Eyewitness to the Truth
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Eyewitness to the Truth
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 borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Opening Prayer
If you are a Christian, then you are a missionary!
What is the Gospel?
What is the Gospel?
the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation
Peter opened letter highlighting how Jesus provided a way for a relationship with God.
Implored the readers to respond by living a life that honors God.
Then he says why he is so passionate about sharing the gospel. (2 Peter 1:11-15)
“...Entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“…ALWAYS to remind you” (I’m not shutting up about it)
“I think it is right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.”
Imagine if we all had the passion as Peter about sharing the Gospel and reminding each other to live for Christ.
In the next few verses, Peter is going to tell us why we all should be as passionate about the Gospel.
The Apostles were not Followers
The Apostles were not Followers
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.
What is Peter saying here?
Unlike the many false teachers of Peter’s day (as is true also today)
Peter (and the rest of the apostles) were not following a religion based on “cleverly devised myths”
They were not trying to appeal to peoples emotions and sensuality.
I want us to ponder the weight and value of this statement.
***A general good practice is to establish the truth of scripture in CONTEXT and then back out to show how to applies to us TODAY.
What the apostles BELIEVED > they WROTE ABOUT (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) > what they wrote about became a part of the HOLY BIBLE.
The WORD of God
The word of God is our source of truth.
Given to us in two ways
The written word = SCRIPTURE
The incarnate word = JESUS
Regarding this life and teachings of Jesus...
The Apostles were Eyewitnesses
The Apostles were Eyewitnesses
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.
Peter wasn’t telling them and then writing about a Jesus he HEARD about
He was talking about a Jesus he knew.
Sharing stories he heard from Jesus’ mouth
Proclaiming miracles he saw with his own eyes.
Why the CANON of scripture is so important.
May be many writings of some value
But only those who passed the rugged test of canonicity are included as God Holy Word.
When Peter writes about Jesus, he is writing as an eyewitness.
Islam (610 ad) Mohammad
Mormonism (1830) Joseph Smith
This is valuable when we read the amazing stories about Jesus in scripture.
The Apostles were witnesses to testimony about Jesus.
The Apostles were witnesses to testimony about Jesus.
For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
“when he received”
Jesus proclaimed the testimony of who he was.
But He also recieved that testimony about Him.
What was the manner of that testimony?
“He received HONOR and GLORY from God the Father.”
Jesus said, “I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”
Peter (in turn) write about who Jesus is
Not only on the testimony of Jesus
But on testimony from God the father.
Peter is referring to some he personally witnessed (you can read about in the gospels)
The Transfiguration of Jesus (read about it in the Gospel)
Jesus took Peter, James, John up a high mountain
Transformed right in front of them
face shown as bright as the sun, clothes white a light itself
Appeared with Jesus, Moses and Elijah
Then they heard, with the voice of God (the MAJESTIC GLORY) saying of Jesus
“This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Apostles are simply telling their story.
The Apostles are simply telling their story.
we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Imagine if you had this story you wanted to share.
A story that is so amazing it’s kind of hard to believe.
And as proof that your story is true, you offer an even MORE unbelievable story.
But no matter how unbelievable the story may seem, you know it’s true
BECAUSE YOU WERE THERE!!!!!
That is the truth of how we came to know the Gospel, the story of Jesus Christ.