And we're back.
00:00:01.33\00:00:02.73
Dr. Shepherd, you
were talking about
00:00:02.76\00:00:04.13
the statuses of these people.
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And also what these people--
foreigners in this area.
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Yes, well, that's a--
00:00:08.30\00:00:10.11
well, in one way or
another they were foreigners.
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That's what he describes at
the very beginning of the book.
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He describes them as foreigners.
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Okay, you know, I can understand
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being a foreigner
in a country is very--
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it can be quite challenging.
00:00:22.58\00:00:24.89
You know, I've traveled
different parts of the world.
00:00:24.92\00:00:27.89
And it's interesting that
00:00:27.92\00:00:29.59
whenever I'm in a different
country other than in my own,
00:00:29.62\00:00:33.53
people immediately know
that I don't belong there.
00:00:33.56\00:00:37.23
You know,
whether it's my haircut
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or different shoes
or the way I dress.
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You know, I'm either
a tourist, a visitor.
00:00:40.70\00:00:43.47
And so I immediately can
tell that they are actually,
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you know, looking
at me differently.
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So I'm kind of
wondering if maybe these people
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are also
experiencing something similar.
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Yes, yes, very much so.
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And when we jump into
the book in our next session,
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we'll take a look particularly,
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those first verses and
see some interesting stuff
00:01:01.82\00:01:03.93
about the foreignness that
these people are experiencing.
00:01:03.96\00:01:07.56
I remember they are
separate from other people
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and they are living
in small communities
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that are probably close knit.
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Most of the
people of this community,
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as we read first
through 1 Peter--
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we're particularly
thinking of 1 Peter right now.
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There they seem to be a people
who have low social status.
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They are not the higher ups,
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the people in
the city government
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or the Roman government or even
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most of them,
leaders of household.
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They are slaves, they are women,
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they are people
who in that society
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did not have high social status.
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So some of the
problems that they faced,
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you know, linked
into all of these issues
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of being in small
rural communities mostly,
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being so different from
the society around them,
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and being people
of low social status.
00:02:03.92\00:02:07.82
When we try to think
in the terms of, okay,
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so what were the
problems that they were facing,
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we kind of have to
read between the lines.
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We ask the question, "okay,
so what does Peter emphasize?"
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Well, what he
emphasizes over and over
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and over again
are two main issues.
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And I being a teacher
like to use alliteration to,
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you know, help people
remember what they are.
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So I say,
"persecution and passion."
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Persecution-there are two
Ps, persecution and passion.
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The people around
them didn't like it
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that they were different.
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And we see this as we
read through the book.
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We'll be studying
through the entire book.
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So we'll see this
coming up again and again
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and again that
the people around them
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are pushing them back to
become, you know, pagans again.
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Yeah, they were
different in one ways
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because I think
we're all different. Yes.
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And in which
manner ere they different
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that the people did
not like about them?
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It's really
their lifestyle. Okay.
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Peter will
emphasize a holy lifestyle
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and that links into
this other idea of passion.
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The pagans had put
fertility rights and everything.
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It's part of their religion.
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And they were famous or
infamous for their debauchery
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and their parties and
different things like this.
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And the Christians
stood away from that
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to live a lifestyle that was
very, very separate from that,
00:03:36.64\00:03:40.68
very changed and
different, away from that.
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So much so that it
surprised the pagans.
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They--Peter says
that they are surprised
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that you don't come
to their parties anymore.
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So made them look
bad? Yeah. Well, yes.
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They don't feel like,
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you know, the change of
lifestyle when you're different.
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People--and it's
still true today.
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People try to make you conform,
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you know, They try to get
you to wear the same clothes.
00:04:02.80\00:04:04.97
They try to get you to
live the same practices.
00:04:05.01\00:04:07.61
They have many
different ways to make you feel
00:04:07.64\00:04:11.11
out of place if
you don't fit in and,
00:04:11.15\00:04:13.92
you know, do what
everybody else is doing.
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So the problems were
persecution and the passion.
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So it's the push of persecution.
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This is a stick
that the pagans are using
00:04:22.92\00:04:25.59
to get them to conform.
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And the other is the
pull of the old way of life,
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the passions of
the old way of life.
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So Peter--1 Peter is focused all
around solving those problems.
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Those two major
problems for the Christians.
00:04:38.91\00:04:42.91
And he has an incredible way,
00:04:42.94\00:04:44.78
I mean, he brings out
all the big guns of theology
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to help these people to
cope with the world around them.
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Okay. And for 2 Peter,
let's talk about 2 Peter.
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What problems were they facing?
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All right, now in 1 Peter,
the majority of the problems
00:04:58.63\00:05:03.97
are coming from
outside, you know?
00:05:04.00\00:05:06.87
The outsiders
are pushing to make
00:05:06.90\00:05:09.30
these
Christians be pagans again.
00:05:09.34\00:05:12.21
And the Christians are probably
enticed by the old passions,
00:05:12.24\00:05:16.71
the old way of life.
00:05:16.75\00:05:18.61
In 2 Peter the
problem is internal.
00:05:18.65\00:05:22.15
It's a group of people who had
become leaders in the church,
00:05:22.18\00:05:25.82
they're called teachers.
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So you don't just let anybody
teach your Sabbath school or,
00:05:27.52\00:05:31.19
you know, preach in your church.
00:05:31.23\00:05:33.83
It has to be somebody
that has some honor and,
00:05:33.86\00:05:38.33
you know,
gravitas that they say,
00:05:38.37\00:05:40.24
"oh, yeah, why
don't we have them
00:05:40.27\00:05:41.64
be the Sabbath school teacher
00:05:41.67\00:05:43.04
or why don't we have
them preach the sermon?
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These people had
become leaders in some way.
00:05:45.51\00:05:48.51
And they are taking the
people away from the true faith,
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particularly things
focused around the old passions
00:05:53.48\00:05:56.75
that the pagans were focused on.
00:05:56.79\00:05:59.55
And a denial of the
second coming of Jesus.
00:05:59.59\00:06:02.76
And so that internal
heresy is creating turmoil
00:06:02.79\00:06:08.73
within Peter's churches.
00:06:08.76\00:06:11.00
And where 1 Peter
interweaves beautiful theology
00:06:11.03\00:06:17.44
and concepts back and forth
00:06:17.47\00:06:19.31
and beautiful
alliteration and everything,
00:06:19.34\00:06:21.54
2 Peter is very straight
like an arrow, you know?
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Its outline is much
simpler and straight forward
00:06:24.45\00:06:28.32
because he's facing a problem
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that's going to destroy
his church from the inside.
00:06:29.75\00:06:32.02
And which is more
dangerous? What do you think?
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To be persuaded from the
outside to come to the world
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or having heresy
within the church?
00:06:37.06\00:06:41.26
Well, if we are to
gauge this by Peter's passion,
00:06:41.30\00:06:47.14
the heresy from inside
seems to be more of a problem.
00:06:47.17\00:06:50.14
Now when we get to 2 Peter 2,
00:06:50.17\00:06:53.71
it is as though you
put your hand on the page
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and it's still warm
because it's so fiery,
00:06:57.15\00:07:01.42
you know. So Peter really
gets steamed up in 2 Peter.
00:07:01.45\00:07:04.52
He's very direct and just really
lambastes these false teachers.
00:07:04.55\00:07:08.92
So in that case it's
seems like this is the problem
00:07:08.96\00:07:14.20
that there's--
that they're facing.
00:07:14.20\00:07:15.56
Now it's interesting that
the false teachers in 2 Peter
00:07:15.60\00:07:21.37
seem to have linkages
with other groups of the day.
00:07:21.40\00:07:29.04
There were a
group of philosophers
00:07:29.08\00:07:30.58
known as the
Epicureans who had a philosophy
00:07:30.61\00:07:35.05
that sound very
similar to some things
00:07:35.08\00:07:38.55
that you read in 2 Peter.
00:07:38.59\00:07:41.12
There's a group that most
of our viewers will recognize,
00:07:41.16\00:07:44.19
the Sadducees that are
referred to in the gospels.
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And there are parallels between
00:07:47.46\00:07:49.93
the teachings of the
false teachers in 2 Peter
00:07:49.96\00:07:53.47
too sound a lot like
the Sadducees as well.
00:07:53.50\00:07:57.91
Now it doesn't mean
that the false teachers
00:07:57.94\00:08:00.31
in 2 Peter were Epicureans.
00:08:00.34\00:08:02.78
It doesn't mean
that they were Sadducees.
00:08:02.81\00:08:05.75
But it just is kind of an
illustration of how a culture
00:08:05.78\00:08:10.55
kind of has some
things in the air, you know?
00:08:10.59\00:08:14.12
There's a philosophy
that is floating there
00:08:14.16\00:08:17.39
and it's
influencing lots of people.
00:08:17.43\00:08:20.33
You know, and today we
think of post-modernism
00:08:20.36\00:08:23.06
and its impact on
all of our culture
00:08:23.10\00:08:26.53
and all of the education
and Christian churches as well.
00:08:26.57\00:08:31.71
And so here we have these
two books from the ancient world
00:08:31.74\00:08:37.81
that have an awful lot of
parallels to our life today.
00:08:37.85\00:08:43.35
It's amazing, I was thinking
just that the bible says
00:08:43.39\00:08:46.52
that all scripture is
given by inspiration of God.
00:08:46.55\00:08:48.66
And so, you know, these
writings of Peter written,
00:08:48.69\00:08:52.19
you know, several years
ago but as we read today
00:08:52.23\00:08:55.26
they can apply to
me, to my church as well.
00:08:55.30\00:08:58.60
And we read the bible and say,
00:08:58.63\00:09:00.87
wow, it seems like
God is speaking to us
00:09:00.90\00:09:03.67
this day for this generation.
00:09:03.71\00:09:05.97
Yeah. There's a reason why
these books are in the bible.
00:09:06.01\00:09:08.18
They're inspired, and their
message is a timeless message
00:09:08.21\00:09:12.01
that addresses us to this day.
00:09:12.05\00:09:13.58
Now we want to look
at the outline of 1 Peter
00:09:13.62\00:09:18.79
just so our listeners can get
a perspective on this and see,
00:09:18.82\00:09:23.93
you know, where things
are going to be heading.
00:09:23.96\00:09:26.36
We have a
graphic that shows this.
00:09:26.39\00:09:28.50
And so in this
graphic you'll see
00:09:28.53\00:09:31.43
that the book of 1
Peter begins with a section
00:09:31.47\00:09:36.97
that goes through
chapter 2 verse 10,
00:09:37.01\00:09:40.18
from 1:1 through
2:10 called establishing.
00:09:40.21\00:09:43.68
I've titled it, "Establishing
the household of God."
00:09:43.71\00:09:47.62
The book of 1 Peter never uses
the word, church. interesting.
00:09:47.65\00:09:53.02
Not once. Never
uses the word, church.
00:09:53.05\00:09:55.22
But instead it tends
to focus the attention
00:09:55.26\00:09:59.29
on this idea of a household,
00:09:59.33\00:10:01.56
a group of people
that are in a house.
00:10:01.60\00:10:03.70
God is called our
Father. We are His children.
00:10:03.73\00:10:07.24
We are born again or born anew.
00:10:07.27\00:10:10.71
So he has this
kind of parallelism
00:10:10.74\00:10:13.54
with this idea of
house so that you'll see
00:10:13.58\00:10:16.88
in our outline that
establishing the household,
00:10:16.91\00:10:20.28
it's the very first section.
00:10:20.32\00:10:22.45
Rebirth that leads to holiness,
00:10:22.48\00:10:24.22
metaphors of growth
and then the house of God
00:10:24.25\00:10:26.72
in this very first section.
00:10:26.76\00:10:28.22
He takes a lot of time,
00:10:28.26\00:10:29.86
uses a lot of
metaphors to emphasize that.
00:10:29.89\00:10:33.06
In the second
section of the book
00:10:33.09\00:10:35.53
he talks about how Christians
00:10:35.56\00:10:37.20
are supposed to
live in the world.
00:10:37.23\00:10:39.00
And here our graphic shows,
00:10:39.03\00:10:40.40
it goes from
chapter 2:11 through 4:11.
00:10:40.44\00:10:43.94
Scholars don't know always
agree exactly where to draw
00:10:43.97\00:10:46.14
the lines in
this book, you know?
00:10:46.17\00:10:47.94
But he has this whole emphasis
00:10:47.98\00:10:50.95
on the idea of
submission and an upright life.
00:10:50.98\00:10:54.75
And vindication that is coming
and how to live as a Christian.
00:10:54.78\00:10:58.79
So he has a lot of emphasis
00:10:58.82\00:11:01.89
on how you're supposed
to relate to outsiders.
00:11:01.92\00:11:05.79
I find this quite interesting
00:11:05.83\00:11:08.60
that the book has this
very strong emphasis on holiness
00:11:08.63\00:11:15.17
and yet it has this
very powerful engagement
00:11:15.20\00:11:18.67
with the world around us.
00:11:18.71\00:11:21.61
Two ideas that a lot of
people today tend to separate.
00:11:21.64\00:11:26.92
Holy life, go out,
stay away from the world
00:11:26.95\00:11:30.59
or oh, no, be engaged
with the world, you know?
00:11:30.62\00:11:33.12
Getting there and work with
them in the cities and so forth.
00:11:33.15\00:11:36.09
Peter brings
both ideas together.
00:11:36.12\00:11:40.23
So I think he really
has something very important
00:11:40.26\00:11:43.26
to say to our own
culture and our own church
00:11:43.30\00:11:47.47
as we think about how
do we relate to the world,
00:11:47.50\00:11:50.54
how do we relate to one another,
00:11:50.57\00:11:52.74
how are we to
think of ourselves.
00:11:52.77\00:11:54.61
It's the fantastic
theology in this book.
00:11:54.64\00:11:57.08
The very last section
of the book we list here,
00:11:57.11\00:12:00.28
it's section C, facing
trouble and each other.
00:12:00.32\00:12:06.02
Peter talks about a fiery trial
that people are going to face.
00:12:06.05\00:12:10.63
And over and over he deals
00:12:10.66\00:12:12.79
with issues of
persecution, of suffering.
00:12:12.83\00:12:16.87
Then he talks about
relationships within the church
00:12:16.90\00:12:19.67
and he finishes up by
talking about fighting the devil
00:12:19.70\00:12:23.71
and how God is going to
strengthen you and help you.
00:12:23.74\00:12:26.37
Because the
battle that we are facing
00:12:26.41\00:12:29.71
is not simply a
battle of--against,
00:12:29.74\00:12:34.25
you know, human philosophies
around us or problems around us.
00:12:34.28\00:12:38.52
It's truly a great controversy
between good and evil.
00:12:38.55\00:12:42.19
And he pinpoints that the
devil is like a roaring lion,
00:12:42.22\00:12:46.86
going about
seeking who may devour.
00:12:46.90\00:12:49.46
I mean, it's a
scary kind of an imagery.
00:12:49.50\00:12:53.03
But he doesn't end
with the scary imagery.
00:12:53.07\00:12:55.00
He ends with these
powerful verb that talk about
00:12:55.04\00:12:59.11
how God is going to establish,
00:12:59.14\00:13:00.61
he's going to help you,
00:13:00.64\00:13:02.01
he's going to save you
and take you through it.
00:13:02.04\00:13:03.41
So, I mean, we're going
to have the funnest time
00:13:03.45\00:13:06.31
studying 1 and 2 Peter.
00:13:06.35\00:13:07.72
And, Dr.
Shepherd, you not only sound
00:13:07.75\00:13:09.25
but you look very
passionate about these books.
00:13:09.28\00:13:12.12
Yes, they are great.
00:13:12.15\00:13:13.52
And I'm also looking
forward to continuing
00:13:13.56\00:13:15.56
studying the
books of 1 and 2 Peter.
00:13:15.59\00:13:17.89
Friends, if you
believe that this was inspiring
00:13:17.93\00:13:20.10
just wait till
we continue studying
00:13:20.13\00:13:22.03
more of the books of 1
and 2 Peter till next time.
00:13:22.06\00:13:25.40