A More Sure Word

You have probably heard, or read, of people sharing some remarkable spiritual experiences of theirs. Sometimes these are as dramatic as a claim to have died and come back to life, having visited heaven (or hell!) in the meantime. In other cases, people speak of angelic visitations, receiving divine messages through visions and dreams, or hearing God’s voice audibly speaking to them. We should be discerning about such claims. But whatever we make of them, I think we all agree that they sound incredibly impressive. If we received an experience like this, we feel sure that it would change our lives forever—we would certainly pay careful attention to whatever was revealed to us.

This is what makes Peter’s statement in 1:19 so amazing! He has just shared, in 1:16–18, one of his own experiences with God, spectacular enough to make the New York Times bestseller list! Peter was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He saw the Son’s glory revealed. He heard the Father’s voice speaking from heaven. He was on his face, trembling at the overwhelming power of it all. If you experienced what Peter did, you would be sure about who Jesus is, and serious about living for him.

But Peter says that we have something more sure than the Transfiguration. We have a better, more reliable source of truth about Christ and his return. It should give us even greater certainty and confidence than Peter’s eyewitness experience that Jesus really will appear in power and glory. What is it? The Bible. “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you would do well to pay attention (1:19).”

The “prophetic word” that God delivered through the Old Testament writers is all the confirmation we need that the Lord will return to put things right in his creation. The prophets repeatedly speak of this “Day of the Lord,” when the Creator God will re-enter his rebellious world, to deal with sin and evil, and to deliver his faithful people once and for all. This idea is at the heart of the whole biblical story, about God’s loving commitment to renew his sin-shattered creation through the work of his Son. God wants his people to have certainty about these things, which is why he had them preserved through the written word (more on this tomorrow). Now, when scoffers deny a final, personal judgment, we only have to open our Bibles.  

We will learn much more about God’s future plan for his world in 2 Peter chapter three. But for now, don’t miss the remarkable statement that Peter is making here about the nature of the Bible. We can have more certainty about who Jesus is and what God is going to do by reading the Scriptures than Peter had from witnessing the Transfiguration! It is better to read your copy of the Bible than it would have been to see the Son’s majesty or to hear the Father’s pronouncement over him. We don’t have to wish for some amazing spiritual experience to know who God is when he has revealed himself to us so clearly in his Word! Every day, you can read these pages and hear the voice of God speaking to you. You can behold the life-changing glory of Jesus any time you encounter this sacred text. What an amazing gift God has provided us!

And if all that is true about the Bible, then it sure seems we ought to “pay much closer attention to it.” The way we would to “a lamp shining in a dark place (1:19).” Do you?

FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT, SEE:

(Available September 20)

Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church