2 Peter 1:12-21 — Peter epistles
Remembering Truth
Truth is found in reliable sources—eyewitness testimony and Scripture—not subjective feeling. Peter urges believers to remain firmly grounded in God's Word against false teaching and cultural relativism.
Introduction
Senior moments—those lapses in thought when you forget a point mid-conversation or wonder why you entered a room—are a common experience. Memory is a precious gift, yet it is not always accurate. As time passes, profound events begin to dim. We forget when things happened, and we estimate uncertainly. When my mother recently reviewed old photos after my grandparents’ deaths, I received pictures from a trip to their house when I was in my late teens. My grandmother had taken them, but I had completely forgotten the trip. Yet there I was in the photograph with my brother and two friends. How could we forget something so clear at the time?
We need regular reminders, or we will forget. The Lord’s Supper provides such a remembrance. We eat this common meal regularly, celebrating our relationship with God and each other while reminding ourselves of our allegiance and direction in life. Yet our memories are not always accurate. What we need is something that serves to remind us and is objectively true.
Peter addressed this concern when writing to people being inundated with false teaching. He encouraged his readers to remember what he had taught them and wanted to ensure they had an accurate record. He was determined to provide them with something objectively true, so that false teaching could be ignored and refuted. As we look at this passage, we too must remember what Jesus has done for us and ground ourselves in reliable truth.
The Text
Although Peter’s readers are already well established in truth, Peter knows he will not always be around to ensure that truth remains established. As a good spiritual father, Peter wants to leave a legacy of spiritual truth and vitality. He knows false teachers are trying to infiltrate their groups, and he knows these false teachers are extremely persuasive. Without a solid foundation, his readers will be easily swayed. So he begins this section by saying he will always remind them of these things—a reference to the preceding verses.
They already know these things, but Peter’s awareness that he will not always be present makes him want to leave something more permanent. His time on earth is quickly coming to a close. In verse 15, he wants to leave them something that will “always” help them remember. Some believe he is referring to this letter itself, which could well be true. Others believe he means something more substantial—perhaps his collaboration with Mark on the gospel account. At the end of Peter’s first letter (5:13), Mark is with Peter in Rome. This may be Peter’s solution for something more enduring.
Peter explains that his memories are based on eyewitness events. He saw Jesus. He talked with Jesus. He learned from Jesus. In particular, Peter mentions the Transfiguration as the defining event of his time with Jesus. At the Transfiguration, Peter heard the voice of God and saw the glory of Jesus. This experience convinced him of Jesus’s true identity. In Mark’s gospel, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8) is followed immediately by the account of the Transfiguration (chapter 9)—a sequence designed to reveal confirmation of Peter’s confession.
Beyond leaving something permanent and relying on his eyewitness accounts, Peter reminds his readers that they have the words of the prophets to support their understanding of truth. He has in mind more than just isolated prophetic writings—essentially, the Old Testament. These writings did not originate from human minds but from the initiative and direction of the Holy Spirit. Peter is affirming that Scripture is true and trustworthy. The sources of truth for these readers are threefold: Peter’s permanent writing through the gospel of Mark, Peter’s eyewitness accounts, and Scripture—the Old Testament.
Application
Peter’s concern that his readers remain firmly established in truth should make us aware of the importance of truth in our own lives. Peter establishes that truth can be found in eyewitness events and Scripture. Peter was an eyewitness, and his recording of those events through the gospel of Mark is reliable, as are the Old Testament Scriptures. If we want to know truth, then what we call our Bible is the basis for that truth. Unfortunately, we do not spend as much time in the Bible as we need to.
No other writing has been scrutinized the way the Bible has. Generation after generation have dissected it, thought critically about it, sought inconsistencies, and highlighted things not understood. Through it all, Scripture has remained intact. Our Bibles are highly reliable.
Yet too many do not believe in the reliability of Scripture. Many believe that personal truth is all that matters. Peter has more than a passing interest in believers being firmly established in truth. Sociologist Robert Bellah wrote a book years ago entitled “Habits of the Heart.” In it, he describes one of hundreds of interviews he conducted. A woman named Sheila said, “I believe in God. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. But my faith has carried me a long way. It’s ‘Sheila-ism.’ Just my own little voice.” This is what pervades our culture. We search for truth that pleases us, that finds its basis in feelings. Rationality is left to the philosophers.
We begin sentences with “I feel that…” and conclude with “I don’t see how God could…” Our feelings have become the basis for truth rather than Scripture. It is like the man who asks, “How many legs does a cow have?” and then suggests, “What if we call the cow’s tail a leg? Now how many legs does a cow have?” When told “Five?”, he responds, “No, the cow still has four legs. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”
Calling things good when they are evil doesn’t make them good. When we find truth in our own actions and minds instead of in reliable Scripture, we will soon fall into error. If we are not spending time with Scripture, we will give our minds and hearts to our own subjective thoughts. Too often, people reject the Bible not because of its supposed contradictions, but because the Bible contradicts them. We make up our minds to do things our own way and then ignore the source of truth—the Scriptures.
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