LIVING IN GOD’S TRUE STORY

2 PETER

TRANSFORMATIVE WORD

DONALD L. MORCOM

Series Editors

Craig G. Bartholomew &

David J. H. Beldman

Living in God’s True Story: 2 Peter

Transformative Word

Copyright 2021 Donald L. Morcom

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Print ISBN 9781683594833

Digital ISBN 9781683594840

Library of Congress Control Number 2021930745

Series Editors: Craig G. Bartholomew and David J. H. Beldman

Lexham Editorial: David Bomar, Claire Brubaker, Mandi Newell, and Danielle Thevenaz

Cover Design: Peter Park

To Jackie, faithful life companion,

who models so many of the qualities

commended in 2 Peter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1: Introduction

2: “How Firm a Foundation”

3: Building on the Foundation

4: But How Firm Is This Foundation, Really?

5: Looking Out for False Teachers

6: Resisting Scoffers

7: Living in Light of the End

Conclusion

Appendix: Critical Issues in Studying 2 Peter

Recommended Reading

1

INTRODUCTION

Which Story?

All of us live our lives according to a particular story that helps us make sense of the world and our experiences in it, and molds our attitudes and behaviors accordingly. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What should I do? Our answers to such questions reflect the story we live by. British missionary-theologian Lesslie Newbigin put it like this: “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life is a part?”1

Newbigin’s question is urgent because “today, as in the ancient era, the Church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the gospel. The pressing issue is: Who gets to narrate the world?”2 Which script or metanarrative or story controls the way we think about the world and our place in it? For some people, it’s consumerism—earn all you can to acquire all you can for your own enjoyment and status. For others, it’s getting to the top of whatever ladder appeals to them, whether corporate, academic, or sporting. For still others, it’s the modern brand of fatalism proclaimed by a bumper sticker I see sometimes: “Life’s a b*tch, and then you die.” Becoming authentic Christ-followers involves leaving behind the stories that our world and our culture have taught us (many of which distill into the secular quest for the “big three”—money, sex, and power)3 and embracing an altogether new story, God’s story, as revealed to us in the Bible. But there are two particular difficulties we face in making this change. The first is that our culture’s stories aren’t easily loosened from ...