RonParrs.com: Notes from My Desk...

Do as Peter Says to ... (two)

One thing we know about the apostle Peter, he spoke frankly...

In the Gospels, we often find Peter getting ahead of himself. He had, I believe, a touch of "foot in mouth" disease. Whether it was defending Jesus or wanting to build a memorial to Him or wanting to walk on water with His Savior, Peter seemed to speak or act first, then dealt with the consequences later.

Most of us suffer from this human ailment from time to time. Usually it was Jesus Himself that reeled the disciple back in and lovingly instructed him. And as he aged and matured, he began doing as he was taught by the Master. He thought first, then prayed, then finally spoke.

2 Peter 3:14 - 18, is the second foundational verse for our study of Acts and Apologetics. We looked at 1 Peter 3:15 - 16 last time, and we were able to glean quite a bit from those two verses when it came to the subject of apologetics.

These verses in 2 Peter chapter 3 are a bit more direct in making his appeal that we believers are personally and individually responsible for understanding the Scriptures and presenting them in a cogent way to the unbelieving world around us. Peter even invokes the apostle Paul and his writing to be used and studied in the defense of the Christian Faith.

Do as Peter Says...

As we look at the study, "Acts and Apologetics", there are some words of direction from the apostle Peter. These are foundational to our study and understanding of apologetics. Let's spend some time unpacking them.

The first foundational passage is 1 Peter 3:15 - 16 (we'll look at 2 Peter 3:14 - 18 in another post). It states, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

Peter has been through a lot in his life. You can be sure that this poor - literally - fisherman from the region of Galilee in Judea, never would have dreamed he would be used by God in the way that he was. We can be pretty sure that he was a "good Jew". He feared God. He most likely did all the things that a good Jewish family man would do. He followed, as best as humanly possible, the Law. Attended synagogue. He even presented himself at the Temple in Jerusalem as often as possible. 

And then something miraculous happened. God entered His life and changed it forever. For a time, Peter would be one of the few fortunate people in the history of mankind to actually "touch" God. And God touched him and taught him.