Don't Forget To Remember Series

Introduction:

A. The story is told of an elderly gentleman who was telling his friend about a new restaurant he and his wife recently visited.

1. He said, “The food and the service were great!”

2. His friend asked, “What's the name of the restaurant?”

3. “Gee, I don't remember,” he said, “Hey, what do you call the long stemmed flower people give on special occasions?”

4. “You mean a rose?” offered his friend.

5. “Yeah, that's it!” the old man exclaimed and turned calling to his wife across the yard, “Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to the other day?”

B. So let me ask you: How good is your memory? Do you tend to forget things?

1. Can you remember your wife or husband’s name?

2. Can you remember what day is today or what you had for breakfast?

3. What about Scripture? Do you remember what the Bible says and where it says it?

4. What about the Lord and your salvation?

a. Do you remember what the Lord has done for you?

b. Do you remember the commitment you have made to the Lord?

5. These are things we don’t want to forget.

6. Unfortunately, we often forget what we need to remember and we remember what we need to forget.

C. We notice that God is often commanding His people to remember important things.

1. We also notice that God often gives his people physical, visual aids to help them remember.

2. God has given us the sign of the rainbow to help us remember that He will never again destroy all life by water.

3. God gave the sign of circumcision to remind the people of Israel of the covenant of Abraham.

4. God gave them the Passover to remind them of the great deliverance from Egypt.

5. Similarly, God has given us the Lord’s Supper to give us a weekly reminder of our deliverance from sin through sacrifice of Christ.

6. God knows how easily we forget and how important it is for us to remember.

D. As we turn to today’s text from 2 Peter, we see Peter doing everything he can to leave the church some very important reminders.

1. He is basically saying to all of us: Don’t forget to remember.

2. Peter knows that false teachers pose a great danger to the church, both in his time and in ours.

3. Let’s work our way through the text to see what things we need to remember.

I. Remember to be Established in the Truth (1:12-15)

A. Peter begins: 12 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.

B. The first thing that stands out to us is the fact that there is a body of truth that Peter wants to be sure they remember.

1. He compliments them saying that they are “firmly established in the truth you now have.”

2. He wants to be sure that they will remember “these things” after his departure.

3. Through their preaching and teaching, the apostles and prophets laid the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20), and we in later generations are building on that foundation.

4. The truth about Jesus Christ is that foundation (1 Cor. 3:11).

5. Peter implies that there is a fixed body of truth that must be held to and remembered.

6. Jude describes it as “the faith that God has once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 3)

7. The receiving of this truth establishes a person in the truth, and holding on to that truth results in faithfulness and spiritual strength.

C. Why was Peter so urgent and emphatic about reminding them of this truth? Because he knew his death was near.

1. Back in John 21:18-19, Jesus spoke of the end of Peter’s life and the fact that it would be a violent death that would bring glory to God.

2. If you knew your time here was coming to an end, what would be your focus?

3. What would you want to impress on the Christian family you would be leaving behind?

4. What would you want to impress on your personal, biological family?

5. What would you do to try to make sure they wouldn’t forget the important things?

D. As an aside, let me say that I appreciate Peter’s lack of concern for his own death.