Sermon for MHBC (6 March 2022). You can watch on our website or on Facebook or YouTube. Live at 11:00am on Sundays. Also available as a podcast here or by searching “Monument Heights Baptist Church” in your favorite podcast app.
I came across a phrase in Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional recently. He spoke about “the believer’s privilege.”[1] That language about “the believer’s privilege” got me thinking about our privileges as believers. The people of God have unique privileges, unique benefits, unique assets, because of God’s wonderful grace to us in Christ.[2]
There are a lot of ways we could approach the topic of our privileges as believers, but I want to do it under the heading of something theologians call “the means of grace.” The means of grace are the instruments or the tools that the Lord has ordained for the continual supply of His grace to His people.
People put these together in slightly different ways, and I’m going to do that as well. When I talk about the means of grace, I have in mind several things: (1) The Word of God, (2) Prayer, and (3) the Church (Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Preached Word). This morning we are going to look at the privilege of God’s Word to us.
If you have access to a Bible, join me in 2 Peter. Second Peter is written to a church in conflict. Deception and false teaching are rampant within the church. Peter writes to remind (and that’s really a key word)[3] his readers of the truth of God’s Word. Our passage this morning urges us to remember the unique privilege of the Word of God.
Let’s begin in 2 Peter 1:16: 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. Remember Peter is giving them a reminder to adhere to the truth. Then he launches into an explanation, by saying, for or because we did not follow cleverly devised myths. When he uses the word myth, we are likely to misunderstand it. When we hear myth, we tend to equate it with something that is false or fiction. That’s not how ancient people talked about myth and that’s not how Peter is talking about it here.
A myth is like a philosophy for explaining the world. It’s a way of looking at the world and making sense of it. Peter says, “The Christian faith doesn’t derive from some clever explanation of the way things work. Rather, we saw it for ourselves and it is majestic.”
Peter has a specific moment in mind. He’s actually referring to a moment recorded in the Gospels. Jesus goes with three of His closest disciples to the top of a mountain, and there the glory of God is revealed. Christ is seen as the pinnacle of all the prophets. Everything the OT authors were writing about is true in Christ. Look how Peter describes this moment in vv. 17–18: 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.
Let’s think about this picture that Peter gives us. On the mountain, we see Christ revealed. Who He is made absolutely and undeniably clear on the mountain. On this mountain, the voice from heaven, the voice of the majestic glory, declares Christ as the Son of God. Jesus is not merely another human. He possesses a unique relationship to God. That is revealed on the mountain.
The mountain is often a theme of God revealing something. You may recall Moses receiving the commandments on the mountain or the LORD passing before Moses. In the world of the Bible, there was tremendous information about God revealing Himself on mountains. This is important because Peter is talking about God’s Word—how God reveals Himself.
How do we know what is true or accurate? How do we know what is right or wrong? We need a standard outside of ourselves otherwise we will just create our own standards. Peter is talking about real revelation, not something he imagined or something he came up with. He’s talking about receiving clear indication from God. And he says, “We heard this very voice from heaven.”
Now that’s his experience, but he’s going to tell us that our task is to pay attention to God’s Word. Verse 19: 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. Everything in the OT is confirmed in Christ. There is unfolding revelation.
We are used to hearing breaking news, and often that breaking news sheds additional insight into a situation. That’s what Peter is saying. We had the prophets, who were telling us about this, but now we have a clear picture of what they were talking about. Then he says, we would do well to pay attention to those words. Why? Because it will illumine our lives and prepare us for eternity.
The Christian hope is not rooted in this moment. It’s rooted in the return of Christ. What do we do in the moment? Pay attention to the Word of God. Pay attention to what God has chosen to reveal to us. Now I’ve made a quick jump, so I want to slow down here. Where do we have access to the Word of God? Where do we have access to a standard outside of ourselves? We have access to the Word of God in Scripture. This is the chosen instrument of God’s written revelation.
Do you see the privilege here? Peter and the disciples stood on a mountain and saw amazing, unfathomable realities, but we too can peer into the depths of God’s revelation through Holy Scripture. This book is ours to illumine the dark. This book is ours to prepare for eternity. This book is ours until we behold Christ Jesus face-to-face.
Why should we devote ourselves to Scripture? Peter tells us the reason in the next two verses: 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.
Why does Peter want us to pay attention to the Word of God? Because it is not merely the words of man. It is the very words of God. In the words of Scripture, God has made Himself known.
Consider the significance of this. We all want to hear from God, and I firmly believe we can hear from God in supernatural ways. But let’s say you hear the voice of God. How do you know it’s the voice of God? How do you know it’s true?
We need a standard outside of ourselves that can guide us. Otherwise we are susceptible to any change of mood, things we are told, traditions unrooted in God’s direction, and any number of other pitfalls.
Do you remember the Bereans in Acts? When they hear the preaching about Christ, this is what they do according to Acts 17:12b: they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Notice their attitude. They are eager, hungry, for the Word of God. And they study it, they examine it. They want proof that this is indeed what Holy Scripture said. Why? Because these are not human words. They are words from God.
One of the challenges, not uncommon in Baptist circles (though we aren’t the only ones), is a rejection of Scripture as a means of grace. It’s not usually an explicit rejection. It’s usually implicit. It’s usually practical. Here’s what I mean. There is a greater emphasis on feelings, emotion, and experience than carefully engaging with what God has said. Sometimes it’s a practical rejection because the Bible seems dull, difficult, or disturbing.
Several years ago I was discussing a hot button cultural topic with a pastor friend. At one point in the discussion, we were talking about what Paul had said in the NT, and my friend matter-of-factly said, “I think Paul was wrong.” Now that was an explicit rejection, but it’s practical in churches. Consider how many worship services you’ve been to where the Word of God is merely an obligatory add-on. Perhaps it’s read at the beginning of the sermon and closed. That is practical rejection. Or what about those who insist that engagement with the Bible is not really important because what’s really important is a spiritual experience?
Peter’s words won’t let us entertain a practical rejection of Scripture. He tells us to pay attention. We are to engage the words of Scripture. Why? Because they are the words of God, and since they are the words of God, they are a remarkable source of grace to us. They provide us with truth, guidance, comfort, refuge.
What privileges are ours? First, we have access to the Word of God, but that isn’t unique to a believer. Anyone can access a Bible. But here’s our unique privilege: Christ unlocks all of Scripture, so all of Scripture is opened to us in Christ. Apart from Him, we can’t see a thing.[4] That’s part of the point here in our passage. Christ is established clearly as the true King of the world, not just a great teacher, but also God incarnate. The Holy Spirit illumines Christ for us.
Second, we have a lantern in a dark world. We live in an age of information overload. Neuroscientists have discovered that our brains are literally wired differently because of our information age. For example, our memories are not as substantial because we have so much information available to us on by just searching on our phone. We don’t need to remember anything because we can just Google it.[5] But the Word of God gives us a way to cut through the mess of information, which is hardly ever just the facts. The Word of God can illumine this confusing life. It can help us to determine what is important, valuable, and worthy of our attention. Herein, we learn wisdom.
Let me just tell you briefly about Augustine. You’ve no doubt heard the name. Augustine lived in the 300s. He is one of the most important Christian thinkers in all of history. He spent years learning various philosophies about the world and trying to make sense out of life. He was searching, trying to cut through the web of information and opinions. One day he happened to hear children singing a song in Latin. The song was saying, “Take up and read. Take up and read.” He took this as a sign from the God of the Bible, so he opened a copy of Scripture and read a passage in Romans 13: “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” This passage turned the light on for Augustine. That is the power of the Word of God. It changes lives.[6]
Third, in Scripture we have insight to the future. Peter’s biggest point is to remind his readers of the promises of God. The truthfulness and faithfulness of God are what makes the Word of God reliable. Scripture sets our focus on the future so that we can continue pressing on while we wait for the redemption of the world.
Here’s what we must do. We must prioritize Scripture individually and congregationally. We must make individual efforts to immerse ourselves in Holy Scripture, reading to see Christ through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. And we must prioritize Scripture as a congregation. Every area of church life must be brought into conformity with Scripture. Our shared life must be a life revolving around the Word of God. That has been my commitment to you from the beginning, and I know it is a shared commitment by our ministry staff.
I’ve told you before about William Tyndale. Tyndale was executed in part because he translated Scripture into English. His desire was for people to have access to the Word of God. In 1530 when he published the first five books of the Bible in English, he wrote the following in the introduction:
“Though a man had a precious jewel and a rich, yet if he [understand] not the value thereof, nor wherefore it served, he were neither the better nor richer of a straw. Even so, though we read the Scripture and babble of it never so much, yet if we know not the use of it, and wherefore it was given, and what is therein to be sought, it profiteth us nothing at all. It is not enough therefore to read and talk of it only, but we must also desire God day and night instantly to open our eyes, and to make us understand and feel wherefore the Scripture was given, that we may apply the medicine of the Scripture, every man to his own sores,…”[7]
“So now the Scripture is a light and sheweth us the true way, both what to do, and what to hope; and a defense from all error, and a comfort in adversity that we despair not.”
[1] “February 28 Morning” available here: https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/2022/02/28
[2] I have Phil 4:19 in mind here, but Ephesians 1–3 works as a lengthy exposition of these riches.
[3] See 2 Pet 1:12–13; 3:1–2.
[4] See especially John 3:1–15 and 2 Cor 4:1–6.
[5] See Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.
[6] A short introduction to this story can be found here https://seedbed.com/tolle-lege-tolle-lege-the-conversion-of-st-augustine/
[7] David Norton, A History of the English Bible as Literature, p. 13.