Confirming them in the hope of the increase of God's grace, he exhorteth them by faith and good works to make their calling sure, whereof he is careful to remind them, knowing that his death is at hand: he warneth them to be constant in the faith of Christ, who is the true Son of God by the eye-witness of the apostles beholding his Majesty, and by the testimony of the Father and the prophets.
Anno Domini 67.
II PETER.]—THIS second epistle is supposed to have been written many years after the former; namely, in the year 67, a short time before St. Peter's martyrdom, which happened in 68, and to which he alludes in one or two places. The general design of this epistle is, to confirm the doctrines and instructions delivered in the former epistle; and to excite the Christian converts to adorn and adhere steadfastly to their religion, as a religion proceeding from God; notwithstanding the artifices of false teachers, whose character is described at large,—or the persecution of their bitter and inveterate enemies.
CHAP. I.—IN the latter part of the apostolical age many false teachers arose, among whom the Nicolaitans and the Simonians were the most remarkable. These, as St. Jude tells us, Jude 1:4, Perverted the grace of God to lasciviousness. They perverted the doctrine of the gospel concerning men's being justified of free grace by faith, without the works of law, so as to make it a pretence for gratifying the lusts of their flesh without restraint. And to gain credit to their impious explications of the doctrines of the gospel, these impostors denied the authority of the apostles of Christ, and arrogated to themselves an illumination and authority superior to theirs. Nay, they in a most important sense denied the authority of Christ himself, chap. 2 Peter 2:1. And having thus set themselves up as the only inspired teachers, (Jude, 2 Peter 1:16; 2 Peter 1:19.) they assured their disciples, that being justified by faith without works, believers are under no obligation, either to abstain from sin, or to do what is morally good; that Christ has purchased for them a liberty to gratify all their passions and appetites; and that Christ will not judge and punish them for so doing, nor for any sin whatever.
These doctrines being extremely agreeable to the corruptions of the human heart, were embraced by many in the latter part of the first age. Wherefore, to stop the mouths of these false teachers, who were now gone abroad among the churches, and to prevent the faithful from being seduced by them, and to establish them in the belief of the thingswhich the Lord himself had taught, and which his apostles had delivered in his name, St. Peter wrote this second epistle, in which he brought these things to their remembrance.
And first of all, in opposition to the calumnies of the false teachers, he assured the brethren to whom this epistle was directed, that Christ had gifted to his apostles every thing necessary to qualify them for leading mankind to a godly life, and for making them partakers of the divine nature. He had bestowed on them inspiration to know the true doctrines of the gospel, and authority to declare them to the world. From this it followed, that the teachers who pretended to possess a greater illumination than the apostles, or greater authority, were impostors, 2 Peter 1:3-4.—And because these seducers taught their disciples, that morality was dispensed with by the gospel, St. Peter commanded all who professed the gospel, to add to their faith courage, and to courage knowledge, &c. ver.5-7.—declaring, that these excellent dispositions would make them fruitful in good works, 2 Peter 1:8.—That if they were deficientin these things, they were blind, notwithstanding their pretensions to illumination, 2 Peter 1:9.—And as it would be very fatal to fall from those bright views and expectations into a state of such aggravated condemnation, he required them to make their calling and election sure; that having been called into the church of Christ, and chosen to such exalted external privileges, and such glorious hopes, they might not finally lose them, 2 Peter 1:10.—but might have an entrance into the everlastingkingdom of the Saviour richly or honourably ministered to them, 2 Peter 1:11. These things, he told them, he would not cease to call to their remembrance while he was in life, although they knew and believed them already, 2 Peter 1:12-13.—Withal, being sensible that he was soon to die, he proposed, by committing his instructions to writing in this epistle, (as he had done before in his former epistle,) to put it in their power, after his decease, to have them always in remembrance, as his dying words, 2 Peter 1:14-15.
In the mean time, to give the faithful the fullest assurance of the truth of all the things which the apostles with one consent had delivered to the churches, and which,in part, he was now going to write; more particularly, to give them a perfect assurance of Christ's being the Son of God, and of his coming to judge the world, which the infidels of that age loudly denied, St. Peter told them, that in making known the power and coming of Christ, he and his brethren apostles, had not published a fable cunningly devised by Christ, and credulously received by them. They had the clearest evidence of their Master's power and coming set before them visibly, in the honour and glory which he received from the Father, when he was transfigured in their presence, and a voice came to him from the excellent glory, saying, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. This voice, said he, we, Peter, and James, and John, heard distinctly, being with him, on that occasion, upon the holy mountain, 2 Peter 1:16-18.—He added, by these proofs of our Master's greatness, of which we were beholders, we and all mankind have the ancient prophecies concerning the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of the world, as well as our Master's prophecies concerning these events, made still more firm. Wherefore, it is your duty to give heed to the prophetic word thus confirmed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until Christ, as the Sun of righteousness, the Day-star from on high, and the bright and morning star, (Malachi 4:2.Luke 1:78. Revelation 22:16.)shall arise in full lustre, and shed such a transcendant light in your souls, as shall entirely dissipate all obscurity or doubt, about what was intimated by the vision on the mount, and is further confirmed by the sure word of prophecy, 2 Peter 1:19.—knowing this first, as a circumstance necessary to confirm you in the belief of the ancient prophesies, that no prophesy of scripture is of the prophet's own invention, 2 Peter 1:20.—but that all the prophets spake their prophesies by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.