Marks of Maturity

In the latter part of Galatians 5, the apostle Paul urges the Christians of Galatia, to practical godliness and he also warns against the snares of the false teachers. Paul wants to be clear. Christians are not to live by flesh. And they are not under law. Instead they are to live by love and live by the Spirit (v. 13-26). Paul wrote Galatians because Judiazers or Christian-Jews were coming in and teaching the churches in Galatia that in order to be saved, Christians must continue to follow the law. Paul’s main purposes in Galatians were to establish his authority as an apostle, re-establish the true meaning of the Gospel, warn against these Judiazers, and establish the place for the law.

Paul says that we are to love each other as ourselves. We can only do this by living by the Spirit. By the Spirit we are no longer under the works and desires of flesh: “sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.” Instead we are filled with: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (v19-21).”

It is only through and because of Christ that we can live in the Spirit. For, “those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another” (v. 22-26).

I will examine three of these fruits more closely: Self-control, peace and patience. (I chose these three because they are most difficult for me.) Self-control is rendered from the Greek word, “ejgkravteia” and the Latin word, continenia. Self-control is a concept that is difficult to pin down and grasp exactly and completely. Self-control is the ability to restrain impulse, set up boundaries, or control actions. The only real “self-control” comes from the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is living in a Christian, then the Christian is able to resist temptation to sin, choose words wisely, and is able to control thoughts and actions that are fleshly or ungodly. Having self-control is a mark of spiritual maturity. Solomon writes in Proverbs five that “An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness (v. 22, 23).”
According to this verse, evil and foolish men do not have self-control. Self-control is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit and spiritual growth.
Peace is resting in relationship w God. In John 14:27, Jesus says "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (NKJV)." Again in Matthew 11, Jesus speaks of the true source of peace, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (v. 28-30)." Jesus is saying that he gives peace. He wants you to find rest in Him. In our own power we will not be able to handle the stress and sins of this world, but in Christ we can.

The word "peace" comes from the Greek word “eirene”, the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word “shalom”, (and Latin word, “ pax,”) which expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, or tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by the outward circumstances or pressures. This peace is rule of order in place of chaos. When a person is dominated by peace, he has a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct himself peacefully, even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be very nerve-wrecking, traumatic, or upsetting...Rather than allowing the difficulties and pressures of life to break him, a person who is possessed by peace is whole, complete, orderly, stable, and poised for blessing. This is a mark of maturity because it is a command by Paul and Jesus to let the peace be a part of our lives. Phil. 4:7, “And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” It is also a mark of maturity because when outsiders of Christianity see our peace, they will be curious about it. They will want it. They will see Jesus in our lives.

This peace is difficult for me and many other Christians because we like control, or at least I do. I want to make sure I have everything under control. I want to do things my own way. So I try to do things on my own power. When I do things on my own power, I forfeit this peace that Christ offers. But when I let go of my own control and let Christ control everything, this is when I truly have peace!

Patience, which in some translations is "longsuffering" or "endurance," is defined in Strong's by two Greek words, “makrothumia” and “hupomone.” In Latin it is the word, “longanimitas.” Trying to give an English equivalent is a little more difficult. The words: lenience, forbearance, fortitude, patient endurance, forgiving tolerance, mercy, and longsuffering – come to mind. It describes a person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint. The person who is patient can endure suffering, stand during difficult circumstances, and tolerate unpleasant things, such as persecution or simply annoyances. Hebrews 10:36 says "For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."

Patience is a mark of maturity in the same ways as peace is. In Eph. 4, Paul calls us to patience and tolerance towards each other as Christians to preserve unity in the Spirit. In 1 Tim. 1:16, Paul says, “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” We are following Christ’s example when we have patience. We are following Paul’s example in Antioch and the prophets example of old (James 5:10, 2 Tim. 3:10). Ecc. 7:8, “Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.”

As Christians we are to live life in Spirit. Right before Jesus ascended into Heaven he spoke about the Holy Spirit, which he left for us. Act 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Both Paul and Jesus commanded us to live by the Spirit. When we surrender our fleshly will to God’s will in the Holy Spirit then all of the characteristics, marks of maturity or fruits written about in Galatians 5:22–26, Colossians 3:12–17, or Psalm 15 will be evident in our own lives. I would like to close with 2 Peter 1: 5-8. See how these fruits build on each other. We start with faith and we grow into creatures of love! “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love.

For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately (NET).”

Costs of Discipleship

When one chooses to be a Christian, one becomes a follower of God. There are things that our leader, God, asks us to do as followers. These conditions of being a follower or disciple of God are not always easy. God wants a real relationship with his followers and when believers meet these conditions spiritual formation (and growth in that relationship) occurs.
Some of the conditions of being a follower of Jesus are self-denial, renunciation, “leaving it all,” steadfastness, fruitfulness, and love. Jesus taught that God does not like half-heartedness. God desires a real relationship with his followers therefore it is imperative that followers show that they are serious about their faith and put God first. There could be many people who say that they are Christians and many people who want to follow Jesus but they are not truly followers because they are not willing to follow through on these conditions.
The first condition, self-denial, is setting aside one’s own plans, goals, desires in life and following God’s instead. This is one of the hardest things about being a disciple of Jesus. Our life is no longer ours, but Christ’s. Do not get me wrong. This is not all bad or difficult. Look at the alternative. Willard says “the cost of non-discipleship is greater than the cost of discipleship.” The cost of having Jesus in your life outweighs the cost of not having him in your life. But being a disciple of Christ means that we will have to choose between the desires of our own flesh and the plans of God.
The second condition, renunciation, means to reject or renounce earthly pleasures. It is a sacrifice. Take the idea of self-denial and step it up to the next level. Not only are you denying your own plans and pleasures but now also rejecting all earthly pleasures and desires as well. Remember God wants all of us in our relationship to Him, not just to be compartmentalized to Sunday mornings only.
The next condition of “leaving it all” builds on the same ideas of self-denial and renunciation. We are taught by Jesus to follow him. Not to follow our own ways, not to follow the ways of this world, instead we are told to “leave all” behind. This might mean leaving behind other “important” things like family, friends, or a career to do God’s will instead.
The fourth condition is steadfastness. Steadfastness means to be dedicated, devoted, loyal, and fixed on a goal. When it comes to being a disciple we are to be fixed on following Christ. We are to abide with Christ, as we talked about together earlier in this class. We are to align our thoughts, doctrines, and teachings up with what Christ teaches in the Bible. The last two conditions are similar, in that we have discussed these things at some level in this class already. We are to be fruitful. Christians will bear fruits of the Spirit. This also progresses from being steadfast. If someone is steadfast in their faith, abides in Christ, and is serious about their relationship with God then they will inevitably become more like Christ. This means they will act and behave differently. They will love. They will have peace, joy, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.

Cost of non-discipleship

A lot of talk is done on the "cost of discipleship."
While yes there is a high price, it is totally worth it, especially when we look at the "cost of non-discipleship."

Think of these costs:
1. The obvious one: Hell. Eternity away from God. Eternity in pain and torment, beyond understanding.

2. Stress of an everyday life. The worries without God as the source of strength.

3. Ability to tolerate/understand hardships. When my brother was hospitalized for three months, my hope was found in God. Through that hardship, I grew in Him. I cannot imagine going through something traumatic like that without His help. It would be so difficult.

4. There are more. Without Christ, we are without are true identity, without our Creator, without our purpose in life....

Blurb from Love your God with all your Mind

"We should have good reasons for thinking that Christianity is true before dedicating our entire lives to it. We should have solid evidence that our understanding of a passage is correct before applying it to our lives. we should be training other Christians on how to think carefully about their faith. Apologetics should be a regular part of discipleship."

This is a paraphrase of JP Moreland from Love your God with all your Mind

What sticks out to me is the difficulty and just how uncommon this concept is.
I wish that apologetics were a normal part of training. Moreland shares a story and explains how we apply passages to our lives based on vague feelings and not by doing the hard work of study.

Abiding in Christ, John 15

What does “abiding in Christ” mean? The Greek word for “abide” is “men'-o.” It means to “stay” or “remain” in one place. One might say that it means to just “hang out” or be with Jesus. In one way it means to spend time with Jesus. You need to take your faith seriously. You need to spend time with Jesus if you are serious in your faith. In another sense it means that there are choices. We can choose to prioritize Jesus in our lives or we can spend time serving other “gods” or other masters in our lives. The choice is ours. We can serve God in obedience or serve other things, in disobedience to God. You cannot have two masters.

The best way to answer this question is by looking at it in context. Jesus is giving the 12 some of the last teaching and training on their way from the last supper to the Garden in Kidron where Jesus would be arrested and betrayed. The points Jesus makes are that, if you choose me as your Lord – If you spend time with me there are advantages! With me in your life you will grow your faith and bear fruit. With me you will “ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” With me in your life, you will have God on your side. You will make him happy. Also Jesus makes points on the other side. Dallas Willard would say “the cost of non-discipleship” (which is greater than the “cost of discipleship.” The costs of not having Jesus in your life as he argues (for himself) are that” without me you can do nothing.” In Christ, you can do all things, without him you can do nothing. It comes down to a dichotomy. You are for God or against him! Another reason follows similarly, remember that God is against you if you are not for him. “

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” God tends
the branches. Metaphorically we are the branches. Jesus is the vine. He is the
source of strength, water, and goodness –all of life. God is the Gardener and
he tends the branches that do not bear fruit. The branches that are not fully
intact with the vine, God tends. Finally it is also important to realize that God wants us to obey his rules. Remaining in him also presupposes that we continue to obey and keep his commands.

Put off Flesh, Put on Christ

* What, practically, does Paul mean in Gal. 5?

Basically Paul is giving us a basic lesson on Christian living. This short passage is very consistent with Paul’s teaching through-out the New Testament as well as with what Jesus taught. As Christians we are to live in Christ and not in the flesh any longer. We have a choice to live in obedience or disobedience. Paul is calling Christians to unity in obedience to Christ. The text also means that it is not enough to attempt to stop sinning. The truth is that we must replace our vices and sinful habits with Christ, or we will just get caught in another sin or vice.

Paul’s other teachings that are very similar include his teaching on the “fruits of the spirit” (in Galatians 5:22, 23), his teachings on a right mind (in Philippians 4:8, 9), his teaching on spiritual warfare and the armor of God (in Ephesians 6:10-20), his teaching on reconciliation (in 2 Cor. 5), and his teachings on life according to the Spirit (in Rom. 8, 1 Cor. 6).
Jesus‘ teachings also lined up with what Paul is saying. Jesus was radical in his teaching. He was very clear that he wanted all of us. Not only did Christ want people to stop sinning, or to obey the law completely, but he wanted men to chose Him as their first priority completely (Mat. 6:19-24,33, 22:37).

* What is Paul instructing us to do?

First he asks us to put aside our old nature of disobedience. Verses 5-9, tell us what not to do. Second, Paul tells us to clothe ourselves with the fruits of the Spirit. Verses 10-16 tell us what we should do.
More specifically, in Christ, we are dead to the sins of our disobedient nature (immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech). We do not have to live this way, as we used to before Christ. Now we are to put on our new self, which is the image of God (holy and beloved, heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and unity in Christ and the Word of God.) Christ set the ultimate example. And through Him, Christians can find unity on how to live.

* How can one do it (Put off >Put on)?

There is a paradox. Only through Christ can one put off the flesh and put on the Spirit/Christ. It is about Christ making us right and righteous. On man’s power alone, man will fail. This is what makes Christianity unique from all other religions. God reaches his hand down to man. Man can do nothing to save self! Sanctification is only through Christ Jesus. Man cannot help themselves. Man has choices to make, sure. Some scholars will say that man has the ultimate choice. That man has to do something to be saved and to be sanctified, this is not completely true. Man chooses daily to obey Christ by simply putting on Christ or to disobey Christ by sinning. This is true, but it takes some examining to fully understand. The issue is more complex than that.

Yes, man makes the choice to obey or to disobey, sin or not to sin, but there is the issue of surrender. If man surrenders his will to Christ, then it is Christ’s power that sanctifies man. If man surrenders his will to Christ, then and then only will man truly obey. My point is that on man’s power alone this is not possible. Man on his power will fail into sin and flesh. But man surrendered to Christ’s will can put on Christ and live as Christ, sanctified in His image. The biggest choice is for man to let go and let Christ make Him.

* How do you do it?

I personally surrender daily through prayer. I am by no means perfect. But I have made it a goal to let go before I let the day begin. As I wake up, - to the sound of the alarm, wet lick of my dog to my face, the smell of coffee, or feel the heat of the shower water - I begin praying. I begin by asking for the Holy Spirit to help me in this new day. I thank the Lord for it; everyday is a gift from Him. And I imagine putting on the whole armor of God. I try to think through situations where the Lord will need me and people who need the Lord. I ask for opportunity to serve Him.

As the day continues, I attempt to “pray without ceasing.” Of course, my life is not a piece of cake without problems and without temptations. Surrender is a continual process. It is not a one-time event, but on-going. Will I let go and let Christ or will I try to run my own life? I attempt to follow God’s will. When temptations come, I could choose to sin or obey God. I sometimes say a quick prayer and flee from the temptation. (James 1:13-18, 2 Tim 2:22) But sometimes I fail. Sometimes I sin. Just goes to show that man will fail, but in Christ we are free (Gal 5: 1-5, Rom 6:18, 8:2). Amen!

Worship: Making the sacrifice

Worship is an essential part of spiritual formation.
Spiritual formation is about our relationship with God. Abiding in Christ, means living with Jesus in our lives, hanging out with him, making the choice to obey him! The Bible tells us that we are to worship God by sacrificing our whole being to God. We are to do his will and not conform to this world.


“Worship” has many facets, many levels to it. It is not merely singing praises. There is a lot more to it. To summarize “Let’s talk about worship,” we see that “worship” is about acknowledging and knowing the Lord, adoration and loving Him, and action in service to God. The word has several meanings and there are many ways to worship God. This is what we are discussing today, the many ways to express our worship to God in our worship services and in life.

In
regards to …the first directive that strikes my attention is that
we are to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise…” The idea is to praise
God all the time, without ceasing. In our worship services this means that when
the singing is over, the worship is still happening. We worship God when we
give our offerings. We worship him in prayer of praise. We worship him in
learning from his Word. We worship him in fellowship with others. Also I must
note that our entire life can be an act of worship. We must not compartmentalize
our worship to Sunday morning instead continually worship God.

The
second directive is the repetitive idea of “offering up a sacrifice” similar to
. Praise is not about making ourselves feel good and energized, but it is
about worshiping, giving to God. It is not entertainment for your own soul, but
a gift to God, a sacrifice. In our worship services, we must remember that
church is not merely for us. Sure, God blesses us and fills us. Our entire life
is about worship. It is not always going to be easy to worship God. But we
sacrifice for God. And he is pleased with us when we do.

The
third directive is “do not neglect doing good and sharing.” (This is another
sacrifice!) We can and should please God through sharing our wealth, money,time, energy, blessings, etc. But we also share life together with other Christians. We share our time, our sacrifices, food,
fellowship, but also our tragedies, our prayer requests. I think also that we
must not only share with other Christians, but also with those who are sick,
those who are in need, those who need Jesus, and those who are not into the
church. It is good, right, and a sacrifice (of sorts) that pleases God when we
share the Gospel truth!

Bibliography and Appendix

Bibliography:

Allison Jr., Dale C.. Journal of Biblical Literature, Fall92, Vol. 111 Issue 3, p489, 7p

Alward, Joseph. 2004. Simon Peter and Cephas. http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/Cephas.htm



Bing, Charles. THE MAKING OF A DISCIPLE. Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society.

Autumn 1992—Volume 5:2. Burleson, Texas

Camille, Alice. (“The Odd Couple”). U.S. Catholic; Jun2005, Vol. 70 Issue 6, p43-45, 3p, 1c

Camille, Alice. (“The Case for Peter”). U.S. Catholic; May2000, Vol. 65 Issue 5, p43, 3p

Carson, D.A. & Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids,

MI: Zondervan, 2005.

Clarke, Adam. Commentary on the Bible. Public Domain. ~1800.

Ehrman, B. D. Journal of Biblical Literature 109(3, 1990)463-474.

Gill, John. John Gill exposition of the Bible. Public Domain. 1809.

Harrington, Daniel J.. America, 1/29/2007, Vol. 196 Issue 3, p38-38, 1p, 1

Henry, M. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one

volume. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996.

Kerr, C. M.. "Jonas (2)," International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Edited by James Orr. Blue

Letter Bible. 1913. 5 May 2003. 24 Jun 2008.

>.

Lea D., Thomas and Black, Alan David. The New Testament, Its Background and Message (2nd

edition). Tennessee: Broadman & Homan Publishers, 2003.

Mackintosh, C. H. “Simon Peter - His life and its lessons.” STEM

Publishing. Retrieved from

http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/mackintosh/Bk3/SIMONPTR.html



Mantey, Julius. NEW TESTAMENT FACTS ABOUT THE APOSTLE PETER JETS 21/3

(September 1978) 211-212

Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas

Nelson, 1995).

Thayer, Joseph H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2003).

Vincent, Marvin. Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament (4 Volumes). Public Domain.

New York 1887-91.

Vine, W.E. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1996 reprint)

Wall, R. W. Source: Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 29(1987)79-90

Wesley, John. Wesley's Notes on the Bible. Public Domain. 1755.

Wiki Media. “St. Peter.” http://christianity.wikia.com/wiki/Apostle_Peter



Zodhiates, Spiro. The Complete Word Study of New Testament. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga,

TN 37422; 199






Appendix A: Map

Your browser may not support display of this image.

(From: Asher, Jeff. 2000. Bible Talk. Retrieved June10th, 2008 from

http://www.bibletalk.net/books/classbooks.html_

)

Lesson Six – Spiritual Growth

Lesson Six – Spiritual Growth

Well class it has been quite the journey the past six weeks, hasn’t it? We have gone through a lot of material in Peter. And you have been an excellent class. Thanks you for your enthusiasm. In today’s lesson we will look back at Simon Peter briefly to see what spiritual shape he was in when he began his walk with the Lord. Then we will compare that shape to what kind of spiritual maturity we see that he is in near the end of his life by examining his letters and sermon.
I will discuss on some liberal theories that are amiss in our culture recently about these writings of Peter. Then we will finish this lesson and this series with Peter’s death. If we run out of time today then Peter’s death is yours to take home with you and to study on your own time.

Let me read to you Matthew 4: 17-20, this is the calling of Jesus’ disciples:From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He *said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. (Mat 4:17-20 NASB)

We see from the beginning that Peter was loyal. We see that right away he knew Jesus was worth pursuing. We see that Peter was just an average fisherman, with some education. He was trained by John the Baptist and knew of a coming Messiah. And right away he knew the Messiah was Jesus. We know he had faith. But we will see how he grows in not only divine faith but also in understanding and knowledge of our Lord as he matures in faith.

Please turn to Act 2:14-41 NASB. _____, would you read the first section? We will split this into three parts: 14-22. 23-36, 37-41:But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. 'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. 'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. 'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

Here we see Peter has grown in his faith and maturity. First we see that he is willing to be used by the Holy Sprit. Second we see that he sees that faith is not just about him, but loving and telling others the good news. Peter becomes one of the first evangelists. And definitely he was one of the first evangelists to the Gentiles, although was a Jew and focused more on the Jews, in general. Also we see that Peter is quoting Old Testament Material here. This tells me that Peter has not only matured spiritually but has grown in his academic and Greek abilities. Picturing Peter preaching this sermon, we see a completely new and different Peter than we have seen in the Gospels. The Peter who seemed undisciplined, ignorant, and impulsive is now training others in deliberate discourse! Talk about maturity!

_______ Okay, will you take the next section?

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.' "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified."

Thanks, I will read the last part here:

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

(Act 2:14-41 NASB)

One thing that really impresses me about Peter’s sermon and in his writings is that he refers back to the Old Testament quite a bit. In fact, “probably no other letter is said to rely so much on traditional material” as 1st Peter. 37 We see is 1 Peter chapter two verse seven, Peter not only quotes OT but refers t o a passage he heard Jesus himself teach on that we looked at earlier.

1Pe 2:7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
It is really cool, because we see that Peter made connection. He finally understands what Jesus was talking about. He realizes that Christ is the cornerstone, not him. This is one mark of spiritual maturity.

Finally, we learn that God blesses those who do the work of evangelism. That day, about three thousand were added to the kingdom that day. This is not to say that Peter felt prideful and was looking for this kind of success, but rather that the Lord glorified this occasion. Peter had submitted to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit did all the work. Peter was just the vessel that he Holy Sprit worked through, yet God still glorified the occasion by adding three thousand to his number that day.

As a writer, Peter is thought to be involved in the writings of the two Peter letters (1st and 2nd) and as we discussed in an earlier session scholars believe that Peter was involved in the writing of the Gospel of Mark, because mark was a close disciple of Peter and wrote down the stories he told him. But of course there are several liberal theories about his writings and I want to know about some of them.

Some contemporary scholars question if 1st Peter was written by Peter because Peter does not mention certain information about Paul and “Paul’s territory.” Also the theology in 1st Peter seems to be “too much like Paul.” Also Peter’s education level and knowledge and skill of writing Greek is put into question. This is particularly questioned in the writing of 2nd Peter.

All of these arguments put together still are not strong and very inconclusive. The truth is Peter and Paul’s issues of conflict are exaggerated. Peter and Paul were actually “beloved friends” despite the fact they did not always understand each other or agree with everything. It is very likely that they worked the same territory, Peter with the Jews and Paul with the Gentiles. Peter’s writing skills along with more advanced theology could be explained with two possible theories. Possibly Peter had an amanuensis (skilled slave used for hand writing)38. Or slightly less likely but a possibility nonetheless, Peter increased in his knowledge and skill of Greek during the thirty years between Christ’s resurrection and his own death.

While, according to Carson, 1st Peter has some of the strongest external evidence for authorship of Peter, 2nd peter on the other hand, has some of the strongest claims against Peter authorship!39 2nd Peter is overwhelmingly thought to be pseudonymous, that is falsely written in Peter’s name, by someone else. Still all of their arguments, which I do not have time here to get into can be refuted or at least denied full authority. The best conclusion is a quote from L.R. Doneslson, “No one ever seems to have accepted a document as religiously and philosophically prescriptive which was known to be forged. I do not know of a single instance.”40 In other words, we can and should trust and have faith in the early church, as they carefully chose 2nd Peter as canonical material.

Leading up to Peter’s death, there is speculation as to how exactly Peter makes it to Rome, but we do know that Peter died in Rome under Nero. He was martyred on a cross upside-down at the same time Paul also was martyred. The interesting fact is that we do not hear of Peter’s being in Rome, except once, in 1 Peter 5:13, “Babylon.” Even this reference is questionable. Most scholars do believe that this is in fact Rome, not actually Babylon.41

If so why didn’t Peter mention that he was near Paul? One theory is that Peter’s disciple and writing of the Gospel (Mark), John Mark lived in Rome. Therefore Peter spent at least some time in Rome with John Mark.

There is further speculation about Peter in Rome, evolves around Paul. Paul probably left Rome for mission trips from 60-62 AD. This would have given Peter ample time to come into the city and writ 1st Peter. And this might actually explain why Peter’s writing seems so much like Paul’s Romans letter. As Peter might have become more acquainted with the letter during his stay in Rome. In the end Peter and Paul end up together in Rome sometime around 64-65AD and both die there under Nero.42 Between 62-64, leaves Peter some time to write 2nd Peter.

Class, I thank you for your time, effort, and participation. It has been a pleasure teaching you about Simon Peter. I hope you learned a lot. I did. Thank you!

Lesson Five - Gun-Hoe Spontaneity

Lesson Five - Gun-Hoe Spontaneity

Class. I wanted to say thank you for putting up with my long-windedness, today we will do more discussion. As you can tell I like to talk. But I hope the Lord has been good to you as he has been good to me. I have been learning a lot from Peter, as I hope you have too. The lord has been dealing with me and it is good. Your homework from last week, we too look at Peter and Paul’s conflict in Gal. 2. I want to briefly go over this as we have great stuff to cover today about Peter. We will see Peter’s “Gun-hoe spontaneity.” He truly was the leader among the twelve. His passion for Christ was spectacular.

Discussion: Would someone please summarize what happened in these passages? Thanks _____. That is correct. Paul reproofs Peter for being hypocritical.
What does Paul correct Peter for? Peter's offense was public, so he publicly reproved him for it: He said unto him before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? Let’s see the AMP translation:” If you, though born a Jew, can live [as you have been living] like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how do you dare now to urge and practically force the Gentiles to [comply with the ritual of Judaism and] live like Jews?”
What is this dispute about? hypocrisy. Does it matter? How important is it? It was important that Paul pointed this out. As Christians we can give off bad signals and turn away non-believers by our hypocrisy. This scenario was appropriate for Paul to reproof Peter. And we see that the situation was well taken by Peter. And they left the situation as friends and not divided. Peter agreed that he was wrong.

One last note that I found interesting in research is about the personalities of Paul and Peter. The two could not have been much more different. Camille suggests that conflict issues between the two might have had something to do with this mismatch in background and personality. Camille says they were “a match made in purgatory.”34 In short Peter was a humble, local fisherman who never strayed too far from the Sea of Galilee. He was a warm-hearted, conservative with a little education that everyone knew and liked, even Jesus. Paul on the other hand was more liberal, well-educated, a world-traveler who never got a chance to met Jesus. Peter merely betrayed Jesus, as Paul persecuted and killed Christians.

Peter might be most well-known for his enthusiasm and gun-hoe spontaneity in the passages that we look at today. We learn a lot about faith and loyalty in these two key passages: Jesus walking on water (Mat 14:22-33 NASB) and Peter with a sword in Gethsemane (John 18:1-13 NASB).

_______ would you open us open in the Mat 14 passage? Thanks.

Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"

(Mat 14:22-33 NASB)

Men have imperfect faith. Notice Jesus does not say “no faith,” but “little faith.”

We see in this passage, despite Peter’s willingness to follow and his love and affection for the Lord, he is first off not willing to go unless commanded, (although this is more initiation than the other eleven.) And then despite the fact hat Peter does go somewhat spontaneously, somewhat in fear, we see his faith and fear collide.

Notice that he was afraid; although it is likely he was a good swimmer, being a fisherman. 35 And also he was afraid despite the fact, he saw Jesus walking with his own eyes!

Adam Clarke brings it all together for real life application: “Every moment we stand in need of Christ: while we stand - we are upheld by his power only; and when we are falling, or have fallen, we can be saved only by his mercy. Let us always take care that we do not consider so much the danger to which we are exposed, as the power of Christ by which we are to be upheld; and then our mountain is likely to stand strong.36”

Let us take faith, strong faith in the Lord on a daily basis.

____ would you please read John 18:1-13? Thanks.
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered Him, "Jesus the Nazarene." He *said to them, "I am He." And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way," to fulfill the word which He spoke, "Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one." Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

(John 18:1-13 NASB)

In Luke 22:49 When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"- Some of the other disciples ask the Lord if they should attack, then out of no where, Peter smites his sword and slices Malchus’ ear off. This is just a reflection of Peter. He does not wait, stop to think, or hear what Jesus says, he just cuts off the ear!

And again, Peter is the one of the disciples who takes action out of loyalty for Jesus as the other disciples are slow to action. This time the others are at least thinking about taking action, as we see in the question that they ask.

Discussion Questions:
What can we learn from Peter and his gun-hoe attitude?
we learn to think before we speak. We learn to have Peter’s faith - when we are on Jesus Christ's errands, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. We should set all of our inhibitions aside and follow, as Peter did better than the other disciples.
What are the pros and cons of this type of behavior for Peter?
For Peter, his loyalty got him into Jesus’ inner circle of friends. His gun-hoe attitude also brought him some humility and embarrassment.
What are the pros and cons of this type of behavior in your daily life?
In our daily lives, in our culture this attitude is looked at as extremism. People say “‘wow’ you are one of those Jesus freaks, weirdo.” It is a good thing in the sense that people know where you stand and what you believe, (if they actually do actually know what the tenants of Christianity are.) But the negative side is that people might look down on you, not really understand what you believe because of stereotypes, or people might think that you sold out to Christianity. Other might think you are radical in your faith. The point is that having this much devotion to the Lord sometimes scares people away or turns them off, mostly because they do not understand. We as Christians should be fully devoted to the Lord but we have to communicate love and Christ, grace and peace. We have to explain what we are to others clearly.
Have there been moments in your life recently where you had a strong desire to live for the Lord, but the realities of fear and temptation caused you t o wimp out of fail in your desire to “die for Christ?” Anyone willing to share a moment with us?

Tonight we looked at Peter and Paul and their conflict. Then we examined more about Peter and his famous incidents: walking on water and playing with a sword. Peter displayed lots of loyalty and a little faith. The Lord calls us to follow with the same amount of loyalty and even greater faith…Are you up for the challenge? Take some time this week to examine where your faith is lacking. The Holy Spirit will sure guide you if you ask him to.

Okay, thanks class for another great night. You are always open to talk and share insights and experiences that really enhance these lessons and our small group. I appreciate all of your own thoughts, the time and energy you are putting into studying God’s Word and making this small group better. In my appreciation there are no reading assignments for next week. I will tell you what we will be looking at, in case you over-achievers need some thing to read for next week. Next week we will be looking into the writings of Peter. His Sermon in acts 2, 1st and 2nd Peter, and the Gospel of Mark (indirectly). Thanks, see you next week!