Latest / Scripture Central / #48 Scripture Central Come Follow Me Insights (Nov 20 - Nov 26) 1 and 2 Peter

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#48 Scripture Central Come Follow Me Insights (Nov 20 - Nov 26) 1 and 2 Peter · Scripture Central

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Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Come
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Follow Me Insights with Taylor and Tyler presented by Scripture
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Central. We use a lot of visuals in our
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videos, so if you want to see the visuals, we invite you to
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find us on YouTube. Thanks for listening and enjoy.
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I'm Taylor and I'm Tyler. This is Scripture Central's
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come, follow me insights today the 1st and 2nd epistles of
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Peter. This is a real treat to get the
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words of Peter, the chief Apostle, the one who was next to
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the Savior, in so many of those incredible stories that we read
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back in the Gospels. And quite frankly, the one who
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seemed to get the most corrective feedback from the
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Savior, the one who was constantly doing things and then
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finding out after, oh, I probably should have done that a
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little differently. But he kept taking it meekly,
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humbly, and because of that the Lord kept giving that
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instructive feedback. And he grew and became this
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incredible apostle from that first miracle on the fishing
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boat back on Luke 5IN Luke 5, until we get to hear this first
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and second general epistle Peter, where you see him
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speaking in very beautiful language.
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In fact, Joseph Smith said that Peter penned the most sublime
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language of any of the apostles. That's a pretty high praise
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coming from Joseph Smith. Sublime language is a is a good
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description of what we get here. So let's begin by talking about
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his audience. And you get that in verse one.
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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers
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scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
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Bethenia. If you if you unpack a couple of
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these words for a moment, you'll notice strangers.
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These are people who are not in their homeland.
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They're exiles. They're they're refugees, if you
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will, that they're they're displaced Saints.
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They feel out of sorts. Now, we could stop there and
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move on. Or we could say, hmm, I wonder,
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I wonder if there's some symbolic instructive element
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going on here, that All Saints of God through the ages to 1
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degree or another are strangers, where that heavenly element is
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now in a worldly environment surrounded by people,
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encouraging you to do things that that spirit inside of you
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finds very foreign and doesn't want to do.
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I wonder if we could take the writings of first and Second
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Peter a little more personally than maybe we have in the past
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and say, even though I don't live in those exact locations
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listed in verse one, we are all strangers in a in a symbolic
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sense as disciples of Jesus Christ in this particular world.
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This is a very powerful word. That all of us, at some point in
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our lives, feels this way. We feel out of place, that
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perhaps we are in the wrong crowd or in the wrong location.
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Sometimes even in life, we're like, how long will this life
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last, this, this suffering that's enduring, where I'm
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separated, I'm a stranger from God.
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And so we can see this symbolically.
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And so Peter is addressing people who were essentially
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resident aliens or foreigners living in the Roman Empire, who
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did not have full privileges, didn't have full freedom.
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They were living in the land of the Roman Empire, but they
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themselves, many of them apparently were not full Roman
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citizens. And because of that, because
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that they were different. There was a lot of persecution,
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a lot of problems that they experienced because the larger
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culture did not welcome them fully and fully embrace them
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into the into the Roman world. You know, building on that, if
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if you look at what we're, what we're going to study today in
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first and second Peter, look at the overarching power and
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significance of agency, this idea of an independent agent,
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each person has this capacity to decide for themselves what
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they're going to think, what they're going to say, what
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they're going to do, how they're going to live their life.
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And you have heavenly influences, You have adversarial
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influences acting on them from below.
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And then you have just traditional natural influences
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in the world around them, working on them, trying to push
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that individual One Direction or or encourage them to move One
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Direction or another. So sometimes people feel like in
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the gospel, that it's too constraining, it's too
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controlling. Consider that everywhere you go
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in life, everyone you meet, every organization you interact
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with, everything you you engage with on the Internet is trying
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to affect your agency in One Direction or another.
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So don't be surprised when you go to church and you're being
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told what to do, how to do it, and how to better be a disciple
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of Christ. That is what church is supposed
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to do, is help us understand how to best use our agency.
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It would be a terrible thing if we went to church and we're just
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told do whatever you want to do because whatever we want to do
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as natural, fallen, carnal, central, devilish people in this
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particular world, we're going to naturally gravitate downward.
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So what a privilege it is when you get a book like this where
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you're going to see Peter reaching out to these people who
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are being dragged down. They're being persecuted.
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They're being exiled because they aren't worshipping the
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idols of these cities, of this Roman Empire, of this Pagan
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system that has been set up. So they're seen as the outcasts.
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They're going to experience all kinds of persecution.
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And you'll watch as we progress through these epistles, how many
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times Peter foreshadows the the terrible persecutions that they
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are going to face, that they are already facing, but more
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specifically that they will face in the future.
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Interesting is not that one of the roles of the Prophet is to
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stand as a watchman on the tower and see things that are afar off
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and warn people in the present day to prepare them for what is
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to come. What a privilege it is to have
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prophets, seers, and revelators on the earth with with us today.
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But it doesn't do us much good to have them on the earth if we
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don't listen to them, if we don't pay attention to what
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they're saying and actually believe what they're saying
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because we're too busy listening to the voices of the world.
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So watch for that theme as we go through these two books today,
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and let's jump into verse 2. And here's what Peter continues
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on. We've talked about being a
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stranger, but yet, even though you might feel like you're
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different. God Alexis or He's chosen US
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Verse 2. Elect according to the
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foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
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Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
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Christ. Grace unto you and peace be
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multiplied. Isn't that I, I I love the fact
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that he used that word Elect. It's the Greek word eclectos,
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which means chosen. It means the favorite, the the
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one who is elected. Now that's really odd, because
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here's Peter, the chief apostle, writing to these people who in
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verse one, he called them strangers.
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You're these exiles. And then in verse two, it's as
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if you're not citizens. But in verse two, he then calls
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them the elect. You're the ones who are elected.
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You're the favorite. You're the chosen ones.
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Well, I have a question for you. Who voted for them?
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Who voted for you? The election was held and you
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were elected. Who did the electing?
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Who did the voting? And I think the best answer is
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God and his Son, Jesus Christ did the electing and they voted
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for you. Now as an independent agent, God
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put all of that vote, all of that trust, all of that election
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into me. Now the question that remains
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is, am I willing to vote for him, to elect him as the the
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primary leader in my life, and to follow him and to take the
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the rulings or the judgment or the law that comes from he who
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is elected? It's this beautiful interplay
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back and forth that long before God asked me and you to have
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faith in Him. He clearly put all of his faith
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and trust in US. And it's it's just this
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beautiful interplay to be able to love him because he first
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loved us. Peter then builds on that.
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That election means we are blessed.
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We see that then turning back to God verse three, in fact verses
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3 to 12 in the original Greek are a long extended single
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sentence, actually very beautiful long extension.
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Of this idea of God's blessedness, we'll just read
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verse 3 here. Just to give you a sense of what
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Peter's trying to redirect their thinking about despite all that
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you're experiencing and suffering, let's remember what
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is true about God. Blessed be the God and Father of
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our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant mercy,
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interesting. Of all the qualities you can
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talk about, we're going to focus on mercy, which, according to
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his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively
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hope. By the resurrection of Jesus
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Christ from the dead. So can you see the significance
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of the fact that you and I were born into a corruptible body in
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a corruptible world, a a very corruptible environment and
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culture. And he's Peter's now, using this
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beautiful comparison to a lively hope that is now born in us.
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When we are reborn because of the resurrection of Jesus
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Christ, that we get this new birth, It's a new life in
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Christ. But we're still living in the
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corruptible environment. The environment has not changed.
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The changing is not external. The change has come internally
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in our in our very being, not in just who we are, but in who
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we're growing to become. Now look what he says in verse 4
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to an inheritance incorruptible. You usually get inheritance from
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parents. Well, what is the new parent
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that we've been adopted by in this spiritual rebirth process
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of becoming a part of this covenant?
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People, this elect group, this chosen group.
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It's Jesus Christ who becomes the the symbolic father of that
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spiritual rebirth. So we now have an inheritance
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through him, and it's an inheritance incorruptible and
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undefiled, and it fadeth not away and it's reserved in heaven
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for you. Now consider his 1st century
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audience who are under intense persecution from without.
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Here's Peter the chief Apostle reminding them.
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Endure it well. Jesus Christ endured infinite
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external persecution. He endured it perfectly, and if
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you'll follow his example as his adopted child in the covenant,
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then you have this beautiful inheritance reserved in heaven
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for you. And he goes on to say, look at
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verse 6, wherein you get greatly rejoice, though now for a season
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if need be, ye are in heaviness through many folds temptations.
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Or trials or challenges. Yeah.
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Thank you for that clarification.
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Because it's not just. It's not just what the devil is
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tempting me to do. It's it's physical, mortal life.
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It's hard at times, Physically, mentally, emotionally,
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relationally. They're all these things that go
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on that make it make it really difficult as an independent
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agent to want to move forward with hope or with faith.
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And I love how scriptures and prophets can give us those
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little infusions of of belief and encouragement and motivation
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to keep getting up and keep putting one faith filled
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footstep in front of the other and moving forward on that
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covenant path, even though it sometimes feels like all is lost
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when. We get this in verse 7, this
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this drive to encourage the Saints to keep pressing forward
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and to put into context. The understanding of what it
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means when you suffer and struggle and deal a challenge,
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that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of
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gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire, might be found
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unto praise and honor and glory at the period of Jesus Christ.
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So whenever you are suffering or struggling, just put into
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context. All of that will refine you and
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make you more precious than gold when God comes to.
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Collect his treasure and we are that treasure.
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In fact, we hear Peter talking about being the precious
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treasure that he quotes from from the Old Testament.
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Yeah, which, Which by the way, I I don't know about you, but that
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that's not really the message I want to hear as a natural man.
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The the, the, the natural part of me doesn't want to hear.
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If you'll be good, if you'll just be a good boy and keep the
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commandments, then you're going to be OK.
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Through these fiery trials, through these many fold trials
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and temptations that are going to come your way.
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Through all the persecutions, through I don't want to hear
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that. The natural part of me wants to
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hear. Look, if I keep the
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commandments, then God's going to make my life easy and all of
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my trials and tribulations are going to go away.
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All of my children are going to perfectly believe everything and
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follow the covenant path forever.
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There's going to be no setbacks. That's what I want to hear.
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But that's not what I get in Scripture.
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And that wasn't the story of Jesus Christ's life.
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And it doesn't seem to be the story of any of his prophet's
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life or any of these good examples through the history of
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time, or even for that matter, in our day today.
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You look at our leaders none of them have had a life of just
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absolute peace and prosperity and ease.
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They have all come through fiery trials of 1 degree or another
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and been refined through that process.
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So you see Peter giving these illusions of of future struggles
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and wrestles. Don't be don't be frustrated
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with God when bad things happen to good people.
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Which now brings us to verse 8. And, and I would, I would pre
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empt verse 8 with a question by saying how do you actually come
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to know somebody whom you have never met in person you've never
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had a conversation with in this life?
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You've only heard stories about them, you've read things about
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them. How do you really come to know
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them better in that with those constraints?
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Look at verse 8, whom having not seen or Speaking of us in
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relation to Jesus Christ. And in this context Peter's
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talking to people who are scattered about, who never had
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the opportunity to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, like Peter did.
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He says, But you haven't seen him, but ye love him in whom
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though now ye see him not yet believing, ye rejoice with joy,
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unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith,
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even the salvation of your souls.
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I love this idea that if I want to get to know the Lord better,
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I have his words. I have many of his deeds
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recorded before me. I get to know Him better by
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loving Him more, trusting Him more, and trying to emulate His
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example more every single day. That's how I come to know Him is
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as His image becomes engraving upon my countenance, as He
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shapes my use of agency to more fully be in accordance to His
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will. I I'd propose that your first
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views of the Savior will come as reflections in a mirror rather
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than in a visitation from Him. He will help you become more
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like him as an adopted child in the covenant that He offers us.
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And to provide more encouragement to these Saints
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scattered abroad, he moves on in verses 18 and 19 and says, for
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as much as you know, that you were not redeemed with
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corruptible things as silver and gold.
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From your vain conversations received by traditions from your
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father. So he's basically calling out
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the Greco Roman Pagan world. Those things aren't saving you.
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What has saved you? What is the source of the joy
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and your hope? Verse 19.
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But with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without
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blemish and without spot. And then he closes this first
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chapter with this beautiful analogy.
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Look at verse 22, seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying
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the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the
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brethren. See that ye love one another
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with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not of
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corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God
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which liveth and abideth forever.
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And then he does this. So this comparison is everybody
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understands human birth and and this newness of life, this new
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baby that's born. And now he's making this
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comparison to this rebirth process that Jesus Christ offers
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each of us. And then the comparison
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continues in verse 24 when he says, for all flesh is as grass
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and the glory of man as the flower of grass.
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Well, guess what happens with grass.
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It withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
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The most beautiful grass in its season will eventually come into
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the fall and into the winter of its cycle, and die.
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But he's making the comparison now in verse 25.
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But the word of the Lord endureth forever, And this is
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the word by which or which by the gospel is preached unto you.
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Everything the world offers us is of the world.
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It's of flesh. It's.
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It it's corruptible. It has a clock ticking when it
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will expire. But the things that come to our
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spirits, to our souls from heaven, they're incorruptible.
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And they are living water. They're the living stone.
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It's the living bread, the bread of life.
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It's all of these symbols that point us back to Jesus Christ,
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which is this permanence, this eternal perspective.
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One of the things I love about Peter is his love for scripture,
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and there are more than 20 references to the Old Testament
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that Peter has packed into this epistle, and we'll just call out
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one here. We'll probably talk about
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others. But if you turn to Isaiah
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chapter 40 verses 6 to 8, you will see that it has been
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replicated here in first Peter chapter one verses 24 and 25
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now. There's some interesting
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significant things about why Peter has chosen this portion of
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Isaiah to support his message to these struggling Saints.
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Now Book of Isaiah is a very long book, 66 chapters, and it
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turns out the 1st 39 chapters. You might summarize it as God's
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expression of the consequences that happen when people don't
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stay faithful to him. And it turns out those first 39
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chapters of Isaiah. There's lots of beautiful
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things, but there's also quite a bit of discussion of destruction
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or challenge or suffering. And Chapter 40 is the trophy
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chapter of Isaiah. What I mean by that is trophies.
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In the ancient world, when you were in battle, if you started
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winning, the army that you're beating would drop all their
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weapons and their gear and run. And so trophy literally means
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the turning point. And so if you're the winning
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army, you'll be able to collect all the gear that the other army
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left behind, and you would show them as symbols that you have
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won the battle. And it's the turning point when
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the other army turns and run runs.
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Isaiah 40 is a turning point. It's a trophy moment where God
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is now focusing on the joy and the blessings and the future
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possibilities of His Kingdom. And if you look at chapters 40
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to 66 in Isaiah, they're all about the comfort, the salvation
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of God. That is the key emphasis, and
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chapter 40 is the foundation for the rest of that portion, that
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rest of Isaiah. And it's interesting that Peter
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knows this and he calls out the most significant chapter in
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Isaiah for highlighting God's comfort that with God, even
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though we live in a world following world of difficulty,
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God's comfort is there and we can also have our turning
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moments where we can collect the trophies of salvation that God
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has given us. So to to build on that, in
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chapter two, he launches into quoting another of these Old
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Testament passages from Isaiah, chapter 28.
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If if you look at verse six, he's he's talking about this
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chief cornerstone that the builders are going to reject,
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but it becomes the chief cornerstone.
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Well, that's the same verse that he and John had quoted to the
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Sanhedrin back in Acts chapter three and four when you had that
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experience of him helping that lame man at the gate of the
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temple be healed. And that caused 5000 people to
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believe and and to start following that that group.
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So here he's using that same scripture again, which focuses
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on Christ being the chief cornerstone.
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But brothers and sisters, a building doesn't consist of just
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the chief cornerstone. The chief cornerstone is the
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most important part of the construction process, to be
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sure, no question. But the point of laying a chief
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cornerstone is then to be able to build on that solid
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foundation and that starting point.
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The rest of the house, the rest of the building.
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Well, what is that? That's where you and I come in.
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So in in all of our Speaking of Christ, and rejoicing in Christ,
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and prophesying of Christ to you secondary 525 The point of that
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is to bring as many people as possible into that family of
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Christ, into that structure that we're building.
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Let's look at verse 8 and a stone of stumbling on a rock of
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offense, even to them which stumble at the word being
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disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed.
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So he sets us into this construction, metaphor or
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analogy to say if we're not careful, just like the chief
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priests stumbled over the stone that becomes the chief
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cornerstone Jesus Christ himself.
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The point is, let's not get too prideful ourselves and pat
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ourselves on the back and say, well, at least we weren't that
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bad. If we're not careful, we're
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going to do the same thing that the chief priests did, just not
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with the living Christ himself, but with His teachings.
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We're going to stumble at His Word.
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We're going to stumble at the directions we receive from
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heaven, at the the law, the the commandments that He gives us,
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the directions he gives us through His prophets, sears and
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revelators, and through the Holy Ghost.
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And so then he follows it up with one of the sweetest verses
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in all of Peter's writings in and probably in all of the New
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Testament itself. Look at verse 9.
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But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy
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nation, a peculiar people. Many of you would hear that and
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think to yourself, should I be offended?
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Peter called me a peculiar people.
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Usually the word peculiar means odd, weird out of the ordinary,
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which quite frankly fits. But if you look in in the
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footnote AT9F, it tells you that the Greek word here means
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purchased, preserved and the Hebrew word means special
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possession or property. It's not odd in the peculiar way
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that we use that word today, or or really strange and weird.
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It's this special possession, this purchased, preserved thing.
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And what was it purchased by? By Jesus Christ, through His
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infinite suffering, His blood that was shed for us, his life
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that was given for us. We are a peculiar people, that
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we should show force the praises of Him who has called you out of
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darkness into his marvelous light.
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So again, Peter, who's just a master with the scriptures in
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the Old Testament. In particular, he is quoting
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Exodus chapter 19 verses 5 to 6. Let's just give the context
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again. If you want to talk about the
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origin story for the Israelites, their founding moment, it is
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being brought out of bondage from Egypt by these glorious
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signs and powers of manifestations from God.
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He leads them out in the wilderness.
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He leads them out of darkness with the light his pillar of
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light. Notice we human that have that
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here in Peter verse 9. What's interesting about Exodus
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chapter 19 is that this is the time when God is preparing the
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people. To receive His covenant
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instruction at Mount Sinai. In fact, we get the 10
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commandments, the very next chapter in Exodus, chapter 20.
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But God is trying to lay out in advance who He is and who they
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are. He's trying to define who the
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covenantal parties are. He wants them to understand why
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they're being invited into this covenant relationship with the
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divine king. He's trying to say as a divine
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king, you are my peculiar or special treasure.
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That has been redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
28:15
You might remember that they had to slaughter lambs at Passover
28:19
so that the destroying Angel would not affect their homes.
28:23
And Peter is calling upon this memory.
28:25
It's called an illusion. And listeners to this could go
28:30
back into the scriptures and say man, there's so much that Peter
28:32
is packing into his message, which is 1 little reference.
28:36
And so the invitation for us is we are still in that covenant
28:40
relationship. God has not changed.
28:43
He has not broken the covenant. The covenant is alive and well.
28:46
It is still available for us, and we still are the peculiar
28:50
treasure. Even if we feel like we're
28:52
strangers, we are still the chosen treasure.
28:57
And I love how he he takes that now.
29:00
And by the way, as Taylor's mentioned, he knows his
29:03
scriptures and and they're just part of his, part of his flow of
29:07
thought. He he's using their words and so
29:10
he goes straight from this idea from Exodus and then in verse 10
29:15
he jumped straight into this covenantal language from the
29:19
book of Hosea. You you in essence get the
29:21
entire story of the first few chapters of Hosea in verse 10
29:26
and 11, which in times past were not a people, but are now the
29:32
people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have
29:36
obtained mercy. You've gone from the the flesh,
29:40
the world, the the culture that you're born into, to now the
29:45
eternal, the heavenly, the the divine grace of Jesus Christ,
29:51
where you are His people and you have obtained mercy.
29:55
And then verse 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as
30:00
strangers and pilgrims. These resident aliens, these
30:04
sojourners in a foreign land, abstain from fleshy lusts which
30:10
war against the soul. So there's a powerful lesson in
30:14
here for us today to to consider their situation back then.
30:18
These these strangers who, these pilgrims living in this land
30:22
where the world sets up all of these things to try to turn our
30:27
attention away from God and away from his prophets and away from
30:31
from true wisdom. And it's often done in the form
30:35
of things that are are enticing or amusements.
30:39
Now Taylor's talked about this word before it's powerful
30:42
amusements. Yeah, so the base of the word
30:44
amusement is the word muse. And in Greek, there was this
30:48
idea that the Muses were those who It was their role to capture
30:52
people's attention. Now it could be for good, like
30:55
the word museum is based on the same word or even the word
30:59
music. Right can be very soothing to
31:01
the soul. It also can be very distracting.
31:03
And so amusement means you're in the process or state of being
31:08
distracted or pulled into your attention, drawn away from
31:12
something, and the muse is drawing you into focusing on
31:16
something else. So again, a museum.
31:18
It tends to focus your attention on some theme, object or idea.
31:23
Music Attends intends to get your attention on one core thing
31:28
again. Amusement.
31:30
Amusement isn't always a negative thing, but if we're not
31:33
careful about how our attention is drawn away, we might lose one
31:37
of the most powerful resources we all have in common, and that
31:42
is our attention. And how we spend our attention
31:47
is what we receive in life. And if we allow amusements that
31:52
we do not carefully choose and control, our attention will be
31:56
diverted from things. That one may be uplifting.
31:59
So we should be using our agency to allow God's Muse His music,
32:05
His His Museum of Truth to draw us and our attention to Him
32:11
versus the amusements of the world which all of those
32:15
amusements of the world generally play upon the fleshy
32:19
lusts which war against the soul.
32:22
The way he describes that in verse 11.
32:24
Now if you jump over to verse 19, it says, For this is think
32:28
worthy. If a man for conscience toward
32:30
God endure grief suffering wrongfully, it's praiseworthy If
32:36
somebody suffers grief wrongfully, that's a wonderful
32:40
thing. And then he asks a follow up
32:42
question. For what glory is it if when ye
32:45
be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
32:51
In other words, if I break the law and then get punished by the
32:54
law, and I take it, well he's saying, well yeah, you should
32:57
take it. Well you broke the law.
33:01
But he's talking to a whole group of people who more often
33:04
than not are being punished for things that they didn't deserve
33:08
to be punished for, but based on the world's judgement that that
33:12
punishment is being meted. Outlook at the last part.
33:15
But if when you do well and suffer for it and you take it
33:20
patiently, this is acceptable with God.
33:24
But I think one of the underlying messages of that
33:27
concept in verse 19 and 20 is endure all punishment and all
33:31
suffering to the best of your ability and whether you deserve
33:35
it or not, I think that's that's kind of implied in all of here.
33:40
But then he ties it in to the perfect example of Jesus Christ,
33:45
and he even sets that up in verse 2021.
33:47
For even here unto were ye called, Because Christ also
33:51
suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow
33:54
his steps. And by the way Christ suffered
33:57
for us, not because he deserved even a single particle of that
34:02
suffering. He deserved 0 suffering, and
34:05
instead he received infinite suffering, and he endured it
34:10
well. So he once again is the great
34:13
exemplar here. And then he finishes down with
34:17
examples of of how Christ did that and bore our sins.
34:23
And he finishes with verse 25. For ye were as sheep going
34:26
astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and Bishop of
34:31
your souls. The overseer.
34:33
Beautiful words here. Now we jump into chapter 3.
34:37
Let's skip over to verse 8. Finally, be all of 1 mind having
34:42
compassion one of another love as brethren, be pitiful, be
34:47
courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing,
34:52
but contrary wise blessing. Knowing that you are thereunto
34:55
called that you should inherit a blessing.
34:58
Once again you could read verse 8:00 and 9:00 and think, oh,
35:00
those are good principles. Those are good concepts.
35:03
No, they're way better than just good principles and concepts.
35:07
What Peter's doing and what our prophets do when they teach
35:12
anything for us to to work on or to do in our life.
35:17
All they're doing, if you pull back all the layers of symbolism
35:20
at the core, is they're teaching about the character, the
35:25
perfections, the attributes of Jesus Christ.
35:29
They're inviting us to become more like Christ.
35:33
That's all verse eight and nine was or 10.
35:37
It's showing you what Jesus the Savior did and what we're now in
35:42
invited to emulate and work with him on becoming.
35:48
And for context, again, Peter is trying to address Christians
35:53
living in their their state of exile in the Roman Empire,
35:57
feeling persecuted and maligned, and often seen as the other,
36:02
like the Romans often wanted to. Say that the Christians were the
36:06
cause of all the negative things happening in the empire, and
36:09
unfortunately it was the leader of the Roman Empire, Nero, who
36:12
often was modeling for other Romans how to cause problems for
36:17
Christians and claim that, well, they're different than us.
36:19
And so any problems we're having, natural disasters or
36:22
otherwise, well, it must be the cause of the Christians.
36:24
But Peter, wanting these Christians to endure well.
36:29
Uses a bunch of examples from the Old Testament to talk about
36:32
people in situations that perhaps were not the ideal, but
36:36
they endured. They were patient.
36:38
They sought after good. And that's what Tyler has
36:41
summarized here in verses 8:00 and 9:00, that even if you're in
36:44
an unfair, unjust situation, your job as a Christian follower
36:48
of Jesus is not to fix it by using the world ways of railing
36:53
and slandering and lying and thieving and hurting.
36:57
But choosing to endure and to use the processes of the gospel
37:02
to help yourself and others to be aligned with God and to bring
37:05
peace to the world. So he he finishes this up this
37:10
concept. Look at verse 14.
37:12
But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye
37:17
and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled
37:21
again. Are you seeing all of the
37:22
foreshadowing Peter keeps bringing up again and again and
37:26
again? Basically, you're going to go
37:29
through some pretty significant struggles and trials and
37:32
tribulations and temptations and difficulties, but don't let go
37:37
of your covenant connection with Jesus Christ.
37:40
Don't get off of that covenant path because mists of darkness,
37:43
or because pointing fingers or because strange roads are
37:46
amusing or forbidden paths look really alluring.
37:50
You keep moving forward in that covenant connection with Christ,
37:55
and then he gives this beautiful statement in verse 15.
37:58
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.
38:03
Stop treating God's words, God's directions, and His His
38:09
commandments as if they're on an equal par with the things that
38:14
the world is telling you you should do and at times even
38:17
demanding that you should do. But in your heart, sanctify the
38:22
Lord God and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
38:28
asketh you, a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and
38:32
fear. Can you see this in the 1st
38:35
century context? Can you see how these Saints
38:37
might be approached by other people in that Greco Roman world
38:41
and culture? And say, I don't get you people,
38:45
why don't you come to the city offering to our idol?
38:50
Why don't you participate in the sacrifices in the Pagan worship?
38:54
I I don't. Why are you willing to endure
38:58
all of this incredible persecution instead of just join
39:01
with us and Peter saying be ready always to give an answer.
39:07
Which is fascinating because sometimes if we're not careful
39:10
we can over apply a principle of the scripture.
39:13
And the over application of this particular idea would be to then
39:17
engage in Bible bash or arguing or or contending with anger with
39:23
people who are contending with us over points of doctrine or
39:27
over scriptural interpretation. So I love the fact that he's
39:30
saying be ready to give an answer.
39:33
Don't fight, don't Contend. One of my favorite quotes on
39:37
this topic that has been used by multiple prophets and apostles
39:42
through the last couple decades comes from the author Austin
39:49
Farr in his book about the life of CS Lewis.
39:55
Listen to this quote though. Argument does not create
40:00
conviction. Lack of it destroys belief.
40:05
What seems to be proved may not be embraced, but what no one
40:10
shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned.
40:15
Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains
40:20
a climate in which belief may flourish.
40:25
I love that concept that you you because you give somebody an
40:29
answer doesn't mean they're going to then ask you to be
40:32
baptized. But if somebody asks us
40:35
questions, we our answer is always, I don't know that's good
40:38
enough for me. If that's always our go to
40:41
answer. Eventually it becomes very
40:45
difficult for people to form any kind of faith in what we're
40:50
trying to teach them. So verse 15 is a powerful
40:54
invitation. Now let's consider three of the
40:57
accusations Romans shouted at the Christians about.
41:02
Now imagine you're an early Christian, and here's what
41:05
people are saying about what you believe.
41:07
I want to before I tell you what these two things are, ask
41:10
yourself, Have you ever had people challenge you and claim
41:14
that you believe things that are odd or weird and you had to
41:17
explain with clarity and give reasons for your belief as
41:20
Tyler's been talking about? First, Romans thought that
41:24
Christians were atheist. That means without God.
41:27
Well, how would Romans get to that conclusion?
41:30
Because Christians did not go worship in the public arena of
41:35
all the different gods. And so if they didn't worship
41:37
the Roman gods, the Romans thought, well clearly you don't
41:40
have a God, so that makes you atheist.
41:42
And of course response is actually we do worship God, we
41:45
worship Jesus Christ. Second, the Romans claimed that
41:49
Christians were cannibals. Now that one sounds really odd
41:52
till you realize that Christians every week celebrate the
41:56
consumption, the eating of the body of Jesus Christ and the
42:00
drinking of his blood. Now most of us aren't bothered
42:03
by those phrases because we know the symbolism and the beauty of
42:07
what it means. We are not literally consuming
42:10
Jesus Christ in the cannibalistic way.
42:13
But for the Romans who didn't understand, they claimed that
42:16
Christians were cannibals. And then finally.
42:18
Christians often would speak to one another in loving terms and
42:21
say I love you brother, I love you sister.
42:24
The Romans claimed that the Christians were being
42:27
incestuous. Now what happens is even in our
42:31
day, people don't always take the time to understand what we
42:35
believe truthfully about Jesus Christ.
42:37
And just like the ancient Christians who had to respond
42:40
here in verse 15 with meekness and respect, the word fear would
42:44
be better translated as reverence or respect.
42:47
We also shouldn't take offense when people misunderstand our
42:51
beliefs. But we can declare with
42:53
humility, meekness and respect the truth of our beliefs.
42:57
And not simply to say I believe, but give people a reason for why
43:01
we believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.
43:05
That's beautiful. Now you look at verse 18.
43:08
Christ also hath once suffered for sins.
43:12
The just for the unjust. So the so the perfect suffered
43:17
for the imperfect that he might bring us to God, being put to
43:24
death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit.
43:29
These are Can you see why the Prophet Joseph Smith said that
43:32
Peter penned the most sublime words of any of the Apostles?
43:36
These are beautiful concepts. Look at verse 19 by which also
43:40
he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which
43:43
sometime were disobedient. Then once the long-suffering of
43:46
God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing,
43:50
wherein few, that is 8 souls were saved by water, and then he
43:53
compares it to baptism. It's that section right there
43:58
that the Prophet Joseph F Smith was pondering before General
44:04
Conference that October. General conference when he as he
44:09
pondered and he meditated upon this this concept and wondered
44:13
how how could the Savior have gone into spirit prison and
44:16
preached everything in such a short period of time when the
44:21
eyes of his understanding were opened and he saw the great
44:24
vision of the the spirit world and the afterlife that is now
44:29
recorded in Doctrine Covenant section 138.
44:33
It's beautiful. You could cross reference verse
44:35
19 to Doctrine Covenants section 138 in your scriptures and go
44:41
and dive deep into what the Prophet Joseph F Smith saw and
44:47
then was able to share in general conference that next
44:50
day. So as we jump into chapter 4,
44:53
consider the the struggle that comes when a person changes
44:59
their life when they actually make major life adjustments, he
45:03
says in verse 3. For the time past of our life
45:06
may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we
45:10
walked in. Lasciviousness, lusts, excess of
45:14
wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.
45:19
So there was a time when all of these people, before these
45:22
Christian missionaries, met them, when they fit right in
45:25
with the crowd. They were doing everything that
45:28
the Romans, Roman people were doing at that time.
45:32
And now look at verse 4, wherein they think it's strange that you
45:36
run not with them to the same excess of riots.
45:39
Speaking evil of you, they're saying you you've changed.
45:43
You don't come with us to all of these same festivals and feasts
45:48
and sacrifices that you used to come.
45:50
You used to be one of us and you're not anymore.
45:52
What's wrong with you? What's changed?
45:55
And I love that he he says, verse five, who shall give an
46:00
account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead?
46:05
He's, he's saying, the ultimate person you need to answer to.
46:10
Now this is an important concept both individually and
46:13
collectively, because we live in a world that tries to point
46:17
fingers of scorn, fingers of accusation, at you individually
46:22
as well as at the church collectively, and tries to hold
46:26
you accountable for why you're not doing what they're doing or
46:29
why you're doing things differently.
46:32
And the reality is you only stand accountable to one person
46:37
and it is the judge of both quick and dead and.
46:40
The word quick means alive, alive.
46:42
So he is the one to whom we need to be able to give the ultimate
46:48
accounting for why we're doing. And you can be ready to give an
46:51
answer to these people, but you don't have to prove your case to
46:55
them. You don't have to convince them
46:58
that what you're doing is right. Ultimately, the only person we
47:02
stand accountable to individually as well as as a
47:05
church, because there are a lot of accusations laid at the feet
47:08
of the church. Ultimately, the only one that we
47:12
stand at the the judgment seat of is Jesus Christ, the Judge of
47:18
all. Well, this has been a very well
47:20
known verse in the church for six, for for this cause was the
47:24
gospel preached also to them that are dead.
47:26
That they might be judged according to men in the flesh,
47:29
but live according to God in the Spirit.
47:31
So this is really one of the strongest references we have in
47:33
the New Testament about the opportunity.
47:36
Those who have died without knowing the truth will have an
47:40
opportunity to hear it again. And the logic here or the truth,
47:44
is what we get from verse five, that your job is simply to
47:48
declare the truth and God himself will judge the living
47:51
and the dead. And God has to then demonstrate
47:54
through Peter how the dead will have the opportunity to also
47:58
know what is true. And then after doing all of this
48:01
teaching to these people who are struggling currently and who
48:05
have many fiery trials in front of them, look at verse 8 and
48:09
above all things sounds pretty summative.
48:13
Pretty Mountain Peak teaching here above all things have
48:19
fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall
48:24
cover the multitude of sins. You stop and think about that
48:30
charity is the pure love of Christ.
48:33
So in the ultimate sense it's the pure love of Jesus Christ
48:37
that covereth A multitude of all sins.
48:39
We get that we understand that. But the point of Scripture isn't
48:44
just to celebrate Jesus's perfection.
48:47
It's to celebrate the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is willing
48:51
to share His perfection with little old me.
48:55
That He's willing to teach me how to love more the way He
48:59
loves how to have charity govern my thoughts, my my words, my
49:05
actions more than ever before, so that I can become like Him.
49:08
And in the process, that extension of charity covers a
49:12
multitude of sins. And you, you'll notice there
49:16
that he doesn't say whose sins I love.
49:19
The fact that your charity can not only cover the the Lord can
49:25
use your charity, your the the love of Christ that's in you to
49:30
cover multitudes of your sins, but also to help cover
49:34
multitudes of sins of other people who feel discouraged, who
49:39
feel dejected, who feel a lack of hope, like I'll never be good
49:43
enough. What an amazing thing it is to
49:45
watch somebody with the gift of charity interact with somebody
49:50
who is in the depths of despair and see them walk away feeling
49:55
the light and the love of God again.
49:58
And in the process a multitude of their sins just got covered.
50:03
And if you look at the footnote, Joseph Smith changed one word in
50:06
that verse. He changed the word cover to
50:10
prevent. So charity, prevent, preventeth
50:16
or we would say prevents A multitude of sins.
50:21
I love both of these readings. I love the Prophet Joseph's
50:25
inspired adjustment there because what an amazing thing it
50:31
is. When we extend charity, we
50:33
prevent future and further sins from occurring, but also the way
50:40
the King James translators rendered it.
50:43
It points us backward in time covering A multitude of sins,
50:48
and I like putting both of them together rather than having to
50:53
pick one or the other. Yeah, all truth will be
50:55
circumscribed into one. Now let's jump down to verse 12.
51:02
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial,
51:07
which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto
51:10
you. We've said this before.
51:13
He is preparing them for trials, and for many of these particular
51:19
Saints, they are going to literally pass through fiery
51:23
trials. Nero as referred to before, one
51:27
of his preferred methods of of persecuting and trying to just
51:32
squelch this, this rising Christian movement, is to burn
51:38
the the Christian Saints. And so here's Peter using this
51:42
phrase concerning fiery trials. I think that's more than just
51:47
flowery words. I think it's literal
51:49
foreshadowing for what many of them are going to face in the
51:52
future. And some of you are probably
51:54
think to yourself, well then why in the world are they finding
51:58
the ability to stay when there's so much intense persecution from
52:02
without brothers and sisters? I I could be wrong, but I don't
52:09
believe that the external pressures of the world are ever
52:13
the ones that cause us to lose our faith or lose our covenant
52:18
connection to Christ. The external storms, if you let
52:22
them, will actually cause you to hold on tighter to your
52:27
covenants, to progress even more.
52:29
It's only when we let the external storms become internal
52:33
doubts and internal fear, where we shrink back in our heart, in
52:38
our mind, in our soul. When we choose internally to let
52:42
our agency now focus more on the amusements of the world, or the
52:46
poles in the tugs of the world, or the temptations of the devil,
52:50
rather than on the the invitations, the commandments,
52:53
the directions, the love of God. That's when we start to
52:58
disengage. That's when we let go of our
53:01
covenant connection with Christ. It's not the external fiery
53:05
trials, it's the internal battles that we start
53:11
intentionally giving up on. That's when we start to let go.
53:16
So Peter builds upon this saying you need to be prepared for
53:20
trials. In fact, you should expect that
53:22
God will challenge you first. If he has elected you and chosen
53:26
you, He's also going to refine you.
53:28
Verse 17 For the time has come, the judgment must begin at the
53:32
House of God. And if it first begun at us,
53:35
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
53:38
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
53:41
in the sin or appear? Wherefore let them that suffer
53:44
according to the will of God commit the keeping of their
53:47
souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
53:50
Meaning expect to be challenged, expect trials.
53:55
I let that be a witness to you, that God knows you and he's
53:59
helping you become more like him.
54:02
So he finishes this first general epistle in chapter five
54:06
with some beautiful instructions to the elders, the leaders of
54:11
the the group in in these different areas.
54:14
And then he comes down to verse six.
54:17
Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
54:22
that He may exalt you in due time the idea that you you are
54:27
going to have to pass through these fiery trials, but God will
54:30
exalt you in due time. Verse 7 casting all your care
54:35
upon Him. For He careth for you.
54:39
Have you ever stopped to think about it in this context?
54:42
He careth for you. If I cast upon him all my care,
54:49
then he's the one who cares. Let's modify that word for a
54:52
minute. Then he will carry my burdens
54:56
for me. Have you ever had that
54:59
experience where you're in a situation in a setting where
55:03
there's all this pressure to perform or to do something or to
55:07
accomplish something and you feel the the level of stress
55:11
rising? And maybe it gets to a level
55:13
that you might call anxiety, where you're feeling so much
55:17
pressure and it it actually causes you to not perform very
55:23
well, it's almost paralyzing in its effect.
55:27
This would be a verse that could help us in that moment of need.
55:34
Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you brothers
55:40
and sisters in those moments of struggle.
55:42
If we can do a better job of instead of thinking I all by
55:47
myself have to do this, I have to figure this out instead if we
55:52
can say, oh Lord, I need thee, please help me with this.
55:59
The power of the Savior to come and help us carry those burdens
56:03
and to lift those cares with us and for us.
56:09
It's very real and it's powerful.
56:12
Now, this isn't to say that if you do that every single time,
56:17
it's a matter of pushing buttons, and it'll always be
56:19
easier that that isn't the case for everybody.
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The point here is, if I call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and I
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turn to Him, whatever my situation in life is going to
56:30
be, it will be better than if I don't turn to Him it.
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But the solution might not be as instantaneous as you would hope,
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and it may not be as complete as you had had presupposed.
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But the point is, we keep turning to him and trusting in
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his knowledge, his power, and his goodness, and we We let him
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carry those burdens with us for as long as that is necessary.
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And. It concludes this encouragement
57:02
in verses 10 and 11. Before then it gives the final
57:05
salutation of who wrote the letter.
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It says in verse 10 But the God of all grace, who had called us
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unto his eternal glory. By Christ Jesus, after that you
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have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
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settle you to him, be glory and dominion forever and ever.
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Amen. A great encouragement after he's
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laid out the reality that yes, life is hard and don't expect it
57:32
to be a bed of roses. Which, by the way, doesn't make
57:34
a lot of sense because roses have thorns.
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You don't really want to sleep on a bed of roses.
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It may smell good, but it may not always feel good.
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Yeah. So I love how Peter concludes
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with this truthful, this truthful support that Jesus
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himself He is with us, and through him we can have the
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support that we need as we seek to glorify Him.
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Which now brings us to the Second Epistle General of Peter.
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This would be closer to his death near the end of his life.
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And it is so sweet, some of these concepts that he shares
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with us. He He introduces his audience as
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those in verse, one who have obtained, like or similar
58:19
precious faith with us. And how did you attain that
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precious faith? Through the righteousness of God
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and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love that that he puts, he
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puts the focus back on God and on Jesus Christ.
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And then he he gives you in verse two and three this, this
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beautiful, grace filled, peace, peace filled intro.
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And then in verse four he says, whereby are given unto us
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exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you
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might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
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corruption that is in the world through lust.
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This is super interesting because in the Greco Roman
59:02
world, there wasn't a sense that if you worship the gods, you'd
59:05
become like them. The idea was you wanted to
59:08
petition these gods to protect you from some problem or give
59:12
you some kind of blessing. This is really revolutionary
59:15
doctrine in that world. Now we we know this, we've all
59:19
grown up with this, but in the Greco Roman world, the idea that
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you could become like one of the gods.
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It was extremely rare. The only people who became like
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the gods might be a former emperor who has died in the
59:30
Roman Senate, votes divine honors to, say Augustus, or to
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Caesar. Regular people never could
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become like the gods. And here we are told we through
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Jesus, get to participate in the divine nature.
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And so how do we experience and express the divine nature?
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We'll get to these in just a minute, but verses 5-6 and seven
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layout some of the core qualities of what it means.
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To participate in the divine nature.
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So the the Greek word for divine nature is fusis.
1:00:01
And if you look this this up in in Strong's Concordance or in
1:00:04
some other Greek lexicon or dictionary, you'll see that
1:00:07
fusis means growth by germination or expansion.
1:00:12
By extension a genus. It's it's of the same sort.
1:00:17
It's it's native disposition. Now stop and think about that in
1:00:21
the context of what Taylor just just taught in a Greco Roman
1:00:25
world. It's this idea of you're of the
1:00:27
same genus, you have the capacity to grow and to become
1:00:32
through germination. You you, you begin slowly and it
1:00:35
doesn't look much like what it's going to end up being, but it
1:00:38
just keeps growing and developing.
1:00:40
You get to partake of the divine nature as the these attributes
1:00:45
and these characteristics grow inside of you.
1:00:49
And as Taylor said, verse 5-6 and seven, they show you some of
1:00:52
those progression waypoints, how you actually fully become fully
1:00:58
developed in that divine nature that has been planted as a seed
1:01:03
in our soul from our beloved Heavenly Parents.
1:01:06
So he concludes this in verse 8 by saying, For if these things
1:01:10
be in you, the things that were listed in 5-6 and seven, these
1:01:13
things that help you grow and develop, if they be in you and
1:01:16
abound, they make you, that you shall neither be barren nor
1:01:19
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1:01:23
I love that object lesson of us growing into this full fruitful
1:01:28
production, a tree of life growing within us that Christ
1:01:32
has planted and nurtured and watched over and pruned and
1:01:37
grafted, and all of these experiences of life have caused
1:01:41
us to become fruitful. And then he he says, verse 10.
1:01:44
Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your
1:01:48
calling an election shore. For if you do these things you
1:01:51
shall never fall there. There was a time when this
1:01:56
concept of calling an election shore, making your calling
1:02:00
election shore, it was a really hot topic and it it became a
1:02:05
gospel unto itself where we had people who started focusing more
1:02:11
on making their calling an election, sure, than they
1:02:14
focused on God and what the living prophets were telling
1:02:18
them and they looked beyond the mark.
1:02:22
It's beautiful. If you can keep scriptures in
1:02:25
their context making your calling an election, Sure.
1:02:30
Stop and think about that. Who called you God?
1:02:35
Who elected you? God.
1:02:38
So you've been called of God. You've been elected of God.
1:02:43
And through the Savior, Jesus Christ, we can make that calling
1:02:48
and that election from God. We can make it sure.
1:02:52
We can make it so that it's ratified, that it becomes
1:02:56
perfect every time we go to the temple we go to.
1:03:01
If if you go to do an endowment, you walk through a symbolic
1:03:05
progression from a fallen state to an exalted state.
1:03:09
But it's just a symbolic walkthrough.
1:03:12
We need to live in the covenant with Christ in such a way that
1:03:19
that symbolic walkthrough becomes a reality.
1:03:22
It becomes sure that we don't just walk into a room called a
1:03:27
celestial room, that we actually go and abide in the presence of
1:03:32
God in in the celestial Kingdom of our God.
1:03:36
Have you noticed how amazing it is that this whole time we have
1:03:42
been talking about the struggles, the trials, the fiery
1:03:46
trials, the tribulations, the temptations that these 1st
1:03:50
century Christian Saints are facing and how Peter the Chief
1:03:54
Apostle is encouraging them? He's writing to them to shore up
1:03:58
their faith and to motivate them to move forward on that covenant
1:04:01
path. But we haven't spent any time
1:04:04
talking about what Peter's gone through or will shortly go
1:04:08
through. The reality is is Peter isn't
1:04:11
sitting in an ivory tower telling people down on the front
1:04:15
lines how how they should just be faithful and strong in the
1:04:18
face of adversity. The reality is, is Peter is on
1:04:22
the front line of that battle. He is taking more persecution
1:04:28
than most of the people. Look at verse 14 knowing that
1:04:33
shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle even as our Lord
1:04:37
Jesus Christ hath showed me. Do you see how Peter has become
1:04:43
more like Christ in that the Savior foreshadowed Peter's
1:04:50
future death and future struggles and wrestles so that
1:04:53
he wouldn't be blown over by those, by those setbacks or
1:04:58
those difficulties? And now he's doing that for
1:05:01
these people. Knowing what Peter has faced and
1:05:05
will shortly face, the fact that these words are coming from his
1:05:10
pen at that time in that setting makes these words really more
1:05:17
powerful. And when we go to general
1:05:19
conference and we listen to the leaders, those those inspired
1:05:23
brothers and sisters that God has called to lead us in the
1:05:27
these latter days. And when we recognize the fact
1:05:31
that none of them are exempt from the the struggles and the
1:05:35
trials and the tribulations and the cares of the world, it makes
1:05:40
their messages more powerful to me.
1:05:44
To not see them as sanitized messages, but as refined
1:05:51
discourses coming from the lives.
1:05:53
The very lives that these people are living and the very life
1:05:58
that Peter has lived and will let yet live really enhances his
1:06:03
message for me as I read scriptures.
1:06:05
Hence the need to keep reminding ourselves of what the context,
1:06:10
what the setting of these scriptures are before we really
1:06:14
try to wrestle with the content itself.
1:06:18
So several things are happening. We saw this in the writings of
1:06:21
Paul that other Christian preachers or other people are
1:06:24
coming into the Christian communities and trying to
1:06:27
convince people of other ways of seeing the gospel or false
1:06:30
ideas. Peter has a particular problem
1:06:34
with these corrupt teachers in the sense that some of these
1:06:36
corrupt teachers are claiming that the freedom that they learn
1:06:40
from Paul, the freedom we get through Jesus Christ, means I
1:06:43
can do anything and Christ saves me.
1:06:45
And some of these people are living very lascivious lives.
1:06:48
And Peter calls them out and says this is not OK You have
1:06:52
misunderstood Paul. Peter acknowledges, yes, Paul
1:06:55
sometimes is hard to understand, but let me give you clarity.
1:06:59
Paul was not teaching the liberty of Jesus Christ, meaning
1:07:02
you could do whatever you want without consequence.
1:07:04
What Taylor's talking about here is a powerful counterweight or
1:07:10
counterbalance in the gospel. Because if we're not careful,
1:07:13
we'll put so much emphasis on God's mercy and love and and and
1:07:17
goodness and compassion that we almost create a God that will
1:07:22
teach you eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die and
1:07:25
it will be well with you, 'cause I love you so much.
1:07:28
And I love that you're pointing out that God also is a God of
1:07:32
justice and judgement, not just a God of mercy and love.
1:07:36
And these examples that Peter's using that you mentioned from
1:07:39
the Old Testament. You've got verse 4 where he's
1:07:42
mentioning the angels in heaven that are cast down.
1:07:44
Verse 5 you get the the whole world destroyed at the flood of
1:07:48
Noah. And verse 7 you get Lot and the
1:07:51
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from verse six and
1:07:54
seven. In all these cases, the the
1:07:57
people who have the negative consequences had consistently
1:08:01
and purposely rejected God and his servants.
1:08:05
It wasn't just like. What I'd had no warning at all,
1:08:08
they were told, and Peter is now telling his community you have
1:08:13
to watch out for these false teachers who are living
1:08:16
corruptible lives. They are twisting the gospel and
1:08:21
perverting it so they can live however they want and get the
1:08:24
money and the prestige of being Christian preachers.
1:08:27
Avoid them. Stay aligned to God and listen
1:08:30
to the voice of truth. So look at verse 9.
1:08:34
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and
1:08:37
reserve the unjust unto the days of judgment to be punished.
1:08:41
Again, we're agents. We get to choose.
1:08:44
We're we're free to decide how to live and what we're going to
1:08:48
tune our ear to and look at and which directions we're going to
1:08:51
go in life. But we are not free to pick the
1:08:55
the outcome or the consequences. The the old object lesson of you
1:08:59
pick up one end of the stick, you you automatically affect the
1:09:02
consequence. The other end of that stick is
1:09:05
alive and well here. And he finishes this second
1:09:08
letter in chapter three with these final exhortations,
1:09:14
reminders and he's I I love what he does in verse 8 because he
1:09:19
sets this beautiful perspective, the difference between the
1:09:22
world's expertise versus the knowledge and the perfection of
1:09:27
God's wisdom. And the reason he does this is
1:09:31
because there are people who are complaining like, well, Jesus
1:09:34
hasn't returned again. So clearly I'm not going to be a
1:09:37
Christian because this guy that you claim to worship is not
1:09:41
keeping his promises. We see that in the first couple
1:09:43
verses, and Peter's trying to explain there's a difference
1:09:46
between our limited worldly perspective and God's divine
1:09:51
chronology. So he says, But beloved, be not
1:09:54
ignorant of this one thing. That one day is with the Lord as
1:09:58
1000 years and 1000 years as one day to us.
1:10:02
Basically he he's doing this comparison of 1000 earthly years
1:10:05
as one day. Now, I don't think there's a a
1:10:09
celestial calendar up on the Wall of Heaven that is exactly
1:10:14
one day compared to our exact 1000 years.
1:10:17
He's he's using this analogy. It's as 1000 years.
1:10:23
He's trying to prove a point that you and I who wear
1:10:26
wristwatches and have clock calendars on our walls, we we
1:10:30
measure time very differently. We see progression of time in a
1:10:35
very different context than God does and it's this invitation
1:10:39
for us to trust God in his timing.
1:10:42
We've shared this before, but Elder Neil A Maxwell said
1:10:46
something along the lines of Isn't it strange how you and I,
1:10:50
who wear wristwatches, try to counsel he who governs cosmic
1:10:54
clocks when it comes to matters of timing in our life?
1:10:58
How many times have we been frustrated when we haven't
1:11:00
gotten what we wanted, when we wanted it, versus letting go,
1:11:05
casting that burden at the feet of the Lord and letting him care
1:11:09
for us and say I'll carry this burden with thee as long as you
1:11:13
require? My belief is that for the
1:11:18
faithful, for the the disciples of Christ that are on the
1:11:22
covenant path, doing the best they can to love the Lord, as
1:11:26
imperfect as it may be, that God will not let you suffer one
1:11:32
moment longer than is absolutely necessary in order to refine the
1:11:38
gold that is in you, or that it is you that that, that suffering
1:11:45
or that that difficulty, or even that persecution, it can serve
1:11:50
this beautiful refining purpose. But God doesn't want you to
1:11:54
suffer just for suffering's sake.
1:11:57
And so if we take that perspective of that pain you're
1:12:00
enduring, whether it be mental or physical or relational it, it
1:12:05
can have a divine, beautifully purifying outcome if we keep our
1:12:11
focus fixed on the Savior. And now to finish, let's go back
1:12:18
to the end of Second Peter Chapter One and notice how he he
1:12:25
builds this understanding of his role as the chief apostle at
1:12:32
that time, right before his death, shortly before he he was
1:12:36
killed for the sake of Christ. Verse 16 We have not followed
1:12:42
cunningly devised fables. Were there a few cunningly
1:12:46
devised fables in the 1st century Greco Roman world?
1:12:49
Yeah, and people were claiming that the apostles were making up
1:12:54
the story about Jesus for their own personal benefit, treating
1:12:57
it as if it were the Iliad or one of Homer's fantastical
1:13:01
fables or myths. The the mythos, he says.
1:13:06
We're not following these cunningly devised fables, but we
1:13:10
were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, For he received from
1:13:15
God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to
1:13:18
him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom
1:13:22
I'm well pleased, which happened both at his baptism and at the
1:13:25
mount of Transfiguration. And this voice which came from
1:13:29
heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy Mount, that
1:13:33
mount of transfiguration. And we have also a more sure
1:13:36
word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well that ye
1:13:39
take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until
1:13:42
the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
1:13:46
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of
1:13:49
any private interpretation. You'll notice Joseph Smith made
1:13:53
a couple of changes in verse 19 and 20.
1:13:55
The change in 20 is no prophecy of the Scripture is given of any
1:13:59
private will of man. In other words, man doesn't will
1:14:04
it? And then God says, OK, fine,
1:14:07
we'll change the truth to match what you want.
1:14:10
Truth is truth, and God is willing to reveal that truth.
1:14:15
And yes, you can get truth from a variety of sources.
1:14:19
But the most important truths, the truth that have to do with
1:14:22
the the welfare of our eternal souls, is going to be given
1:14:27
through the channels that the Lord Himself set up, not the
1:14:31
will of men that they set up. Just because you get a 1,000,000
1:14:35
people to agree with you doesn't make it true.
1:14:39
Truth is revealed through the Holy Ghost to you, as well as
1:14:45
specifically to his chosen servants, the prophets, these
1:14:49
eyewitnesses of His Majesty. And then he finishes chapter one
1:14:54
by saying, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
1:14:57
man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
1:15:03
Ghost. We often do say we think the O
1:15:06
God for prophet to guide us in these latter days.
1:15:09
I also thank the Lord for prophets who guided people in
1:15:12
the past, that their words can still influence us, guiding us,
1:15:18
helping us to see God more fully and more clearly.
1:15:21
We hope that as you engage in scripture study, you can feel a
1:15:24
fresh and a new God's love for you, His mercy, his desire to be
1:15:28
in covenantal relationship with you, that you might have joy in
1:15:32
this life and joy everlasting. We leave this with you in the
1:15:35
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
1:15:38
Know that you're loved. And spread light and goodness.