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Well, please remain standing for the reading of God’s Word.
This afternoon, my sermon text is again from 2 Peter chapter 1.
We’ll focus on verses 19 through 21, but I’m going to read verses 16 through 21 to fill
out the context a bit.
So let us hear God’s Holy Word.
You’ll find this on page 1207 in your Pew Bible.
Hear God’s Holy Word.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to
him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased, we ourselves
heard this very voice born from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay
attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s
own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke
from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.
And once again, please join me in prayer as we ask the Lord to bless the proclamation
of his word.
Our Lord and Father in heaven, we thank you for your great grace, your amazing mercy to
us in Christ.
We thank you, Lord, that in Christ and through faith in him you remove our sins from us as
far as the east is from the west.
And we thank you, Lord, that you have given us this good word.
You’ve given us the holy scriptures, which are a lamp unto our feet, a light into our
path.
And Lord, as we consider this portion of holy scripture briefly this afternoon, we pray
that your spirit would once again illuminate us, open our minds and our hearts to behold
wondrous things from your word.
Help us, Lord, not merely to understand at an intellectual level, but help us to understand
the truth of this scripture and how it applies to us as believers, how it applies to your
church.
And we ask all these things, Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, and all of God’s people said,
Amen.
You may be seated.
The title of my sermon this afternoon is The Prophetic Word More Fully Confirmed.
And there are five words you can be listening for in my sermon, the words scripture, inspired,
certainty, light, and darkness.
Well, my dear friends, we live in a world that is filled with uncertainty, filled with
confusion.
There is widespread confusion and uncertainty over existentially pressing questions, you
know, questions such as, who am I?
Why am I here?
Does my life have any genuine meaning and purpose, any genuine worth or significance?
Is there such a thing as objective truth, truth that applies to everyone without exception,
or is the only truth that exists subjective truth, you know, my truth?
And what is the good and the beautiful?
And how do we live a life that is genuinely good, and how do we find true beauty?
And of course, a question that presses upon all of us as we grow old in our years, is
there life after death?
And the questions go on.
Well, friends, a broad range of different and often contradictory religions and philosophies
and ideologies try to answer these kinds of questions and attempt to ease the existential
angst that arises from such questions and confusion.
But many of the answers that are given to such questions by these various philosophies
and religions and ideologies and so forth, often end up being contradictory.
And indeed, often these questions end up, or these answers to such questions often end
up raising more questions than they end up answering.
Well, dear ones, even in our highly secularized world today, there still persists in the human
heart a deep-seated desire to have real answers.
Answers that clear up the fog of confusion, answers that bring clarity to the mind and
peace to the heart.
Again, many today are confused about where to find such truth, and especially truth about
the ultimate issues of life, eternal and unchanging truth, which clears away the confusion of
falsehood.
Well, our passage for this Lord’s Day afternoon points us to the sure and certain source and
revelation of this eternal and unchanging truth, namely what the Apostle Peter describes
as the prophetic word here in verse 19.
Now, let me again remind us of the setting and context of our passage.
Remember, friends, that in 2 Peter, the Apostle Peter is addressing a group of Christians
who were faced with the threat of false teaching, and that false teaching, as we will see, gets
fleshed out in terms of its particulars more fully in chapter 2, and we will see that in
weeks to come.
Now, to what does Peter point these believers as the source and foundation for certainty
in the face of such false teaching?
Where does he point them to, to counteract such false teaching?
Now, our Roman Catholic friends believe that Peter was the first pope, right?
And the Catholic Church teaches that when the pope speaks ex cathedra, speaks in his
capacity and authority as the pope, that what he says ends all disputes.
That is an infallible declaration.
But does Peter here point to himself as the supposed first pope?
Does he point to himself as the ultimate source of religious certainty in this passage?
No, he doesn’t.
Well, does he point to an allegedly infallible teaching magisterium in the Church?
Does he do that in this passage?
No.
Does he point them, then, to philosophical speculations and the ever-changing interpretations
of science?
Again, no, my friends.
Instead, he points them, the Apostle Peter points them, to the written scriptures as
the certain and trustworthy source of truth.
And the reason he does so is because the scriptures originated from God the Holy Spirit,
being as they are, the Word of God.
So let’s dive into our passage for today, and we’re going to focus this Lord’s Day
afternoon mostly on verse 19, as we consider, first of all, the certainty and trustworthiness
of Holy Scripture.
The certainty and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture.
It says in verse 19, Peter writes,
He says, we have the prophetic word.
What’s he talking about there when he speaks of this prophetic word?
What is the prophetic word?
Well, it is clear from the context of this passage that he is referencing here the written
scriptures, and they are called, and the Old Testament in particular, and they are called
the prophetic word because the scriptures prophesy about and point to our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament scriptures prepared God’s people, indeed, prepared the world for the
coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
And the Old Testament contains types and foreshadowings, anticipations, and prophecies of the coming
promised Messiah, although it’s important to understand that what Peter here says about
this prophetic word applies equally to both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
He says of this word that this word originates from God the Holy Spirit.
We’ll focus more on that on the next Lord’s Day evening, but he does say in verse 21,
that no prophecy was ever produced by the will of men, but men spoke from God.
That’s the origin of the scriptures.
Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
But with respect to verse 19, Dr. Simon Kistermacher writes that the point at issue in this verse
is whether the Old Testament scripture is confirmed by the teaching of the apostles
or the apostles’ message is confirmed by the Old Testament.
One view, there are a couple of basic ways to understand what Peter is saying here in
verse 19.
Two basic interpretations are possible of this verse.
One view understands Peter to be saying that the transfiguration event that Peter references
in the context of this passage confirms the truth of prophecy, confirming with certainty
our Lord’s future second coming, that that will occur.
And the reason that this interpretation asserts that is because remember what we learned on
the last Lord’s Day, that the transfiguration of Jesus, this miraculous transfiguration
of our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration, when his divine glory shone through his humanity
in the presence of the three apostles that were with him on the Holy Mountain, namely
Peter, James, and John, that that glorious transfiguration of our Lord on the Mount of
Transfiguration was a picture, an anticipation of, a foretaste of the glory that will be
revealed at his future second advent.
In any case, that’s one way to understand verse 19, that the transfiguration event confirms
the truth of prophecy, confirming with certainty that our Lord’s future second advent will
indeed occur.
Another interpretation of the Greek is that the, and to quote from one commentator, that
the prophetic word of scripture is a more solid proof than even the spectacular experience
of witnessing the transfiguration.
I believe that this latter interpretation seems to fit better in the context of this
passage. It’s the more natural interpretation. And it’s reflected, this interpretation is
reflected, for example, in the New International Version, which translates it, we also have
the prophetic message as something completely reliable.
Dear ones, the written scriptures are more fully confirmed, or as the NIV translates
it, they are more certain than even the Apostle Peter’s eyewitness testimony to the transfiguration
of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Now as we learned on the last Lord’s Day evening, the scripture’s testimony to the power and
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is supported by the evidence of eyewitness testimony and
fulfilled prophecy. We learned that in verses 16 through 18. And on the last Lord’s Day,
we considered a number of other passages from the New Testament scriptures, which
confirm that the gospel story is indeed supported by eyewitness testimony.
But nevertheless, while all of these evidences can certainly help to strengthen our faith
and to settle our doubts, we need to remember that the written scriptures themselves are
even more sure than all of these evidences. In fact, the crowning evidence for our faith,
the crowning evidence is this book, the scriptures themselves, for the scriptures are self-authenticating,
as we’ve been learning in our morning instruction class in recent weeks. The scriptures are
self-authenticating, the reason being they originate from God himself and they are inspired,
they are breathed out by the Holy Spirit.
Dear ones, by the grace of God, let us build our faith and our lives upon the certain and
trustworthy prophetic word. In other words, let us build our faith and our lives upon
the word of God, not the wisdom of men. The word of God is now, of course, contained in
the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments because the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
is the God-breathed, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word. And again, as Peter says
in verse 21, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God.
Yes, men spoke, but they spoke from God. How? As they were carried along by the Holy Scriptures.
Do you trust in the word of God? Do you believe it in its fullness? Let us embrace the word,
let us believe the word, let us, by the grace of God, live in obedience to the word of God.
We also learn in this passage that the written scriptures bring God’s saving light into our
world of spiritual darkness. This is the next point on your sermon outline. The written
scriptures bring God’s saving light into our world of spiritual darkness. Again, it says
in verse 19, we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, and then notice the language
and the imagery that Peter uses here in the rest of this verse. He speaks about this prophetic
word as that which we would do well to pay attention to as to what? As to a lamp shining
in a dark place. If you’re in a dark place, like you’re taking a hike out at night in
the woods, you want a good flashlight, you want a lantern, you want something to illuminate
your path and show you the way. We would do well to pay attention to this prophetic word
as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts. I’m reminded of what the psalmist writes in Psalm 119 verse 105, a very familiar
passage. Your word is what? Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, perhaps
Peter has even that verse in the background of his thinking as the spirit inspires him
to write this particular verse. But what is this imagery of the morning star rising in
your hearts? Well, we learn when we compare scripture with scripture that the morning
star is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, He is the
morning star. Let’s just take a look at two passages. Let’s look at Numbers 24 verse 17,
Numbers 24 verse 17. In this verse we read the following, and here is actually a prophecy
of the coming of Christ spoken from Balaam. It says, I see Him, but not now. I behold
Him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
The scepter, this is the scepter of the promised messianic king. This is a prophecy of the
Messiah. A scepter shall rise out of Israel. It shall crush the forehead of Moab, Moab
representing the enemies of God, and break down all the sons of Sheba. The scepter shall
sheth, and then it goes on to say, Edom shall be dispossessed and so forth. But notice, notice
my friends, a scepter shall rise out of Israel. It shall crush the forehead of Moab. And I
believe that I, there was one passage here in Numbers 24 that references the promised
Messiah as the morning star, but another passage of scripture that confirms this is
Revelation chapter 22 verse 16. Revelation 22 verse 16. I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant
of David, the bright morning star. Jesus in Revelation says, I am the bright morning star.
Jesus in Revelation says, I am the bright morning star. And we are told in our passage
for this afternoon that Jesus, this bright morning star, rises in your hearts. How do
we understand this language of Jesus the morning star rising in our hearts? One commentator
points out that this is a difficult phrase. Since day dawns and morning star apparently
refer to the second coming of Christ, which was an external event. Peter probably refers
to the effect on believers of the full Revelation that will accompany Christ’s return. Dear
listener, once again as we wrap up our brief time in the Word this afternoon, let me ask
you, do you look to the scriptures as totally reliable and trustworthy in all that they
assert and all that they record and therefore as your highest authority in life? Or do you
look to some other authority as being somehow more reliable than the scriptures? Perhaps
an authority like science or the experts or reason or even the church. Now there’s nothing
wrong with those other authorities properly in their proper place and in submission to
God’s revelation in the scriptures. We’re not anti-science. We are not anti-reason and
we certainly are not against genuine expertise. But all of these things must be measured by
the measure of scripture, the holy scripture. And even the church itself must be subject
to the scriptures. Christ has given his church genuine authority, but it is an authority
that is subordinate to the authority of God’s holy word and is to be exercised in submission
to the word of God. My friends, let us embrace the scriptures in their totality. They are
totally authoritative. We must not only be committed to the principle of sola scriptura,
scripture alone as the only infallible rule of faith and practice, scripture alone as
the only source of written divine revelation. We must also be committed to the principle
of tota scriptura. In other words, all of scripture. We don’t get to take a cafeteria
approach to the word of God, picking and choosing that which we want to believe and embrace.
Now certainly we need to, when we study the scriptures, we need to recognize that God
has utilized different, he’s used different literary genres to reveal his word and so
there’s poetry, there’s apocalyptic imagery in the scriptures, there’s also historical
narrative and parable. We need to, of course, properly and correctly interpret the scriptures
according to its own literary genre and standards and so forth. But nevertheless, with that
clarification and qualification in mind, it is all authoritative, properly interpreted,
appropriately applied, the scriptures speak to all of life and we need to affirm tota
scriptura, scripture in its totality and not just sola scriptura, scripture alone. So let
us believe, embrace, and submit to the word of God. And let me ask you in closing, friends,
do you seek to do your part in bringing the light of God’s saving word into this spiritually
darkened and lost world? Peter writes, we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed,
to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in dark place until the
day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. If the morning star is rising in your
heart has brought you from death to newness of life, do you not want to share this glorious
light of Christ, the light of the gospel, with others as God gives you opportunity?
Let us, brothers and sisters, be deeply concerned for evangelism and missions. Now that doesn’t
mean that all of you are called, all of us are called to be evangelists or missionaries.
It’s not to say that there aren’t differences of gifting in the body of Christ. The evangelistic
task of the church is the task of the church as a whole and some will participate in that
task in a more behind the scenes fashion or function, but we all have a part to play
as we pray for and work for the spread of the gospel in our neighborhoods and indeed
throughout the world. Let us seek by the grace of God to bring the light of his saving word
into this spiritually darkened and lost world, that by the grace of God others will be able
to experience the morning star rising in their hearts and in their lives. And all of God’s
people said, amen. Let us pray. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus,
the bright morning star, our savior and king, and we thank you Lord for the prophetic word
which reveals our savior. We would pray, Lord, that we would embrace the word, that we would
base our lives upon the word. We pray, heavenly Father, that for us the word would indeed
be a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, not only on the Lord’s day, but in every
day of the week. We pray these things in Jesus’ name and all of God’s people said, amen.
As we close our time this afternoon, let’s rise and we’ll sing hymn 243, How Firm a Foundation,
243.