Two Things We Stand On… Apostolic Witness & Holy Scriptures
2Pet 1:16-21
Two things on which we stand… Apostolic witness & Holy Scriptures. (v.19)
The Apostles were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (2Pet 1:16)
The Apostles preached Jesus Christ, & Him crucified & risen.
The whole basis of our Christian faith rests upon the Person of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, & on the facts concerning Him.
You are a Christian because you believe what you are told in Scripture; you believe the facts that are solemnly asserted by Apostle… that he was an eye witness to these things.
What makes me a Christian is to believe & accept the Apostle’s testimony (NT).
The authority of Scripture… it is God breathed. (2Pet 1:20-21; 2Tim 3:16)
Bible not only claims that it is record of God speaking (revelation), but that the human instruments were guided & controlled by the H Spirit (inspiration).
God used human authors, but they were carried along by the H Spirit to write the very words of God. (v.21) H Spirit came upon them & took hold of them & gave them a message, & caused them to write the Word of God… not their thoughts or words.
OT prophets affirmed this… “Word of God came to them”; “Thus says the Lord”.
We are compelled to believe the Bible, which is not man’s will, but the product of men inspired & carried along by the H Spirit. (v.21) The Bible is God speaking. (2Tim 3:16)
The Christian stands on these two great facts (Apostolic witness & Holy Scriptures) & therefore purposes to live his life in accordance with the God-breathed Bible.
Fulfilled Prophecy… the prophets made more certain. (2Pet 1:19)
God has kept His Word… everything that God has ever promised has been or is being fulfilled… God’s Word is fixed, absolute & eternal.
The Bible also reveals what will happen in future… including second coming of Christ.
How can you know this is going to happen?
We have the word of the prophets made more certain… (v.19)
It is all the more sure because so many of the prophecies have already been fulfilled.
The Bible is the history of man in his relationship with God… the history of Salvation.
We were created for fellowship with God, but thru the Fall, sin broke communion.
Immediately after Fall, God began to make promises with respect to man’s salvation.
With the first advent of Christ, all those promises were fulfilled… & by the blood of Christ a New Covenant of grace & forgiveness of sins was established.
Because everything that was prophesied with respect to His first coming was carried out literally, it is all the more certain that everything else that has been prophesied about His second coming will also be fulfilled literally.
God’s Word is something that you can always trust… God always honors His promises.
God is truth & He controls the future… it will happen as He has said.
The Light in the darkness. (2Pet 1:19)
Peter’s ultimate piece of advice… pay very careful attention to Scripture.
It is the Light shining in darkness… the only light we have in this world is Scripture.
The world is dark… filled with greed, misery, wretchedness, & wickedness.
The Bible’s view of this world is that it is dark… as a result of sin.
The world is not getting better, nor can it. It is griped by sin & evil. Satan is the prince & his goal is to steal, kill, & destroy God’s creation. (Jn 10:10)
The big lie is evolution… that man is advancing & progressing, & that thru additional education & knowledge the advance will be accelerated.
To deny truth of world’s darkness is to deny a key principle of the Christian doctrine.
There is no light in this dark & evil world except the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Only source of light in this world is the Word of God.
Pay careful attention & obey of God’s Word… it’s the light for your path. (Ps 119:105)
Jesus is the light of the world… those who follow him will have light of life. (Jn 8:12)
The Bible is realistic… it tells us the truth about ourselves & the world.
Bible says our hearts are desperately wicked & deceitful; who can know it. (Jer 17:9)
How can mankind look at our world & still claim we are good & getting better?
If you want to understand the times in which we live, you must study God’s Word.
We want to believe that social improvements & politicians can solve our problems.
Many preachers are turning from preaching the pure Gospel & the power of H Spirit, to preach a social gospel & the actions that can be taken by mankind.
Only hope for the world lies in God’s program & plans… there is no hope in anything inherent in man, nor any action that man can take.
World is in darkness because of man’s sin, & rebellion against God.
World has periods of apparent light, but always followed by dark era.
Because of sin, there is a curse on mankind & the world. Only answer is what God outlined in Bible He would do & what He is doing.
OT prophecy looked to day that the Messiah would come & deliver us from curse & penalty of sin. Messiah came, but the world loved darkness & rejected Him. (Jn 1:10-11)
World is still dark with sin, but God is calling out a people & redeeming them.
This will go on until Christ returns. When He returns, he will come as King, Lord, & Conqueror. He’ll destroy everything wrong, sinful or evil. He’ll establish His Kingdom of righteousness & a new heaven & new earth. All who believe in Christ will reign with Him & enjoy eternity in His Holy presence. Good news!
Do you believe this good news (Gospel)?
Do you look only unto Jesus… He alone is the light… the way, truth, & the life. (Jn 14:6)
07-19-09