2 Peter 1:2

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Grace is the love we don't deserve that comes only through God. Peace is the shalom, the end of the war between rebellious man (conscripted by the devil) against the loving God--the war we gratefully and wonderfully lost when Jesus tore away our sinfulness and released us from the bondage of the devil and made us his own children.

Part of the message of 2 Peter is a warning against the Gnostics. The "Gnosis" of these Gnostics was a secret Knowledge about God that could only be achieved by membership with other Gnostics and could not be achieved through the Bible. But Peter blasts at this Knowledge (gnosis) by showing that ordinary Christians have Knowledge of God, Greek epi-gnosis or "correct and thorough knowledge" of God. This knowledge is no secret, but is available out in the open, in public, for everyone to see and hear and believe.

"You," Peter assures all of us, "have more than mere gnosis. You have epi-gnosis!" You have everything you need to achieve eternal life and true knowledge of God. You have it because you know and believe the Scriptures about Jesus our Lord. Later in this letter, Peter will remind us that we also trust the Word of God given through the Apostle Paul, and in particular: "Salvation, as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him" (2 Peter 3:15). Paul's wisdom corresponds exactly with the Wisdom described in those early chapters of Proverbs; the Wisdom that trusts God alone.

This is wisdom that grasps and grabs at God's grace and peace, through the knowledge -- the full, correct, certain and public knowledge -- of our God, Jesus Christ. This is the Jesus who saved us. Jesus who rescued us.

2 Peter 1:1

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: (NIV)

Another piece of evidence in favor of the genuineness of this epistle is the way Peter begins: A forger would have used the same words as 1 Peter 1:1, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ," but Peter himself is says what comes to him: "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ."

One of the most important teachings of the New Testament is the divinity of Jesus Christ, and here Peter lays it out for us in the clearest words possible: "Our God and Savior Jesus Christ." This agrees completely with Paul's words about "Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen" (Romans 9:5).

Pick out the word "Savior" in this verse and put it in your pocket. A "savior" (Greek soteros) is the person who grabs you from a hopeless situation and saves you from otherwise certain death. Jesus' name is Greek, but it's identical to the Hebrew name Joshua, which means "The LORD Saves." That's a perfect reminder of Jesus' work on earth for our sakes: His is the LORD God himself who rescued us from the impossible circumstance of our sins.

Jesus is the one who saved us. Jesus is God himself, and we put our trust completely in him.

2 Peter - Introduction

 “A Faith as Precious as Ours”

 
2 Peter was the book questioned most of all in the early church. Should it be part of the New Testament? Why did some areas have a copy while others didn't? The question was much easier as the church wrestled with other books. The heretical books written by Cerinthus, Valentinus of Rome, Basilides of Alexandria and other were obviously Gnostic and rejected Jesus as the Savior (John's epistles and Gospel were at least partly an attack on the theology of Cerinthus). Other books such as the Gospel of Thomas were written too late to be considered by the early church (you can't include a book that hasn't been written yet in a collection) and the Gospel of Thomas in particular includes quite a bit of false doctrine woven along with stories lifted almost word for word from Luke.

2 Peter has a different style of writing than 1 Peter. This is probably due to Peter writing this letter himself. 1 Peter has a more classical Greek style and was probably dictated to a scribe (an amanuensis). This letter was also less widely circulated than the first letter. But people were probably more cautious about it than suspicious: Many of the things Peter says are also said in Jude's epistle, sometimes with almost identical words (we will talk about these things as they occur in chapter 2). It has also been said that 2 Peter is quoted far less by the early church fathers than the rest of the New Testament. I have found a few places where 2 Peter seems to brush past the pens of the Apostolic Fathers of the late first and early second centuries.

1. "Noah, a preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5).
    "Noah preached repentance..." (1 Clement 7:6).

2. "Their idea of pleasure is to carouse (tryphes) in broad daylight..." (2 Peter 2:13).
    "Lawlessness, drunkenness, wicked carousing (tryphes poneros)..." (Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate 8,3).

3. "In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this "coming" he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:3).
    (It is written:) "Miserable are the double-minded that doubt in their heart, who say, 'We heard these things long ago in the times of our fathers, but we have grown old, and none of them has happened to us.' You fools!" (1 Clement 23:3).

4. "...being kept for the day of judgment (kriseos) and destruction of ungodly (asebon) men" (2 Peter 3:7).
    "...and not the ungodly (asebon), who are judged (krinomenon)" (2 Clement 18:1).
    (Both the noun kriseos and the participle krinomenon are related to each other and our English word "crisis").

5. "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years..." (2 Peter 3:8).
    "For with him a day is like a thousand years..." (Barnabas 15:4).

6. "To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:18).
    "To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen." (2 Clement 20:5).

Summary of background on 2 Peter:

Whereas 1 Peter gives support and encouragement toward outer (physical) persecution, 2 Peter warns against false teacher and false doctrines (inner persecution). 2 Peter makes several statements about Peter's time with Jesus, and also says it is the "second letter" (3:1). There is no reason to reject it's theology or authorship; it was simply less widely known.

Peter wrote this letter late in his life to Christians, especially Gentiles; the same group (this was their "second letter" from him) as in 1 Peter: "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1). These were the same Christians Paul had written to in Galatians, and was intended for people throughout the area of Asia Minor (Turkey). Written around 64 or 65 AD, from Rome, this letter is a warning about false teachers and an encouragement to Christians to persevere in their faith. Part of the trouble among these Christians was the growing error of Gnosticism, a belief in a secret higher Knowledge (Greek gnosis) obtainable outside the Word of God.

James 2:1-7

Favoritism Forbidden
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
     5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?  (NIV)

James urges his congregation not to show favoritism. The first half of this chapter is about discrimination and its opposite, favoritism. Before James says anything else, he reminds us of the motivation for the behavior he describes: we are "believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ." He follows this with an obvious example of what he means to discourage, and then tells us what's wrong with this behavior: it is inconsistent with God's own choice of the poor versus the hostile actions of the rich. Of course, we know that James is using the words "rich" and "poor" to make a point. Simply because someone has financial trouble on earth does not mean that this person will automatically enter into heaven. And financial security today does not necessarily exclude one from heaven tomorrow. But we always need to remember the context of what we are reading. James was writing to specific people who were behaving in a specific way.

If James had been living in America a hundred and fifty years ago, he probably would have been talking about the exploitation of slaves and the racial problems our country faced. If he were living next door to you today, what would he be talking about? There is a tendency today, even among Christians, to discriminate against other Christians. In an age when all "faiths" are said to be tolerated and respected, have you noticed that a Christian who stands up for what he believes in is often called a crackpot? Not that we should find that shocking or out of the ordinary. But when we fail to stand up for God's word, we can be giving the impression that God's word doesn't matter. Showing favoritism really does the same thing. Favoritism says "I don't care what God thinks of this person, I only care about what I think, how I feel, or how well-liked I'll be if I am friendly or unfriendly toward this person." When we set aside God, we rebel against him.

Thankfully, Jesus paid for this sin, too. The forgiveness we have in Jesus is our motive for treating others as brothers; for telling them about him. That is God's will. That is our mission.

James 1:22-27

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

When you were little and got a gift, what did your parents usually have to remind you to do? Wasn't it to say "thank you"? James has just reminded his readers that God's word is able to save our souls. What can we do in response to this? We can say "thank you" with our lips, with our hearts, and with our lives.  "Do what it says," James urges. What a great illustration he gives us: the forgetful man and the mirror! James tells his readers that when they read God's law they should do what it says... does he contradict Paul, who told us we no longer need to obey God's law?

Now we need to remember the contexts of Galatians and of James. Paul is writing to people who were new converts, and were being forced into submitting to circumcision. They had been told that they had to obey the Old Testament laws in order to be saved. That was a lie.

James is writing to people who are mature believers for whom obedience to the law wasn't the main issue. He is not saying they need to obey the law to be saved. On the contrary, he is saying-- and this is vital--that since they have been saved, they can obey the law and be blessed in doing so. The law tells us about God's will for his people before Christ came. The law tells us how we can love God (by having no other gods, and so forth) and how we can love other people (by honoring our parents, not murdering, and so forth). The law also tells us a variety of ways in which to make sacrifices, how to react to mildew and various skin diseases, and more. But we may even find that we have kept an Old Testament law by accident, without trying (many people circumcise their male children even today for reasons apart from obedience to the law).

But before you start checking for mold on your doorposts or go checking out your pantry for kosher food, remember that none of these things are required for eternal life. If we insist on them, we reject Christ. If we joyfully abide by them in thanks for what Jesus has done for us, then we will be blessed. We will also be blessed if we give thanks to God in other ways. James evven names a few: Look after widows and orphans, and keep yourself from being polluted by the world.

There's a lot here to take to heart. Be faithful to Jesus, and know that in him, your sins are forgiven.

James 1:19-21

Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (NIV)

James begins the last sentence in this little paragraph with the word "therefore." Whenever we see "therefore," we need to ask ourselves what it's "there for." Here it seems to do double duty, pointing back to James' statement in verse 18 that it is the word of God which gives us rebirth. It also points ahead to what will follow in verse 22 and beyond. James reminds us of the Word's ability to save in verse 21 when once again he mentions "the word planted in you, which can save you."  The Greek for this last phrase is a beautiful description of the "word." It says, "receive (or "welcome") in humility the implanted, able-to-save-(all) your-soul(s) Word."

It isn't anything that we do which saves us. Not even becoming angry--even over our own sins--can do anything to help. James says, is your mouth shut, and are your ears open? Listen to God's word. Because this is the able-to-save-your-soul word of God.

James 1:13-18

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (NIV)

God certainly tests our faith, as he did when he asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. he ccommanded Jonah to preach the gospel in the heart of enemy territory. He let Satan tears away Job's possessions, drain away Job's health, and even pick away at Job's marriage. But God does not tempt us to sin. James describes temptation growing into sin in terms of a growing person: it is conceived, is born, becomes full grown, and gives birth to another "child:" eternal death; damnation in hell. The birth which God gives us, however, is the rebirth we have through his word. This rebirth is the forgiveness of sins.

Here we have one of the many passages in the Bible which tells us that God creates the faith which saves us through means. Here, it is the means of his word, the gospel.  The Bible also talks about the word working in the same way (giving forgiveness of sins and creating or sustaining faith) when it comes to us in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper (see for instance Ephesians 5:26 and Matthew 26:28).

James says that when we are "born again" through God's word, we are a kind of firstfruits. The firstfruits (described in part in Leviticus 23:9-14) were an offering of the first part of the harvest. The firstfruits offering was not large (just a "sheaf" Leviticus tells us). But more would follow. James is telling the Christians in Jerusalem that even if their numbers seem small, they should not despair. The full harvest of the entire Christian Church will follow. God creates faith through his word, and everyone who comes to faith does so through the means of the gospel (in word and Sacrament). Although it is not James' point here, we might also add that no one can come to faith in God or be saved, who does not do so through these means of grace, the gospel in word and sacrament. There is no other way to heaven, and to seek another road is to reject the gospel. As Peter told the Sanhedrin: "Salvation is found in no one else (than Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).