2 Peter - 4 Sermons From The 2013 Men's Retreat at Risen Life Church
This
year for our 2013 Men’s Retreat at Risen Life Church we selected the book of 2
Peter to ruminate on for the weekend.
Our goal was to quickly walk through an entire Biblical epistle, to
spend the weekend thinking about a complete thought from Peter. To accomplish our goal, we had four
preachers preaching four sermons from the book. We also supplied a popular level commentary for everyone
that attended. Discussion groups
followed each preaching session. In these groups the men at our retreat had the
opportunity to discuss what they were hearing, respond, and minister to one
another. This was all done in the
context of a beautiful house high in the mountains near Heber, UT.
Now
if you know anything about 2 Peter, it is a ‘teethy’ book; in other words it
bites deep into your soul in both good and painful ways. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:1 that his
reason for writing both of his epistles is to stir up his listeners to a
‘sincere mind’ by reminding them of what the prophets and the apostles have
spoken about. This idea of a
‘sincere mind’ is more than just understanding, but it is a settled condition
of the soul; that we would remember the things that God has spoken in the
prophets and through Christ and the apostles, and that we would settle in our
hearts and minds to live our lives accordingly. The key thing to remember with 2 Peter is that it is written
to believers. Peter speaks of his
audience in 2 Peter 1:1 as “those who have obtained a faith of equal standing
with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” This is a fantastic statement of our
standing before Christ as equal to that of the apostles. In addition, Peter continual uses language
of ‘beloved’ throughout signifying the saved status of his listeners (ex 2
Peter 3:1, 3:14). Whatever bite we
feel as we read through 2 Peter has to be balanced with the elect status of the
listeners. The warnings and
condemnations we hear in 2 Peter then act more like the warning passages of
Hebrews; motivating the elect to live lives of godliness in the face of
judgment with the comfort of knowing that God will ultimately deal with the ungodly.
Kevin
Lund tackled 2 Peter 1:1-15. Here
Peter is motivating us to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter
1:10). God has elected us to salvation
and has given us “everything pertain[ing] to life and godliness” (2 Peter
1:3). Because God has saved us and
we have accepted His gift of salvation, we then are free to pursue godly living
through growing in faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness,
godliness, brotherly affection, and love.
We must make sure 2 Peter’s call to godliness is set upon the foundation
of our election. To make our
election based on our efforts at godliness is preaching a un-gospel moralism
that will not save.
Ben
Pierce preached through 2 Peter 1:16-2:22. Ben dealt with this extensive section on false
prophets. Here Peter is dealing
with the false that had arisen and are promised to arise among God’s people (2
Peter 2:1). These false prophets
are marked by their enslavement to their passions, preach a gospel of tolerance
for their own personal gain, and lead many astray. Peter is clear to show their destiny as destruction
appointed by God. These false
prophets are contrasted with true prophets that speak “carried along by the
Holy Spirit” and not from selfish motives (2 Peter 1:21). As Christians we must watch out for
false prophets among us and make sure that we do not become a false prophet
ourselves.
I,
Jared Jenkins, preached 2 Peter 3:1-14.
Here Peter is again stirring up the souls of his beloved listeners. In this chapter he is motivating them by
way of reminding the beloved of what the prophets and apostles have said about
the last days and the return of Christ.
When Christ returns He is bringing judgment to the ungodly and salvation
to the elect. It is this reality
that motivates Christians in two ways to persevere. Because we know God will judge the deeds of all men, we want
to strive for holiness, knowing that we are only justified before God because
of what He has done for us on the cross.
Secondly, we are motivated by Christ’s return because for those who
believe, the world will be remade, a new heavens and earth, where we will dwell
with Christ forever in a Eden-like state, perfect. Revelation 21:1-8 gives us a great picture of the new
heavens and new earth. In the end
we want to be found “without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Peter
3:14). This only comes through
resting in Christ’s work on the cross.
Bryan
Catherman closed out the retreat by working through 2 Peter 3:14-18. 2 Peter is a very sharp book and it was
Bryan’s job to ‘put ice on our wounds.’
He reminded us of our election and delved into the only way we can be
found spotless, without blemish, and at peace. This can only be accomplished through being clothed in Christ’s
righteousness by receiving His free gift of salvation.
The
weekend was blast and God’s Spirit definitely moved in our men. I highly encourage you to listen to the
4 sermons below and spend a little time thinking about 2 Peter.
LISTEN
TO THE SERMONS HERE:
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