Focal passage: 2 Peter 1:12-21
This year’s presidential election cycle has been interesting. One of the most burdensome elements has been the nature of the debates. If you have paid any attention to these, one of the terms you have heard a lot is “fact-checking.”
Fact-checking is the practice of going back over the statements made by the candidates to check the “facts.” In many cases, the so-called “facts” shared simply don’t correspond with what truly was the case. On the one hand, perhaps the discrepancy simply illustrates the ignorance or forgetfulness of the candidate who has unintentionally misspoken. On the other hand, such discrepancies may reveal a candidate’s desire to mislead the people. Whatever the reason, the sharing of these “facts” casts doubt on the trustworthiness of the candidates.
One might wonder, “Is my candidate simply uninformed about an issue?” Or, “Is this just an effort to mislead me and the rest of the public?” Whatever the intent, the potential voters are left with an eroding sense of trust.
Peter is writing to remind his readers that the written Word they have is a trustworthy Word. In fact, Peter is so confident in this Word of God that he is going to seek to keep it in front of the people as long as he has life and breath. His commitment is to remind them continuously of both the content and the veracity of God’s Word.
Part of the strength of Peter’s admonition is the fact that he could give eyewitness testimony to the life and ministry of the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. Peter would further remind them that the written Word they had, the Old Testament, which pointed to Jesus, was reliable not simply because of the personal trustworthiness or intellectual acumen of the men who wrote, but because of the faithfulness of the Spirit of God who “bore them along” as they wrote.
God hasn’t forgotten anything. He hasn’t misspoken. He is not misleading us. The Word is God’s, and we can trust Him and His Word.