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Introduction to 2 Peter

 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. The Second Epistle of Peter is a short but significant part of the
 New Testament...
 a. It was written by Peter, who identifies himself as "a servant and
 apostle of Jesus Christ" - 2 Pe 1:1
 b. It was written to those who received his first epistle - cf. 2 Pe
 3:1; cf. 1 Pe 1:1
 c. It was written shortly before his death - 2 Pe 1:12-15
 
2. The "theme" of the epistle can be stated as "Beware, But Grow"
 - 2 Pe 3:17-18
 a. "Beware" lest you fall, being led away with error - 17
 b. "But Grow" in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior - 18
 -- Virtually every verse of this epistle falls into one of these two
 areas
 
3. In this lesson, the first in a series of expository outlines based 
 upon 2nd Peter, we shall consider Peter's salutation - 2 Pe 1:1-4
 (read)
 
4. In his greeting, Peter refers to several blessings or "gifts" that 
 we have received from God and Jesus Christ
 
5. In describing them, I am going to use a word that was a favorite of 
 Peter: "precious"
 a. It is found twice in this passage: "precious faith" (1:1) and 
 "precious promises" (1:4)
 b. Peter used it six times in his earlier epistle as well - 1 Pe 
 1:7,19; 2:4,6,7; 3:4
 c. The Greek word is timios {tim'-ee-os}, and it means:
 1) As of great price, precious
 2) Held in honor, esteemed, especially dear
 
[This word is most befitting the four "gifts" referred to in our text, 
the first of which Peter actually uses "precious" to describe...]

－－《Executable Outlines》