Devotions

This is My Beloved Son

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John lays out the testimony of Jesus Christ. There are the eyewitnesses, the apostles. There was the voice of God from heaven when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. And there is the prophetic word written many years before and handed down through the children of Israel. Even so, there will be false prophets and false teachers that will seek their own way to their destruction and the destruction of those that follow them. And, there are those that will say, there is no judgement or may go even farther and say there is no God. But God is not slack, judgement will come after this age of grace. Until then, God knows how to keep the godly from destruction. 

This is My Beloved Son

2 Peter 1:16–21
This testimony of Jesus Christ as savior, mediator between God and man, is not in 2 Peter 1:16 “by following ingeniously concocted myths” that are prevalent among other religious systems. This testimony is first, “by being eyewitnesses of that one’s majesty” where the Apostles lived with Jesus and were witness to the miracles done throughout his life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. Second, there is the witness of the voice of God from heaven saying in 2 Peter 1:17 “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And Thirdly this testimony was given by the word of prophecy written years before in

2 Peter 1:19 and we possess as more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well if you pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

And this testimony has not changed from the beginning, in

Romans 10:8–10 But what does it say? “The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), 9 that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

The Lord Knows How to Rescue the Godly

2 Peter 2:1–11
There have also been false prophets in 2 Peter 2:1 “as there will be false teachers among you also, who will bring in destructive heresies”. These are described by their motivation in 2 Peter 2:3 “in greediness they will exploit you with false words” and greediness is a concept that we easily understand even though we may be taken in by “false words”. But “licentious ways” in 2 Peter 2:2 is not so easy because this is not a common word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, licentious means “lacking legal or moral restraints; especially : disregarding sexual restraints” or “marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness”. And if we read on in 2 Peter 2:4-8 we find examples including Noah and Lot who were delivered while those around them were destroyed. So, it is not for us to judge or destroy the ungodly, God will in 2 Peter 2:9 take care of “the day of judgement”. And until then, in 2 Peter 2:9 “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials”.

They Have Escaped From the Defilements of the World

2 Peter 2:12–22
It is “through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” in 2 Peter 2:20 that we “have escaped from the defilements of the world”. But some become entangled again. There is a, in 2 Peter 2:15 “straight path” which is Gods way, the way of righteousness and holiness. 

The Lord is Not Delaying the Promise

2 Peter 3:1–13
In the short span of our lives we can easily lose the context of eternity that is the time-line of God and his plan for not only mankind, but also for the angels and all of creation. Or, as it says in 2 Peter 3:5 “it escapes their notice that the heavens existed long ago”. People forget that in 2 Peter 3:6 “the world that existed at that time was destroyed by being inundated with water” and today, rather than mist from the ground we have rolling thunder and clouds that pour down rain with the covenant sign of the rainbow in the sky.

But it is also this same word of God that in 2 Peter 3:7 “by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people”. So it is not a forgetful or uninvolved delay on God’s part, it is intentional for the good of generations in

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Make Every Effort

2 Peter 3:14–18

1 John Introduction

The early church came out of the culture of Judaism. Much of the new testament is about the difference between the keeping of the Law and grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Here in 1 John, “everything turns on one simple contrast: divine life in communion with Christ; death in separation from Him, as appears from his characteristic phrases, “life, light, truth; death, darkness, lie.””1

Eternal Life Which Was With the Father and Was Revealed

1 John 1:1–4

The Blood of Jesus His Son Cleanses Us

1 John 1:5–10

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • 2 Peter 1:16-21
  • 2 Peter 2:1-22
  • 2 Peter 3:1-18
  • 1 John 1:1-10

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 525). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.