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REPEATED TRUTH/UNDERLINED TRUTH!

If I told you "n" times I've told you "n + 1" times. That was the punch line to a story not told at Linda's retirement party. Al Nelson, who was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, shared a half-dozen mathematical oriented jokes with those in attendance but wisely chose not to share the above line with them.
Everyone, of course, would've understand that he was talking about the need to remind others of a chore that needed to be done or of some forgotten truth. Very few would have understood that, mathematically speaking, he was pointing out Linda's frustration, or anyone's frustration, at having to repeat the same thing an infinite number of times. Anyway, for a few it would've been a humorous twist, on the saying "If I told you once, I've told you a hundred times."
As parents, grandparents, or teachers we sometimes grow weary of reminding others of what they ought to do or know. But when we read Peter's second letter we don't get the feeling that he was growing weary of reminding others of what they already knew. For example, in II Peter 3:1 we read:
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
Graciously, he referred to both of his letters as "reminders" of what the recipients already knew. In actual fact, much of what he wrote may have been new material, a new slant on material received from Paul, or it may have been information they had not fully comprehended and/or appreciated in the past. Whatever the case, we don't sense Peter being exhausted by the need to remind others of what they already know.
If we don't pick up on this willingness to "remind" others in the first verse of chapter three, we certainly pick up on it in vv. 12 - 15 of chapter one. We read:
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
Peter senses that his time is short. For he speaks of laying aside his earthly dwelling - his body or the tent that he has lived in for many years. He also speaks of his departure. In regards to the former, he knows that when death occurs for the Christian he or she simply lays aside the tent they have lived in and is ushered into the presence of the Lord. Paul expresses this same idea in II Corinthians 5: 6 - 9 where we read:
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
But Peter also speaks of his "departure" in v. 15 where the word exodon literally means exodus. As we think back to the book of Exodus we know it gives us a twofold picture. It tells the story of a departure, and a rather dramatic one, but it also speaks of a destination. One moment they were leaving Egypt behind and the next moment they were heading toward the Promised Land. Granted, it took them much longer than it should have but that was not the original plan.
In like manner, death for you and me is a departure and an arrival. It is a departure from this life, from the tent that we inhabit, into the Promised Land where we will dwell forever in the presence of Jesus.
In the meantime, despite being bone-weary, Peter made every effort to remind others of what they already knew. Many commentators believe this is a reference to the book of Mark which is probably a compilation of Peter's sermons. But, Mark is consistently dated as being written in 55 A. D. - a good ten years prior to the writing of I and II Peter. However, II Peter 3:1, makes it clear to me that this every effort of Peter's is manifested in these two letters.
So as Peter was near to checking out - here is what was on his mind: Truth needs to be repeated again and again and again. Why? Because we forget so easily. And, quite frankly, the older we get and the more we are inundated by virtual reality as is relentlessly peddled by our culture we need to be reminded of what is really true.
Now lest we put the burden entirely on ourselves in this matter of reminding others I need to remind you of something you already know. In John 14:23 - 27 we read:
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Note! As Jesus departed he left us with his "peace". I'm convinced that in giving us the Holy Spirit that this is the "peace" he left with us. For he left someone with us who would not only teach us all things but would remind us of every truth and in being reminded of what is true we will have real peace.
So whose job is it to remind others of what is true? It is our job, as the writers of Scripture demonstrate. It is also the Holy Spirit's job and his job rating in this area will always be more impressive than our job rating. Nevertheless, it is our duty and our joy to always remind each other of what we already know.1
There is a difference, however, in the Holy Spirit reminding us of what is true and someone, like myself, reminding others of what we believe is true. The difference is that the Holy Spirit is confident of what he knows to be the truth. Where as we are prone toward doubt. Hence, we don't always speak with such confidence.
It is for this reason that Peter underlines the truth by reminding us of what could very well rank as the second most dramatic event in all of Scripture - the transfiguration of Jesus! In II Peter 1:16 - 21 we read:
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Here, Peter is reminding us of something of which only three people were invited to attend. He's reminding us that he, John, and James were invited to see a dramatic preview of coming attractions. In contrast to false teachers who were simply eyewitnesses of virtual reality Peter actually saw Jesus is all his glory and majesty. This eyewitness account is given in all three of the synoptic gospels but we will just look at Mark's account as this is probably the way Peter preached it. In Mark 9:1 - 13 we read:
And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.
And they asked him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."
Just a few paragraphs earlier Jesus had predicted his death at the hands of the religious rulers. Then, almost in the same breath, Jesus said that some of those standing before him would not "taste death" before they saw the "kingdom of God come with power." The implication being that ordinarily it is by "tasting death" that believers see the kingdom of God come with power.
Six days later, or eight depending on how you count, Jesus invited Peter, John, and his brother James to go on a hike with him. When they reached the top of the mountain Jesus was suddenly transfigured before them. His face began to shine, his clothes became whiter than white, and his whole being radiated glory. Then, at about the same moment, Moses and Elijah appeared and struck up a conversation with Jesus - probably about upcoming events. Jesus didn't have to introduce them, name tags weren't necessary, and there wasn't a senior moment on the part of the three for it seems as if they immediately recognized the two men.
But why Moses and Elijah? Why not Noah, Adam, Eve, Abraham, David, Solomon, Isaiah, or Jeremiah? Well, in general, according to scholars, it is because Moses is the representative of the Law which was fully fulfilled in Jesus and Elijah is representative of the Prophets who pointed toward the coming of the Messiah.
However, I think there is another reason for the two which serves to underline the purpose of the event itself. The two men represent the two ways by which believers are ushered into heaven. Moses was ushered in through the normal process of death. No man was present when Moses died but Scripture tells us he died in Moab and the Lord buried him or rather buried the tent in which he had lived (See Deuteronomy 34:5 - 8). Yet, here Moses is in the Promised Land alive and well!
Elijah, on the other hand, was one of two men caught up to heaven without tasting death. He was caught up in a fiery chariot as he and Elisha were walking and talking together. The chariot separated the two and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind (See II Kings 2:9 - 12).
We have a prediction of this same phenomenon in the New Testament. Believers normally enter into glory through the door marked Death, as Moses did. But Paul tells us that there will be a generation of believers who are living on the day the Lord returns and they will be caught up in a whirlwind and will meet the Lord without having to taste death (See I Thessalonians 4:16 - 17). So it is possible, very possible, that the two ways to enter heaven are represented by Moses and Elijah.
Regardless of who was present and who was not on that day this dramatic event did something else for Peter and undoubtedly for the other two as well. This preview of coming attractions underlined the truth of all that Jesus had been saying about the kingdom of God. The event declared that everything Peter had learned as a child in the local synagogue, everything he had learned from Jesus about the kingdom, and everything he had seen Jesus do in word and deed was absolutely true. Then too, the event declares for us that everything we read in the Old and New Testament is true.
For the writers of Scripture raised their sails and were literally carried along by the Spirit of God as they put on paper the very words God uses to convey his nature and his will to the likes of us. But since we are such slow learners, the truth, as revealed in the Bible, must be repeated again and again. Then too, we must underline it by living our lives as if Scripture was absolutely true for in fact it is absolutely true!

1 Peter wasn't the only one who graciously reminded his readers of what they already knew. We see Paul doing this in Romans 15:15 - 16 where we read: "I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."
We also see Jude doing this for in Jude 5 where the author says: "Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe."

PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 6/01/08 1

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