2 Peter 2v1 - 10 (15th October 2010)

You can read the passage here.

From the earliest days of the church, false teachers have been a constant “thorn in the side” of believers. Throughout church history, false teachers and their teachings have eroded the life of the church. Peter warns “there will be false teachers among you” (v. 1). They are motivated by greed (v3) and are after financial and material gain e.g. prosperity gospel.

The fate of false teachers is clear: destruction (v1 and 3). Their fate is also definite. In verse 4, Peter relates how God did not spare others like them in the past. If that was the case, God also will not spare the false teachers who seek to undermine and destroy the Church of God with their false teachings.

God’s judgment is also ‘precise’, in the example of Lot, the city of Sodom was destroyed but Lot was rescued(v 9). The righteous will be spared from God’s judgment. God’s judgment will be complete and decisive.

As we face false teachers, it is important that we remain untouched or unaffected by their wrong doctrines. Unfortunately we might be desensitized to many sins in the world and we develop ‘grey areas’ in our decision making. For e.g. adultery being condemned more overtly than materialism, no Malaysian Christian opposition against an openly gay singer performing in the country. In God’s eyes, there are no middle ground, no ‘semi-righteous’ people. God cannot be bluffed by our human rhetorics. In 2 Peter 2 it is only mentioned of two kinds of people; the ungodly and the righteous. Like Lot, we need to be tormented in our soul (v 8) when we see and hear of lawless deeds being committed. However we need to deal with others in gentleness and respect, not leading to legalism or crusades. Mercy, love and compassion are to be exhibited.

Prepared by Kok Choong

2 Peter 1v8 - 21 (8th October 2010)

You can read the passage here.

All living organism must grow to survive. In a same way we must grow spiritually, otherwise we will die. But what does it mean to grow spiritually?

Growing spiritually is to be more like Christ. 2 Pet 1:5-7 lists some of the Christ like qualities to be sought. To be more like Christ we must know our Lord in a deeper way. Failing to do so brings disastrous consequences.

We become ineffective and unproductive (v 8) We become unfruitful and useless to our Lord. We will miss out in knowing Christ in a deeper way.
We become near-sighted and spiritually blind.(v 9) We will be unable to see the things that really matter and take our salvation for granted.
In verse 10, we will fall. Any structure with a weak foundation will not stand.

The Apostle Peter warns us against false teachings which discredits the witnesses of the apostles. Today we have cults like the Jehovah Witnesses, we have false teachings in the form of the prosperity gospel, we have liberal theologians that denies the bible as the word of God.What assures us the biblical witness is true?

The bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit.(2 Tim 3:16) The Holy Spirit helps us to understand and interpret the bible.(1 John 2:26-27)
The apostles were eye witnesses of the majesty of Christ. They gave their lives for Christ. They would not if it was all a lie.
Fulfillment of old testament prophesies confirms it to be true.
The bible is still relevant today despite it being written more than 2000 years ago. It stood the test of time.

So we are to honour God's Word by reading it, believing it and obeying it.

Prepared by Jit Boon

2 Peter 1 v 1 - 7 (1st October 2010)

[You can read the passage here]

We finally started our study on 2 Peter. Here are the main points:-


(a) The goal of our calling is godliness – to be like God. The means to attaining godliness is not by our own strength but through the power of Christ. (2 Pet 1:3)

(b) When we claim the promises of God, our lives can and will be changed – we can have the ‘divine nature’! We shared about some Bible promises that have indeed changed our lives. Here are some promises which we can claim:

• promise of life in the Spirit (Rom. 8:11);
  
• promise of spiritual transformation (Rom. 12:2);
  
• promise of spiritual strength (1 Cor. 1:7, 8);
  
• promise of spiritual deliverance (1 Cor. 10:13);
  
• promise of comfort (2 Cor. 1:3, 4);
  
• promise3 of provision (2 Cor. 9:8-11);
  
• promise of rewards (Gal. 6:9).

(c) We then looked at certain virtues that enable us relate to God, to our circumstances and to others.

• Qualities that relate to God: virtue (following in God’s footsteps and becoming more like God) and knowledge (having our minds changed by God so as to be able to think like God).
• Qualities that relate to our circumstances: self-control (dealing with passions, temptation, etc), perseverance (dealing with hardships) and godliness (showing our best face in the midst of challenges, ie. God’s face).
• Qualities that relate to others: brotherly kindness (concern for fellow believers) and love (showing God’s love to all).

Verse 5 reminds us that we must make every effort – it will not be easy. Here is a suggestion on some steps we can take:-

1. desire to have these qualities;
2. pray, really pray, regularly for it;
3. try to exercise them, eg. show kindness instead of anger, self-control instead of letting loose, try patience instead of retaliation, etc.
4. when we fail, we try and try again until we get it.

Reference: AHF Leaders' Guide