The 2nd Epistle of Peter was written by Simon Peter, an apostle of Christ, who also penned First Peter (see 2 Peter 3:1). The principal design of this letter was to “stir” Christian minds to a greater level of spirituality, and to fortify them against the danger of certain false teachers who threatened their faith.
A looming heresy involved a denial of Christ (2:1), and ridiculed the promise of his return (3:3-4). Certain teachers were consumed with fleshly lusts and despised divine authority. They were rebels—sneaky, reckless, and bold in their opposition to truth. They lived more on the “animal” level than as godly human beings (2:1, 10-12). These peddlers of error delighted in seducing and taking captive ignorant souls, all the while promising them freedom to live independently of the will of God (2:14, 18-19). They were church outlaws!
A key verse within this larger context is chapter 2, verse 1. “But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” Let us carefully consider the sacred words of this brief and ominous prophecy.
The prophet Elijah was a mixture of emotions and convictions. At times he stands as a giant of faith and courage. On other occasions, he appears to wilt in the face of adversity. Perhaps that is why so many of us are drawn to him; we are cut from the same fabric. In this study, let us survey one of the grander occasions in the life of God’s great prophet, who was one of only two men never to experience death (2 Kings 2:11; cf. Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5).
In approximately 935 B.C., the kingdom of Israel split. The northern segment of ten tribes continued to be known as “Israel.” The southern regime consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, together with a smattering from Levi and perhaps Simeon (cf. Genesis 49:7b).
In his classic work, Biblical Hermeneutics, Milton S. Terry, one-time Professor at the Garrett Biblical Institute, declared there is a “general harmony” which pervades the entire Scriptures. Consequently, “no single statement or obscure passage of one book can be allowed to set aside a doctrine which is clearly established by many passages” (1890, 449). This procedure is called “the analogy of faith.”
Another expression is labeled the Synthetic Method (cf. synthesis — “to bring together”). This is a study procedure whereby one assembles the relevant biblical information on the same theme, then draws reasonable conclusions of action, based upon a harmonization of the material. This is a form of “Inductive Logic,” which is reasoning from independent but related points, to a general conclusion.
While this mode of reasoning is used by everyone to some degree (though many would not know how to formally identify it), it is a tragedy that this common sense procedure is flung to the four winds when applied to biblical truth — specifically, the components of God’s plan of salvation for humanity.
The first chapter of Genesis is a literary phenomenon. Though written 3,500 years ago, it still is unblemished in its accuracy and sublimeness of presentation. Some years back, one of the world’s foremost archaeologists declared that “modern cosmogonies show such a disconcerting tendency to be short-lived that it may be doubted whether science has yet caught up with the Biblical story” (Albright, 1948, 135).
The narrative begins with a fiat declaration of the origin of the entire universe. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The material universe was created ex nihilo (out of nothing) by the spoken word of God. The term bara’ is used only of God in the biblical record, and it lends itself to the sense of a “creation out of nothing” (Unger & White, 1980, 84). “For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which appear” (Hebrews 11:3). The sense is, “God summoned into existence what had no existence before” (Bruce, 1990, 279).
Earth is given special attention. Initially, it was without its current spherical form and was uninhabited. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep (i.e., an organizing process was begun), and God (elohim – a term hinting of power) spoke light into existence out of darkness (though this “light” was not the sun; cf. v. 14ff). The expression “God said” is found 10 times in this chapter.
Jesus Christ declared there are three elements to appropriate Christian worship. It must be directed to deity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit); worship must be rendered in “spirit” (sincerely), and it must be offered consistent with revealed “truth” (John 4:24; 17:17).
Paul declared worship must be “in the name of Christ”; the phrase signifies by his authority (Colossians 3:17; cf. Matthew 10:1; Mark 16:17), not a rote recitation of certain words. The apostle condemned “will-worship,” which is any form of worship explicitly “forbidden,” or “unbidden” (Thayer, 1968, 168). There are three components of proper music in corporate Christian worship:
“Determinism” is a term widely used in philosophical and religious circles with varying connotations, depending upon the convictions of those employing the expression. This article will focus upon two of these theories.
A general definition of “determinism” contends that: “[A]ll events whatsoever are to be understood as the necessary outcome of certain causes and so may be regarded as instances of laws” (Harvey, 1964, 69). In this view, the universe is a conglomerate of causes and effects. How such began is never explained. Snow melts at a certain temperature, leaves fall to the earth, and objects grow older with the passing of time. Similarly, according to atheist Bertrand Russell, human beings, as strictly material objects, yield to causes over which they have no control (1957, 48ff). Hence there is no such thing as “free will”—supposedly!
J. Carl Laney is a Professor of Biblical Literature at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Laney is a respected scholar but in some serious particulars his theology is flawed. For example in his book, Answers to Tough Questions From Every Book in the Bible, he raises the issue of whether baptism is essential to salvation. In response to that question, Professor Laney writes:
“The Bible teaches clearly that salvation and the forgiveness of sins is always through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), not the result of baptism” (1997, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 243).
Let us carefully reflect upon this matter. First, Paul was an apostle of Christ, and his teaching was a revelation from God (1 Corinthians 2:10ff; Galatians 1:11-12).
Stephen is widely known as the first Christian martyr. He is mentioned initially as one of the seven servants who ministered to the Grecian widows in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-6). These were Jews born outside of Palestine who frequently returned to the Holy Land in their declining years, to die and there, be buried.
Beyond the exercise of his benevolent talents, this servant of Christ also proclaimed the gospel and debated with the Jews in their synagogues (vv. 8-9). His militancy demonstrates that Christianity is not a passive system; it engages the opposition. It also, however, frequently arouses opposition, and such was the case in this instance. Hostile “witnesses” were solicited to bear false testimony against the courageous preacher in a malevolent plan to shut his mouth.
The leaders of the Sanhedrin, as well as the people generally, were aroused to a state of frenzy. They “rushed upon” the man of God and brought him before the assembled council. Testimony was given that Stephen spoke against the holy place (the temple) and the law. The evangelist was permitted to make his defense, the record of which is found in Acts 7. For a discussion of this presentation, see my Commentary on Acts (2005). Eventually, the Jews had heard enough. They were “cut to the heart” and in anger ground their teeth furiously (7:54).
Some scholars allege that when Jesus died he literally bore our sins in his body on the cross. Others believe that Christ only bore the penalty for sin. Which view represents the truth of the matter?
A number of prominent sectarian theologians contend that as the Lord languished upon the cross, he literally bore our sins in his body, so that, in a sense, Jesus actually died in sin. Martin Luther, the prominent Protestant reformer, in his commentary on Galatians (as reflected in the 1838), taught that the prophets of the Old Testament foretold “that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, and blasphemer, that ever was or could be in the world.” He alleged that the Lord lost his innocence at Calvary, and died as a sinful being (quoted in Barnes, 1955. 334-335; also available online).
A Lutheran scholar has written: “it is Scriptural to say that God did impute the guilt of man to the innocent Christ” (Pieper, 1951, II.353 — emp. WJ). A Presbyterian writer, James M. Boice, asserted that when Christ died upon the cross [tree] he, “violated the law — through no fault of his own — [and] he became technically guilty of all of it [the law]” (1976, 10.460). Another states: “More awful than the pain of physical suffering that Jesus endured was the psychological pain of bearing the guilt for our sin…. God imputed our sins to Christ” (Grudem. 1994. 573-574; emp. original).
Ron Wyatt (1933-1999) was a nurse-anesthetist in a hospital in Madison, Tennessee. At the age of 27 he saw a picture in Life Magazine of the Durupinar site — a large natural, boat-shaped formation — in eastern Turkey. Feverish speculation circulated that this could be the residue of Noah’s Ark. This sparked Wyatt’s interest, and was the beginning of a long amateur career as a sensationalist pseudo-archaeologist.
For the last 22 years of his life he made numerous trips to the Middle East. The claims associated with his “discoveries” would make Harrison Ford’s “Indiana Jones” pale into oblivion. Yet today, more than a decade after his death, the ongoing boasts of his unparalleled “finds” are heralded via the Wyatt Archaeological Research web site, and the various competing factions that publicize his exploits.
His work has been debunked thoroughly by professional archaeologists and respected biblical scholars. On August 8, 1996, Joe Zias, Curator of Anthropology/Archaeology with the Israel Antiquities Authority (Jerusalem), issued the following statement:
Does individual personality survive the death of the body? Does recognition of friends and loved ones exist beyond this present life?
The question is of more than passing emotional interest; it involves the very essence of the human spirit. The biblical evidence firmly supports the position of personal identity after death.
Contrary to the misguided theories of philosophical and religious materialists (i. e., those who contend that man is wholly mortal), the human being is more than simply “body.” There is an element of mankind that is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), and yet, clearly, God is not a physical Being (John 4:24; Luke 24:39; Matthew 16:17).
Have you ever heard or read a statement that made you wonder how it ever could have been conceived? For example Bill O’Reilly, Fox News guru, said on national television that “the Catholic Church invented marriage” (WorldNetDaily, 2/10/2010). How does anyone that obtuse deserve a national audience? But he is not alone. Consider a few more quotes that are “simply outrageous.”
“God is love and the absence of love is hate, so when God came into being before time began hate also was intrinsically in existence” (John N. Clayton, 1977, “The Origin of Satan,” Evidences of God, Vol. I, South Bend, IN: p. 154).
As the Israelites made their way up the Transjordan region en route to their entrance into Canaan, they defeated the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:21–35). The Hebrews moved farther north and camped in the plains of Moab on the eastern side of Jordan across from Jericho.
Balak, a Moabite king, was exceedingly fearful of this great body of people. Accordingly, the pagan ruler sent for a prophet at Pethor by the Euphrates River, some four hundred miles away. His name was Balaam, a man who would live for millennia in prophetic infamy (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14).
It was Balak’s intention that the covetous Balaam could be bribed to curse (i.e., pronounce a devastating curse upon) the Israelite people, thus thwarting further conquests. But the Lord nullified that plan. Instead, Balaam was forced to bless the Hebrews (Numbers 22–23).
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain”: whereas you know not what shall be tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall both live, and do this or that” (James 4:13–15).
James’ epistle has been called the “gospel of practicality.” It is so down-to-earth in relating the teaching of Jesus Christ to the affairs of daily life.
In the fourth chapter of his letter, James (almost certainly the half-brother of Christ) addresses overconfidence in those who are spiritually short-sighted and so this-world oriented.
Robert Ingersoll (1833-99) was a mediocre Illinois lawyer whose flair for oratory thrust him into fame in the latter portion of the nineteenth century. He crisscrossed the nation lecturing to large crowds with vitriolic tirades against the Bible. He charged that the Scriptures contain “a great deal of error, considerable barbarism and a most plentiful lack of good sense” (Ferrell 1900, 8:1). When Ingersoll turned against the Bible (he had been raised in a religious home), he abandoned any hope of eternal bliss. Strangely, though, the “hope” jargon occasionally wormed its way into his vocabulary.
Once when asked to deliver an address at a little boy’s grave, the infidel said: “We, too, have our religion, and it is this: Help for the living, hope for the dead.” What was the basis for such hope? In a eulogy delivered at the funeral of his beloved brother, Ingersoll poured out his soul in anguish.
Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud—and the only murmur is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no word. But in the night of Death, Hope sees a star, and listening Love can hear the rustle of a wing (Farrell, 12:391).
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