Union Church of Christ

2 Peter 1:12-15

INTRODUCTION

1. Text - note, 3x "remembrance."
2. Often our problems stem, not from a lack of knowledge, but rather from a failure to remember what is most important.
3. Note verse 12.
4. These things are not new to any one of us and surely none of us would deny them.
5. Yet, at times our actions indicate that we have forgotten how important these things are.
6. Notice that things concerning which Peter sought to "put them in remembrance."

DISCUSSION

1. Eternal Life  Is Found Only In Christ
   1. 2 Peter 1:3, 4.
      1. John 5:39, 40.
      2. John 11:25, 26.
      3. Ephesians 1:7.
      4. Ephesians 2:1, 5.
      5. John 10:10.
      6. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
   2. It is not uncommon to hear religious people who talk of Eastern religions in a way that condones them.
      1. "We should stop judging those of the Islamic faith, the Buddhists, and those of the Jewish faith and simply accept them."
      2. The implication is that they have found an alternative route to heaven.
      3. John 14:6.
2. Spiritual Growth Is Necessary To Salvation
   1. 2 Peter 1:5-11.
      1. Positive - v. 8, 10, 11.
      2. Negative - v. 9.
      3. 2 Peter 3:18.
      4. From the beginning to its end, 2 Peter emphasizes spiritual growth.
   2. 1 Peter 2:2.
      1. The source of growth is God's word, the Bible.
      2. Yet at times, we act as if spiritual growth is either unimportant (we fail to read and study our Bible, fail to attend Bible study, etc.), or can be achieved in some other way (through social matters).
3. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
   1. Peter 1:19-21.
      1. Verse 21 indicates whose words these are.
      2. Over 2500 times in the Old Testament - "Thus saith the Lord."
      3. 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.
      4. 1 Corinthians 14:37.
      5. 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
   2. Verse 19 - "a more sure word of prophecy."
      1. One of the evidences that the Bible is the word of God is its accuracy.
         1. The Bible does not make historical and geographical mistakes - it contains no inaccurate information of any kind.
         2. Though many have attempted to show contradictions in the Bible, it contains none.
         3. Archaeological finds always verify what is found in the Bible.
      2. Predictive Prophecy is perhaps the strongest evidence of the Bible's divine origin.
         1. Isaiah 46:9, 10.
         2. Isaiah 3:17-22.
         3. The Medes under Cyrus in 539 BC conquered the city; Xerxes, the son-in-law to Cyrus, later plundered the city. When Alexander the Great decided to rebuild, he gave up the task as hopeless.
   3. Yet sometimes we act as if the Bible is just another book.
      1. When we fail to read/study/meditate and live by it, is this not exactly what we are doing?
      2. Psalm 1:2.
4. We Must Beware Of False Teachers
   1. 2 Peter 2:1.
      1. This was true among God's people of old and is true among God's people today.
      2. Jesus warned of such.
         1. Matthew 7:15.
         2. Matthew 24:11.
      3. Paul warned of such.
         1. 1 Timothy 4:1, 2.
         2. 2 Timothy 3:8.
      4. John warned of such.
         1. 1 John 4:1.
         2. 2 John 9-11.
      5. Jude warned of such - Jude 4.
   2. If we forget or minimize this warning, we face a grave danger.
   3. Acts 17:11.
5. The Lord Will Return
   1. 2 Peter 3:10.
   2. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18.
   3. When we fail to live as the Bible teaches, we show that we have forgotten that the Lord will return!
   4. 2 Peter 3:14.

CONCLUSION

1. We cannot afford to forget.
2. 2 Peter 1:15.