Jul 20, 2026 · 48 min · 10 segments
Pastor Cam Stephens teaches from 2 Peter 1:16-21 where the Apostle Peter refutes the accusations of false teachers who question the authority of the apostles and the gospel they preached. Cam lays out…
Cam StephensHost
And so far in this letter, since we started studying it a few weeks ago, we have learned that since the time Peter had written his last letter...
The persecution of Christians had ramped up significantly in the Roman Empire under the Emperor Nero, and that there had also been some false teachers rising up within the church, challenging the apostles' teaching and attempting to sway these early Christians in terms of theology and practice.
If you remember from two weeks ago, their main challenge at this time, or their main challenges at this time were, first, that more was needed for salvation than just faith in Jesus, right? That there was a special knowledge that needed to be granted after belief for one to be saved.
The second theological argument these dissenters would make is that holy living was unnecessary because the physical world is evil and is meant to be overcome, and so what we do here doesn't actually matter all that much.
that there would be no return of Jesus and no final judgment, that this is kind of all there was, and if we could ultimately overcome the evil in the physical world,
you know, we would win.
Well, in response to this, Peter, with some urgency, has reiterated to his readers, to these early Christians, what he has taught them all along.
He's also taught that God has equipped each of them to live holy lives on this earth.
while they wait for his promised and certain return and the eternal life that is to follow.
Well, today, where we find ourselves in the letter this morning, we begin to see Peter defend himself, not just his theology to the church, as evidently these false teachers have not only challenged his and the rest of the apostles' teaching, but they have also challenged their personal credibility as bearers of the truth.
As things have gotten more difficult in the church, as the temperature has increased, as persecution has increased, and some might suggest that the church was losing, questions had been raised about the credibility of Peter and the apostles to lead the church and to determine its theology.
And so far in this letter, since we started studying it a few weeks ago, we have learned that since the time Peter had written his last letter...
The persecution of Christians had ramped up significantly in the Roman Empire under the Emperor Nero, and that there had also been some false teachers rising up within the church, challenging the apostles' teaching and attempting to sway these early Christians in terms of theology and practice.
If you remember from two weeks ago, their main challenge at this time, or their main challenges at this time were, first, that more was needed for salvation than just faith in Jesus, right? That there was a special knowledge that needed to be granted after belief for one to be saved.
The second theological argument these dissenters would make is that holy living was unnecessary because the physical world is evil and is meant to be overcome, and so what we do here doesn't actually matter all that much.
that there would be no return of Jesus and no final judgment, that this is kind of all there was, and if we could ultimately overcome the evil in the physical world,
you know, we would win.
Well, in response to this, Peter, with some urgency, has reiterated to his readers, to these early Christians, what he has taught them all along.
He's also taught that God has equipped each of them to live holy lives on this earth.
while they wait for his promised and certain return and the eternal life that is to follow.
Well, today, where we find ourselves in the letter this morning, we begin to see Peter defend himself, not just his theology to the church, as evidently these false teachers have not only challenged his and the rest of the apostles' teaching, but they have also challenged their personal credibility as bearers of the truth.
As things have gotten more difficult in the church, as the temperature has increased, as persecution has increased, and some might suggest that the church was losing, questions had been raised about the credibility of Peter and the apostles to lead the church and to determine its theology.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
