Frameworks:
2 Peter, chapters 1 - 3
(Scoll
down for chapter links)
(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a simple comment of what is
happening)
[Note:
Because it is sometimes difficult to follow the flow
of a letter like this, we have added a synopsis of each chapter
& passage to try to help clarify James' train of thought and
where he is going with his writing.]
Why
Read 2 Peter: Peter's
second letter is delightfully simple to read. Ch.1
reminds us of the wonder of what it means to be a believer and
why we can be sure of the truth of what he says. In Ch.2,
by contrast he warns against so-called believers (actually backsliders)
who live wrongly, teach wrongly and seek to lead others astray.
It reminds us there is truth and there is error and God will judge
those who bring the error. In Ch.3 he extends
this to warn against those scoffers who say Jesus won't return
and declares it will and so we should live holy lives accordingly.
It is a short letter designed to keep believers on the right track
and challenges us to reject those who would live and teach otherwise.
GO
TO: Chapter 2 Chapter
3
FRAMEWORKS:
2 Peter 1: The Wonder of our Calling
v.1,2
Greetings
v.3-11
Confirming One's Calling and Election
v.12-18
The Sureness of his Testimony
v.19-21
Testimony of Prophetic Scriptures
[Chapter
1 Synopsis: From the very beginning throughout this chapter,
Peter keeps on reminding us what it means to be a believer and
encourages us to keep on working on these things, things that
are truth, things that establish us and keep us.]
v.1,2
Greetings
[Passage
Synopsis: Even in his greeting Peter emphasizes who believers
are]
v.1
(from Simon
Peter to all have received a faith through God's righteousness
via the work of Christ on the Cross) Simon
Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through
the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received
a faith as precious as ours:
v.2
(may you all
know grace and peace by knowing God) Grace
and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and
of Jesus our Lord.
v.3-11
Confirming One's Calling and Election
[Passage
Synopsis: He expands of what knowing God has done for us and encourages
us to build on these things to be those who impact the world.]
v.3
(God's power
enables us to live godly lives by knowing him, having responded
to His call) His divine power
has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge
of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
v.4
(thus He's given
us wonderful promises of sharing in His nature) Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so
that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
v.5-7
(so, because
of this work to add to your lives goodness, knowledge, self-control,
perseverance, godliness, friendship and love) For
this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and
to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
v.8
(if these increase
they will make us effective & productive) For
if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will
keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v.9
(if you don't
work for these you've obviously forgotten what you were saved
from) But whoever does not have
them is near-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been
cleansed from their past sins.
v.10,11
(so work at
confirming who you have been called to be and that will help you
stand strong until you are welcomed into heaven) Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling
and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,
and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
v.12-18
The Sureness of his Testimony
[Passage
Synopsis: He says he will keep on reminding them of these things,
knowing it is no fairy tale, but the truth, having even heard
the voice of the Father affirming the Son]
v.12
(I will keep
on reminding you of these things) So
I will always remind you of these things, even though you know
them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
v.13,14
(I need to do
this because I may not be here much longer) I
think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in
the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it
aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
v.15
(I'll do all
I can to ensure you don't forget) And
I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will
always be able to remember these things.
v.16(for
the faith isn't made up, for we saw Christ's glory) For
we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty.
v.17
(we actually
heard the Father approve him ) He
received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came
to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom
I love; with him I am well pleased.” [Mt
17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:35]
v.18
(yes, we really
did hear his voice) We ourselves
heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on
the sacred mountain.
v.19-21
Testimony of Prophetic Scriptures
[Passage
Synopsis: The prophetic scriptures point to these things, words
that were inspired by God.]
v.19
(of course we
also have the prophecies of old that you can entirely trust)
We also have the prophetic message
as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
v.20
(and don't think
that any prophecy was man-made) Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about
by the prophet's own interpretation of things.
v.21
(but it was
God who inspired them) For prophecy
never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human,
spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
FRAMEWORKS:
2 Peter 2: False
Teachers and Their Destruction
[Chapter
2 Synopsis: In the present world there are many deceivers,
false teachers, who live immoral lives and seek to lead others
astray. God will deal with them]
v.1-3
Beware false teachers
[Passage
Synopsis: Having emphasised that we live according to the truth
he now warns against false depraved teachers who will be judged]
v.1
(some prophets
of old were false as some teachers today are) But
there were also false prophets among the people, just as there
will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the
sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction
on themselves.
v.2
(they lead people
in bad behaviour) Many will
follow their depraved conduct and will bring
the way of truth into disrepute.
v.3
(and will seek
to lead you astray with wrong beliefs) In
their greed these teachers will exploit you
with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging
over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
v.4-9
Remember the examples of God's judgment in the past
[Passage
Synopsis: God has clearly judged and destroyed sinners in the
past, so He will do the same with them]
v.4
(but remember
how God judged angels in the past…) For
if God did not spare angels when they sinned,
but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be
held for judgment;
v.5
(… and how He
judgsd sin with the Flood) if
he did not spare
the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,
but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
v.6
(… and how he
totally destroyed two sinful cities) if
he condemned the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made
them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
v.7,8
(and how Lot
showed up the sin of those days) and
if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was
distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous
man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous
soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—
v.9
(in the light
of all this, realise God can save the godly and punish the ungodly)
if
this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials
and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
v.10-22
These people are right off the tracks in thought and deed and
will be destroyed
[Passage
Synopsis: These people are blatant in their folly, their debauchery
and their general immorality, often having once been true believers
but now obvious backsliders. They will be punished]
v.10,11
(there is so
much wrong about these people) This
is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire
of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial
beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful,
do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them
from the Lord.
v.12
(but they will
perish) But these people blaspheme
in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning
animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed,
and like animals they too will perish.
v.13
(they delight
in public debauchery) They will
be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea
of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and
blemishes, revelling in their pleasures while they feast with
you.
v.14
(they are sexually
and ethically immoral) With
eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the
unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
v.15
(just like Balaam
of old they are self-concerned and deceptive) They
have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way
of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.
v.16
(he was even
rebuked by an ass) But he was
rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who
spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
v.17
(everything
about them is bad) These people
are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest
darkness is reserved for them.
v.18
(wrong words,
wrong desires and they lead others astray) For
they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful
desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping
from those who live in error.
v.19
(while slaves
to sin themselves they promise freedom to others) They
promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for
“people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
v.20
(if they are
backsliders they are in a real mess) If
they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are
overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the
beginning.
v.21
(they would
have been better off no knowing the truth to start with)
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.
v.22
(as the Bible
says its only animals who go back to mess) Of
them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” [Prov
26:11] and, “A sow that is washed
returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
FRAMEWORKS:
2 Peter 3: Beware deceiving scoffers
v.1-4
Beware Scoffers
v.5-9
You can trust God's word
v.10-18
The Day will come so be prepared
[Chapter
3 Synopsis: This final chapter challenges us not to listen
to scoffers who say Jesus won't return. If he appears to delay
it is simply to give time for more people to repent. He will come
and wind all things up prior to the Final Judgment. These things
should help keep us on track.]
v.1-4
Beware Scoffers
[Passage
Synopsis: This letter is a reminder to go all out for God and
so beware deceiver who scoff at the thought of the Lord returning]
v.1
(this my second
letter continues to remind you to think rightly) Dear
friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both
of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
v.2
(remember
the prophets and what the Lord himself said through the apostles)
I
want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets
and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.
v.3
(remember the
warning that in the last days scoffers will come) Above
all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,
scoffing and following their own evil desires.
v.4
(they will question
whether our Lord will ever return) They
will say, “Where is this ‘coming' he promised? Ever since our
ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning
of creation.”
v.5-9
You can trust God's word
[Passage
Synopsis: But you can always trust God's word, whether it was
to create the world or bring judgment and if He appears to be
holding back, it's just to give you more time to repent]
v.5
(they question
His word but forget it was by His word He created all things)
But
they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens
came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
v.6
(and then used
the water to bring judgment) By
these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
v.7
(but has also
warned of fire destroying at the end) By
the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
v.8
(but God's timing
is not like ours) 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.
v.9
(he's just giving
people space in which to repent) The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.
v.10-18
The Day will come so be prepared
[Passage
Synopsis: There will a be a Final Judgment and a final winding
up of this present world to make way for a new heaven and new
earth, so live accordingly.]
v.10
(But the end
will come when He winds up all things) But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear
with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything done in it will be laid bare.
v.11,12
(this should
stir us to live good and godly lives awaiting the day of The Judgment)
Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people
ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you
look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day
will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat.
v.13
(remembering
we'll inherit and new heaven and a new earth) But
in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven
and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
v.14
(so remember
this and work to be sin-free) So
then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make
every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with
him.
v.15
(remember Paul
write about these things) Bear
in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our
dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave
him.
v.16
(maybe sometimes
in ways that are a bit difficult to understand and it's foolish
people who distort his writings) He
writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these
matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand,
which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other
Scriptures, to their own destruction.
v.17
(so now you've
been warned, be careful) Therefore,
dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard
so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless
and fall from your secure position.
v.18
(grow in the
knowledge of God and His grace) But
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
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