2 Peter | Knowable Word

We Have Something Better than a Mountaintop Experience

January 18, 2023 By Peter Krol

I recently wrote a piece for Word by Word, the blog for Logos Bible Software, about the search for mountaintop experiences. Here is a taste:

“I need to hear a voice from heaven.”

That’s what Robert, an atheist, told me after we met together to read the Bible for most of an academic year. We had studied John, Romans, and selections of the Old Testament to examine both the claims of Christ to be the Savior of the world and his resurrection from the dead to vindicate those claims. In the end, Robert refused to believe, asserting it was nothing but a cleverly devised myth.

Now it’s one thing when an atheist approaches the Bible this way with respect to converting to Christ. But surely true followers of Jesus wouldn’t approach the Bible that way with respect to their spiritual formation. They wouldn’t require a voice from heaven before repenting of sin or conforming to Christlike character. Right? … Right?

There was a follower of Jesus, who had the most dramatic mountaintop experience in history. And his conclusion was that you and I don’t need to share it, because we have something even better.

Check it out!

Advice About Hard Bible Passages from the Bible

November 8, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Anyone who has spent time in the pages of the Bible knows that there are tricky passages between the covers. This can be discouraging, especially for those who are new to Bible study. Some have walked away from the Bible for this very reason.

One of the marvelous things about the Bible is that in it, God speaks to many of the challenges we face—including difficult passages in the Bible itself. We will look at one such section of Scripture in this article.

Hard Passages Exist

It’s nice to have Scripture confirm our suspicions—there are passages in the Bible that are hard to understand! Take it from the pen of the apostle Peter.

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15–16)

It seems Peter had trouble understanding some of Paul’s writings. He wanted his friends to know that if they felt stumped by Paul, they were not alone.

Some portions of the Bible are gloriously clear (if not easy to obey), and other parts are not. This doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the Bible or its readers, just that the communication of divine truth is sometimes a challenge. We should not be frustrated when we run across difficulties in our Bible study. Saints have had similar challenges stretching all the way back to the apostles.

Twisting Hard Passages

Peter writes plainly about what some people do with these difficult passages. The “ignorant and unstable twist [them] to their own destruction.”

Those who are unstable will twist these difficult passages, and their interpretations and conclusions will be damaging. Think about how serious that is: Twisted interpretations can destroy. Before taking up positions of defense and warning, we should pause and pray for those who use the Bible this way. They deserve our compassion, as they are headed down a chilling road to a horrible end.

Not everyone who comes to the Bible does so with pure motives. Peter warns us especially of those who are ignorant (those who lack familiarity or experience in the faith) or unstable (lacking a foundation, easily jostled or disturbed). Christians should be watchful regarding confusing or challenging passages that they are not led astray by efforts to turn people away from the truth.

Take Care

Peter warns his readers, as “beloved” brothers and sisters, to “take care.”

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. (2 Peter 3:17)

Peter’s caution is valuable information. When we know a road contains potholes, we can drive slowly and carefully or take an alternate route.

This error of twisting Scripture to evil ends can sweep people along like a racing river. These lawless people have a contagious instability—those who are settled and secure can find themselves unsteady and off balance. Peter’s alert here follows earlier warnings in the same chapter about “scoffers” who doubt the promises of God and “overlook” plain facts about creation and the flood (2 Peter 3:3–6).

It’s natural to ask how Christians should “take care” to avoid this disaster. Peter anticipates and answers that question.

Growth in Christ

Peter gives broad instruction to avoid being carried away in controversy, speculation, and error.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

To combat twisted Scriptures, grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Understand his promises and his work for you; bathe in the good news of the gospel of his kingdom. Pursue him as Lord and Savior and Christ, and know that you are not alone—he is “our” Lord.

Jesus deserves glory now and to the day of eternity. The final chapter of Peter’s letter overflows with references to the “day of the Lord” and the “heavenly bodies” being “burned up and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10). The great upheaval that is coming is a problem for those who are unstable, but those who know the promise-maker are “waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Remember the Patience of the Lord

The context of this brief word about hard-to-understand passages is a larger section about the patience of the Lord. Peter tells his readers to “count the patience of our Lord as salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). God is not slow to keep his promises, but rather he is “patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:9).

Doesn’t this make all the difference? The God of the universe is patient. Not only patient in general, but patient toward you! We should labor mightily to understand his word, but when we come across something confusing, we need not rush or panic. He knows our frame (Psalm 103:14); he is patient toward his children.

Exodus Plague Cycle #2: Yahweh the Divider of Peoples

January 13, 2017 By Peter Krol

Moses has undergone training to be qualified as God’s mediator. He’s prepped and ready for the big fight with Pharaoh. The plagues make up the first three rounds, followed by a fourth round (Passover), and then a fifth (Red Sea). What does God want to teach us in round #2?

Observation of Exodus 8:20-9:12

Most repeated words: Lord (21 times), Pharaoh (15x), people (14), go/going (13), not (13), Moses (12), let/letting (10), flies (8).

But as with the first plague cycle, the key themes arise not from the repeated words but from the purpose statements:

“Let my people go, that they may serve me” (Ex 8:20, 9:1).
“I will set apart the land of Goshen…so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth” (Ex 8:22).
“I will put a division between my people and your people” (Ex 8:23).
“It would not be right…for the offerings we shall sacrifice to Yahweh our God are an abomination to the Egyptians” (Ex 8:26).
“But Yahweh will make a distinction…so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die” (Ex 9:4).

Structure:

First plague: Swarms of flies fill the Egyptian houses but not the land of Goshen (where Israel dwells), causing Pharaoh to try allowing Israel to offer a sacrifice in Egypt. But that is not acceptable to Moses, and Pharaoh hardens his heart.
Second plague: Egyptian livestock dies, but Israelite livestock does not die. Pharaoh investigates to make sure this distinction does in fact exist (Ex 9:7).
Third plague: Moses throws soot from the kiln into the air, and it becomes boils on man and beast in Egypt. Magicians can no longer stand before Moses, and (for the first time in the plague narrative) God hardens Pharaoh’s heart as he promised he would do (Ex 9:11-12).

Rick Hobson (2002), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 8:20-9:12

Some possible questions:

Why is the distinction between Israel and Egypt mentioned here? Does that mean the Israelites had suffered the first cycle of plagues?
Why is it unacceptable to Moses to worship Yahweh in the land of Egypt?
What is significant about the magicians’ inability to stand before Moses?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

The division, or distinction, between Egypt and Israel saturates this cycle. The narrative introduces it as a new idea, giving it great attention in Ex 8:22-23 as the entire point of the plague of flies. Pharaoh goes out of his way to investigate the distinction in Ex 9:7, and his findings lead him to harden his heart further. It is possible that the Israelites suffered from the first cycle of plagues, since the distinction was not mentioned there. It’s also possible that we should read the distinction back into that first cycle, and that the narrator merely wanted to highlight it here in the second cycle. Either way, it is clear that Yahweh’s distinction between “my people” and “your people” (Ex 8:23) is crucial to the meaning of this second cycle of plague narratives.
Ex 8:26 highlights the theme of division between Israel and Egypt. They are distinct not only in how God treats them but also in how they treat God. If the Israelites do what would be acceptable to Yahweh, the Egyptians would loathe them and lynch them. There are fundamental differences in the worship of these two people groups.
Again, Ex 9:11 continues the theme of division between Egypt and Israel. the climax of the third cycle comes when the magicians are no longer able even to stand before Moses. The lowly fugitive, the abominable shepherd, the little man with big ideas, is rising. The powerful cabinet ministers of the mighty king of Egypt are declining. Yahweh is raising one up and throwing the others down. Herein lies the division between his people and not-his-people.

Train of thought:

Plague #1: The division vindicates the worship of God’s people.
Plague #2: The division vindicates the possessions of God’s people.
Plague #3: The division elevates the position of God’s people.

Main point: Yahweh is the divider of peoples, vindicating and elevating those who are his and casting down those who are not.

Connection to Christ: When face-to-face with Yahweh the Judge, Abraham’s chief concern was “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? … Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen 18:23-25). The Apostle Peter expressed the same concern in his second letter (2 Pet 2:4-10):

If God did not spare sinning angels, but cast them into hell…
If he didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah…
If he turned Sodom and Gomorrah to ash, but rescued righteous Lot…
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.

Therefore, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18), we can count the patience of the Lord as salvation (2 Pet 3:15) and await his promise of a new heaven and new earth, where righteousness dwells (2 Pet 3:13). God will always separate those who trust in Jesus out from those who receive the blasting judgment of his just fury.

My Application of Exodus 8:20-9:12

I will suffer terrible things in this life, along with those who scoff at the glory of the Lord. We will all endure hardship, flood, hurricane, destitution, hunger, oppression, and violence. But I will never be swept away in the final judgment as long as I worship Jesus as the only Lord and Savior. Such worship is an abomination to those around me, and they may crucify me for it. But it is my life. He is worth everything, and he always takes care of his own.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

What Kevin DeYoung’s Book Launch Taught Me About Bible Study

May 2, 2014 By Peter Krol

Is the Bible enough for whatever we face in our churches today, be it bulimia, self-mutilation, conscientious doubts, or cultural differences? Is it true that God is still speaking through the pages of this ancient book?

Last weekend, I joined more than 500 others at a book launch event hosted by Westminster Bookstore. Kevin DeYoung’s new book, Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me, addresses what we should believe about the Bible by examining what the Bible says about itself. Westminster Bookstore partnered with DeYoung to hold this one-day event to promote both the book and the critical truths within.

I could multiply praises for this event, but let me get right to it.

DeYoung inspired us to have confidence in the text of Scripture. He inspired us to inspire others to have confidence in the text of Scripture.

It sounds so simple, but we so easily drift.

Though you believe the Bible, do you long for a mystical experience with God? Perhaps to hear from someone who’s been to heaven and back? Perhaps to hear his voice calling you through private letters written just for you?
Do you trust that God has spoken now in his Son and that we need no further prophet, priest, or sacrifice (Heb 1:1-4), or do you feel safest when someone else tells you what to think?
Does this book speak life to you, or do you feel the need to supplement it with study guides, commentaries, or other expert guidance?
As you lead or teach, do you communicate that people must come to you with their questions? Are you in danger of leading primarily with your personality and not with the truth?
Are you seeing other people learn to study and teach others, or do you prefer to be seen as the guru with the best answers?

Now I’m not saying that DeYoung encouraged us to separate ourselves from the church or from the historical insights of others. Nor would I urge such a thing.

But, are you able to compare everything you hear with the Scripture? Do you have confidence that these precious words have been spoken by God the Holy Spirit for your growth in grace? Do you understand that Scripture’s authority lies in the text, and not in your experience of the text nor in the teaching you sit under? Do you see that when you pay closer attention to these Spirit-spoken words, the Lord Jesus Christ (the Morning Star) will rise in your heart (2 Peter 1:19)?

Though I appreciated DeYoung’s messages at last week’s conference, I’m sure I’ll forget most of what he said soon enough. But he explained the books of Hebrews and 2 Peter in such a way that I don’t think I’ll ever read them the same way again. He explained these books so clearly that I don’t need to hear DeYoung’s messages again. I have the text itself, and that’s enough.

That said, I highly commend his book to you. Not simply because it has the words “knowable” and “word” in the title, but because it will unravel for you the riches of how God views his own word. It will inspire you to love God’s word the way God himself does.

I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. (Ps 119:16, ESV)

It is impossible to revere the Scriptures more deeply or affirm them more completely than Jesus did. Jesus submitted his will to the Scriptures, committed his brain to studying the Scriptures, and humbled his heart to obey the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, believed his Bible was the word of God down to the sentences, to the phrases, to the words, to the smallest letter, to the tiniest specks—and that nothing in all those specks and in all those books in his Holy Bible could ever be broken. (DeYoung, Kindle location 1330)

Though I received a free copy of DeYoung’s book at last week’s conference, I purchased the Kindle edition so I’d be able to give the hard copy away. It’s that good.

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The Amazon link above is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy stuff you’ll help ordinary people learn to study the Bible at no extra cost to yourself.

Get to Know the Word this Year

December 20, 2013 By Peter Krol

Rob Pongsajapan (2006), Creative Commons

In my home office, there’s a fireproof safe where my wife and I keep our most precious possessions. While we partly use the safe for legal papers, we’ve filled most of it with the 45 love letters that document the development of our romance. This bundle of letters is more than a memento; it’s our story.

The story begins with a question mark. A love-struck young man composes a poetic thank-you note to a sweet girl who has done a nice thing for him. He ends the note with a simple question—a question clear enough to give her reason to write back, but vague enough to prevent any guilt should she choose not to. Either way, the presence of the question mark is indisputable, and with it, he takes a chance.

Thana Thaweeskulchai (2008), Creative Commons

She chooses to write back, asking her own vague question in return. Queen’s knight to c3. Game on.

The remaining details will remain private, but I’m willing to share this much: We pored over those letters. We wrapped our hearts in them, and we squeezed every juicy jot and tittle for another drop of meaning. We didn’t read those letters because we had to, though I admit there was a sense of compulsion. We didn’t read those letters to learn about each other, though it’s true each delivery brought more information. Technically, what we did with those letters wasn’t exactly reading. It was more like fixating or indulging.

And all for what? We sought this one thing: to get to know each other. We wanted a relationship.

Similarly, you and I get to read the Bible to build our relationship with the God who wrote it. He already knows us, and he wants us to get to know him. He became a man to reconcile us to himself and live with us forever, and he left a book documenting the whole affair. “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Sometimes we think we need a special encounter to know God. We seek a mountaintop experience where we can behold his glory and see him face to face. We want to hear his voice speak with clarity and power. We long to be wowed from on high.

The Apostle Peter had such an experience with Jesus, and he concluded that you and I don’t need to share it:

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. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. (2 Peter 1:16-19)

The text isn’t clear whether the prophetic word is more sure than the mountaintop experience, or more sure than it would have been without the mountaintop experience (does the word trump the mountaintop, or is it confirmed by the mountaintop?). Either way, Peter says this word is sure. We don’t need the mountaintop; we need to pay more attention to the word that has already been spoken.

That’s why, when Paul wanted to introduce people to Jesus, he introduced them to the Bible (Acts 17:1-3). The apostles were clear that Jesus was the main point of the Bible (John 1:45, 5:39-40, Luke 24:44-49, 1 Peter 1:10-12).

We study the Bible to know Jesus and to help others know him.

Maybe you’ve never studied the Bible without a tour guide or commentary, and you want to learn the basics. Perhaps you know the basics but want to make them instinctive, like an athlete perfecting a skill through endless repetition. Or perhaps you already teach the Bible, but you do so intuitively, unsure of how to take what you do and package it up for wholesale distribution among your flock.

Whatever your situation, a simple and sensible Bible study method will help. This year, how can you be more intentional about both learning to study the Bible and teaching others to study it? Do you think it would be worth it to get to know the Word who is the Truth?

The Knowable Word is Not an Easy Word

December 18, 2013 By Peter Krol

When a few friends and I started this blog, we did so under the assumption that ordinary people can learn to study the Bible. God’s word is knowable, and you don’t have to be a superstar PhD theologian to learn to study it.

I retain that conviction as firmly as ever, though Trevin Wax recently wrote of a helpful qualification to this conviction.

“Stress the simplicity of the Bible,” he writes, “and the people you are hoping will read the Bible next year may begin to wonder if they’re just too dumb to understand it. I wonder if, in our efforts to get people reading Scripture, we might be minimizing the tough parts.”

I trust that in writing of how ordinary people can learn to study the Bible, I don’t unintentionally communicate that the Bible is easy. “There are some things in [Paul’s letters] that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16, ESV). To avoid this danger, we must be taught and stabilized.

That doesn’t mean we should rely on the experts to tell us what to think. It simply means the hard work is all worth it.

I highly recommend the rest of Wax’s article.

Check it out!