False teachers are always a threat to the church; however, the truth of the second coming provides an anchor of certainty and hope for the future and meaning for the present. The final destiny of the universe ought to motivate Christ-followers to live lives that honor and reflect well upon Jesus. The nearness of Jesus gripped Peter.

Peter now makes it plain how to recognize false teachers despite their theological masquerade. He next reminds us of our available weapon for spiritual warfare and models how to answer their faulty arguments against truth. Handling truth well is our calling in every generation.

Peter next devotes an entire chapter to the threat of smooth-talking false teachers. Believers must understand who these false teachers are and how they operate. We must see God’s verdict on such people and be alert for their presence within the Body of Christ.

The visible evidence of a transformed life joins with the supernatural authorship and energy of God’s word to provide a powerful assurance of the faith to believers and a challenging defense of the faith before unbelievers. The constancy of the Bible combines with the consistency of faithful lives to offer a compelling argument for Christian truth.

Are you living a life of faith? So dramatic was the change in Peter’s life that he wrote this letter to remind his readers that Christian faith was never intended to leave life static or unchanged. Godly transformation is a cooperative venture that unites God’s power with a believer’s sincere and positive efforts at advancement.

Pastor Zach Dietz brings us this word. The Sermon on the Mount gives us some of the best insight in the entire Bible on how to pray. Jesus cautions us and puts much emphasis about the attitude of our hearts and our motives behind our prayers. 

It is popular today to opine about the approaching demise of the Church. Statistics, polls, and op-ed writers all assure us that the Faith as we know it is in decline, a victim of the postmodern loss of truth, progressive sensibilities, and evolutionary inevitability. Nonsense! The Church is the only human institution to survive 2000 years…and there’s more to come!

Luke’s main concern now is to show historically how Paul came to the decision to appeal to Rome. The break between Judaism and Christianity, between synagogue and church, came from the side of the synagogue. However, Paul’s focus is to present the truth of the gospel to the esteemed listeners provided to him by God.

Arrested soon after arrival in Jerusalem, Paul faces trial before the Sanhedrin, a murder plot by the Jews, the indecisiveness of Roman political appointees, and a transfer to prison in Caesarea. These circumstances are utilized by God to offer the gospel clearly to Felix, governor of Palestine, and ultimately to the household of Caesar in Rome itself. In all this, Paul never loses evangelistic focus.

There is tremendous power in personal testimony. It is a great thing to preach Christ and Him crucified; but preaching will not generally carry more weight with an unbeliever than the witness of an individual with a credible life story. Paul’s testimony is given to us five times in the NT (Acts 9; 22; 26; Philippians 3; 1 Timothy 1), which indicates a pattern of usefulness for the story of every believer.