WHO WROTE IT?: The Apostle Peter
WHY WAS IT WRITTEN?: To warn Christians about false teachers & to encourage them to grow in their faith & knowledge of Christ.
WHEN WAS IT WRITTEN?: Approximately AD 67; 3 years after 1st Peter was written, possibly from Rome.
WHO WAS IT FOR?: The church at large. In a case like this the letter would have been passed around to all the area churches; it wasn’t written to one church or individual.
The Apostle Peter knew he wouldn’t be around much longer, since Emperor Nero was hell-bent on single handedly wiping out Christianity and Nero massive persecution efforts were taking place when Peter was in Rome. It is for that reason that he took the time to warn the early church recipients of his correspondence to be watchful for those who were teaching a different gospel. Once Peter was gone others would have to take up the mantle of battling the faux doctrines that were being spewed out. These teachers were charismatic & very persuasive, drawing many away from the one true gospel. That is also why Peter reminded his readers about the unchanging truth in the gospel.
Heretical teaching can be presented in a subtle, deceitful way. Their presentation is appealing & offers a perspective that is more palatable than the real story, even though its falseness can be easily proven by anyone with a sound grasp of the true gospel. Believers today, as in Bible times, must still be alert so as not to fall into false doctrine, heresy & cultic activity. Peter’s letter gives ALL Christians, both then & now, clues to help detect false teaching.
Peter ends his short letter as he began it, urging his readers to grow in the grace & knowledge of the Lord. They needed to work at cultivating that relationship with Christ, for the closer a believer is to Jesus / God, the easier it is to recognize false teaching.
No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, no matter how spiritually mature we happen to be, this evil, sin riddled world will always be a challenge to our faith. Satan is relentless ... he is a defeated foe, so he has absolutely nothing at all to lose. He pulls out all the stops to trip up believers. That is why we MUST be on our guard, praying faithfully, that we might defeat our enemies. The devil cannot beat God, so the closer we are to God the more of a threat we become to our most vile enemy. We should never think we’ve arrived spiritually. There is ALWAYS room to grow. If we determine to draw closer to Christ each day we will be prepared to stand for truth in any and all circumstances.
Next we’ll take a look at the Mega Themes found in Peter’s 2nd letter. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Source: The Life Application Study Bible.
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