The Fisherman's Friend : Knysna NT Series: 1 & 2 Peter

The Fisherman's Friend: 1 & 2 Peter

My objective is to give as good a coverage as space permits of the substance and challenges of Peter's two books.

In an age when the general outlook in both East and West is openly materialistic and when moral standards are in a rapid and seemingly total decline, people seek an anchorage, a spiritual rock. Peter guides us to the Rock. 1 Peter recalls readers to a heavenly and eternal outlook. It gives a clarion call to holiness. It tellingly portrays the transformation of a life submitted to the Lordship of the Divine Son. 1 Peter is a book for this generation.

Though frequently ignored, 2 Peter is very, very much more than an ancient document aimed at long-discarded heresies. It is an abrupt challenge to all forms of immorality and unspiritual teaching. In fact, one of the most important contributions of 2 Peter is its stress on the doctrine of Scripture (1:20-21). Later the doctrine of Scripture again surfaces very forcibly when Peter is talking about Paul's letters and "the other Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16). 2 Peter denounces false teachers in no uncertain terms. Both wrong belief and wrong living go back to Noah's day and even to rebellious angels (2:5 and 4). God will surely judge and punish sin (2:9).