Introduction
Growing in Grace, Guarding Against False Teachers, and Looking for the Coming of the Lord
Key Scripture — 2 Peter 3:17–18 (KJV)
"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."
Introduction
The Second Epistle of Peter is a solemn and urgent letter calling believers to spiritual growth, doctrinal discernment, perseverance, and readiness for the coming of Jesus Christ.
While 1 Peter places considerable emphasis upon remaining faithful through suffering, 2 Peter focuses strongly upon another danger facing the Church:
corruption and false teaching arising among God's people.
Peter knew that his earthly life was approaching its end. He therefore wrote to remind believers of truths they already knew and to ensure that they would continue remembering those truths after his departure.
2 Peter 1:12 (KJV)
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth."
Peter's concern was not simply that believers acquire more information.
He wanted them to become firmly established in the truth so that they would not be carried away by deception.
The letter therefore contains both encouragement and warning.
Peter encourages believers to grow in faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.
At the same time, he warns that false teachers would secretly introduce destructive teachings, exploit believers, deny the Lord, and attempt to persuade people that God's promised judgment would never come.
Peter answers these dangers by directing believers back to the apostolic testimony, the prophetic Scriptures, the certainty of God's judgment, and the promised return of Jesus Christ.
The message of 2 Peter can be summarized:
Know the truth, grow in Christ, recognize deception, remain steadfast, and live in expectation of the Lord's return.
Historical Background
Who Wrote 2 Peter?
The letter identifies its author as Simon Peter.
2 Peter 1:1 (KJV)
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:"
Peter identifies himself in two important ways:
A servant of Jesus Christ
and
an apostle of Jesus Christ.
His apostleship gave him a unique responsibility as an eyewitness and authorized messenger of Jesus Christ.
Yet Peter first describes himself as a servant.
Spiritual authority and humble service belong together.
Peter the Apostle
Peter had been one of Jesus' earliest disciples.
Before following Christ, he was a fisherman known as Simon.
Jesus called him to become a fisher of men.
Peter subsequently became one of the most prominent members of the Twelve.
He witnessed many significant events during Jesus' earthly ministry, including His miracles, teachings, death, and resurrection.
Peter also personally experienced failure and restoration.
He denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion, but the risen Christ restored him and commissioned him to care for His sheep.
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter became a prominent preacher and leader within the early Church.
This history is particularly important for understanding 2 Peter because Peter repeatedly appeals to his firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Peter Knew His Death Was Approaching
Second Peter has the character of a final testimony.
Peter writes:
2 Peter 1:13–14 (KJV)
"Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me."
Peter uses the imagery of a temporary dwelling or tent for his physical body.
He knew that his earthly life would soon end.
This may recall Jesus' words to Peter after the resurrection.
John 21:18–19 (KJV)
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God."
Peter therefore writes with urgency.
He wants believers to possess a firm foundation that will remain after he is gone.
When Was 2 Peter Written?
If the traditional understanding of Petrine authorship is accepted, 2 Peter was probably written shortly before Peter's death, commonly placed in the mid-to-late AD 60s.
Early Christian tradition associates Peter's death with Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.
The New Testament does not record Peter's death itself, so details concerning the precise circumstances of his execution come from later Christian tradition.
Because Peter describes his death as approaching, the letter is often understood as one of his final writings.
Questions Concerning the Authorship of 2 Peter
Second Peter has generated more scholarly discussion concerning authorship than 1 Peter.
The letter itself identifies Simon Peter as its author and presents the writer as an eyewitness of the transfiguration.
However, some scholars have questioned Petrine authorship because of differences in vocabulary and style between 1 and 2 Peter, the letter's relationship with Jude, and questions concerning its reception in portions of the early Church.
Other scholars defend Petrine authorship and argue that differences in subject matter, circumstances, purpose, or assistance in composition can account for differences between the letters.
For a Bible study, it is appropriate to acknowledge the discussion while recognizing that the letter itself explicitly presents Simon Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ, as its author.
To Whom Was 2 Peter Written?
Peter addresses:
2 Peter 1:1 (KJV)
"...to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:"
Unlike 1 Peter, 2 Peter does not list specific geographical regions in its opening greeting.
However, Peter later writes:
2 Peter 3:1 (KJV)
"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you..."
This statement strongly suggests that Peter understood the letter as following an earlier communication to the same or substantially overlapping group of believers.
His readers were Christians who shared the same:
"like precious faith."
Their common identity was rooted in Jesus Christ.
The Purpose of 2 Peter
Peter explains his purpose repeatedly.
He wants believers to remember the truth.
2 Peter 1:15 (KJV)
"Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance."
Peter understood that future generations could not depend upon his physical presence.
Therefore, apostolic teaching needed to be preserved.
Believers would need a reliable foundation after the eyewitnesses of Jesus' earthly ministry had died.
Peter directs them toward the apostolic witness and the prophetic Word.
This makes 2 Peter particularly important for understanding the transmission of Christian truth from the apostolic generation to later generations.
Growing in the Knowledge of Jesus Christ
Peter begins with grace and knowledge.
2 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,"
Knowledge is one of the dominant themes of the letter.
However, Peter is not advocating intellectual knowledge separated from spiritual transformation.
Knowing Christ should produce godly character.
2 Peter 1:3 (KJV)
"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:"
Christian knowledge should lead to Christian living.
Partakers of the Divine Nature
Peter writes:
2 Peter 1:4 (KJV)
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Being "partakers of the divine nature" does not mean that believers become God.
Rather, through God's saving work, believers share in the life He gives and increasingly reflect His moral character as they escape the corruption associated with sinful desires.
Salvation produces transformation.
God does not merely call believers out of something.
He calls them into a life increasingly characterized by holiness.
Add to Your Faith
Peter describes the qualities that should develop in a believer's life.
2 Peter 1:5–7 (KJV)
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity."
Peter begins with faith but does not stop there.
Faith should develop into a mature Christian life.
He names:
Faith — confidence in God.
Virtue — moral excellence.
Knowledge — growing understanding of God's truth.
Temperance — self-control.
Patience — steadfast endurance.
Godliness — reverence expressed through a God-centered life.
Brotherly kindness — affection and care for fellow believers.
Charity — self-giving love.
Christian maturity requires growth.
Peter Remembers the Transfiguration
Peter assures his readers that the apostolic message concerning Jesus was not invented.
2 Peter 1:16 (KJV)
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
Peter then recalls the transfiguration.
He had been there.
Peter, James, and John had accompanied Jesus onto the mountain.
They witnessed His glory and heard the voice from heaven.
2 Peter 1:17 (KJV)
"For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Peter grounds his proclamation in eyewitness testimony.
The message concerning Jesus Christ was not mythology constructed by the apostles.
Peter declares:
"we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
The Sure Word of Prophecy
Peter then turns from apostolic eyewitness testimony to Scripture.
2 Peter 1:19 (KJV)
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed..."
Believers should pay careful attention to God's prophetic Word.
Peter continues:
2 Peter 1:20–21 (KJV)
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Biblical prophecy did not originate merely from human initiative.
God's servants spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
This establishes an important foundation for Peter's coming warning about false teachers.
There is a difference between the Word given by God and teachings invented by human beings.
False Prophets and False Teachers
Chapter 2 begins with a serious warning.
2 Peter 2:1 (KJV)
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you..."
False teaching was not merely an ancient problem.
Peter warns that false teachers would arise among believers.
Their teaching would be destructive because they would secretly introduce errors that undermined the truth.
Peter therefore calls Christians to discernment.
Not everyone who uses religious language is necessarily teaching sound doctrine.
Every teaching must be examined in the light of Scripture.
The Danger of Covetousness
Peter warns that false teachers may exploit believers financially.
2 Peter 2:3 (KJV)
"And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you..."
This is a particularly important warning.
Spiritual leadership must never become a means of exploiting God's people.
Peter describes teachers motivated by covetousness who use fabricated or deceptive words to make merchandise of believers.
Christians should therefore exercise discernment when religious leaders continually manipulate people for money, status, influence, or personal advantage.
God's Judgment in the Past
Peter gives several examples demonstrating that God judges rebellion.
He refers to:
Angels that sinned.
The ancient world in Noah's day.
Sodom and Gomorrha.
Balaam.
2 Peter 2:4 (KJV)
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;"
Peter's reference to angels that sinned should be studied alongside Genesis 6, Jude 6, and related Second Temple Jewish traditions, including material preserved in 1 Enoch.
The immediate purpose of Peter's reference, however, is clear:
Past judgment demonstrates that God will judge persistent rebellion.
At the same time, Peter reminds believers that God knows how to preserve the righteous.
2 Peter 2:9 (KJV)
"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"
God's judgment and God's deliverance appear together.
Balaam: Ministry Corrupted by Gain
Peter uses Balaam as an example of corruption.
2 Peter 2:15 (KJV)
"Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;"
Balaam becomes an example of the danger of allowing financial gain to corrupt spiritual responsibility.
This connects directly with Peter's warning concerning teachers who make merchandise of believers.
Ministry must never become merchandise.
False Teachers Promise Liberty
Peter writes:
2 Peter 2:19 (KJV)
"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption..."
Not everything called freedom is biblical freedom.
A message may promise liberty while actually leading people deeper into bondage.
Christian freedom is not permission to live under the dominion of sin.
True freedom produces obedience to God.
Scoffers in the Last Days
Chapter 3 turns toward the return of Jesus Christ.
Peter warns:
2 Peter 3:3–4 (KJV)
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?"
Scoffers would argue that because life appeared to continue normally, divine judgment would never come.
Peter answers by reminding them of creation and the Flood.
The apparent delay of judgment does not mean that God has forgotten His promise.
One Day Is With the Lord as a Thousand Years
Peter writes:
2 Peter 3:8 (KJV)
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
This verse is sometimes treated as though it provides a mathematical formula for prophetic chronology.
That is not Peter's primary point.
Peter is emphasizing that God's relationship to time is not limited by human impatience.
What appears long to humanity does not indicate that God has forgotten His promises.
Why Has the Lord Not Yet Returned?
Peter explains:
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
The apparent delay should not be interpreted as divine inability or forgetfulness.
Peter describes it as longsuffering.
God's patience provides opportunity for repentance.
Therefore, every additional day before judgment should not produce complacency.
It should produce repentance and faithful living.
The Day of the Lord
Peter declares:
2 Peter 3:10 (KJV)
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night..."
The Lord's return will not fail.
Because God's future judgment is certain, Peter asks a practical question:
How should we live now?
2 Peter 3:11 (KJV)
"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"
Prophecy should produce holiness.
The purpose of studying the coming of the Lord is not merely to satisfy curiosity about future events.
Knowledge of Christ's return should transform present conduct.
New Heavens and a New Earth
Peter directs believers beyond judgment toward God's promised future.
2 Peter 3:13 (KJV)
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Christian hope is not ultimately centered upon preserving the present fallen order.
God has promised a renewed creation characterized by righteousness.
This gives believers hope while they live within a world still affected by sin, injustice, suffering, and death.
Peter Refers to Paul's Letters
One of the historically significant passages in 2 Peter concerns the Apostle Paul's writings.
2 Peter 3:15–16 (KJV)
"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things..."
Peter acknowledges Paul's wisdom and letters.
He then says that unstable people distort Paul's writings:
"...as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
This passage is important because Peter places Paul's writings in close association with "the other scriptures."
It also demonstrates that misinterpretation of Scripture was already a problem within the early Christian community.
The solution was not to abandon Scripture.
Believers needed to become established in the truth so that they would not be carried away by error.
"Grow in Grace"
Peter concludes his letter with a command that summarizes much of its message.
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."
The Christian life should never remain spiritually stagnant.
We are called to grow.
Grow in grace.
Grow in knowledge.
Grow in discernment.
Grow in holiness.
Grow in love.
Grow in endurance.
Grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The strongest protection against deception is not merely knowing everything false teachers believe.
It is becoming deeply established in the truth of God's Word and continually growing in the knowledge of Christ.
Major Themes of 2 Peter
Spiritual Growth — Believers should diligently develop mature Christian character.
Knowledge of Christ — True knowledge of Jesus should produce godly living.
Apostolic Witness — Peter testifies as an eyewitness of Christ's majesty.
The Inspiration of Scripture — Holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
False Teachers — The Church must recognize and resist destructive teaching.
Covetousness and Spiritual Exploitation — Believers must beware of teachers who use ministry for personal gain.
Divine Judgment — God's judgments in the past demonstrate that wickedness will not remain unaccountable forever.
God's Deliverance — The Lord knows how to deliver the godly while reserving the unjust for judgment.
The Return of Christ — Scoffers cannot cancel God's promise.
God's Longsuffering — The apparent delay of judgment demonstrates God's patience and provides opportunity for repentance.
Holy Living — Biblical prophecy should produce holiness rather than speculation alone.
New Heavens and New Earth — God's people look forward to a creation in which righteousness dwells.
Perseverance — Believers must guard against being carried away by error.
The Difference Between 1 Peter and 2 Peter
The two letters complement each other.
1 Peter primarily prepares believers to face pressure and suffering from outside the Christian community.
2 Peter particularly warns believers about deception and corruption arising within.
First Peter says, in effect:
Stand faithfully when you suffer.
Second Peter says:
Stand faithfully when you encounter deception.
First Peter emphasizes living hope in the midst of trials.
Second Peter emphasizes knowledge, discernment, and spiritual growth in the presence of false teaching.
Both letters call believers to holiness.
Both center their hope upon Jesus Christ.
Both look beyond present circumstances toward future glory.
Why 2 Peter Matters Today
Second Peter remains especially relevant wherever believers encounter competing spiritual claims.
Christians are surrounded by sermons, books, videos, social-media teachings, prophetic claims, religious personalities, and interpretations of Scripture.
Not everything presented in the name of God is necessarily from God.
Peter therefore calls believers to become established in truth.
We should ask:
Does this teaching agree with Scripture?
Does it exalt Jesus Christ?
Does it produce holiness?
Is the teacher handling Scripture faithfully?
Is money being used to manipulate people?
Does the message encourage repentance or excuse sinful behavior?
Is a supposed prophecy being treated as more authoritative than God's written Word?
Am I studying Scripture sufficiently to recognize error?
Second Peter teaches that discernment is not optional.
Believers who do not grow can become vulnerable to deception.
But Peter does not want Christians living in fear of false teachers.
His answer is positive:
Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The Second Epistle of Peter is the testimony of an apostle preparing believers to remain faithful after his departure.
Peter knew that his earthly life was approaching its end.
He therefore reminded God's people of the truths they had received and warned them concerning dangers that would arise.
False teachers would come.
Covetousness would corrupt some.
Scripture would be distorted.
Scoffers would question the return of Christ.
People would mistake God's patience for inactivity.
But none of these things would change God's Word.
Peter had witnessed the majesty of Jesus Christ.
He had heard the Father's voice.
He had seen the risen Lord.
He knew that the promises concerning Christ were not "cunningly devised fables."
Therefore, he calls believers to remember, grow, discern, endure, and remain steadfast.
The final command of 2 Peter remains an appropriate summary of the entire letter:
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."
