Our Foundation of Faith
Pastor Chang
2 Peter 1:16-21
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. 17 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,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 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, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 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.
Introduction: The Christian gospel is supported by eyewitness testimony and by the very Word of God.
v16: 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.
When Peter speaks of “the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he’s referring to what’s often called the “second coming” of Jesus that’s still to come in the future.
Instead, Peter states we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. That is the kind of testimony you want—firsthand testimony from multiple eyewitnesses.
verses 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,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Matthew 17:1-6 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son,[a] with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
Josh McDowell writes about this quite persuasively in his book “Who Would Die for a Lie?” He examines the role that the eyewitness testimony of the apostles should play in our view of the gospel. He writes, “Since the Christian faith is historical, our knowledge of it must rely heavily on testimony, both written and oral. Without such testimony, we have no window to any historical event, Christian or otherwise. In fact, all history is essentially a knowledge of the past based on testimony. If reliance on such testimony seems to give history too shaky a foundation, we must ask, How else can we learn of the past? How can we know that Napoleon lived? None of us was alive in his time period. We didn’t see him or meet him. We must rely on testimony.”
Every one of the apostles, except John, died a martyr’s death. Peter was crucified, Andre was crucified, James the son of Zebedee was killed by the sword, Philip was crucified, Bartholemew was crucified, Thomas was killed by a spear, Matthew was killed by the sword, James the son of Alphaeus was crucified, Thaddaeus was killed by arrows, and Simon the zealot was crucified. All of these men were willing to die for their testimony about Jesus.
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
God’s Word in the Bible is a light that makes known to us what would otherwise be unknown and that reveals to us the truths that should guide our lives.
God invites each one of us.
Wayne Grudem,
A philosopher might argue as follows. The fact that we do not know everything requires us to be somewhat uncertain about everything we do claim to know. This is because some fact unknown to us may yet turn out to prove that what we thought to be true was actually false. For example, we think we know our date of birth, our name, our age, and so forth. But we must admit that it is possible that some day we could find that our parents had given us false information, and our “certain” knowledge would then turn out to be incorrect. It is difficult to answer the philosopher’s question. If we do not know all the facts in the universe, past, present, and future, then how can we ever attain certainty that we have correct information about any one fact?”…”Ultimately, there are only two possible solutions to this problem. (1) We must learn all the facts of the universe in order to be sure that no subsequently discovered fact will prove out present ideas to be false; or (2) someone who does know all the facts in the universe, and who never lies, could tell us some true facts that we can then be sure will never be contradicted. This second solution is in fact what we have when we have God’s words in Scripture. God knows all facts that ever have been or ever will be. And…it is from this infinite storehouse of certain knowledge that God, who never lies, has spoken to us in Scripture, in which He has told us many true things about Himself, about ourselves, and about the universe that he has made.”
verses 20-21 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 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.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.