Introducing 2 Peter Epistle - Our Precious Faith

Dear Saints,

“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1: 1

 

It’s the apostle Peter writing this letter. Simon Peter is the author contrary to some so-called scholarly debates of authorship.

 

More important is his view and description of himself as “a bondservant” of the Lord Jesus and an apprentice/apostle of Jesus Christ. A bondservant has no chance of getting released compared to an ordinary servant or employee.

 

We should desire to be bondservants and in love with our master Jesus Christ. We must not have the desire for any other master. Lord, please help me to stick with you. I do not ask for a release from serving you and your people and all people. Thank you for holding me and never letting me go as your bondservant.

 

Who is 2 Peter’s audience? All those “who have obtained [received] like precious faith with us.” This audience seems a bit larger than the audience of 1 Peter, which were the suffering pilgrims scattered in five cities.

 

The first epistle may have been written to a Jewish audience, but Second Peter is to all churches, including Gentile believers and all of us. Like Peter, we have received the same precious faith “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 

"Our precious faith" is in the atonement that leads to righteousness through the death, burial, and resurrection of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice the clear statement of the deity of Jesus Christ as “our God and Savior.” Jesus is God and Savior. Jesus was fully God and fully human while on earth. God came in the flesh/human to die to save us. 

This truth of Jesus being God is the foundation of our faith and can never be compromised or negotiated. If Jesus is not God, then he is a created human and a sinner. A sinner can never save other sinners. You need a perfect sinless God to save sinners.

 

May we never miss this fundamental truth. Jesus is not just a nice human. He is God and we must watch for the peddlers of Jesus as a created being such as the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses and etc. 

Only God can come down from heaven to die as a human, be buried, and rise again. This is the gospel, the good news. No other truth should excite us more than the gospel.

 

Have you received and obtained the same “precious faith” as apostle Peter? Is it precious to you or something you take for granted? May we never take our faith for granted. Jesus paid the highest price for our faith.

 

To “obtain” means something that is  given to you, received, and held onto. “11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:11-13.

 

Dear Father God, I thank you for giving me the right and privilege to be your child. I am not just your a created being but your child by faith. Please help me to fully understand your great love for me as my Father. Help me to trust you with my whole heart, knowing that you have the best for me. Amen.

 

Friends, I look forward to our new journey into the book of Second Peter. This Epistle is written for this end time and to warn of false teachers and their disastrous influence. We need to hold firmly to this “precious faith” now more than ever. Unbelievable things will be happening, and only those with faith in Christ, God the Son will have hope and never faint.

 

Let us give others this hope and faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord, Savior, and God that saves/delivers forever from sin and the wrath of God to come. Amen. Please be intentional and pray for specific individuals and introduce them to Jesus, God the Savior.  Let's keep in mind that our "precious faith" is a gift from God lest we should boast. Ephesians 2: 8-10. Amen.

In 2 Peter, Apostle Peter is now an older man and has learned a lot of lessons in life with Jesus. He has so much to teach/encourage us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

 

Please do the short reading of the entire 2 Peter. Please read it repeatedly and join us to study and be equipped to do God’s will. Amen

 

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