By Justin Borger with assistance from Generous Giving staff
In his second epistle, the apostle Peter calls us to confirm our faith by practicing personal holiness and love (1:3-10). He goes on to tell of Christ’s glory at the Transfiguration (1:16-18), the certainty of the Scriptures (1:19-21) and the danger of “false teachers”; Peter says these leaders will be “experts in greed” and doomed to destruction (2:1-22). Finally, Peter reminds Christians about the certainty of Christ’s victorious return and the final judgment in spite of “scoffers” who mock the idea of his coming again (3:1-13). Because his return could come at any moment, Peter calls us to make ourselves ready by living holy lives as we grow in his grace (3:14-18).
Our study of 2 Peter consists of two parts. In the first section, readers will find our stewardship study notes. These notes analyze, in a passage-by-passage fashion, the implications of the book’s teaching for Christian generosity and related issues. The second section consists of short essays describing the book’s major stewardship themes. These notes and essays are not intended to be comprehensive explanations of Peter’s goals in writing this book, nor do they exhaust the book’s possible applications in matters related to stewardship and generosity.
While Generous Giving’s Bible study material will aid anyone who is searching the Scriptures for guidance, they may prove especially useful as sermon helps for pastors and as a resource for teachers, advisors and lay leaders interested in obeying and teaching the message of Scripture in matters of generosity and stewardship. We readily acknowledge our fallibility in writing these study notes, for they are the work of humans, not God. Please search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) as you read this material critically, carefully and prayerfully. May God bless you in your studies.
Passage-by-Passage Study Notes
2 Peter 1:3-10 (Key Passage) — Confirming Our Faith: Peter provides a list of virtues to confirm us in our faith and to keep us from becoming “ineffective and unproductive” in our walks with the Lord. The list begins with virtues of personal holiness like “self-control” but quickly expands to virtues that focus on caring for others like “brotherly kindness.” Finally, the list ends with “love” as the clearest proof that our faith is real. But what does love look like, and how can we know that we have God’s love in us? The apostle John answers these questions when he tells us, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (see note on 1 John 3:16-17). According to God’s word, Jesus’ sacrificial example on the cross shows us what love looks like. In our own lives, we can be increasingly confident of God’s work in our hearts as we respond to the needs of others (2 Peter 1:8) in the same way that Jesus responded to our needs by dying on the cross (1 John 3:16). On the other hand, if we refuse to respond to other people’s needs with our “material possessions” (1 John 3:17), we cannot be sure that our faith is genuine or that God’s love really has taken hold of our hearts. Simply having “knowledge” or “belief” is never enough: We must be “fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8; see note on James 2:14-24). For as Peter goes on to say, if we lack such fruitfulness, we have “forgotten that we have been cleansed from our past sins” (2 Peter 1:9). Peter even teaches that walking in this way keeps us on the road to the eternal kingdom (2 Peter 1:11). See 2 Peter theme essay Judgment.
2 Peter 2:1-22 (Key Passage) — Greedy Preachers: Peter explains that just as there have always been false teachers among God’s people in the past, we should expect the same today and in the future (2 Peter 2:1). The question, then, is not whether false teachers are among us. The question is who are they and how can we identify them. Accordingly, Peter prepares his readers for the threat of false teachers by describing some of their key characteristics, including greed and the love of money (2 Peter 2:2, 14-15, 18).
2 Peter 2:3 — “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories that they have made up” (2 Peter 2:3). In this verse Peter identifies greed as the motivation behind false teaching. It is what makes false teaching false because the impulse to tell stories and lies comes from the teacher’s desire to exploit those who listen to them. In light of this danger Christians have a responsibility to “follow the money” and hold church and ministry leaders accountable for the way they use their funds. Are the churches and ministries we support using their money efficiently for God’s kingdom? Or are large amounts of money being siphoned off by administrative fees and inflated salaries? While the needs of pastors and administrators should be met when possible (1 Corinthians 9:7-14), church and ministry leaders who use the gospel as a way to get rich should be exposed as false teachers (cf.1 Timothy 3:3; 6:5; Titus 1:11; 1 Peter 5:2; 2 Peter 2:3; Jude 11). Moreover, we must be careful as pastors and teachers to avoid coddling up to audiences and “disciples” under the pretension of grace while requiring little of them in the way of sacrifice and obedience to Jesus. Our Lord calls all who come after him to deny themselves, and we must ensure that this message—however unpopular—is heard. Subtle omissions for the sake of gathering more members or appeasing those already present are difficult to spot, but God sees our motives and our hearts.
2 Peter 2:14-18 — Peter predicts that these false teachers will be “experts in greed” (2 Peter 2:14). Even though they start out on the “straight path,” they wander off and are seduced by the “wages of wickedness” (2 Peter 2:15). Peter compares them to Balaam, who had a good start but eventually was corrupted by a bribe (Numbers 22-24; 31:16; cf. Jude 11). 2 Peter 2:18-19 go on to help explain how these false teachers are literally “experts in greed.” For by appealing to their listeners’ “sinful human nature,” they make them false promises of “freedom” (2 Peter 2:18-19). For example, some pastors today will promise their listeners that the gospel is primarily about being freed from debt and financial bondage. They will take advantage of their listeners’ difficult financial circumstances and appeal to their desire for health and wealth. Often, this happens when flashy televangelists in fancy suits tell inspiring success stories about how God helped them to go from rags to riches (cf. 2 Peter 2:3) and then promise their listeners that they can experience God’s blessing of financial “freedom,” too, if only they will sow a “seed of faith” into the church or ministry they are promoting. In stark contrast to this teaching, both Peter and Paul opposed those “who think that godliness is a means to financial gain” (1 Timothy 6:5-10). While it is absolutely true that God rewards those who have faith, the reward of faith does not come in the form of worldly wealth that won’t last (Matthew 6:19), but as a heavenly inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4).
2 Peter 3:11-13 — See Colossians theme essay New Creation.
2 Peter 3:16 — Much of what Scripture has to say is difficult. This is perhaps especially true of passages on money: Do I tithe? Does God require more than a tithe?Why has God given me wealth? What is my obligation to “my neighbor”? Who is “my neighbor” anyway? How can I know whether I’m loving them as I love myself? Am I in love with my money and this world? These challenging questions are sometimes easy to answer, sometimes not. We must “take care” not to be deceived in such matters but carefully probe what Scripture says. The message of Scripture on money can be difficult and controversial, but it is not therefore less important for us to learn and obey that message, that we may “take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) rather than the empty promises of this present world and its way of life.
