2 Peter 1:12-15: The Stirring of Our Souls

From time to time, I find myself reading over various things I’ve written in the past—sometimes from 10 or 15 or even 20 years ago. These might be the manuscripts of sermons I’ve preached or journal entries I’ve made. And I’ve discovered that, usually, the thoughts contained in these writings from my younger years fall into one of two categories.

The first category is “What in the world was I thinking?” Like, there are some things I read from numerous years ago that just make me wonder how I could have been so clueless and shortsighted and lacking in insight. And particularly if it’s a sermon I preached from 10 or 15 years ago, I just feel sorry for the people who had to listen to that sermon. As they say in the South, “Bless their hearts.”

Yet there are other times when I’m reading something I wrote numerous years ago, and I’m like, “Wow, that’s actually really good. Did I come up with that?” Because, to me, as I’m reading what I previously wrote, it sounds like a completely new idea. I have no recollection of ever thinking along those particular lines before. Yet I apparently did at one time.

And that just goes to show how forgetful we can be. Even though we might see something quite vividly in the Bible and have a spiritual insight that’s incredibly valuable, the memory of that idea or insight will often gradually fade from our minds—and we eventually end up more or less forgetting all about it. As one pastor of a church I used to attend liked to say, we leak. Even though our hearts and minds might be full of a particular biblical truth one day, it has a way of slowly leaking out of us. That’s why we need to be reminded of key biblical truths on a regular basis. And that’s exactly Peter’s point in our main passage of Scripture today here in 2 Peter 1.

Look with me first at verse 12. Peter writes, “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” The first word we encounter in this verse is the word “therefore.” And as a seminary professor of mine often reminded his students, whenever you see the word “therefore” in the Bible, you should always ask yourself what it’s “there for”—because the word “therefore” always refers back to something that was previously written and either draws a conclusion or describes a result.

So, as we look back at the first 11 verses of the chapter, which we explored in some detail these past 2 Sundays, we find Peter emphasizing the righteous standing before God that we enjoy through Jesus and how God’s given us eternal life and even allowed us to become a partaker of his own nature as we’re transformed to resemble him and reflect his character to a progressively greater degree. Peter then goes on to describe in detail what this transformation looks like and identifies the key character qualities that should mark our lives. He then teaches that our pursuit of these character qualities demonstrates the genuineness of our faith in Jesus.

So, that’s what the “therefore” in verse 12 refers to. Peter’s essentially saying, “Therefore [in light of all these teachings and how essential they are for your spiritual health and growth] I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.”

So, Peter’s well aware that his readers already “know” many of the things he’s writing and are “established” in those truths. The word translated “established” here has structural and architectural connotations. It could be used to speak of a building that had a good foundation and good support and was therefore structurally sound. And Peter acknowledges that his readers have that quality when it comes to foundational Christian teachings.

However, Peter also understands that all of us have a way of forgetting and gradually losing sight of these teachings. Even some of the most important truths that undergird our faith and some of the most foundational character qualities that should define our lives can fade from our minds if we don’t come back to them again and again. Therefore, Peter makes no apology for “reminding” his readers of teachings they already know. And he even says that he intends to “always” remind them of these things.

You know, from what I’ve observed, so much of our growth to spiritual maturity happens not as we encounter “new” teachings or new insights into Scripture that we’ve never heard before but rather as we’re reminded of the teachings we think we already know. Indeed, one of the characteristics of false teachers is that they often claim to be offering people something new. They understand that there’s something within the human heart that’s drawn to teachings that we’re convinced are new and that no one’s ever understood before. We’re fascinated by novel ideas and by whatever appears to be the “next thing,” aren’t we? And false teachers love to scratch that itch in people’s hearts.

Yet, in contrast to that, Peter says he’s committed not to teaching his readers anything “new” but rather to reminding them of the foundational teachings that should guide their lives. Of course, that’s not to say that we should allow ourselves to become stagnant and to stop growing in our knowledge of the Bible. But especially if we’ve been a Christian for several years, our growth in knowledge usually takes the form of us simply acquiring a deeper understanding and appreciation of the foundational teachings in which we’re already established. So, instead of constantly chasing after what seems to be new and novel, we should focus our efforts on growing in our insight into the foundational teachings of the Bible and being freshly captivated by those teachings.

Then, moving forward, Peter continues this line of thinking in verses 13-14. He says, ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.

This brings the main idea of this passage into full view, which is that Peter seeks to use the brief time he has left on this earth to stir up his readers by reminding them of important biblical teachings. Again, Peter seeks to use the brief time he has left on this earth to stir up his readers by reminding them of important biblical teachings. I also think we can safely say that this is the heart not only behind what Peter’s already written in chapter 1 but behind the entire letter.

And as we look more closely at verses 13-14, it’s apparent that Peter fully expected to die very soon after writing this letter. He states, “I know that the putting off of my body will be soon.” You may recall that Peter’s writing this letter from prison, so he probably expects to die through execution.

Yet Peter’s anticipation of dying in the not-too-distant future doesn’t cause him to despair but rather to be all the more diligent about doing what he mentions in verse 13. His goal, he says to his readers, is “to stir you up by way of reminder.” Consider that phrase, “stir you up.” Peter uses this same Greek verb διεγείρω in the first verse of chapter 3 as well, where he writes, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.” So, what do you think Peter might mean when he speaks of “stirring up” his readers”?

Well, if we look at how this Greek verb διεγείρω is used elsewhere, that gives us more of an idea of what it might mean in our main passage. So, in Mark 4:39, it’s used to speak of Jesus waking up from sleep. The text reads, “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” So, the verb translated “stir up” in 2 Peter is used in Mark of Jesus waking up from sleep.

It’s also used in John 6:18 of the waters of the Sea of Galilee becoming turbulent. John writes that “The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.” So, a storm came over the Sea of Galilee and caused the waters to become rough. We might say that it “stirred up” the waters. And again, that’s the same Greek word that translated “stir up” in our main passage.

Then, finally, the book of 2 Maccabees uses this word as well. Of course, 2 Maccabees isn’t in the Bible, but it’s nevertheless a helpful historical document written in Greek shortly before the books of the New Testament were written. And it describes a leader named Judas Maccabeus preparing his troops for battle. 2 Maccabees 15:9-10 states, ⁹ Encouraging them from the law and the prophets, and reminding them also of the struggles they had won, he made them the more eager. ¹⁰ When he had aroused their courage, he issued his orders…. The word translated “aroused” in verse 10 is the same word translated “stir up” back in 2 Peter.

So, what does it mean in 2 Peter 1:13 for Peter to desire to “stir up” his readers? Well, as we’ve seen, the same word translated “stir up” is used of Jesus awakening from sleep, of the waters of the Sea of Galilee becoming turbulent, and of Judas Maccabeus arousing the courage of his troops in preparation for battle. So, it seems that Peter’s aim is to awaken his readers from their spiritual indifference and lethargy and stir their hearts to love God with greater passion and desire God with greater longing.

And friends, this is precisely what we need as well. The Puritans used to refer to it as the stirring of our “affections.” They believed that having lively “affections” for God is a core component of what we should be seeking. For example, Jonathan Edwards in particular had a lot to say about our affections. According to Edwards, affections are “the more vigorous and sensible exercises of the inclination and will of the soul.” In other words, having affections for something is the opposite of being indifferent toward something. It means to be vigorously inclined toward something in a way that affects both how we feel and the way we act. So, for example, Edwards says we should have various affections toward God such as desiring God, rejoicing in God, and being grateful to God. Yet, according to Edwards, the chief affection we should have toward God is love, which is both the fountain and the culmination of all the other God-oriented affections we should have. Other desirable affections include a hunger for God’s Word, hatred of sin, zeal for holiness, and a longing for heaven.

It's also worth noting that, in the mind of Edwards, affections are quite distinct from emotions[chart]. Whereas emotions are often superficial and fleeting, affections are deep and long-lasting. Whereas emotions are often irrational or at least disconnected from our minds, affections arise from our beliefs and convictions. And whereas emotions often don’t make an impact on the way we actually live, affections always have an impact on our lives. So, even though affections certainly have an emotional element to them, they go a lot deeper than mere emotion. This means that there’s an enormous difference between whipping up emotions and seeking to be stirred in our affections for God.

Sam Storms offers the following summary: “Certainly there is what may rightly be called an emotional dimension to affections. Affections, after all, are sensible and intense longings or aversions of the will. Perhaps it would be best to say that whereas affections are not less than emotions, they are surely more. Emotions can often be no more than physiologically heightened states of either euphoria or fear that are unrelated to what the mind perceives as true. Affections, on the other hand, are always the fruit or effect of what the mind understands and knows. The will or inclination is moved either toward or away from something that is perceived by the mind. An emotion or mere feeling, on the other hand, can rise or fall independently of and unrelated to anything in the mind. One can experience an emotion or feeling without it properly being an affection, but one can rarely if ever experience an affection without it being emotional and involving intense feelings that awaken and move and stir the body.”

So, now that we hopefully have a better understanding of what affections are, we’re in a better position to appreciate how central they are in Christian life. Jonathan Edwards writes, “I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.” In other words, according to Edwards, it’s his duty in preaching to raise the affections of his hearers as high as he possibly can—provided he’s seeking to do so with biblical truths and is leading them to have the appropriate affections toward the appropriate things. In the case of sin, for example, this would mean leading people to hate sin with greater intensity. And in the case of God, this would mean leading people to love and desire God with greater passion.

In fact, Edwards actually wrote an entire book entitled Religious Affections, in which he argues that “true religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.” That’s his main thesis in the book. “True religion [that is, a truly God-pleasing lifestyle], in great part, consists in holy affections.” And I have to say, in light of 2 Peter 1:13, that I think the Apostle Peter would agree with that. I’m also confident that Jesus agrees with that since he himself said that the greatest commandment is…what? To love God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. And love, of course, is the chief of our affections.

Jonathan Edwards also explains that affections are “the spring of men’s actions” and are what drive us to do the things we do. So, think of all the things we’re called to do as Christians. We’re called to worship God, repent of sin, share the gospel, walk in holiness, practice generosity, devote ourselves to prayer, remain faithful to God in the midst of adversity, and minister to other Christians in the church. Now get this: all of these things are empty and meaningless if they’re not being driven by our affections for God. External obedience apart from internal affection is just another form of legalism. It's an empty ritual that’s neither pleasing to God nor healthy for us.

I mean, just take sharing the gospel as an example. We should share the gospel with other people not out of guilt or merely a sense of duty but rather out of joy. We should be so full of joy in Christ and delight in Christ that our joy naturally overflows into our conversations. Just like continuing to pour water into a cup that’s already full will result in the water in that cup overflowing, sharing the gospel should be the result of the joy and delight we have in Christ within our hearts overflowing into our conversations.

It's the same with generous giving. For those of you who have attended here for a decent amount of time, how many times have you heard me say that we shouldn’t give out of a sense of guilt or obligation but rather as the overflow of the joy we have in Christ and as an expression of our love and gratitude for all God’s done for us? And that should be the basic dynamic behind every other act of obedience in our lives as well. Every external act of obedience should be the manifestation our internal affection for God. So, it follows that cultivating affections for God is a central component of the Christian life.

You might picture it like a steam locomotive. The way a steam locomotive works is that coal is burned in what’s called a fire box. And the heat produced by burning that coal heats up a large container of water enough to eventually create steam. The pressure of the steam then causes pistons to move back and forth, which ultimately move the train forward. So, in order for the train to move forward, you have to have fire. And you have to regularly feed that fire with more and more fuel so it doesn’t die down but instead continues to produce heat. In a similar manner, it’s critical for those of us who are Christians to continually fuel the fire of our affections for God, because that’s what drives—or, at least, what should drive—everything else we do.

Yet that leads us to a very important question. How are our affections stirred? What produces affections for God within our hearts? The answer is clearly stated in verse 13 of our main passage. Look once again at what Peter states, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.” So, how does Peter seek to stir them up—or, we might say, stir their affections? By reminding them of the things he’s already covered in the chapter—the foundational truths and teachings of the Bible. Biblical truths are what stir our affections.

And of course, the paramount truth that stirs our affections is the truth of the gospel. This is the greatest and highest reminder that should stir our hearts and produce within us affections for God. When we were in a state of sinful rebellion against God and enslaved to our own sinful desires and headed for eternal punishment and helpless to do anything about it, God mercifully came to our rescue. Even though we had given him no reason to love us and every reason not to love us, God nevertheless loved us in a way that’s far beyond what we can even comprehend. God the Father sent his own Son, Jesus, to come to this world as a human being—fully God and fully human.

And after living a perfectly sinless life, Jesus voluntarily allowed himself to be crucified on a cross in order to pay for our sins. Jesus bore our sins on the cross and suffered the full force of God’s wrath so we wouldn’t have to. He suffered the punishment we deserved. As I said, it’s a love that defies human comprehension. Then, three days later, Jesus was raised from the dead and is therefore now able to save everyone who will put their trust in him. That involves renouncing our trust in all of our own moral efforts and religious observances to get us to heaven and instead directing out trust toward Jesus alone. And when we do that, we’re immediately forgiven of our sins, transformed into new people, and inherit the promise of eternal life in heaven. That’s the message of the gospel.

Not only that, it’s by remembering this great gospel message that our affections for God are stirred. You see, contrary to what some Christians seem to assume, the gospel isn’t just a message that we learn in five minutes in order to be saved. It’s also what stirs our affections for God and fuels our passion for God and drives us to do everything else we do as Christians. That’s why Tim Keller once said that the gospel isn’t just the ABC’s of Christianity but rather the A through Z. It’s what stirs our affection for God more than anything else because it provides us with the clearest window to who God is.

So, as we seek to have our affections stirred, we should focus our attention first and foremost on who God’s shown himself to be in the gospel. And that’s what we should seek to do not only individually but also as we gather as a church on Sundays. That should be the focal point of our worship service—who God’s shown himself to be in the gospel.

Unfortunately, it seems that many churches and many Christian leaders fall into the trap of seeking to more or less manufacture emotions on Sunday mornings through various human devices and methods. To be candid, that’s why so many churches focus so much on creating a concert-like atmosphere on Sundays. They’re seeking to stir people up not “by way of reminder,” as Peter does, but rather by way of human devices and methods—the same devices and methods used at secular concerts to produce certain emotions in the crowd. It should therefore be no big surprise that people’s experience on Sunday morning often doesn’t translate into any real spiritual impact on their lives the rest of the week.

Now, let’s be clear: we should absolutely strive to stir people’s hearts on Sunday mornings. You’ll recall that Jonathan Edwards certainly had that goal, didn’t he? As we’ve already seen, Edwards wrote, “I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can….” But then, what did he say after that? “…provided that they are affected with nothing but truth….” Or, as Peter[2 Peter 1:13] says, his goal is to “stir [his readers] up by way of reminder.” It’s as we’re reminded of biblical truth—and especially the truths of the gospel—that our affections are stirred.

By the way, this is why we here at Redeeming Grace decide which songs we’re going to sing in our Worship Gatherings primarily on the basis of the biblical and theological richness of their lyrics. We want to sing songs that have biblically substantive lyrics that “remind” us of substantive truths about God and what God’s done for us in the gospel. This means that we try to avoid singing songs that are shallow and that lack biblical substance—no matter how popular in other Christian circles those songs might be. I forget who said this, but I once heard it said that if a song’s not substantive enough to make it worth praying as a prayer, it’s probably not worth singing as a song.

In addition, as we consider this idea of being “stir[red] up by way of reminder” here in verse 13, this is also something we should be seeking in our own personal times with God. This is done not only by reading the Bible but also by meditating on the Bible—that is, by pondering the things we read and turning them over in our minds and reflecting on their significance. This is a lot different than Eastern meditation, which seeks to empty the mind. Biblical meditation instead seeks to fill the mind with biblical truths and to savor those truths and digest those truths and be changed by those truths. So often, I think, one reason we’re not as impacted by Scripture as we could be is that we simply read it and then close our Bibles without any significant meditation on it. We don’t give it time to saturate and percolate within our hearts. So, if there’s one thing I suggest we do personally in order to have our affections stirred by the truths of Scripture, it would be meditation. This is quite often the missing link between us reading the Bible and it having an impact on our lives. As the Puritan pastor Thomas Watson wrote, “The reason we come away so cold from reading the word is, because we do not warm ourselves at the fires of meditation.”

And of course, we should seek not only to have our own affections stirred but also to minister to other Christians in this way and stir their affections. This is what Peter’s seeking to do in his letter and what we’re called to do as well. As Hebrews 10:24-25 states, ²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. At our Sunday gatherings and through Community Groups, we should be seeking to stir the hearts of our brothers and sisters in the faith.

And then, as we come to the final verse of our main passage, verse 15, Peter makes one final statement about his desire to minister to others. He says, “And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” Again, Peter knew that his time was short and this “departure,” as he calls it, was near. Yet this simply made him all the more determined to make a lasting impact on the people around him and leave a legacy of godliness.

And hopefully that’s your desire as well. Because the reality is that all of us only have a very short amount of time on this earth. We all have a “departure” that will be here before we know it. So, what are you using your life to do? Are you determined, as Peter was, to instill certain things in the hearts of those around you—things they’ll remember even after you’re gone?

You know, as I read verse 15, I’m reminded of the importance of passing our faith on to others—and especially to the next generation. Those of us who are parents should seek do this by being faithful in our efforts to teach our children about the things of God. And we as a church should also seek to do this collectively through such things as our Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry. I recently heard someone say that any church that isn’t very deliberate about passing on the faith to the next generation is essentially giving itself an expiration date. One of the greatest things—and perhaps even the greatest thing—we can do for the long-term advance of the gospel is to invest everything we possibly can in the next generation. So, I just want to say thank you to those who volunteer in our Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry. Your efforts to teach the children and youth of this church about God will, I have no doubt, echo throughout eternity. And perhaps all of us might consider how we might be a part of that as well.