2 Peter Philemon SUBTITLE 1 Peter 1 1

2 Peter & Philemon SUBTITLE

1 Peter 1: 1 -12 • 1. To whom did Peter address the letter? (1 Peter 1: 1 -2) • 2. . What did Peter tell his readers they may have to suffer or endure? What benefit, if any, is there in trials and suffering? (1 Pet 1: 6 -7, James 1: 2 -4, Romans 5: 3 -5) • 3. What did Peter hope his readers had done even though they had not seen Christ? (1 Pet 1: 8) Did Peter himself hear Christ speak similar words after the resurrection? (John 20: 29) • 4. What did Peter say was the goal of their and your faith?

1 Peter 1: 13 - 2: 3 • 1. . What are the five things Peter encourages us to do (1: 1315). What sense of progression do you get from these? • 2. Verse 1: 15 says, “Be holy in all you do. ” What does it mean for you to be holy? (Leviticus 11: 44 -45, Galatians 2: 20, John 14: 21) • 3. Here we have the idea of being “born again. ” (1: 23) How exactly is one born again? (John 3: 1 -21, Titus 3: 5) • 4. The word “therefore” connects Chapter 2 with what idea from the previous verses? (1: 23 - 2: 3)

1 Peter 2: 4 -10 • 1. What is the “living Stone” and how is it described elsewhere in the Bible? (Psalm 118: 22, Mark 12: 10 -11, Acts 4: 1, John 5: 26) • 2. What is a cornerstone? What will happen to those who trust in the “Cornerstone? ” (2: 6) • 3. In what way did and does the stone (Christ) cause some people to stumble and fall? Was this destined, i. e. , sure to happen? (2: 8, Romans 9: 33)

1 Peter 2: 11 -25 • 1. Why is it so hard to abstain from sinful desires and live good lives that others will look up to? (2: 11) • 2. In 2: 13 -14, Peter says Christians must submit themselves to “every authority instituted among men, ” i. e. , worldly civil and political authorities. What do you think about that command? (Romans 13: 1 -7, Acts 5: 29) • 3. Why do you think Peter tells slaves to submit to harsh and cruel masters? Shouldn’t he be telling them to resist, rebel and try to escape? What’s the lesson for us today? (Ephesians 6: 5 -8, Colossians 3: 22 -25, Luke 6: 32 -36, Acts 8: 32) • 4. In Verse 24, what does the phrase mean, “that we might die to sins” (NIV) or “being dead to sins” (KJV)?

1 Peter 3: 1 -10 • 1. In Verse 3: 1, how is the submission of wives to their husbands (“. . . in the same way. . . ”) similar to the submission in Verses 2: 13 and 2: 18? • 2. In 3: 7, what does Peter mean when he calls the woman the “weaker” partner? How should a man be considerate of her (or honor her)? • 3. What does Peter say will happen to the man who does not respect his wife? (Matthew 5: 31 -32) • 4. Is Peter advocating that spouses stay in cruel or abusive situations? Why or why not?

1 Peter 3: 10 -22 • 1. In Verses 3: 10 -12, how does Peter’s quote from Psalm 34 sum up and add to all he has said in Verses 2: 11 through 3: 9? (James 3: 2 -18) • 2. How did Peter use a rhetorical question to further explain his point? (3: 13) • 3. Verses 3: 19 -20 a can be very confusing. Bible scholars have put forth several different interpretation of this passage. What do you think that sentence means? • 4. What did Peter say that the waters of the flood now symbolize? (3: 21) What does Peter mean by “baptism…which now saves you. ”

1 Peter 4: 1 -11 • 1. In 4: 1, what did Peter tell his readers (and us!) they should prepared to do? • 2. What does it mean to be done with sin? (4: 1, Galatians 2: 20) • 3. What did Peter’s readers (and us!) do in the past? What does “in the past” mean? Who were the pagans then? Who are they today? (4: 3, Ephesians 2: 1 -3) • 4. What did the pagans think was strange? (4: 4, 2 Timothy 3: 12) • 5. For what reason was the gospel preached? (4: 6) What happens to people who have not heard the gospel or anything about Jesus? (Romans 2: 14 -16, 4: 15, 5: 13)

1 Peter 4: 12 -5: 14 • 1. Why does Peter focus so much on suffering? What was going on when this letter was written, which would provide context? (use phones to look up) • 2. How can participating in Christ’s suffering prepare us for his second coming? • 3. What should we do with our worries and anxieties? (4: 7, Philippians 4: 6 -7) 4. What did Peter say about the devil and what we should do? (5: 8 -9, 1 Corinthians 10: 13, James 4: 7 -8 a)

Read 2 Peter 1: 1 -11 • 1. Who wrote 2 Peter? (look this up; its not as simple as you assume) • 2. To whom was 2 Peter written? As used here, what does “faith” mean? (1: 1) • 3. Why does Peter emphasize Christian knowledge in this letter? 2: 20, 3: 18) (1: 2, 3, 8, • 4. What did Peter say has been given to his readers? Has this been given to us too? (1: 3) • 5. What did Peter urge his readers to add to their faith? What will be the result of possessing these seven qualities? (1: 8, Colossians 1: 9 -12) • 6. What happens to the person who does not possess these Godly qualities? (1: 9, 1 John 2: 11)

2 Peter 1: 12 -21 • 1. In what did Peter say his readers were established? • 2. What did Peter know would happen to him soon and what did he want his readers to do then? (1: 14 -15) • 3. What gave Peter strong credibility? (1: 16) • 4. How important is it to your faith that Peter (and other New Testament writers) were eyewitnesses to the life of Christ? • 5. In 1: 19, Peter speaks of the “word of the prophets being made more certain” by the transfiguration. From where do Biblical prophecies come? Who is qualified to interpret them? (1: 20 -21, 2 Timothy 3: 16, Revelation 22: 16, 2 Samuel 23: 2, Acts 1: 16) • 6. In 1: 19, what did Peter tell his readers (and us!) that they should do?

2 Peter 2: 1 -22 • 1. In Verses 2: 1 -3, Peter speaks of clever false teachers, but what are they actually teaching? (2: 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18) • 2. In 2: 1, what exactly does “destructive heresies” and “sudden destruction” mean? • 3. What effect did living among immoral people have upon Lot? (2: 7 -8) • 4. How did Peter say that the Lord would deal with godly people? How about with wicked and unrighteous people? On who is he especially hard? (2: 9 -10) • 5. How did Peter say a person could escape the corruption of the world? What about someone who has escaped and then gets tangled up again? (2: 20 -21) • 6. Why and how could someone who has known the love of Christ return to the unrighteousness from which he or she had been rescued?

2 Peter 3: 1 -18 • 1. Why did Peter say he wrote both of his letters? What did he want the readers of the letter (Christian believers) to recall? (3: 1 -2) • 2. What did Peter say would occur in the last days? (3: 3) • 3. What was the argument against the second return of Christ that the scoffers were using? (3: 4) • 4. “The Day of the Lord” is a large concept and will be a great event! What does the Bible say about it? (Joel 1: 15, 2: 10 -11, 2: 30 -31, Amos 5: 1820, Isaiah 2: 11, Malachi 4: 1, Hebrews 4: 13) • 5. What reason did Peter give his readers (and you!) for living holy and godly lives? (3: 11 -13)

Read 2 Peter 1: 1 -11 • 1. Who wrote 2 Peter? (look this up; its not as simple as you assume) • 2. To whom was 2 Peter written? As used here, what does “faith” mean? (1: 1) • 3. Why does Peter emphasize Christian knowledge in this letter? 2: 20, 3: 18) (1: 2, 3, 8, • 4. What did Peter say has been given to his readers? Has this been given to us too? (1: 3) • 5. What did Peter urge his readers to add to their faith? What will be the result of possessing these seven qualities? (1: 8, Colossians 1: 9 -12) • 6. What happens to the person who does not possess these Godly qualities? (1: 9, 1 John 2: 11)

2 Peter 1: 12 -21 • 1. In what did Peter say his readers were established? • 2. What did Peter know would happen to him soon and what did he want his readers to do then? (1: 14 -15) • 3. What gave Peter strong credibility? (1: 16) • 4. How important is it to your faith that Peter (and other New Testament writers) were eyewitnesses to the life of Christ? • 5. In 1: 19, Peter speaks of the “word of the prophets being made more certain” by the transfiguration. From where do Biblical prophecies come? Who is qualified to interpret them? (1: 20 -21, 2 Timothy 3: 16, Revelation 22: 16, 2 Samuel 23: 2, Acts 1: 16) • 6. In 1: 19, what did Peter tell his readers (and us!) that they should do?

2 Peter 2: 1 -22 • 1. In Verses 2: 1 -3, Peter speaks of clever false teachers, but what are they actually teaching? (2: 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18) • 2. In 2: 1, what exactly does “destructive heresies” and “sudden destruction” mean? • 3. What effect did living among immoral people have upon Lot? (2: 7 -8) • 4. How did Peter say that the Lord would deal with godly people? How about with wicked and unrighteous people? On who is he especially hard? (2: 9 -10) • 5. How did Peter say a person could escape the corruption of the world? What about someone who has escaped and then gets tangled up again? (2: 20 -21) • 6. Why and how could someone who has known the love of Christ return to the unrighteousness from which he or she had been rescued?

2 Peter 3: 1 -18 • 1. Why did Peter say he wrote both of his letters? What did he want the readers of the letter (Christian believers) to recall? (3: 1 -2) • 2. What did Peter say would occur in the last days? (3: 3) • 3. What was the argument against the second return of Christ that the scoffers were using? (3: 4) • 4. “The Day of the Lord” is a large concept and will be a great event! What does the Bible say about it? (Joel 1: 15, 2: 10 -11, 2: 30 -31, Amos 5: 1820, Isaiah 2: 11, Malachi 4: 1, Hebrews 4: 13) • 5. What reason did Peter give his readers (and you!) for living holy and godly lives? (3: 11 -13)

Read Philemon • 1. Can this short letter be viewed from different perspectives? What might some of them be? • 2. Could the common view of Onesimus as a runaway, thieving slave be wrong? What might be another view? • 3. In Verses 10 -11, what did Paul say about Onesimus? • 4. Why would Martin Luther consider Verse 18 to be the central focus of the book and Harry Ironside say it is a picture of the entire gospel? • 5. What response from Philemon did Paul anticipate? (v. 21) • 6. What are the main lessons for us today from this short book of Philemon?