Join us as we delve into the dynamics of apostasy and the redemptive power of God’s Word. Dr. McGee underscores the critical teachings found in 2 Timothy and 2 Peter, revealing how historical instances of rebellion mirror today’s challenges. Through testimonies and scriptural insights, Dr. McGee provides guidance on maintaining spiritual fidelity even as societal pressures mount. Embark on this journey of faith, reinforced by the uplifting stories of listeners from diverse backgrounds.
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
SPEAKER 05 :
If ever a man is going to say anything significant and important, it’s going to be on his deathbed. That’s the truth that our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, shares with us in his sermon from 2 Peter that he calls The Swan Song of Peter. Welcome to the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, and I’m so glad that you’re here to study God’s Word as Dr. McGee continues to give us great insight into the writing of the Apostle Peter, this time just before his impending death. Before we begin, i want to tell you why may is an important month here through the bible it’s letter month have you heard about our tradition the premise is really simple although we love to hear from you anytime we do set aside a couple of times a year to specifically celebrate and request your notes and letters as well as emails social media shout outs any way you want to reach out and let us know that you’re on the bible bus we want to hear it letter month started with dr mcgee and he loved it so much that we’ve continued it year after year. Well, simply because we love it as well. Recently, we received this letter from Gina in New Hampshire. She says this, I’m finally writing to you during letter month. You asked, what is God teaching me? This is a question that no one letter of correspondence can contain. It would require many daily journals of a lifetime if one were to write down their thoughts. I have learned that we are broken and live in a broken, cursed world. I cannot expect good behavior or actions from broken people that have not found God yet. Just like I don’t expect my car to run when there’s no engine in it. So instead of getting upset, I pray for them. I pray for their salvation, first of all. I don’t know what the root cause of their irritations are, but I do know what God expects my responses to be, to show His love back. One other thing I’m working on is this. When I complain about a situation, I need to stop and pray about it instead. Thank you for continuing the ministry of Dr. McGee. Thank you for being positive influences and cheerful hosts on the program. I can hear the genuine love of the Lord in your speaking. I look forward to seeing you on the other side of the garden. Well, I’m so glad to hear it, Gina. Thanks for writing. Now, back in Dr. McGee’s day, it was only letters and postcards in the mail that we received. And now, because of technology, we get to celebrate hearing from you in all sorts of ways, including voicemails like this one from a young man in North Carolina.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hello, my name is Emmanuel. I’m 27 years old. I’ve always struggled with the problem of evil. How can an all-powerful, all-knowing God allow suffering? Many think God is distant, indifferent, or cruel, pointing to disease, disasters, and human evil as evidence against God’s goodness. I, too, have endured more suffering than many have experienced in a lifetime. Yet my story is of discovering the true God, not through the absence of suffering, but through his unmistakable presence in my pain. Losing my mother, enduring foster care, and eventually losing my grandmother could those experiences pushed me towards him. In those moments of loss and questioning, I began to study scripture with greater intention. Programs like Through the Bible helped me uncover the richness of God’s word and showed me how his love permeated even in the most painful moments. When times were difficult, I frowned to the truth that all things are by him, for him, through him, and in him, as stated in Romans 11.36. God is not just present in moments of clarity and victory, but also in seasons of doubt and difficulty. God is wonderful. The problem of evil is not a problem beyond God or because of God. Like the book of Job, it’s our limited perspective that blinds us to his greater purpose. But through faith, we begin to see glimpses of how he works in all things. Christ himself entered into the depth of human suffering, taking on the pain of the world so that we might have eternal life. God is not cruel or an indifferent figure that we have to believe. He is a God who weeps with us, who strengthens us, and redeems us even in the worst of times. Since Dr. J. Vernon McGee has helped me understand God’s true nature, I have faith that God has been faithful to me, and I know that God will be faithful to you. My story is proof of that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for sharing, Emmanuel. I know that you’ve encouraged a lot of people. And stay in His Word and keep following Him, and God will use you and your story in significant ways, and through the Bible is glad to be a part of your testimony. Now, here’s another voicemail we received from a listener on the other end of the age spectrum. He left us this message from his home in Washington State.
SPEAKER 04 :
My name is Ed. I live in central Washington. I will be 82 years old in January 2025. And I have listened to through the Bible for many decades. However, this is my first time of reaching out with a message or letter or voicemail. However, since I retired five years ago, I have boarded the Bible bus nearly every day, including the question and answer program on Saturday and the Sunday sermons. This is not a chore. It is a joy and blessing. each and every day to spend this time in the Word of God with Dr. McGee and staff. I love Dr. McGee’s teaching along with his style and humor and down-to-earth explanations of difficult passages. He helped me understand that we can find Jesus in every book of the Bible. I also started listening to the Oral Prayer Today program I believe this program has improved our prayer life and expanded my focus and understanding beyond my family, friends, my country, and myself to individual families, people groups, and language groups around the world. What a blessing and encouragement to hear the stories of so many who are hearing through the Bible in their own language in various countries. and turning their lives around and turning to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, including in many countries where Christianity is absolutely forbidden. What bravery and encouragement these people give when we hear their stories. And also gaining a better understanding of the location of these countries on the map. I frequently… Look up the country we are praying for to learn more about the population, people, and language groups, resources, challenges, and politics. These programs and ministries have certainly increased my faith, my prayer life, and my love for the Lord. I am sending a little money each month for gas and probably time for an oil change. God bless.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks, Ed. It’s a pleasure to have you aboard each day. And as a member of our World Prayer Team, thanks for your support that does keep the Bible Bus rolling in more than 250 languages around the world. Now, we’d love to hear your story too, and it’s never too late. You heard Ed just now. He’s been on the Bible Bus for decades and only recently shared his story with us for the very first time. And that’s okay, Ed. We’re just glad that you didn’t wait another decade to give us a call because we really do love hearing from you. So call again anytime. Now, to share how our time together in God’s Word is impacting your life, just leave a note in the feedback section of our app. It’s super easy. Or you can send an email to BibleBus at ttb.org. Or if you’d rather put pen to paper, well, you can mail your letter to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109 if you’re in canada the address is box 25325 london ontario n6c 6b1 and if you loved hearing from emmanuel and ed i know others would love to hear from you so why don’t you call and share your story at 1-800-65 bible now in the options you’re going to hear one for leaving your bible bus story and that’s the one you want From there, it’s just as easy as listening to the prompt and recording your voicemail. The number again is 1-800-652-4253. Let’s pray. Father, we ask you to bless your word as it goes out and that you would use it to encourage the hearts of listeners who feel alone and who are hurting. We come to you in this time, Lord, in your word with our open hearts, ready to learn and see your son, Jesus Christ, on every page. It’s in his name we pray. Amen. Amen. Here’s the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 02 :
Our subject is the Swan Song of Simon Peter. He says in the first chapter of 2 Peter, verse 14, Knowing that shortly I must put off this, my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. It was in the upper room that Simon Peter vowed that he would lay down his life for the Lord Jesus. And when he made that statement, he was absolutely sincere. He was utterly honest. He was devoid of any hypocrisy whatsoever. But instead of doing the thing he pledged to do, he uttered a base denial. He was guilty of dissimulation, actually of lying about the facts. This man did not know, as Paul later on did not know, the human heart. Paul later on found out that I know that within my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. And Simon Peter was to learn that. And that night he did deny his Lord. That night he did an awful thing, but he repented of it before the night was out. And after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, our Lord had a private interview with him. And at that private interview, though we do not know what took place, we are sure that Simon Peter made confession and that our Lord cleansed him and forgave him his sin. Now, before the ascension of our Lord, he’s told this man, he said to him, he said, I want you to know, Simon Peter, back under in the upper room, you wanted to follow me. You said you would. Now you are going to follow me. And then he went through a very interesting thing. He took the girdle he had and bound him with it. He says, that’s what’s going to happen to you one of these days. Men will bind you and you will be led to a cross and die like I did. Well, here in 2 Peter, we’ve come to that time. We’ve come to that particular place in this man’s life. And this, if you please, is his swan song. Knowing that quickly that I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus hath showed me. The word here means, shortly means quickly. He means that I’m right at the verge of giving my life for the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he likens his body here to a building and to a garment. And you may think that he’s mixing metaphors, but he’s not. For the garment that he’s speaking of is nothing in the world but a frail and fragile tent. And that’s the word that he uses for tabernacle. I’m going to fold up, he says, this body of mine like a garment. And I’m going to lay this body aside, if you please. It’s interesting to note that he’s discussing the same thing that our Lord did yonder in the upper room, or rather the Mount of Transfiguration with him. You remember there that Simon Peter wanted to build three tabernacles. They’re actually three tents. Now he’s not talking about building any kind of tent, but taking the one down that he’s got. we find yonder at the Mount of Transfiguration that Elijah and Moses and the Lord Jesus were discussing his decease at Jerusalem. And Peter uses that same term here. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. And the word for decease in Luke, as it is here, is the word exodus. The thing that he’s talking about is that I have now come to my death. And my death is an exodus out of this world. I’ll soon be moving out. Now, this man is on his deathbed actually here. And what we have in 2 Peter is this swan song. And if ever a man is going to say anything significant and important, it’ll be on his deathbed. Up to that moment, he may never have said anything that’s worth anything. But if he’s going to, it’s on his deathbed, he’ll say something that is important. And so Simon Peter now has a message. And this is his swan song. It’s the same thing that you have in 2 Timothy, which is the swan song of the Apostle Paul. And the interesting thing is that the swan song of the Apostle Paul and the swan song of Simon Peter are the same thing. They discuss the same subject. Now, what is it that they’re talking about? What is the final message that Simon Peter would leave with you and me today? What’s the last word that he would have to say? Well, he’s talking about the approaching apostasy and the attitude that a believer should have to the Word of God in days of apostasy. Fact of the matter is, he’s talking about two conflicting forces that are at work. And these two conflicting forces are an apostasy and the Word of God. They’re going the opposite direction. And you have in the verse that he discusses the centripetal force, a spiritual centripetal force of the apostasy that’s pulling away from God and the Word of God. The Word of God, as he describes it, is a light that shineth in a dark place. He says that the Word of God is like the sun in the spiritual heavens, and it’s the only thing to lighten this world that we’re in. And that there are these two forces. There is the centripetal force that’s pulling away from the Word of God and pulling men to the world. And then there is the centrifugal force of the Word of God that’s pulling men up and pulling men toward God. You have these two forces. And as you come to the end of the age, the conflict becomes more sharp and severe. I want us this morning briefly to note these two forces that are at work. And may I say that we have come to the days that both Paul and Peter talked about. We’re not looking for them to come. They are upon us. And you don’t have to be a fanatic. I’m no fanatic. We are in the days of apostasy. They are upon us. And there has been that pull. that pull to the world and the things of the world. Now will you listen to him briefly here, this downward pull and how it began and how it works. In chapter 2 he says, “…but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” The thing that Israel had to beware of were false prophets. The church does not have to beware of a false prophet. The thing we need to beware of are false teachers, never a false prophet. The very moment that a man steps out today and begins to predict anything in the future, you can write him off. We had a man in Pasadena during the war that predicted on September the 15th, I think it was either 41 or 2, the world was coming to an end. And some of our ministers out there got alarmed, called us together and said, let’s issue an edict. And I insisted, and several of us insisted, do nothing about it. Wait till September the 15th, and he’ll be proven a liar, which he was. He said the world’s coming to an end. You don’t have to pay any attention to a false prophet. We have several right now in Los Angeles that are telling, stepping out on a limb, the United States is in prophecy and certain things are going to take place. May I say to you, just wait. We do not have to pay any attention to a false prophet. The thing that the church needs to beware of are false teachers. For it’s been through a ministry, and I happen to be a minister, but the church has been led into heresy by the pulpit, if you please, and the pew went to sleep. And that is the condition that is abroad in the land today. That is the thing that has happened. The thing that he says will characterize them is covetousness. And through covetousness shall they with fain words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. Peter’s saying this to us that these are marked out by their love of money. Oh, the money-hungry Christian organizations today. May I say to you, the very insatiable greed of some of them today is the very mark of apostasy. Now he mentions here then three groups of apostates of the past that will characterize this day in which we live. Will you notice them? Let me give them to you very briefly. The first one in verse 4 says, For if God spared not the angels that sin, but cast them down to hell, delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved under judgment. Now, the angels that sin, I may tonight deal a little with that subject. But let me just mention this this morning and pass on that in the past, a great host in heaven rebelled against God. And that great host turned their back upon him. God immediately, and I believe that the reason God created man was to demonstrate that his judgment of angels was just. But we are here. to make a free choice in this world. And that’s the one thing God gives us an opportunity. And you can’t make a free choice except about one thing, and that’s Jesus Christ. You couldn’t even choose the color of your skin, your height, whether you’d be male or female. You couldn’t choose when you’d be born. But my friend, today you can choose Jesus Christ or reject him. That’s the one thing God’s given to the human family in which he has absolute free will. Now, may I say to you, the angels rebelled. And that is the thing, if you please, that is to characterize this day and does characterize this day is the lack of discipline. It’s seen in the church. It’s seen in the home. It’s seen in society today. And it’s seen in the state. Everywhere you go today, there is that. And it’s coming back, if you please, more to a Bible position. That’s the interesting thing about it all. For it was, you remember, Paul who could say, the carnal mind is enmity against God. It’s not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. And that is that pull today away from God and the word of God. That is rebellion today against law and order everywhere. Then, my beloved, the second thing that characterizes this awful centripetal force that is so strong right now is marked in the days of Noah. Spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. That was the thing that characterized Noah’s day. There’s so much is made of the immorality of Noah’s day. And actually, I’d like you to point me the verse that shows that. I can’t find it. Our Lord said they were marrying and giving in marriage, and they were eating and drinking. And you tell me what’s wrong with any of those things. There was nothing wrong with them. The thing of it is they were going about their ordinary pursuits as if God did not exist and if judgment was not coming. That was the thing that was tragic. They were just ungodly. What a travesty today on this land in which we live. Ungodly is the thing that characterizes our nation today. The third thing is mentioned here in the sixth verse, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after that should live ungodly. Immorality is the third thing that will characterize this day and does. That’s the great pull away from God. I do not know about you, but I’m alarmed today, although there are some good signs on the horizon. At the meeting of the psychologists and psychiatrists in Cincinnati, Dr. Maurer of the University of Chicago, the outstanding researcher, said that we must return to a belief in sin. That’s good. Listen to him. The idea that men can have the benefits of an orderly social life without paying for it through restraints and sacrifices is a subversive doctrine. And he says that is a very tangible and very present hell on this earth. It is this, the hell of neurosis and psychosis to which sin and unexpiated guilt lead us. He’s no preacher, and he doesn’t believe in the Bible, but he says there must be a return to this. And I’m alarmed. Mr. Stedman told us up at Hume Lake this summer, and he discussed this with me. He said, I had the shock of my life. He said up in Palo Alto, a couple that belong in the upper bracket who have a teenage daughter, called me to come immediately to their home. He said, I went. The daughter was away, but she had left a diary out on her table. Mother had picked it up and started to read. And what she read was the most shocking thing in the world. The boy that this girl was going with, they were having sexual intercourse, and at the same moment, she would pray that God would keep her from being found out. At the same moment, she would go to a young people’s meeting and lead it, and lead in prayer, and then go right out. And no knowledge, apparently, or compunction of conscience that she was a hypocrite. May I say to you that you and I are living right now in an age that’s one of the most alarming the world has ever seen. When folk, and these are good people, and they are fundamental Christians, and they have a lovely home, and they thought they had a lovely daughter. May I say to you, my beloved, these are the things that characterize an age of apostasy. We’ve arrived. But thank God, there’s more than just the centripetal force. There is the centrifugal force. There is the outward pull away from the earth, and that is the Word of God. Both Peter and Paul say that the only resource and recourse in days of apostasy is to the Word of God. Listen to him very carefully. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. Peter says, this is what I want you to remember. You may forget everything else, but don’t forget this. This is important. And then he goes on, listen to him. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we make known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Now he’s referring to the transfiguration. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased. Peter says that when we were with him on that mount, There were with him these saints who were dead. We were the living that were with him. There he was glorified. There came the voice from heaven. And at the foot of that mountain, there was the picture of the other disciples and the poor man with the son demon possessed. He said, that’s the picture of the kingdom as it is today. We beheld the kingdom. That’s the picture of the kingdom as it is at the present hour. There are the saints that have gone on. They are with him today. And you and I down here in the presence of the demon-possessed world, and we can do nothing about it. That’s the picture of the hour. He said that’s where we were. Now listen to Simon Peter because he says here something that is very wonderful indeed. He said that we heard this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. He says that through the eye gate we saw, through the ear gate we heard. We were eyewitnesses. Now you can have nothing better than that according to this scientific age. Right now billions are being spent in just pure scientific experiments. It’s known as empiricism. That’s the approach. What you can see, what you can hear, that’s the important thing. Simon Peter says, I want you to know that we heard him, we saw him, we were with him in the Holy Mount. You can’t have it any better than that, can you? Peter says you can. Listen to him. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day start arise in your hearts. We have a word, he says, of prophecy that’s been made more sure. There’s something better than seeing and hearing, and that’s having the word of God. And when he uses the word prophecy, he’s not limiting it to the predictive element. He’s limiting it to the entire word of God, if you please, the written word of God. All of that’s prophecy in the sense it was spoken from God, and it’s a word from him. Now he says it’s a light. The word is lamp in the Greek. It’s the source of life. It’s like the sun in the sky. It is the centrifugal force and the only centrifugal force that can pull and draw men. Only thing today. And there’s not going to be any other… miracle in this world until Jesus comes, except this book right here. And may I say to you this morning, this book is a miracle in the world. It’s the one miracle God has here today. And he says that it’ll be in the world and that knowing this first, and knowing is An interesting word. It means that which you know from facts, but the Holy Spirit confirms it to your heart and assures you that supernatural knowledge, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. That means that you don’t interpret it by itself. You have to put all the Scripture together. And then he concludes by saying, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy man of God, And it’s not holy men. It means men of God spake as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Men are not holy. God’s holy. And the man spake as the Holy Spirit, like wind in a sail, moves a sailing vessel along, move them along to record what God wanted recorded. Now that’s the book that we have before us. And that, my friend, is the only pulling power that’s in this world today that can overcome the centripetal force of this world and this apostasy. Peter and Paul both in these days run up a red flag and say, look here! This is the only hope you have. This is the only light in a dark world. Let me mention these and conclude this morning. First, This book here reveals the pulling power of God in the new birth. I wonder if you’ll just let me refer to one or two scriptures here, for this is important. Being born again, he says in 1 Peter 1.23, “…being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” But the word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. The pulling power of the word of God, my beloved, in the new birth. Oh, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got lots more confidence in this book this morning than I had when I began my ministry. Every day, I believe it more than I believed it the day before. And I believe that it has power to transform lives. I remember hearing the testimony when I was a student in seminary of a brilliant young engineer. He’d worked out here on Boulder Dam and he’d been thrown off the job because he was a drunkard. He made his way brilliant young fella, graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, made his way from one mission to another. He knew all the answers. He’d been able to put down any Christian who’d attempted to talk to him. He came to Dallas and went to the mission there. Mother Moore had charge of that mission, a lovely gray-haired lady known in that area. And so she said to him, when he came in, you go upstairs and wash and shower and clean up and come down, I’ll talk to you. And he began to smile as he went up to take a shower. He’d slain many one, and he had quite a few notches on his gun of Christians that couldn’t answer him. And he said, that dear little old lady doesn’t know anything. I’ll take care of her. And he came downstairs. And she invited him in and sat down. He is a brilliant young fella. She said something about turning to Scripture, and he said, yes, but… And then he gave an argument. And she did a strange thing. She didn’t argue with him, needn’t attempt to answer him. She just turned over and says, but the Scripture says this. He says, yes, I know, but I don’t believe that. She says, yes, I know, but it says this. She never would argue with him. He said if that woman had stopped to argue with me, I’d have tied her up in a minute, but she wouldn’t argue with me. She kept throwing scripture at me, and I found out I couldn’t answer it. And he says at the end of the interview, I got down on my knees and accepted Christ. I say to you this morning, this book still has power. I believe this book has power today. It’s the only power in this world that can lift you above it. Dr. John Mitchell wrote me this week and he said we just took a couple into our church over at Phoenix. I wasn’t quite clear where they heard either the radio when I was back at Winona Lake on WMBI or Founders Week or out here, wasn’t quite sure. But he said, this couple said they listened to the radio and heard your messages for just one week and came to a knowledge of Christ. They’ve moved here to Phoenix and they’ve come into the church. And he says, my, how they’ve grown in a week. I say to you this morning, friend, this book still has power. It has power to transform your heart and life. We talked to a man the other Thursday evening sitting right back there. Came in here in desperation from Flagstaff, Arizona. And that man knelt back there, bowed his head back there and accepted Christ as his savior in the midst of all of his problems. I say to you this morning, this book is the only power that’s in this world to lift you above it. I wish this morning we could dwell on this a little bit longer, but I want to mention this now in close, and that’s the protecting power of the word in danger. This book can protect you in days of apostasy. This is the only bomb shelter that you and I have. Today is the Word of God, and we do well to look for a bomb shelter. Be sober, be vigilant. Peter says, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the face, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. This book here, my friend, is the only resource and the only protection that we have. Peter calls it a sure word. He says it’s a light in a dark place. He says to feed the flock. The flock are sheep, if you please. And the only thing that you can feed them to keep them alive in these days is the word of God. Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It today is called the sword of the Spirit. It’s the only defense that we have in this age in which we live. My beloved, we have none other. I was in seminary with a young man. He had the sharpest mind, I think, of any person I have ever met. He was from Mississippi. His father was a banker. in a place called Kosciuszko, Mississippi. His father was an old-time Christian. It’s difficult for you and me to understand these things I shall mention, but this is the old South. Every morning at the breakfast table, he had all those that worked on the plantation to come in and stand around the table. And then he got a Bible as big as this pulpit Bible here. put it down before him. Warren says, I thought he’d never quit reading. He says, my dad was the longest winded preacher that I have ever heard. He said, I just sit there as a boy and I resolve. And when I got old enough, I’d get away from that. I was tired of having that. throne every morning and then each one of us after he’d finished and then he prayed he prayed around the world he said and then he’d have each one of us give a verse of scripture he said when i got old enough i left i ran away went to new orleans i joined the navy next thing i knew i was in the philippines and he said i’d been out there a while i started drinking And he said, oh, I got in an awful situation. He said, one night I was coming back from a brawl and I was still half drunk. He said, I staggered into a tent meeting they were having there in Manila on the outskirts. He said, I don’t even know to this good day who’s preaching. Don’t know what he said. All I know is I sat in the back. And all of a sudden I heard that preacher quote a verse that I heard my father quote a thousand times. And it took me back to that dining room in Mississippi. It took me back to my home and I could see my dad there. And he said that night I’d have given a million dollars if I could have been back in that dining room listening to my dad. And he said, when the invitation is given, I staggered forward. And that night, I took Christ as my Savior. Oh, my friend, the protecting power of the Word of God. It’s the only thing, this centrifugal force, The only thing that can overcome the centripetal force of the apostasy that’s pulling men down. Only today the Word of God can pull you up and lift you and bring you to God. For it reveals the Savior. This is the only place that He’s revealed. This is the only picture we have of Him is in this book. This is the only place where there’s a Savior. that you can trust that redeems you from sin, the power of the book. I’m wondering if you were here today and you felt the awful pull downward, the pull away from God. That’s the pull of the apostasy of this age. It’s bad today. It’s awful today. But my friend, there’s another power. It’s a supernatural power that’s pulling men away from this earth, pulling them to God. And that is the word that reveals a savior today. And by the new birth today, born again, not a corruptible seed, but incorruptible of the word of God. And that word says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Not believe plus something, but believe plus nothing. It means to trust him and trust him alone as an all-sufficient Savior.
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To learn more about what it means to trust Christ as your personal Savior, like Dr. McGee just said, click on How Can I Know God in our app or visit ttb.org. There you’ll find links to some of Dr. McGee’s foundational messages and booklets on the Christian faith. I’m thinking of a couple in particular that you’ll want to check out. The Faith Equation is one, and How to Have Fellowship with God are both particularly good. But don’t take my word for it. Go check them out for yourself. You’ll find several other messages there as well. And if you prefer that we send you a few of these resources by mail, just call us. 1-800-65-BIBLE is the number, and our team will be happy to help you out. Now, today’s sermon, The Swan Song of Simon Peter. was a good one, wasn’t it? Well, if you’d like to share it with someone that you care about, doing it is super easy if you have our app. You can get it in your favorite app store or stream or download any of our Sunday sermons or daily programs anytime and for free online at ttb.org. And if you’d like to dig a bit deeper into your own study of 2 Peter, you’ll want to get our free Bible companion. You’ll find it in our app as well or at ttb.org. In each of our Bible companions, you’re going to get a great synopsis of Dr. McGee’s teaching as well as prompts to both listen to Dr. McGee’s message and read the scripture for yourself, as well as some pretty great questions for reflection. Better yet, for group study. Oh, and good news for those of you who have been asking for the printed edition of our Bible Companions, well, they’re here. Dr. McGee’s New Testament Bible Companions are available in softcover. You can order your copy at ttb.org or by calling 1-865-BIBLE. That’s ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. Now, once you’ve got yours, let us know how you’re using them, especially for small group studies. They’re perfect for that. I’m Steve Schwartz, praying that God fills you with His peace and lavishes you with His grace and mercy as you walk with Him this week.
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Jesus came in all All to Him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow
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Join us each weekday for our five-year daily study through the whole Word of God. Check for times on this station or look for Through the Bible in your favorite podcast store and always at ttb.org.
