SeniorSeeker
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Further Thought:
Peter warned that scoffers would say: "'everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation'" (2 Pet. 3:4, NIV). This was nothing new; the same sentiments were expressed before the Flood. "As time passed on, with no apparent change in nature, men whose hearts had at times trembled with fear, began to be reassured. They reasoned, as many reason now, that nature is above the God of nature, and that her laws are so firmly established that God Himself could not change them. Reasoning that if the message of Noah were correct, nature would be turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the world, a delusion-a grand deception. They manifested their contempt for the warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning was given. . . . They asserted that if there were any truth in what Noah had said, the men of renown-the wise, the prudent, the great men-would understand the matter."-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 97. Today, "the great men" tell us something similar: the laws of nature are fixed and set, and all things continue on as before. In a sense, that's what the theory of evolution teaches: life occurred through natural processes that can be explained, at least in principle, through the operation of natural laws that one day science will fully explain to us, and all without any need of deity. The "great men" were wrong then, and they are wrong now, as well. No wonder Paul wrote: "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Cor. 3:19). It was in the time of the Flood, it was in Peter's time, and it is in ours, as well.
Discussion Questions:
Despite all the reasons Peter had to believe in Jesus, he still emphasized the "sure word of prophecy." Why is prophecy so important to us? How did prophecy help prove that Jesus was the Messiah at His first coming? What hope does it give us for the Second Coming? After all, without prophecy, how could we even know about the promise and hope of the Second Coming?
We tend to think of peer pressure only in the context of teenagers and young adults. But that's not correct, is it? We all want to be liked and accepted by our peers. After all, we have a much better opportunity to be a good witness if they like us, as opposed to them not liking us, right? In our desire to be pleasing to others, how can we guard against compromising our beliefs? Why are such compromises easier to make than we might be inclined t
Peter warned that scoffers would say: "'everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation'" (2 Pet. 3:4, NIV). This was nothing new; the same sentiments were expressed before the Flood. "As time passed on, with no apparent change in nature, men whose hearts had at times trembled with fear, began to be reassured. They reasoned, as many reason now, that nature is above the God of nature, and that her laws are so firmly established that God Himself could not change them. Reasoning that if the message of Noah were correct, nature would be turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the world, a delusion-a grand deception. They manifested their contempt for the warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning was given. . . . They asserted that if there were any truth in what Noah had said, the men of renown-the wise, the prudent, the great men-would understand the matter."-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 97. Today, "the great men" tell us something similar: the laws of nature are fixed and set, and all things continue on as before. In a sense, that's what the theory of evolution teaches: life occurred through natural processes that can be explained, at least in principle, through the operation of natural laws that one day science will fully explain to us, and all without any need of deity. The "great men" were wrong then, and they are wrong now, as well. No wonder Paul wrote: "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Cor. 3:19). It was in the time of the Flood, it was in Peter's time, and it is in ours, as well.
Discussion Questions:
Despite all the reasons Peter had to believe in Jesus, he still emphasized the "sure word of prophecy." Why is prophecy so important to us? How did prophecy help prove that Jesus was the Messiah at His first coming? What hope does it give us for the Second Coming? After all, without prophecy, how could we even know about the promise and hope of the Second Coming?
We tend to think of peer pressure only in the context of teenagers and young adults. But that's not correct, is it? We all want to be liked and accepted by our peers. After all, we have a much better opportunity to be a good witness if they like us, as opposed to them not liking us, right? In our desire to be pleasing to others, how can we guard against compromising our beliefs? Why are such compromises easier to make than we might be inclined t