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2 Peter 1:12 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 stir you up by way of reminder as long as I am in this tent, 14 because I know that the laying aside of my tent is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
Introduction
What if there’s something you already know—you’ve learned it, it’s in your head... —and that old truth is the key to revitalizing and rejuvenating your whole relationship with God? You might say, “If I already know it, why am I not already rejuvenated?” Because it got filed in some corner of your brain where your soul doesn’t pull it up in the moments when it is needed. So it’s there, but it’s not stirring up your spiritual life. That’s the situation, to one degree or another, for every Christian on earth. So Peter says this:
2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder
Peter says, “I’m going to take something that’s already in your head and use that to stir up your spiritual life.”
Tonight’s passage, 2 Peter 1:12-15, is all about reminders. And it’s not a new topic for us. We talked about remembering and forgetting back in v.9, where Peter said if you’re not growing spiritually, it’s partially a memory issue.
2 Peter 1:9 If anyone does not have [the virtues], he ... has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
The Importance of Memory
When we studied that verse, we learned how spiritually deadly forgetting can be. And conversely, you can make great strides spiritually just by remembering certain truths. So all through redemptive history you see God providing reminders—... feasts, holidays, celebrations, monuments... —God commanded the Jews to sew reminders into their clothing, decorate their houses with them. Some of the OT laws that unbelievers make fun of—don’t wear clothes with two kinds of fabric, don’t plant two kinds of seed in the same field, kosher dietary restrictions... —those were laws designed to weave reminders of important spiritual truths right into the everyday grind of life. Reminders, reminders, reminders. You can hardly overstate the importance of remembering and the danger of forgetting in your walk with the Lord.
You Need Regular Reboots
And one reason for that is that truth, in your heart, is unstable. Over time, it degrades. Your spiritual life is kind of like those older versions of Windows that always needed to be restarted. You couldn’t just leave your computer on for days at a time because Windows would pick up glitches and more glitches until finally it wouldn’t work at all. But then you shut it off, reboot, and everything would work again.
You and I are like that. I learn something new, I’m all excited, that new truth changes me, and now I’m different. I’m Darrell Version 10.7. And I’m running like a top—for a while. But over time, I pick up some glitches. I learn another new truth, and when I try to integrate that with this one, this one gets a little distorted. I forget bits and pieces of it. Not heresy or anything—but not as clear as before.
And the part that gets lost is the insight—that perspective I had on that truth that got me so excited when I first learned it. Now I still remember the bones of the principle, but I’ve lost that beautiful perspective on it and insight into it that was the part that changed my life. So now, that principle I was so excited about kind of bores me. And the whole operating system of my faith starts to bog down. It still runs, but it’s slow and some of the programs won’t run at all.
That’s the natural course of every Christian’s experience. You get bogged down, you lose the relish of the truth, you lose your passion, and your zeal fades into routine duty. And when that happens, what you need is a refresh. And Peter wants to give you that refresh, and he wants to do it through reminders.
2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder
So those weak Christians in v.9 who aren’t growing need reminders. Who else needs reminders? Strong Christians who are doing great spiritually.
2 Peter 1:12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
Peter’s Readers Were Established
Peter says his readers are established, and that’s saying a lot. If you trace that word “established” in the New Testament, you find that word is a summary of the entire goal of Christian growth—to become established.
1 Thessalonians 3:2 We sent Timothy ... to establish you
Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel
1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace ... will himself ... establish you.
The goal of ministry, the work of the gospel, the ministry of the Spirit is to bring people to the point of being established in the truth of the gospel. And Peter’s readers were there. That’s amazing!
They’ve reached the goal of the Christian life, but even they still need constant reminders. In fact, probably the people who need reminders the most are established Christians because the longer you know something, the greater the chance of forgetting parts of it. So Peter says, “Even though you’re established, I’m still going to devote the rest of my life to giving you reminders.” Paul said the same thing to the Romans.
Romans 15:14 I ... am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again.
Jude 5 is another example.
Jude 1:5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you
Steadfastness Can Fade
Why is this such a compelling urgency for Peter and the other Bible writers? They’re writing to strong, established people—what are they afraid is going to happen? Look how Peter ends his book.
2 Peter 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your established condition.
What does that tell us? It tells us that no matter how strong you are, strength can degrade over time if it’s not maintained.
And what happens when someone falls from their established condition? Now they’re non-established, and the non-established are the vulnerable ones. Chapter 2 is all about the false teachers who lead people astray, and look at who they prey on.
2 Peter 2:14 ... they seduce the non-established.
Same word except in the negative form.
And to make matters even worse, if you’re not established, not only are you vulnerable to the deceivers, you might become one of the deceivers because non-established people tend to mishandle the Bible.
2 Peter 3:16 ... ignorant and non-established people distort ... the Scriptures to their own destruction.
So many Christians assume that once they are established, they’re impervious to ever falling away. But false teachers and deceivers can chip away at your steadfastness and weaken it even to the point where you fall away. Just look at a guy like Joshua Harris, who was so rock solid for so many years, preached, wrote great books, pastored a church, founded Sovereign Grace Ministries—he was established in the faith. He wrote the book, “I kissed dating goodbye” but now he’s kissed Christ goodbye—and his wife. He left his wife and is now apologizing for his previous teachings.
Evidently, even with all that preaching and teaching and writing, he forgot some things. It could be that some well-timed reminders at some crucial moments could have kept him from falling.
Charles Templeton, who co-founded Youth for Christ with Billy Graham, left the faith. Paul Maxwell, evangelical theologian who wrote for Desiring God (John Piper’s ministry), left the faith. And that’s been going on for 2000 years. In the NT, Hymenaeus and Alexander shipwrecked their faith,... Demas abandoned Paul because he loved the world,... Judas fell away after having been an Apostle of Christ, and the people in Hebrews 6 fell away even after being enlightened and sharing in the Holy Spirit. That’s the sort of thing Peter was dealing with with these false teachers. They were deceiving people and misleading people, confusing, them, enticing them and leaving a whole lot of casualties like Joshua Harris and Hymenaeus and Alexander in their wake. So Peter says, “You’re strong, and that’s great, but I’m going to devote the rest of my life to making sure you stay strong.”
Stirring Up
So how is Peter going to keep these people from falling from their established condition? He says he’s going to use reminders, but what will he do with those reminders? Because not all reminders help.
What goes through your mind when you go to church and the pastor starts his sermon with, “You’re not going to get anything new today. I’m just going to remind you of some familiar old truths”? I hear that and I’m already checking my watch. It’s bad enough to sit through a boring sermon, but when he tells you in advance it’s going to be boring, that’s the worst. Just last week I heard a pastor say, “Don’t get bored when you come here and you hear the same things over and over and over” and he cited this text to support that.
Is that what Peter did—bore people with reminders? No. The exact opposite. He used reminders to stir them up.
2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder
He says it again in ch.3.
2 Peter 3:1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you to stir you up by way of reminder
Sadly, the NIV doesn’t even translate the word “stir up” in these verses, which, I think is a huge miss because that’s the main point.
You Need Stirring
This word for stirring up is used of rousing someone from sleep—not just waking them up also getting them up out of bed and moving. When a preacher just keeps repeating the same truths in the same way with the same words and same illustrations—that doesn’t rouse people from sleep. It puts them to sleep. Those churches become theological kindergartens that are so repetitive that they numb people’s brains and do the exact opposite of stirring them up.
Peter was all about reminders, but he wasn’t repetitive. Does 2 Peter sound the same to you as 1 Peter? The two books are so different that the liberal scholars insist they couldn’t have been written by the same man. Peter found fresh, new ways of teaching old, established truths in a way that stirred the people up.
And I’m not saying the preacher has to be Tony Robbins or some kind of motivational speaker. But there should be some effort to target the affections and the will, not just the brain. This word for stirring up was also used of stirring up courage, stirring up anger, or stirring up desire—rousing a person’s affections. And every Christian needs that. It doesn’t matter how strong you are spiritually, how established you are, how mature you are—you need regular stirring.
My daughter is a trained chef and she was telling me about making lemon curd (it’s a lemon dessert spread). It’s made with eggs, and while it’s cooking, you have to keep stirring it to prevent the eggs from hardening and creating lumps. Let it sit too long on the heat and you just get scrambled eggs. You have to keep stirring it up.
You and I are like that. We live life on a burner and no matter how well you’re doing spiritually, everything naturally hardens over time, and you need to be stirred up again. That’s the rhythm of the Christian life, and without it, your strength will degrade.
Stir One Another Up
And we all need to learn from Peter’s example. This isn’t just for preachers.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
We all have the responsibility of stirring one another up. And if Peter accomplished that with reminders, so let’s follow his lead.
Don’t ever hesitate to speak or write an old truth to a brother or sister in Christ. Never say, “Oh, he already knows this.” He probably does already know it but he’s probably not thinking about it right now. Maybe that truth was crystal clear in his thinking a month ago and it will be again a month from now. But right now, in this current thing he’s going through, that truth has gotten buried by something in his heart, and it’s not coming to mind. And he needs you to remind him of it.
Peter’s Exodus
Okay, so Peter tells his readers that his goal is to stir them up. And look at how he does it. He spends the whole rest of the passage talking about the fact that he’s got one foot in the grave.
Fitting Because of Imminent Death
2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right (fitting, appropriate) to stir you up by way of reminder as long as I am in this tent, 14 because I know that the laying aside of my tent is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
When Jesus restored Peter from his fall in John 21, he revealed to Peter “the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” (John 21:19). Evidently, the circumstances Jesus described matched what Peter was going through when he wrote 2 Peter, so that Peter knew the time was near.
Closer Death Means More Effort
And Peter says, “That’s why I’m stepping up my efforts in ministry,” which is the opposite of what we tend to do in our retirement culture. Our culture says the older you get, the more you take it easy. But for Peter, just like Paul, the older he got and the closer his death bed came, the more he stepped on the gas. And in order to explain why, he talks about his tent and his exodus.
2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder as long as I am in this tent , 14 because I know that the laying aside of my tent is imminent, ... 15 And I will also make every effort to see that after my exodus you will always be able to remember these things.
Your Bible might say “departure” but the Greek word exodus. Peter is about to go from his tent to his exodus. After leaving Egypt to go to the Promised Land, the Israelites lived in tents in the desert. Even God dwelt in a tent during that time. So by using these terms, Peter is clearly pointing us to the time of the Exodus.
God’s Template for Salvation
And that’s not surprising—the Exodus is a huge theme in Scripture. It’s a huge them because the Exodus is God’s template for salvation. It’s a 3-part template to teach us how to understand our salvation.
Focus on the Destination
Part 1 was leaving Egypt—God redeeming his people out of bondage—Passover, crossing the sea on dry ground—all that. But that’s just part 1. God didn’t just bring them out of Egypt and so, “Okay, you’re home free now.” They left Egypt in order to go somewhere, and the Exodus isn’t complete until they get to that destination.
Exodus 3:8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Exodus isn’t over until they enter that land flowing with milk and honey. So keep that in mind—it’s mainly about the destination.
All the main translations use the word “departure” to translate this Greek word exodus here in 1 Peter 1:15. And that’s actually especially fitting for us if you think of how we use the word “departure.” Mostly, we use that word for air travel. Tracy and I have plans to go down to Mexico next month for a vacation. It’s our favorite place to go—she loves the beaches, I love buffets, so it’s the perfect vacation. We recently booked the flight, and the departure time is around 9 am. I pay close attention to the departure time because I want to make sure we get to the resort in time for the lunch buffet. It’s all about the destination. And when that departure time rolls around, you know what the last thing on my mind will be? Colorado. You know I love Colorado, but that departure time is the one time I’m not thinking about Colorado at all. From the time we wake up that morning on departure day, we might as well already be in Cancun because that’s where our hearts are.
Thinking about the word “departure” that way will give you an idea of the meaning of exodus. It’s all about the destination—the land flowing with milk and honey.
The Time of Testing
So what are the three parts in God’s template for salvation? Stage 1 is being redeemed from bondage in Egypt. Stage 3 is entry into the Promised Land. But in between is stage 2—the journey between Egypt and the Promised land which was a time of testing in the desert. Mid-Exodus.
Application for Our Salvation
So how do those three stages apply to spiritual salvation today? Stage 1: Being redeemed from bondage—that illustrates the day you became a Christian, when God rescued you out of bondage to sin. Your old life, before you were a Christian—that was your Egypt. On the day you believed, God put the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, over your door and rescued you from bondage to sin—your own, personal Passover.
If we want to use Peter’s lingo, he says it this way:
1 Peter 1:18 You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers 19 ... with the precious blood of Christ
That’s stage 1.
Stage 3 is the destination—entering God’s rest, which is still future.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter [God’s] rest
Stage 3 happens when you die and go to be with Christ.
Stage 2 (the time of testing in the wilderness when the people lived in tents)—that corresponds to your Christian life—from your conversion to your death. You’re in stage 2 of your exodus right now.
And why is it called a time of testing? Because the question of whether you will make it into stage 3 and enter God’s rest depends on whether you remain faithful all the way through stage 2. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says:
Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter [God’s] rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
He’s talking about the ancient Israelites at the time of the Exodus who died in the desert and never made it to the Promised Land. They failed the time of testing. And that’s a theme in the New Testament.
Jude 1:5 ... I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt (stage 1), but later destroyed those who did not believe.
They didn’t make it to stage 3.
Paul makes the same point.
1 Corinthians 10:1 ... our forefathers... all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food ... [they all experienced stage 1] 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
Even after experiencing stage one of salvation, saved by the lamb’s blood and delivered from bondage, most of them didn’t make it to stage 3 because they failed the test in between.
Now, you might say, “Okay, that’s Israel. But how do you know that occurred as an example for us?” Next verse.
1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things occurred as examples for us
So all that is background of how the concept of exodus was understood in NT times. Stage 1 of salvation is becoming a Christian. Stage 2 is the Christian life, which is a time of testing. Stage 3 is entering God’s rest when you die.
So when Peter says, “I’m about to leave my tent behind and move on to my exodus,” he’s saying he’s about to move from stage 2 to stage 3. He’s wrapping up his time of testing in this life and he’s about to enter God’s rest, the land of promise, or to use his words, the eternal kingdom.
Why Peter’s Impending Death Matters
But why use all that Exodus imagery? Why not just say, “I’m about to die and go to heaven?”
Remember the context. Peter is telling us why his coming death makes him so urgent about giving us reminders. What makes an elderly man become more energetic in ministry as he gets closer to death? You would think that once he’s close to entering the presence of God... —that would captivate all his attention and he would kind of lose interest in this world.
Especially a man like Peter. Can you imagine the reward he was looking forward to?
Peter Fulfilled His Commission
You want to see something really cool? I was telling you about that word “established” that Peter keeps using. The people Peter has been ministering to are established in the truth.
You know where that word first appears in connection with Peter? It was in Luke 22, where Jesus told Peter Satan was going to sift him as wheat and Peter would fall. He would fall, but thanks to Jesus’ prayers for him, that fall wouldn’t be forever. Peter would recover. And do you remember what Jesus told him to do after he recovered from his fall?
Luke 22:32 ... “when you have turned back, establish your brothers."
Same word. “Peter, you’re going to fight the devil and lose. You’re going to have a terrible fall. I’m going to pray for you, you’ll recover, and from that point on, Peter, this is your job: establish your brothers. Make sure they are established in the truth.” That’s Peter’s own, personal great commission from Jesus.
Fast forward all the way to the end of Peter’s life. Peter says to his people:
2 Peter 1:12 ... you are firmly established in the truth
He did it! He could honestly say, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that he had accomplished exactly what Jesus commissioned him to do. What kind of reward was Peter looking forward to?
He’s close to death, he’s just about to step through that door where Jesus says, “Come, take your inheritance.” But just as Peter puts his hand on the door, he can’t help but to look back at the people he’s leaving behind. What about them?
Remember when Paul was talking about how it would be better by far to just die and go to heaven in Philippians 1? He said that would be better by far, but then he said, “But what shall I choose? I’m torn between the two (staying in this life or going to heaven).”
If heaven was better by far, why is it a hard choice? Because, Paul says, “It’s more necessary for you that I remain. And convinced of that, I know I will remain.”
Paul loved the idea of heaven, but he hated the idea of leaving those people behind who needed him. Peter’s facing the same thing.
You see, Peter’s hard work in ministry wasn’t just perfunctory. It wasn’t just driven by a sense of duty. It was driven by love. He cared about these people. He’s about to step out of the desert, leave his tent behind, and cross over into the Promised Land. But he looks back at the sheep he’s been shepherding and realizes he’s leaving them with a pack of wolves.
Those people are still going to be in stage 2—still in the desert of testing. Right now they’re on that narrow path that leads from the desert into the Promised Land, but Peter can see standing right in the middle of that path—the deceivers. Peter has watched over the years as these con men have stood right there at the Jordan and conned one person after another after another into turning onto another path. “Take this path—this is the one that will lead you into the Promised Land.” And that path actually goes in a big arc right back into the desert, and the people who take it die in the desert just like the Israelites of the exodus.
And that was such a real threat that Peter said, “I’m an old man, I’m tired, weak, but I’ve got to step up my game and make sure these people stay stirred up after I’m gone!”
Be Stirrable
That’s why Peter wrote 1 & 2 Peter, and he wants to know that’s why he wrote. Why? Why is it important that the readers know that? It’s because in order for it to work, we have to be on board.
From what I said earlier, you might have the feeling that the task of stirring people up is totally on the preacher. Preachers, don’t be dull! That’s part of it, but no matter how good the preacher is, in order for you to get stirred up by God’s Word, you have to be stirrable.
Think of how much your attitude affects whether or not you can be stirred up. Imagine a football team getting a pep talk from the coach before the championship game. You want the coach to say something inspiring or motivational, but he doesn’t exactly have to be Winston Churchill. He can say a couple things and then yell, “Go get ‘em!” and the team is in a frenzy. Why? Because they want that speech to work. They know they won’t perform well in the game unless they’re hyped up, so it hardly takes anything to get them going.
But what if they were like we so often are in church—just passive? Sitting there ... “Okay pastor, show me what you got.” I’ll admit it—there are times I’ve come into church and for one reason or another, if you could see my heart, it’s arms are folded and I’m thinking, “This goober probably doesn’t have anything worthwhile to say.” And he could turn out to be Winston Churchill, Tony Robbins, and John Piper all rolled into one and I’d probably just say, “Yeah, he missed the whole point of the passage.” So much depends on our attitude.
Peter tells these people what he’s trying to do because for it to work, his stirring and their being stirred has to be a joint venture. And that applies to us. When you read 2 Peter, read it as the last words of a dying man who is desperate to make sure you don’t die in the wilderness. Every time you read the Bible, every time you listen to a sermon, go into with a desire to be stirred up.
Stirred, Not Hyped
And when I say stirred up, I don’t mean hyped up. It’s not quite like the football team. I’m not saying you have to go out of church jumping up and down and shouting. I’m talking about stirring up any godly affections.
It might be guilt that gets stirred up. What does it look like to be stirrable in the area of guilt feelings? You hear something really convicting in a sermon. Instead of just saying, “ouch” and then moving on—you think about it. You let down your defenses and let the Holy Spirit dig deep and get all the way down to the rot that needs to be rooted out.
Or, it may be joy that needs to be stirred up. Again, your attitude is everything. If you’re in a bad mood, it will take some doing to become receptive to letting joy be stirred up.
It may be gratitude or fear of God or awe or reverence or humility or hope. Every godly affection needs to be stirred up from time to time. And it won’t be unless you come in with a stirrable attitude.
It might not hurt before listening to a sermon or before reading your Bible in the morning to pray: “Lord, prepare me to be stirrable in the ways I need it. Show me what areas of my faith have gotten a little glitchy and need a refresh.”
Conclusion
So here’s the question for you: what important truths have you learned that have gotten lost in the file cabinet in your head? What have you forgotten? Obviously, you can’t answer that question because if you could, those truths wouldn’t be forgotten. None of us really know which truths we need to be reminded of to refresh our glitched-out operating system. And yet if it doesn’t happen, we could very well end up dying in the desert without entering God’s rest. So our only hope is to expose ourselves to constant reminders and stay stirrable. Peter has one, singular, driving goal in this book: grow in grace as much as you possibly can now, or you’ll be one of the causalities when things get really bad.
Summary
Even the most mature and established Christians need constant reminders of God’s truth in order to stay strong. Peter had achieved his life goal—making the brothers established, but in his final years, before his exodus (stage 3 of salvation) he’s desperate to keep them that way lest they become like the Israelites who died in the desert without reaching the Promised Land. He does so by way of stirring reminders (not boring, repetitive ones). He tells the readers this because for it to work, we must listen with stirrable attitudes.
