II Peter Introduction: Second Peter is a letter of warning from the faithful apostle Peter. It is the last communication from this great warrior of Christ who would soon be martyred for his faith. This occurred under the reign of Nero around A.D. 68. In his first letter Peter comforted and encouraged believers in the midst of suffering and persecution - external attacks. But three years later in this letter he warns of internal attacks - complacency and heresy. He teaches them how to deal with false teachers and evil doers who have come into the church. He speaks of holding fast to the faith, growing and maturing in faith and rejecting all who would distort the truth. Peter could have written this letter to us. Our world is filled with false prophets and teachers who claim to have truth and who clamor for attention and allegiance. In growing in our own faith and knowledge of Christ we can reject all those who preach anything inconsistent with God s Word. Purpose: Author: To warn Christians about false teachers and encourage Christian growth and watchfulness Peter To whom written: The church at large and all believers Date: Key verse: Around A.D. 67 possibly from Rome 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Outline I. Chapter 1 Guidance for growing Christians II. Chapter 2 Warning and danger to growing Christians III. Chapter 3 Hope of Christ s return for growing Christians False Teachings of the Day Antinomianism = Gnosticism = The teaching that under the gospel dispensation the moral law is of no use or obligation, faith alone being necessary for salvation. They used God s grace as an excuse and justification for sinning. The teaching that only spirit is good and that matter is essentially evil, and that therefore it does not matter what we do with our body, and that we can glut and sate its appetites and it makes no difference. It encouraged people to live most immoral lives, justifying their actions by perverting grace and interpreting Scripture to suit themselves. Denial of the Second Coming = Teaching that this was a stable world in which things remain unalterably the same and thus the Second Coming was never going to happen at all. 1
Chapter 1 Read vv. 1-2 1. To whom is Peter directing this letter when he uses the phrase a faith as precious as ours? (See I Peter 2:10 and Eph. 2:11-13) 2. When Peter calls himself a servant of Christ what does that really mean? 3. A. What does faith mean to you and how do we get it? B. How is this evidenced in II Tim. 1:12? 4. A. Define grace. B. Why is it so precious? C. How does it come to us? 5. Why is peace so seemingly elusive? (See I Peter 5:14 & 3:11) 6. How would others who know you well in good times and bad describe the place of faith in your life? 7. How would you help a struggling believer rediscover faith, grace or peace in his own personal experience? 2
Read vv. 3-11 8. What is the great objective that Peter challenges every Christian to in these verses? 9. How is this possible? 10. What does it mean to you to participate in the divine nature? (See Jn. 3:6 & 14:17-23, II Cor. 5:21 & I Peter 1:22-23) 11. Through what means does all this happen? Explain 12. What do you learn to know about God from these nine verses? 13. According to Phil. 2:12-13 what is our part in all this? 14. List and define the ladder of 8 virtues or stages of growth that build on each other. 15. What is the great advantage in growing in these virtues? 3
16. Are you absolutely certain of your salvation? Do you struggle with feelings of ineffectiveness and unproductiveness in your Christian walk? What is the cause of this and what is the remedy? 17. What great promises are we given? 18. Eternal kingdom is a phrase unique to this letter. What does it refer to, who alone will enter? Read vv. 12-18 19. What is the purpose and work of a Christian preacher or teacher? 20. Peter and other scriptural writers speak of their body as a tent. What does this indicate and what Old Testament experience does this conjure up? 21. What false teaching and criticism is Peter speaking of here? 22. On what was Peter s authority to teach these things based? 23. How would you answer a person who believed the Gospel accounts to be mythological? 24. How can you know about God from this section of scripture? 4
Read vv. 19-21 25. What proves to you the truth and reliability of scripture? (See also Micah 1:1, Habakkuk 1:1, Zep. 1:1, Zech. 1:1 etc) 26. What verified the fact that Old Testament prophecies were actually the truth? 27. Who or what is referred to as morning star? (See also Rom.13:12, Numb. 24:17, Rev. 2:28 & 22:16) 28. What do we learn to know about God in these verses? 29. How can scripture best be interpreted and understood? (See Jn. 14:26 & 16:13) 5
Chapter 2 Read vv. 1-3 1. What was the activity of the false prophets? (See Matt. 24:5, I Tim. 4:1, Jude :4) 2. What motivated these false prophets? (See also I Kings 22:1-28, Is. 28:7, Jer. 23:14) 3. What made them so dangerous? 4. What standard guides believers? 5. What does the Lord who bought them mean? (See Mark10:45, I Cor. 7:23) 6. What was the twofold effect on false teaching? 7. Give examples of this in our culture. 8. What was/is the ultimate end of false teaching? Read vv. 4-10 9. What three examples of God s justice are given here? 10. What evidence do you find of God s grace and mercy? 6
11. What were the characteristics that saved some and saw others destroyed? Give verse. Saved Unsaved 12. What unique characteristics in the example of the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah would be well for us to develop as we live in the midst of a rebellious, disobedient and sinning generation? (See Rom. 12:2) 13. What do you learn about God in this section? 14. What type of authority do you find yourself resisting? Read vv. 11-22 15. What underlying sins lead these false teachers astray? 16. What methods do false teachers use to gain a following? (Give verse) 17. Who is the most susceptible? (Give verse) 18. What is a Christian s best protection from such difusion? 19. What can you do to know Jesus better? 7
Chapter 3 Read vv. 1-7 1. What principles of good preaching and teaching are indicated in this chapter? (See vv. 1, 2, 15, 16, 17) 2. What doubts were being planted in the minds of the believers? 3. Why might this be something these Christians might easily have questioned? 4. Which verse gives the naturalistic vs. the Christian world view? 5. How does Peter counter the false teacher s warped perspective on this issue? 6. Do you believe the flood was an actual historical event? Why? 7. What contemporary secular teachings cause many to question scriptural teaching? Read vv. 8-10 8. A. Under what misconception did these people live? B. How do you react when God withholds or delays answers to your prayers? 8
9. Why does God delay in returning to earth and what does this tell you about Him? (See I Tim. 2:4) 10. What does God tell us about the day of the Lord? Joel 3:14-16 Matt. 24:1-35 Mark 15:12-13 11. Realizing that the earth, its treasures and pursuits will be burned up, how do you spend the bulk of your time? Do you spend the greatest time piling up possessions or striving to know Jesus, and working at developing Christlike character? Read vv. 11-18 12. A. How do the Christian and secular world views differ in regard to the end times? (See I Cor. 15:20-28) B. How would the world view of each determine how a person would live his life? Secular = Christian = 13. Summarize Rev. 21:1-22, and tell why the Christian would look forward to the second coming of Christ. 9
14. What motivates you to live a holy, blameless, spotless, godly life? 15. How is it possible to be holy, blameless and spotless? (See I Jn. 1:9) 16. How can we be at peace with God? (See Rom. 4:25-5:1 and Psalms 29:11) 17. What do these verses indicate about Paul and his writings? Note: Peter and Paul had very different backgrounds and personalities and preached from different viewpoints. Peter talked of Christian life and service while Paul emphasized salvation by grace not law. The two men did not contradict each other but held each other in high esteem. 18. How did false teachers distort Paul s writing? (See Rom. 6:15) 19. What does be on your guard mean to you? 20. What is our greatest protection? (Explain) 21. What do you learn about God in this chapter? (Give verse) 10