking off a garment (2 Co 5:3,4). “Put off my tent” means put off my body as a garment. Our “tent” or body is simply the cocoon or shell that surrounds the person. Physical death is impending for Peter. Peter says that he is going to die.  When he dies, that will be his liberation, his emancipation. “They will bury the remains of my body but my soul will continue in heaven.” 
 
To put off our tent (our bodies) is death for a believer. Every Christian has three components, a body, a soul and a spirit.
 
1 Th 5: 23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 
The above verse lists the three components of the Christian in order of importance: spirit, soul and body. The “spirit” and “soul” are intangible. We cannot see or smell them. We can see, smell and touch the “body.” Our “spirit” and “soul” are not resident in our arm. If we lose our arm, we do not lose our personality. 
 
We are not our body. When it is time for us to move out of our body, they bury the body but our two immaterial parts continue. They only bury the physical “remains.” God will eventually resurrect even the body (1 Co 15). Some bodies will be resurrected to eternal life and other will be resurrected to condemnation (Re 20:5,6).
 
Jn 5: 29 “and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
 
The body and the spirit are not the same,
 
Ja 2: 26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
 
On the cross, Jesus said to one of the thieves who were dying with him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise (Lu 23:43).” He did not say, “Today you will be with me in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Every Christian has the expectation of eternal life.
 
APPLICATION: No matter how sorry a life we might have lived as a Christian, every Christian has the prospect of eternity before him or her.  No Christian will ever face condemnation,
 
Ro 8: 1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
 
The non-Christian will face judgment,
 
He 9: 27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
 
In the eternal state there is no more suffering (Re 21:4). Every believer receives an eternal inheritance (1 Pe 1:4,5) and a new home (Jn 14:1-6). One day we will receive a resurrection body (1 Jn 3:1,2; Ph 3:21).
 
At the point of belief in Christ’s death to forgive our sins, every Christian receives eternal life (1 Jn 5:11,12). We possess eternal life at the point of belief in the death of Christ for our sins (Jn 5:24).
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2 Peter 1:13b

Published on May 18, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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"Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you."
 
 
as long as I am in this tent
 
This section of 2nd Peter is intensely personal because it uses the personal pronouns “I” and “me” many times. Peter alludes to his imminent death. He lived many years knowing that he was not going to die a natural death. Jesus told Peter in advance about Peter’s coming death (Jn 21:18-19). 
 
"Tent" refers to Peter’s body. It conveys the idea of a pilgrimage in our earthly body. Peter is about to leave his earthly pilgrimage and go to his permanent home in heaven. He is ready to take off his body and go to Glory. That is a description of Christian death. 
 
You are not your body. You are more than your body. Non-Christians think that when they die that they are just plopped into the grave. That is the end of them. They place them into the casket where there is nothing but a blackout. They place both body and soul there. However, Christian teaching is that you are your soul and you have a body. Your body is where your soul lives.
 
to stir you up
 
“Stir” means to awake, excite, arouse, and animate.  Peter is in the business of turning people on to right principle. Peter wants to activate their minds. Peter proposes to activate their minds by reminding them of things they were previously taught.  He arouses their minds by reminding them of truth from God’s Word. 
 
by reminding you
 
“Reminding” means with remind with authority. When we communicate truth, we inculcate authoritative principles for life.
 
Peter is in the course of explaining his approach to death. He now gives them his perspective on death. Repetition of principles is a key to leadership.
 
PRINCIPLE: Good leadership rouses people to spiritual realities.
 
APPLICATION: Peter is in the business of stirring people towards spirituality. “I am going to move you, if I can, into a body of information crucial to your Christianity.”  Peter is in the process of awaking or rousing the Christians of his day. He sounds an alert. He blasts a warning trumpet to rise people out of their lethargy. 
 
That is the idea of “revival.” We do not revive something that is dead. We revive the living. Non-Christians cannot be revived, only Christians. Revival is a movement of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of God’s people. 
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2 Peter 1:13

Published on May 17, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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"Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you."
 
 
Yes, I think it is right
 
"I think" is an accounting term. It originally referred to leading, to lead the way, to preside. Later it came to mean to consider or to lead before the mind, account (Ph 2:3,6,25; 3:7,8; 2 Th 3:15; 1 Ti 1:12; 6:1; He 10:29; 11:11; Ja 1:2; 2 Pe 3:9). This word came to mean to think in principles. “Yes, I think it is right to think in principles.”  “Think” then means to lead principles out before the mind. Character forms from what we think about God’s Word. 
 
“Right” means “fitting” here. Peter is thinking in terms of a right principle. It means to do the right thing. “It is fitting that I write to remind you because I am about to die.” Peter developed a sense of responsibility to give Asia Minor Christians vital truth before he died. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Character comes from the application of the principles of God’s Word to our experience.
 
APPLICATION: When young people grow up in homes where they are not taught principle, they grow up lacking responsibility. Responsibility does not come through discipline. Discipline gives training as to what is wrong. All children need this. However, a parent must go beyond discipline because discipline does not give a sense of responsibility. It keeps merely them in line. 
 
The only way a parent can present a child with a sense of responsibility is to communicate principles to them. Young men die for their country, not because of discipline, but because they know the principles for which their country stands. They understand the principle of fighting for freedom. 
 
Liberalism does not teach principle. All they teach is freedom. Freedom without principle is vacuous. Liberalism promotes lack of initiative. They teach dependence on the state, not upon operating principles that transcend the state. We have produced a generation without a sense of responsibility because we have a generation that does not operate on principle.
 
We cannot have a true sense of responsibility without operating principles in deep within our person. These principles need to be taught and derived from the Word of God. 
 
A young man has a young woman out on a date. They may be in some secluded place where they are necking. There is just the two of them. If he has a sense of responsibility developed from principle, he will hold back from exciting this girl. If he is simply looking to fulfill his own pleasure, he is devoid of principle. He will pursue the lusts of the flesh. Necking without principle is entering sex without boundaries. Taboos will not prevent them from having sex.
 
In marriage, he will carry that same sense of responsibility.  He will be true to his wife. She will have security because she knows he carries principles with him that will not yield to temptation. He has a sense of responsibility both to himself and to the girl or wife. 
 
If we live under the exclusive influence of our libido, we will not be able to resist temptation. The point is that we develop responsibility from principle. This is why at times the non-Christian is more moral than the Christian. The non-Christian may operate on principle he might have even derived from the Bible.
 
A girl goes to college. She faces the choice of joining a sorority. She thinks that she cannot have an adequate social life without a sorority. Sororities operate on beliefs contrary to Christianity. The Christian who thinks in terms of principles can live independently from the idea that they need friends or social life structured for them. Joining a sorority is to join an organization without adequate principle. The only principles they operate on are facilities and fun. People who join an organization like this just operates on life without character. These are weak people. Character does not come from what we do; it comes from what we think in terms of principles. 
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2 Peter 1:12e

Published on May 16, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”
 
 
in the present truth
 
“In the present truth” is the truth present within us through instruction from our pastor-teachers. This is not truth at present under consideration. 
 
“Truth” is reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of the matter (Ro 9:1; 2 Co 11:10; Ga 2:5
 
Ga 3: 1 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”
 
“Truth” here is the deposit of faith (Ju 3).
 
Ju 3 “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
 
Truth is something we can always possess and never lose. The person we love cannot go with us everywhere we go. We spend time with what we love. However, truth goes with us everywhere we go as well. If we love the truth, you will spend time with the Word.  
 
Stability here is not strong character or human security. The stabilizer is the Word of God. Some people try to find stability in a bank account. We can have a lot of money and still be unstable. Success is not the stabilizer of life either. Friends or a wonderful social life will not give us stability. Health, sex, material things, status symbols will not stabilize us. Only the Bible gives us that stability (Mt 4:4). If we put God’s Word first, then we can enjoy money and success. 
 
If you depend on some loved one to give you stability, you make a major mistake. You may think that you have the most wonderful romance in the world. You have the love of the century. The problem with people is that they can change every hour on the hour. We kid ourselves if we think that people can give us stability. We will wind up unhappy. 
 
Many lonely hearts will burst their fantasy in the reality of life. Some think that “all I have to do is get married and my troubles will be over.” No, that is when your troubles begin! That is our opportunity to grow up. That is when you start to find out what adult troubles are like. If you want perpetual youth, don’t get married!! This is not to say that marriage is a horrible institution. It is not. I am not as cynical as that. No, the point is that stability comes from the Word of God and not from people. Why? Stability comes from the Author of the Word of God. He designed everything. He designed you. He designed your marriage. 
 
Instability is the norm of our day. Our society is unstable as water. The things of life are here today and gone tomorrow. Our relationships are here one day and gone another day. We laugh one moment and cry the next. 
 
PRINCIPLE: There is no way to live the Christian life apart from Scripture.
 
APPLICATION:The means to effect confirmation in our souls is the Word of God. 
 
We cannot live the Christian life without the Bible. The Word of God is our chart, our compass, our bill of rights and our only infallible rule of faith and practice. 
 
Just any kind of life that is gentle, kind and even loving is not the Christian life. Any thing less that what the Bible describes as the Christian life is not Christian. We may have a good life, a nice life or even a beautiful life but it may not be the Christian life. The Christian life begins with Christ. When Christ comes into our lives, we become Christians. There is no Christian life without Christ. He lives His life within us. 
 
The difference between Christians is the ratio to which they yield their lives to Christ. He is able to do more for some Christians than others. Some of us are very stubborn. We do not give up easily. We want to handle our lives and not allow Him to control us. Some things are beneath the dignity of the child of God although they may not be sinful.
 
Life is mutable. Immutability only comes from the immutable One. God’s Word gives stability in an unstable world. Age is not stable. Eventually those wrinkles will come. Corrective surgery will only last for so long. Only truth is eternal and only truth can sanctify.
 
Jn 17: 17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
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2 Peter 1:12d

Published on May 15, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”
 
 
and are established
 
“Established” means to fix, make fast, to set. “Established” means to put or place something firmly in a location — to cause to be fixed, to establish in a place. The idea is stabilizing someone in truth. 
 
The Lord called upon Peter to stabilize his brethren (Lu 22:32). Paul wanted to visit Rome to establish them (Ro 1:11) and Timothy at Thessalonica (1 Th 3:2). It is the work of God to stabilize the saints (1 Th 3:13; 2 Th 2:17). We are to stabilize our own hearts (Ja 5:8).
 
“Established” carries the idea of strengthen, to cause someone to become stronger in the sense of more firm and unchanging in attitude or belief. Asia Minor saints became stabilized in the truth and were in a state of being set fast in truth. Peter’s purpose is to set cardinal truth of their faith in their thinking. 
 
Lu 22: 32 “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
 
Ac 14: 22 “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith.”
 
Ac 16: 5 “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.”
 
We gain stability by knowing. We first gain knowledge then we gain stability. We cannot reverse this process. Stability does not precede knowledge. It is knowledge that gives stability. 
 
We do not gain stability by reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People” or “How to Succeed in Selling?” 
 
PRINCIPLE: If the believer cannot take the shocks of life, he will have no stability.
 
APPLICATION: A shock absorber on a car gives stability to the car. If we cannot take the shocks of life, we will have no stability of life. 
 
All Christians need equilibrium. What gives us equilibrium in our lives? Truth, God’s truth. Equilibrium is a state of balance produced by two or more forces. There needs to be a balance between what we believe and what God says in His Word. 
 
1 Pe 5: 10 “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
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2 Peter 1:12c

Published on May 14, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”
 
 
to remind you always of these things
 
Peter knew his days were numbered. He now speaks of important components of Christianity because so little time on earth remains for him. At the point of death, we speak of the things that are of most importance to us. 
 
God’s purpose for the believer is to be constantly reminded of the importance of God’s Word. This is a daily challenge for every leader. 
 
The “these things” are seven items listed in verses five through seven. “These things” have to do with the Christian life. When we get sloppy with Christian living, we become a distinct liability to the cause of Christ. We are no asset. We are not a good advertisement of Christ. We are not a help but a hindrance. 
 
though you know
 
“You already know these matters, but nevertheless I will always remind you of them.” It is one thing to know these things in our minds and it is another to know them in our hearts. 
 
PRINCIPLE: We need to familiarize ourselves with the familiar.
 
APPLICATION: A good minister always reminds his congregation of foundational truths. The pastor who does not put his congregation in remembrance of truth is a bad minister of Jesus Christ. We do not have to hear new and novel things. Dr. Harry Ironside used us say, “If it’s new, it’s not true, and if it’s true, it’s not new.” Many leaders today try to be sensational and spectacular to gain the attraction of their followers. A “good minister” is someone who nourishes his followers in the faith.
 
1 Ti 4: 6 “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.”
 
We cannot drive a 100 miles an hour through the countryside and enjoy the beauty of the landscape around us. Neither can we rush through the Christian life and appreciate what the Lord has done for us. We need to spend time in the Word and thus in truth.
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2 Peter 1:12b

Published on May 13, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”
 
 
I will not be negligent
 
Peter is about to present a proposal with a purpose. “Will” means be about to, be on the point of. Peter will ever be ready to remind Christians of God’s Word. Peter will die but truth will continue. Even though Peter is about to die, this passage will live into centuries to come. 
 
Second Peter still speaks to us as we stand at the door of the twenty-first century. No pastor can afford to build his ministry on personality, some human system or gimmick. He must build his ministry on the eternal Word of God. 
 
Peter’s purpose is to remind the Asia Minor Christians of “truth.” Every pastor must come to this point sooner or later. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Leaders must diligent in leading their group toward truth.
 
APPLICATION: Many of us operate under the delusion that anything is good enough for the Savior. We preach and sing without preparation. Anything is good enough for the Lord “as long as it is sincere.” The idea is that you don’t have to be good as long as you are earnest. You do not need to be properly equipped to serve the Lord. How would you like your surgeon to remove your appendix with that attitude? God’s work should be no hobby whereby we give Him the outer edge of our spare time. 
 
It is an appalling fact today that Christian leaders care less about the truth they believe and more about the pragmatics of their ministry. This is the beginning of the erosion of Christianity. Leaders should give excellence to truth as well as pragmatics.
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2 Peter 1:12

Published on May 12, 1998 in 2 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”
 
 
With verse twelve we begin a new section dealing with the Christian’s nourishment in the Word of God (1:12-21). We turn from the focus of the work of God in of individual Christians to the Word of God as the instrument of nurture. 
 
For this reason
 
Since Asia Minor Christians possess a faith that sustains godliness, Peter now insists that they live by truth. 
 
Peter reminded is audience three times to retain the contents of this epistle (1:12,13,15; cf. 3:1). 
Is. 62: 6 “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
 
PRINCIPLE:Christians leaders (who are sharp) review crucial doctrines regularly for their people. 
 
APPLICATION: We need to be reminded of what we already know to prevent dullness toward it or even our forgetting it. 
 
Many evangelicals blow by every wind of doctrine that comes down the pike. Evangelicals need stability in doctrine. If Christians are not aware of the peculiar trends of our day, we will fall into instability. 
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