Hope in the Promised Return of Jesus and the Inspired Word

It is week 1 in the NFL, this is the time of year that everyone believes that they can have hope for their team…

If everything goes just right, no injuries to star players, every fan at some level hopes that this is the year their team goes to the Superbowl.

But how much hope do you really have? That can depend greatly on who you are listening to? As a Vikings fan, I want to believe that Kirk Cousins throwing to Justin Jefferson – that should be enough…and yeah, I know their defense stunk last year, but they have new coach there and he’ll fix those problems.

Sure, I can have hope in that, but really, I have no control over it, no impact upon it and really it is just something I wish would happen. There is hope, but not a hope that matters…

Because thankfully, the way the Vikings play week to week has no eternal consequences and based on my aversion to betting anything more than a diet coke, it has not financial consequences for me either…

Are you thankful that that is not the hope that God offers…

Last week, I offered a definition for Biblical Hope that author Paul Tripp proposes…

Biblical Hope = A confident expectation of a guaranteed outcome that changes the way that you live.

When we look at the hope in our lives, sometimes it is weak because we do not have confidence in the outcome.

That would have been the case too in the early church, when false teachers were eroring their confidence in the truth…

So, Peter, at the end of his life, wrote a letter to fellow believers (the same group as in 1 Peter) who were under pressure from false teaching. How would they know what was true, what to believe?

That should cause us to ask, what were these false teachers claiming?

By looking at the whole of the content of this letter, we can begin to deduce some of questions that the original readers may have been dealing with…

1. Can you trust the Bible? Really? I mean other people read the OT and come to different conclusions. Why should you believe the NT properly explains how the story concludes?
2. Is Jesus really returning? He is taking forever! The world is moving on like it always has.
3. Is God really going to judge every person? Come on, seriously! What kind of God is that?

I don’t think these objections have changed much.

Biblical Christianity is under the same basic attacks today.

That is why this book is so important and helpful for us and it is whay we have titled this verse by verse walk through 2 Peter as

Growing in Grace and Knowledge.

Last week – Pastor David helped us see that Peter did not just begin by complaining about the things that others were saying…Peter starts with the positive.

Through God’s divine power, we have everything we need to lead a godly life.

That is a mouthful. And it is significant to the way that we live. What Peter was saying to his readers was telling them that they did not need to seek elsewhere for additional answers…because God had already provided everything needed for life and godliness.

Regardless of the time in which we live, the circumstances we face, or the blessings we enjoy, we have everything we need through God’s power to live a godly life.

Do you believe that? I mean do you really believe that?

• - Are you convinced that through his power he has given you magnificent promises, helped you escape the world’s thinking, and given you the strength to grow your character in discernable ways so that you will be useful and fruitful in the knowledge of the Lord?

I hope you rejoiced in that reality this week and attempted to live it out.

Peter continues his positive argument in v. 16. Please open your Bibles to 2 Peter. That is on page _____ of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you.

From verses 12-15 from last week…it is important to understand what Peter is standing upon…

He said in verse 12 “I will always be ready to remind you of these things…”

Then in verse 15…he tells them that “after my departure, you will be able to call these things to mind…”

Peter had resolved before his death to remind his readers of the truth of the gospel and the need to live virtuously as a response and not as a means to salvation.

Like Peter’s reminders, we too need to be reminded because there are certain truths that are essential to the Christian faith.

Peter does not cover all of these in this letter, but these are the foundational pieces of Christianity…

There is no room for negotiation on these. Some call them the fundamentals of the faith.

They are:

1. The inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture;

2. The deity of Jesus Christ;

3. The virgin birth of Christ;

4. The substitutionary, atoning work of Christ on the cross; and

5. The physical resurrection and the personal bodily return of Christ to the earth.

If You reject one of these elements…you no longer have biblical Christianity.

Our text today addresses two of these fundamentals of the faith.

Thus our title this morning is Hope in the Promised Return of Jesus and the Inspired Word.

Please follow along as I read. This is the Word of the Lord.

READ 2 Peter 1:16-21

With those truths in mind, I would like us to consider three positive arguments why we can count on the Bible’s testimony.

The first argument is Peter stating why they should be listening to him…because His testimony is

I. Because it is Eyewitness Testimony

Verse 16 introduces the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…

The “we” of v. 16 is not some sort of rhetorical we or Peter thinking of the frog in his pocket. The “we” are the apostles.

The churches to whom he is writing were founded upon the apostles’ teaching. And one of the truths which they taught explained about the second coming of Jesus.

“the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rather than see these ideas as separate, I believe the Lord intends for us to see “power” and “coming” together.

When Jesus returns, he will return in power. His return will be glorious. The gospels and letters of the New Testament point to His return over and over again, and yet, there were false teachers who wanted the people to believe otherwise…

Peter will address their questions more fully in chapter 3, but it is clear here that some opposed the return of Jesus. It is no wonder that people opposed it.

The apostles taught and recorded in the Bible that when Jesus returns he will:

1. Destroy his enemies.
2. Take his children home.
3. Come in glory, majesty, and power.
4. Come to make all things right so that what goes in heaven, goes on earth.
5. Come when people are unsuspecting.

Jesus will receive the glory and the honor due him.

But if a person does not like the idea of the Lord destroying his enemies, having complete control, and coming when he desires, then they will find reasons to argue it will not happen.

One of the arguments they had becomes clear in v. 16: You made it all up! You follow cleverly devised tales! Your belief is to help you feel better about your life. You are weak minded and needed crutch so you invented one.

Have you had anyone say this to you? Or at least something similar?

• - You are passionately sharing the gospel and how it has impacted your life.

• - You share the way you came to understand that you were a sinner in need of Savior.

• - You share the beauty of the cross…For God so loved the world…

• - You share how you have hope today based on the promises of God and that even in your trials…God has given you a peace that you never experienced before…

• - Then they just smile at you and they say…”It is nice that Christianity works for you, but it is not for them.”

That is the nice way of saying, you follow cleverly devised tales. Instead of trying to argue with you…they just say…that is not for me.

More likely, what they are really saying is…I don’t want to imagine that God will hold me accountable for anything. I just try to live a full life and then die.

Peter says No way. Not true.

We are not following cleverly devised tales because we are eyewitnesses of his majesty. More specifically …

Eyewitnesses of the transfiguration

2 Peter 1:17-18 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Peter takes us back to the transfiguration and says, “Were the false teachers there when Jesus appeared in his glory on the holy mountain?” I don’t think so.

We saw with our eyes and we heard with our ears the Father himself say, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”

The honor and glory at the beginning of v. 17 is the glorious revealing of Jesus along with God’s verbal affirmation.

There is specific eyewitness testimony.

Peter says that we (we = Peter, James, and John) were eyewitnesses of his majesty and saw the Father giving honor and glory to Jesus at the transfiguration which is exactly what will happen when Jesus returns a second time.

• - He will have all the glory and honor that is due him.

You might be thinking I am stretching things, saying hold your horses Rod…

How does the eyewitness of the transfiguration connect to the second coming?

The transfiguration occurred during Jesus’ earthly ministry and thus would have taken place about 30 years prior to writing 2 Peter.

I am proposing that we can count on the Bible’s testimony and find hope in the promised return of Christ…

I can understand why you may be asking how we get there in this passage when Peter is recalling the transfiguration, not pointing forward to a second coming.

To put this together, we need to see …

The close connection between the transfiguration and the second coming

To explore this connection we need to look at the transfiguration passages in the gospels.

Matthew 16:27-17:2 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. 28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” 1 Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light…. 5 behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

Mark 9:1-2 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” 2 Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;

Luke 9:27 “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Though John was present, He chose to not include the transfiguration in his gospel…

Thus, every account of the transfiguration recorded in the gospels is preceded by Jesus’s statement that some standing here, some of the apostles, would not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom

Then about a week later, the transfiguration gave a sneak peak look to Peter, James, and John about what the second coming will look like.

• - Thus, the transfiguration is biblically connected to the second coming.

Peter is telling his reader…do you remember what you were told about the transfiguration? Amazing yes? that foreshadows how Jesus will powerfully return in his second coming

and we saw and heard it!

Now that Jesus came the first time to redeem people from every tribe, tongue, and nation he plans to return in power and glory to claim his own and vanquish his enemies.

• - We have been spreading this news and we will continue to do so because this is not some cleverly devised tale.

Yet some then, and still some today, simply do not want to believe that Jesus is returning or that God will hold anyone accountable for anything.

What they are really saying is that I do not want to consider what happens after death, because that would force me to answer questions I do not want to face…

Yet look at how they might respond to the life of one who has died before them…with the common phrase – “Rest in Peace.”

But the phrase “rest in peace” is built on this philosophy…We live a full life, die, and enter into eternal rest … which essentially means a state of sleep.

Friends, do not be deceived. To stop here ignores the truth.

The Bible teaches that either we rest in the presence of our savior for all eternity or we suffer for our rebellion awaiting final judgment.

There is no “rest in peace” as our culture typically defines it.

Peter says, do you know how I know?

• - Because I was there!

• - I saw it with my own eyes, I told you about it, and I wrote it down.

But then, why should we believe Peter – what if he just remembers it wrong?

Let me say a few things about memory. I am painfully aware that I struggle to remember everything I have said and done. Is it possible Peter did not remember correctly?

There are certain memories that were so significant that I will never forget them. Can you relate?

• - I lived in Shakopee, MN, and went to the elementary just down the street. In kindergarten, I can remember the day the school bully decided to try to really scare me, blocking me from leaving…You know, I cannot remember his name, but I can remember the one who stepped in to protect me, because it was my older brother Ron…and that bully never looked sideways at me again.

• - Or decades later when our family lived in Hawaii, and we had started to attend Island Family Christian Church…I can only tell you about one sermon the pastor preached. It was a sermon on procrastination because I knew that God had given me everything I needed to believe and the question he placed on my heart – What are you waiting for? That was the day I stood up and gave my life to Christ.

In other words, I cannot always remember exactly what I said 3 weeks ago, but I most certainly remember a few events that happened decades ago because those events were so significant.

I think Peter is making the argument that he will never forget seeing Jesus revealed in glory.

We know that is what it looks like for Jesus to return and therefore we continue to preach that Jesus is coming back.

It is also interesting that 2 Peter 1:17-18 is almost the same as Psalm 2:7. This is a royal Psalm often referring to Jesus. Psalm 2:6-7 says,

But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

For us, we are not listening to Peter’s first-hand eyewitness testimony recounted around the dinner table…

Instead, we are reading his letter to the churches, trying to understand the connection in the gospels to Peter’s writing, and even understanding it in the light of OT revelation.

So again – Why do I have hope in the second coming and in the Word of God…

Our first argument for why we can believe the testimony of the Bible is the truth that it comes from eyewitnesses.

A second reason to trust in the accuracy of the Bible is …

II. Because it is Prophetic Testimony

2 Peter 1:19-21 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The prophetic word is almost certainly a reference to the OT

and probably most specifically those passages that look forward to Messiah in both his suffering and exaltation.

But what is Peter doing here? Is he saying that his eyewitness testimony is not good enough or that something else is needed?

I do not believe that is his purpose. I think there is a better understanding based on how Peter is connecting these truths…

First Peter reminded us that he was an eyewitness that the transfiguration happened and now he is saying that

The transfiguration proves there is a second coming

Because it confirms what was written in the Old Testament…

Peter and the rest of the apostles were not the only ones reading their Old Testament.

• - The religious leaders did too and possible other interested parties.

• - This is all still true today.

• - You can take a Bible class at Purdue University. It will be taught by a person who treats the Bible as literature.

• - There also remains a Jewish community reading the same text who rejects that Jesus is the Messiah.

What Peter is saying is that the transfiguration shows that the apostles understood their OT correctly. Thus, there is a right way and a wrong way to read the Bible.

• - Those who read the OT as if it is just a bunch of cute fairy tales do not understand it correctly.

• - Those who believe in a coming future king without the suffering servant element of the Bible – They were equally wrong.

• - What is so delightful about this passage – and I am sorry that I do not have the time to unpack all the ways this conclusion is supported to include the suffering surrounding the transfiguration passages in the gospels – what is delightful about this passage is that Peter says, the apostles had it right.

Jesus came the first time to suffer, die, and give his life as a ransom for many.

However, he is coming back and we got a glimpse of it.

Peter is saying Remember when we wanted to build an alter to Moses and Elijah?

God made it clear, just Jesus.

At his coming he will receive full honor and glory. Just Jesus. Our interpretation of the OT is correct.

I understand that sometimes will look at us and call us arrogant for saying there is only one way. “Mister smarty pants thinks he has all the right answers.”

Then when we see that it is the very prophetic word of God…It is not arrogant to say “yes, in fact, I do.” Because I am not saying it…God did.

What does this do for the believer? It reminds us…

We must pay careful attention to it

Peter says that the Word, the Scripture, this prophetic word, serves as a lamp shining in a dark place and we do well to pay careful attention to it.

I often ask the question – based on what you hear Sunday, what will change on Monday? How will you pay attention to the Word?

I am painfully aware that one “boring” application for sermons and other teaching is read your Bible more.

• - We have all heard it countless times.

• - But if we are honest we might also want to acknowledge that we have not heeded it to the degree we should.

• - Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

• - Your commandments are like a lamp and instruction like light.

• - How shall a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your world.

I do not want to simply say something you have heard many times … read and study your Bible.

But folks we need it –

• - I had someone tell me that they knew all the Christian answers and had heard it all a million times.

• - I thought that was impressive since I have not heard it all a million times.

• - But after a few basic questions. Here was the sad reality, what they knew, really had no depth and their knowledge could not answer the questions that were on the heart.

Friends, sometimes we think we know our Bibles better than we do. Here are 4 steps you can take to greatly improve your knowledge of the prophetic word.

1. Read the NT from Matthew to Revelation.
2. Read the entire Bible.
3. Write a 25 word summary on every book of the Bible.
4. Write a general outline of every book of the Bible.

Am I scaring you? Good…but remember, I am not asking you to do this in a day or even a year…you can set this goal, then stick to it one book at a time…

You would be amazed at how much you will know of this prophetic Word … paying attention to the lamp shining in a dark place.

After all we need the Lord’s word to navigate our world.

• - We need it to have courage to face the ongoing opposition to our ideas (Marriage, family)

• - We need it to resist temptations.

• - We need it to live wisely and experience God’s blessings.

We need it until he returns

Verse 19 reminds us that we will not need it forever.

We need it until the day dawns which equals the day of Jesus’ return. At that time, Jesus arising in our hearts means that we will fully know him.

In that day, we will no longer need the Bible, for we too will be eyewitnesses of the power and coming of the Lord, and we will experience His majestic glory first hand being able to find our truth in Him alone.

The Bible says in 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

When I think about the return of Jesus, it is mind blowing.

I have never lived in that world. My imagination is far too narrow to fully comprehend…but then…

I will know the Lord perfectly, there is no need for a communion celebration for we will be with him, and there is no more death, pain, trial, and trouble.

Why can we have hope in the second coming and in the bible?

• - It is the eyewitness testimony of men

• - It is the prophetic testimony of God’s Word given.

• - and The third and final reason this morning …

III. Because it is the Holy Spirit’s testimony

2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Peter lays down the gauntlet here in one of the most important passages about the Bible. If this were the end of the letter, this would certainly be a drop the mic moment…

Some authors like to focus on origin … that is to say … that every prophecy comes from God…seems like that should be enough wouldn’t you say.

Then others like to add the element of understanding (interpretation). Or in other words, determining who gets to deceide what it means…

Peter is not only emphasizing that OT prophecy came from God, but also that the NT apostles understood it correctly and why.

This explains why we put the NT on our OT and stop.

Why, for example, do we believe the NT belongs at the end of the OT?

Orthodox Jews reject the NT as given by God. We disagree.

Why, do we reject the apocrypha, yet the Catholic church includes it and reads from it?

Why do we reject the myriad of other “gospels” or “letters” written around the first century?

This is a pivotal question.

Why do we limit our Bibles to the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments and reject all other attempts to remove some or add others?

A. Because the Bible is not a product of human will

Peter uses these verses to show that his interpretation of OT prophecy

• - namely that Jesus will return in glory and power

• - which is reinforced by the transfiguration which he saw and heard –

• - is the correct interpretation because it came from God just as the original prophecies themselves were not the product of human will.

• - What person in 1500 BC sees the Israelites in Egypt and decides to create a grand scheme to foreshadow a coming Messiah. Who invents the biblical story of Genesis 1-11?

• - What human will want to invent the suffering Messiah? Who would create a Savior that we would reject?

• - What man would write that we are all so depraved that the only solution was to kill the King

Peter says, none of this is the product of human ingenuity and desire.

B. Because the Bible is a product of the Holy Spirit moving the authors

You will hear your pastors use the phrase “the Bible is inspired. We get this from

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Yet when you read the 66 books written by about 40 men

• - I say about 40 because we do not know who the writer of Hebrews was…

• - Yet across the books, there is variety in the language used and writing styles

• - Which is why some people would argue the Bible is just a book written by men

But we know that is not true based on 2 Timothy and then 2 Peter adds the element of process.

So then we ask again…

How is the Bible inspired by God given the involvement of people?

Men were moved by the Holy Spirit.

This is such a beautiful truth because it explains how people could be involved in giving us the Bible without messing it up.

In so doing, he provides one of the most important passages on why we believe the Bible is true.

And it helps answer questions like –

How do we know that the 27 books of the NT form the proper closure to the 39 books of the Old?

Because the apostles understood the OT properly and wrote the NT accurately because the Spirit was actively working through them to get it right.

2 Peter 1:20-21 is very similar to a passage in the gospels that describes the incarnation.

Mary was overshadowed by the Spirit.

This goes back to one of those fundamentals of the faith again…You see, we had a problem.

How can Mary, a sinner, be involved in the birth of Jesus without corrupting him?

• - The Catholic church solved that by saying she was perfect.

• - We solve it by looking at the text and noticing the Holy Spirit’s direct involvement.

Those who wrote the Bible got it right because the Spirit ensured they got it right.

When we think of the Bible as inspired…

It means that the product, the words, are the words of God

and it means that the Spirit’s work was the process ensuring that it was all accurate…and

C. Because the whole story fits together

In studying this passage, it took me time and the help of other pastors to fully understand why Peter used the second coming as the key theological concept to focus on the inspiration of Scripture.

I believe one answer is that the false teachers were discounting it.

That certainly makes sense. But could there be more?

Peter wanted us to find our hope in the Inspired Word…

Think about the definition I gave for Biblical Hope…a confident expectation of a guaranteed outcome that changes the way we live…

I want to throw out a suggestion to you why Peter says we can have hope.

Peter looks at the second coming as the fulfillment of the story line—the culmination, the guaranteed outcome of God’s redemptive plan.

As such, what more important area could he have discussed? What better truth could he have used than pointing to God’s final step in His plan

-In other words, Peter uses the end to show that the Bible has it all … beginning to the end.

Giving us Hope in the return of Jesus and in the inspired Word that can change the way we live

This message is primarily about the Hope available in the Inspired Word of God.

As we have unpacked these verses, I have suggested that the passage makes three arguments:

• - Eyewitness testimony,

• - Prophetic testimony,

• - and the Holy Spirit’s testimony.

• - But is also highlights the importance of the second coming of Jesus and the inspired Word’s focus on the end.

• - There is hope in Jesus’ return

May the Lord help us have great confidence in the Word,

a commitment to knowing it so that we might spot false teaching,

and that we might be ready for the return of Jesus.

As demonstrated by how we choose to live today.