Sermon: A Reliable Testimony

Glad you all could be here if you would take a Bible and turn with me to second Peter, chapter one. Uh, this fall we've been spending the evenings, uh, going through this book together of second Peter, and we are making our way to the end of chapter one. And so this evening we are going to be considering and studying and seeking to apply these verses from 16 to 21. And before we hear God's uh, word read and preached, let's uh, take a moment to ask God to help us

to understand all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for a proof, for correction, and for training and righteousness that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work. We believe this to be true, oh God. And so we pray, teach us, reprove us, correct us, train us in righteousness even this night as we hear your scripture and give us understanding by the ministry of the Holy Spirit

for we ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Second Peter chapter one verses 16 through 21. Listen carefully for this is God's word

for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we may known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty from 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. Amen. Brothers and sisters, the oldest accusation ever made was

that accusation made against God by the serpent in the garden of Eden. Did God actually say

With those words, Satan attacked God's word? He attacked God's word by raising a question, seems like a harmless question. He raised a question to cast doubt about the reliability of God's word, the trustworthiness of God's word, the authority of God's word. Satan's great aim was to cast doubt on God's word because if he could cast doubt on God's word, he could cast doubt on God's very character.

The question behind the question is this, can God be trusted? Did God say

it was Satan's great aim in the garden to call God into question? And it is still Satan's great aim today to call God into question

from the very beginning. Satan has been a liar and a deceiver, and he continues today to be a liar and deceiver who will level attacks against the reliability of God's word. Did God really say,

did God really mean what he said? Does God's word apply to you today or was that for a different people at a different time?

The substance of Satan's age old attack comes packaged in a hundred different ways,

comes from outside the church. It even comes from inside the church. And I start here this evening to tell you, to beware. To beware this attack upon God and his word still exists and be certain, be certain. This sinister ploy to call God into question, to cast doubt upon his character, to cast doubt upon his word, it originates from none other than Satan. God's great enemy, your great enemy. That's where it comes from in the passage we just

read here in second Peter. Peter is addressing one version of this age old attack.

You may have heard it before, the same exact attack. Christian teaching is a myth.

It's not real, it's not historical. Jesus wasn't born from a virgin. Jesus didn't really do miracles. Jesus didn't rise from the dead.

Jesus isn't coming back again.

You see false teachers and scoffers were reclaiming that Peter and the message that he was proclaiming was unreliable. You can almost hear their words, their voices from how Peter begins this section in chapter two, verse 16. The message Peter's proclaiming to you about the coming of Jesus Christ in power and in glory sounds nice, but it's only as real as your favorite novel.

Really good book. But it's fictitious. It's not true. And you notice how Peter responds. Peter responds how Adam and Eve should have responded in the garden. Peter affirms the reliability and the veracity, the truthfulness of God's word. What he asserts in these verses is that what he has proclaimed about the coming of Jesus Christ in power and in glory is not myth as some have said, but it is certain truth, Certain truth

according to the testimony of God himself

according to the testimony of God on the Mount of Transfiguration verses 16 through 18, and God's testimony in the prophetic word of the Old Testament verses 19 through 21, Peter's assertion is that what he has proclaimed is reliable and true because God and his word is reliable and true.

Did God say Peter wants their confidence, his reader's confidence and he wants your confidence to rest in God's word? And Peter points us here in this passage to two sources of God's testimony that assures us, that gives us confidence in the reliability and trustworthiness of what he has proclaimed. So let's have a brief look at both of these sources of God's testimony. First, God's testimony through the apostles in verses 16 through 18.

Peter points here in these opening verses to the transfiguration, an event that anticipates and guarantees the return of Christ in power and in glory in the transfiguration. Matthew 17, mark nine, Luke nine, you can go see the event for yourself in those passages. In the transfiguration, God the Father confers honor and glory upon the son

and the divine majesty of Jesus Christ is unveiled, made manifest publicly. And God declares with his own voice who Christ is, who the Son is and what he was and what he was sent to accomplish.

He announces this in those words, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. The father's declaration here in these words is an illusion to Psalm two, where God establishes his son as the king of kings, as the king of all rulers and sets him upon his holy hill. And it's also an illusion to Isaiah 42, where God's servant is anointed with the Holy Spirit to bring justice to all the nations.

The transfiguration, the unveiling of Jesus's divine glory and the announcement of the Father upon the son anticipates the return of Christ as king and Lord in glory and in majesty,

that same glory in majesty that was revealed in measure for a short time on the mountain. And Peter says, this is no myth. The transfiguration is no myth. What I have proclaimed to you why I was there, we were there, we saw it. We saw Jesus' glory with our own eyes. We heard it. We heard the voice from heaven declaring this about the sun with our own ears. Just look at your Bible and see how Peter changes from verse 15 to verse 16.

He changes deliberately from writing in the first person to the third person, verse 15, first person and I will make every effort. And then verse 16, we were eyewitnesses. You see, this is not just Peter's testimony, this is the testimony of the apostles, of all the apostles. And what Peter wants to get across here is not just that we were eyewitnesses and therefore you should trust this message that we're proclaiming.

It's not ultimately that we want you to rely upon our word in our testimony that Jesus is coming in glory, but God's own testimony, God's own testimony, he has declared himself that the son is returning in power and the glory he is coming.

So the deniers, these deniers of of the message Peter was proclaiming was were not ultimately denying Peter's word, the apostles word. They were denying God's word. And Peter says, firstly, we are testifying. We are witnesses to God's testimony. Christ is coming. Secondly, God's testimony through the prophetic word of the Old Testament verses 19 through 21, we see that Peter secondly appeals to God's testimony through the prophetic word of the Old Testament, which also

testifies that Jesus is coming. It's not only Psalm two and Isaiah 42 that pronounce that Jesus will return, the sun will return in power and glory. It's the entire Old Testament, the entire Old Testament pronounces and declares Jesus will come in power and glory. And there are certain Old Testament scriptures that declare and pronounce this even more clearly than others. Daniel seven might be one that you go refer to later on.

Some Christians in our day think that it might help our witness, it might help our cause. As Christians trying to get out the word about Jesus. It might help our cause If we downplay the Old Testament,

there have been some well-known pastors who have actually used the words unhitch. We should unhitch ourselves From the Old Testament.

But while some Christians think it might help us to downplay the Old Testament or unhitch from the Old Testament altogether, Peter says, we will do well to pay attention to it. We will do well. Verse 19, to pay attention to it. Why? Because it's confirmed. Meaning it's valid, it's sure it's reliable.

That Old Testament word is like a lighthouse in a gloomy storm. It's a reliable guide, a sure guide to bring you safely into harbor.

And how can we be confident that it's reliable and sure, because it's God's word. Because it's God's word, his testimony, this is one of the key passages in all of the New Testament, one of the key passages to, to help us to understand how we have the scriptures and why they're reliable. This is one of those verses, verses 19 through 21 and 20 and 21 especially, that if you highlight your Bible or you're an underliner of your Bible, do it.

If you're looking for something to memorize, memorize these verses, know them. That's what Peter says. Know this. First of all, verse 20, the scriptures didn't come from men, not mankind's wisdom, not mankind's ingenuity, not mankind's efforts. The scriptures came from God,

but you might say, but the books of the Bible are all named after human authors.

Men wrote the Bible, yes, men spoke. We see that in verse 21. Men spoke, but they spoke from God. And so it's not fundamentally their ideas or their words, but God's, God's words.

How can it be? How did it happen? Well, God, the Holy Spirit carried them along. Verse 21 says, just as the the wind fills the sails of a sailboat and carries the boat along, so the Holy Spirit carried along, chosen men to speak exactly what God intended to say.

And so what scripture says, God says,

scripture says, God says, and so what Peter's trying to get across to his readers, what he's trying to get across to you is simply this. What I've proclaimed to you is not a myth. It's truth. It's certain it's reliable truth. Why? Because it accords with God's word. There's so much that could be said, so much more that could be said from this passage. So many implications that we could explore together. I hope maybe you'll have some time to think about some

of these implications together over our meal later on. But in closing, dear Christians, when you face the inevitable questions that will come about what God has said, where will you go?

Who are you ultimately going to trust?

Everything in the Christian faith ultimately comes back around to faith, to faith, until everything is made sight, everything comes around to faith. Trust. Will you trust God?

Will you take God at his word?

You can trust what God has said and you ought to trust what God has said for his word is reliable and trustworthy because God himself is trustworthy and reliable. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that we would be like those faithful disciples who when asked by Jesus, do you want to go away too responded by saying, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Oh Lord, would you convince us, convince those who need

to be convinced and assure us those who need to be assured that your word is reliable and trustworthy Just as you, oh Lord, are reliable and trustworthy, may you press this truth home upon our hearts and would you help us to live like it's true? Because it is. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.