TEXT: 2 Peter 1:1–4 RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2009 PREACHER: Mark Driscoll

Introduction to 2 Peter

The author: "Simeon Peter" (2 Peter 1:1a)

• Simeon = his old name before he met Jesus; represents Peter's old way of life
• Peter = who Jesus renamed him to be. Right from the start, Peter is showing us that Jesus changes people and makes a difference.

The recipients: "those who have obtained a faith" (2 Peter 1:1b)

• Obtained implies that faith is a gift, something we receive.

The purpose (2 Peter 1:2): knowledge--of God in general and Jesus in particular.


Peter introduces two ideas main at the beginning of his second letter:
• Justification: What Jesus did for us to make us righteous before God.
• Regeneration: The work of the Holy Spirit to give us new birth, so that we can be "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).

Justification: Jesus' Work for Us (2 Peter 1:1–2)

How can God declare us righteous and receive us as justified and still be a good God? Any judge who takes those who are guilty and then declares them to be innocent is no longer a just judge. There are various ways people attempt to answer this question:
• The Hard-Hearted: "I don't know if there's a God or a judgment; if there is, I don't care."
• The Proud: "God grades on a curve; I'm good." (God's standard is perfection; Rom. 3:23)
• The Spiritual: "All that is spiritual is good...I better myself and try to live in cosmic rhythm." (not all spirituality is good; 1 John 4:1)
• The Secular Moralist: "Save this animal! Save this tree! I'm better than you are because I have a cause and my cause is better than your cause."
• The Religious: "Work really hard; do something to make yourself righteous." (Every religion is about how to make yourself righteous in the sight of God. This includes false Christianity: Jesus plus something else, such as knowledge, ministry, morality)
• The GOSPEL: "Those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1, emphasis added). Christians have "equal standing" with Peter (Jesus' lead disciple!) because we have the same righteousness as he does: the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21).
When you stand before Jesus, there's only one correct answer as to your righteousness: You don't have any. BUT, you've been given Christ's prefect righteousness, and the work is finished (John 19:30). If all of our sins are forgiven, why live a holy life? Why not sin like crazy? Regeneration.

Regeneration: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Us (2 Peter 1:3–4)

We are all sinners by nature (Ps. 51:5; Eph. 2:3), dead and blind to the Spirit and knowledge of God. God changes (regenerates) our hearts--our very nature.

Four things that accompany regeneration:

• New power: To flee sin and pursue righteousness (2 Peter 1:3).
• New understanding: To see what Jesus has done and who he is (2 Peter 1:3).
• New nature: As a Christian, you are not perfect or sinless, but something in you has changed (2 Peter 1:4).
• New desires: Namely, God himself--rather than settling for sin--and God's desires (2 Peter 1:4). Passion to live a life for Christ.

Recommended Reading

Finally Alive by John Piper