Sermon: A Lamp in the Darkness – 2 Peter 1.12–21 (9/6/26)
Introduction
Scripture
Turn to 2 Peter 1.
We are continuing our journey through Peter’s final letter to the church...
Peter knows that his life is almost over...
He knows that false teachers are coming...
He wants these believers to remain sure and steady after he is gone.
Let us begin by talking about how we view the Bible...
How you view the Bible makes all the difference...
It makes a difference in...
What church looks like...
How you understand salvation...
How you make moral decisions...
How you worship...
How you pray...
How you treat others...
How you use money and possessions...
How you handle suffering...
How you face uncertainty...
How you face death...
What you believe about God’s Word will eventually determine what you believe about almost everything else.
It will determine your response when your marriage is strained...
It will determine whether we organize our church around our preferences or around our assigned mission...
It will determine what we do when obedience costs more than compromise...
It will determine how we respond when someone wounds us deeply...
It will determine how we respond when the culture celebrates what God forbids...
It will determine how we speak when we are angry...
In this next section of 2 Peter 1, we will learn how to view the Bible.
The next steps in 2 Peter 1...
What we have seen...
The Lord has given us everything we need for eternal life and for spiritual thriving...
2 Peter 1.3–4
The key to avoid being useless and fruitless in life is constant growth and "increasing" spiritual maturity.
2 Peter 1.8–9
Today we learn about how God's word is integral to this spiritual growth.
Today's Scripture will answer four essential questions about God's word...
Peter will challenge us to have a high view of Scripture and to pursue God's truth and pay attention to it in greater and greater ways.
Let us walk through 2 Peter 1.12–21 together...
Scripture
2 Peter 1.12 | Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. (CSB)
What things is he reminding them of?
The truths of Scripture...
The message of the gospel...
Peter is not apologizing for a lack of originality.
He regards repetition as part of apostolic faithfulness.
Listen to how Moses said something similar...
Deuteronomy 6.4 | “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 6.5 | Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 6.6 | These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 6.7 | Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 6.8 | Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 6.9 | Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.(CSB)
Do you sometimes think you do not need to come to worship or Sunday School because you already know the Bible?
Peter says we need CONTINUED REMINDERS.
Because we have so many academics in our church...
You are familiar with spaced repetition...
Just as spaced repetition is a key to learning...
Repeated biblical reminders are a key to spiritual growth.
2 Peter 1.13 | I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, (CSB)
A faithful preacher will not bring "a new word from the Lord."
A faithful preacher will seek to teach and explain the old word of Scripture.
If you ever hear a preacher bring a new word from the Lord, leave that church!
2 Peter 1.14 | since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. (CSB)
Peter knows that he is nearing his death.
(He was executed for his faith.)
This is important now because it gives emphasis to the urgency of his plea for people to listen to his teaching.
But this will be important when we get to 2 Peter 4 and we talk about how we should think about the soon return of the Lord.
2 Peter 1.15 | And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure. (CSB)
We will learn in 2 Peter 2 that one of the greatest threats to the church was the coming of false teachers.
How can we ensure that we will not be deceived by false teachers?
We can strain to know God's word better and better.
Notice that Peter also talks of his legacy...
We just had legacy day here at FBC where we talked of the biblical importance of leaving a legacy to the next generation...
Peter desired to leave a legacy of faithful Bible teaching and thorough Scripture understanding.
2 Peter 1.16 | For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (CSB)
Here we see an important distinction between the Christian faith and other religious faiths...
First, the Christian faith is not based on an ideal or a philosophy.
Religions...
Buddhism is centered on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
Taoism is organized around living in harmony with the Tao.
Hinduism is centered on a philosophical view of reality.
Christianity is based on a person, Jesus, and an event, the resurrection.
Second, the Christian faith is based on eye witness testimony.
2 Peter 1.16 | For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (CSB)
We were eyewitnesses...
Many hundreds of people saw the resurrected Christ...
And many or most of those people died because they would not stop talking about what they witnessed.
You might say, "There are many crazy people who die for a lie."
You might point to the 9/11 terrorists...
We are coming up on the 25 year anniversary of 9/11.
The difference between the death of the 9/11 terrorists and Peter and the disciples...
The 9/11 terrorists died for something they believed to be true.
Peter and hundreds of other died for what they SAW to be true.
Sure, people die for a lie all of the time.
But people don't die for something they know to be a lie.
Our faith is built on the eye witness testimony of Peter and the Apostles, and hundreds of other eyewitnesses.
2 Peter 1.17 | For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” (CSB)
2 Peter 1.18 | We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. (CSB)
Now, Peter gets specific about some of his eye witness testimony.
Peter is talking about an event we call the Transfiguration.
The Transfiguration was the moment when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain and his divine glory became visibly apparent before them.
His face shone...
His clothes became dazzling white...
Moses and Elijah appeared with him...
The Father declared from heaven...
“This is my beloved Son... listen to him!”
It gave the disciples a preview of Christ’s coming glory and confirmed his divine identity and authority.
This was just one of many eyewitness experiences Peter and others had of Jesus that confirmed his identity.
2 Peter 1.19 | We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.(CSB)
This verse has multiple parts...
We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed
The prophetic word was the Old Testament.
The Old Testament prophesied the coming Messiah...
Strongly confirmed...
The ministry of Christ, his birth, death, and resurrection and especially his transfiguration all confirmed what the Old Testament had promised.
You will do well to pay attention to it...
Because God's word is true and confirmed, it is valuable.
We will come back to this.
As to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Peter compares Scripture to a lamp...
Psalm 119.105 | Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. (CSB)
Today we live in a dark place...
One day the "morning star" will rise...
This points to the return of Christ...
And then we will no longer need God's word to guide us...
The Greek word for "Morning Star" is φωσφόρος.
Phosphorus is a chemical element (P), that glows in the dark.
In Greek it means the Light Bringer...
Revelation 22.16 | I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star. (CSB)
When the morning star rises, we will be made in character like Christ!
1 John 3.2 | Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. (CSB)
2 Peter 1.20 | Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, (CSB)
Essentially, Scripture does not come from the heart and mind of man...
Scripture comes from the Lord.
2 Peter 1.21 | because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (CSB)
We will get into the details of this verse in a moment...
But here we see the mechanics of how the Scripture got from the mind of God to the pages of our Bible.
Essential Questions About the Word of God
I. What is the purpose of Scripture?
Scripture is a lamp...
What does a lamp do?
A lamp shines light into darkness.
A lamp lets us see and understand things that we could not see or understand without it.
A lamp helps us guide our steps.
A lamp provides safety and protection.
The Scripture does all the same things...
Look back at 2 Peter 1.19...
2 Peter 1.19 | We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (CSB)
And Psalm 119.105...
Psalm 119.105 | Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. (CSB)
A thought experiment...
Imagine you are in the woods on a dark, moonless night...
Then there is some kind of emergency, so without any trails and without any lights, you begin to run North...
What would happen?
You would probably trip over unseen obstacles and fall to the ground...
You would probably step into a hole and twist your ankle...
You would probably run through scrub bushes and limbs and get all scratched up...
You would probably run square into a tree and collapse with a concussion...
By the time you had gone a mile, you would be hobbled and broken...
But what would happen if you had a lamp... a very bright lamp...
That would change everything!
Many of you (me included) are often guilty of running through this life in complete darkness...
We squint and duck and try to see a little...
But we keep tripping, stepping in holes, and running into trees...
Today we are bruised and hobbling through life...
Why?
Because we are living without the light of God's word...
Friends, we need the lamp of God's word...
For marriage...
For parenting...
For wise decision making...
For setting priorities...
For handling money...
For facing obstacles and the stresses of life...
Look at how Paul says this...
2 Timothy 3.15 | and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (CSB)
You cannot know or pursue the Lord and his peace without Scripture...
2 Timothy 3.16 | All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, (CSB)
That covers it all...
2 Timothy 3.17 | so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (CSB)
Your biblical education is the most important education in every pursuit of life.
That does not mean there is no value in other areas of education, but biblical education should be a core component of our educational foundation.
Let's think through this...
Joshua 1.8 | This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. (CSB)
So, that is the PURPOSE of Scripture...
II. How did we get Scripture?
We know that Scripture comes from God, but how?
But how did the Lord provide us with this book we call the Bible?
Possibilities...
Did God write it out in heaven and send it down to man in some physical form like a heavenly leather bound book or an etched golden plate?
That is what Mormons claim for their Scriptures...
Did God send an angel to recite it as people recorded it?
That is what Muslims claim for their Scriptures...
Is the Scripture just the collected musings and traditions of generations of religious people who share a worldview?
That is what Hindus and Taoists claim for their Scriptures...
Christianity makes a different claim.
The Bible did not fall from heaven as a completed book...
Nor did its writers merely record their own religious reflections...
Let us look again at today's passage...
Scripture
2 Peter 1.20 | Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, (CSB)
2 Peter 1.21 | because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (CSB)
What does it mean that men spoke from God...
A. The Scripture is INSPIRED...
Scripture
2 Timothy 3.16 | All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, (CSB)
The Greek word is θεόπνευστος.
God-breathed...
All Scripture is breathed out by God...
B. Man's role in the origin of Scripture...
You might say, "But, I thought that people wrote the Bible books."
We say that Peter wrote 2 Peter...
We say that Paul wrote Romans...
Look back at the end of 1 Peter 1.21.
Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
"Carried along" emphasizes that the ultimate source of the truth was the Holy Spirit.
God used people...
The Holy Spirit of God worked through their...
Vocabulary...
Life experiences...
Thought processes...
To lead them to write inspired truth.
So, the Bible is simultaneously the word of God and the words of human authors.
God did not bypass their minds, personalities, vocabulary, or experiences...
He sovereignly worked through them so that what they wrote was what he intended to say.
Theologians call this verbal plenary inspiration.
Verbal means the WORDS are inspired...
Plenary means ALL of Scripture is inspired...
Inspired means that it all ultimately comes from God...
So, that is how we got Scripture.
III. Why do we believe Scripture?
The question...
Do we...
Do we just believe it because that is what we are supposed to do?
Do we just believe it because that is what parents or culture tells us to do?
Do we just believe it out of some kind of blind leap of faith?
NONE OF THOSE THINGS!
The answer...
I only have time to whet your appetite for a much longer answer...
Everything starts with FAITH...
Faith is the ACTIVE CHOICE to believe...
But the Lord never asks us to embrace...
A blind faith...
A faith with no evidence...
A superstitious faith...
A faith that consists of luck or coincidences...
An irrational faith...
A faith that requires us to abandon reason...
A feelings driven faith...
A faith that is built on emotions...
A faith in faith faith...
A faith that has itself as its evidence...
The Lord invites us to a rational and evidence-supported faith.
Listen to the testimony of Scripture itself...
Peter in 2 Peter 1.16, 18
2 Peter 1.16 | For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.(CSB)
2 Peter 1.18 | We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. (CSB)
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.3–8
1 Corinthians 15.3 | For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (CSB)
1 Corinthians 15.4 | that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (CSB)
1 Corinthians 15.5 | and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. (CSB)
1 Corinthians 15.6 | Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. (CSB)
1 Corinthians 15.7 | Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (CSB)
1 Corinthians 15.8 | Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.(CSB)
John in 1 John 1.1–3
1 John 1.1 | What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—(CSB)
1 John 1.2 | that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— (CSB)
1 John 1.3 | what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.(CSB)
Our faith is reasonable, rational, and evidence based...
My Easter at the Coliseum 2027 thoughts...
Evidences of the Resurrection
My book recommendation...
Not Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler
That is why we believe Scripture...
IV. What should we do with Scripture?
Notice Peter's commitment to Scripture...
2 Peter 1.12–15
2 Peter 1.12 | Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. (CSB)
2 Peter 1.13 | I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, (CSB)
2 Peter 1.14 | since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. (CSB)
2 Peter 1.15 | And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure. (CSB)
Peter's whole life was about reminding people of the truths of Scripture!
Why?
That seems small, pedantic, and pedestrian...
Scripture and drifting...
This really takes us back to the purpose of Scripture and how Scripture is a lamp unto our feet...
Peter was focused so intently on reminding people of the truths of Scripture because he understood the inevitable danger of drifting.
Have you ever been on the beach swimming in the surf with your family...
You look back to the beach after 30 minutes and you recognize you've drifted 100 yards...
We are ALWAYS drifting...
ALL of us are ALWAYS drifting...
YOU are DRIFTING...
That is why we need reminders...
Hebrews 2.1 | For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. (CSB)
The Unseen and Deadly Drift
One of the most dangerous situations long-time Christians find themselves in...
We think we have a handle on...
Scripture
Theology
Christian living
So, we...
Quit growing...
Slip in our commitment to personal Bible study...
Wander away from the regular teaching of God's word...
It is really an especially insidious form of pride.
We see in Peter's commitment continually to remind that we have an obligation to continually be reminded.
We learned this last week as we talked about continuing to grow and increase...
Today, I call you to be more not less diligent about Bible study than ever before.
That is what we should do with Scripture...
Conclusion
Let us take a step back for a quick moment and look at what we have in the Bible...
GOD has given us a message of truth...
Let that sink in...
The honor that is due him...
God has given us a LAMP...
The answers to our questions...
The directions for our travels...
God has given us a LOVE LETTER...
Because this book reveals his character and his love...
May the Bible have the place of honor it deserves in our lives...
May we cherish it by reading it, studying it, and living by it...