BEMA Episode Link: 169: 2 Peter — The Other Side of a Conversation
Episode Length: 30:53
Published Date: Thu, 21 May 2020 01:00:00 -0700
Session 4
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the second letter from the Apostle Peter to see how he utilizes the Midrash to encourage the early believers to keep walking in faithfulness and not give in to the temptation to return to the cultural norms around them.

Discussion Video for BEMA 169

Sefaria: A Living Library of Jewish Texts

The Bible as It Was by James L. Kugel

Noah (2014 film)

Transcript for BEMA 169

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 169: 2 Peter — The Other Side of a Conversation

Title & Source Summary

Episode: BEMA 169: 2 Peter — The Other Side of a Conversation
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings
Topic: An examination of 2 Peter as the complementary message to 1 Peter, addressing the opposite temptation faced by early believers—not just enduring persecution, but avoiding the cultural compromise that comes from losing distinctiveness and giving in to the pagan practices around them.

This episode explores 2 Peter as Peter’s response to the “other side” of the persecution conversation. While 1 Peter encouraged believers to endure suffering and maintain their faith under persecution, 2 Peter addresses the equally dangerous temptation to escape persecution by abandoning Christian distinctiveness and assimilating into Greco-Roman culture. The letter specifically targets Gentile converts who are being led astray by false teachers promoting cultural accommodation through participation in guild feasts, idolatry, and sexual immorality. Peter uses Jewish rabbinical arguments rooted in Midrash to counter these false teachings, emphasizing orthopraxy (right practice) over orthodoxy (right belief).

Key Takeaways

  • 2 Peter addresses the opposite temptation from 1 Peter: not enduring persecution, but giving in to cultural accommodation and losing Christian distinctiveness
  • The letter is primarily aimed at Gentile converts, evidenced by Peter’s opening reference to those who “have received a faith as precious as ours” (the Jews)
  • False teachers in 2 Peter are promoting wrong practice (orthopraxy), not wrong doctrine (orthodoxy)
  • The three main areas of compromise are: cultural idolatry, desire for power/wealth/influence, and sexual immorality
  • Guild feasts in Greco-Roman culture combined idolatry, consumption of raw meat to ingest gods, and sexual immorality
  • Peter uses Jewish Midrash and rabbinical arguments, suggesting his audience was well-trained in Jewish thought
  • The mission of God remains consistent from Joshua/Judges to the Greco-Roman world: being a kingdom of priests at the crossroads of culture
  • Living in the “shephelah” (tension between cultures) requires avoiding both persecution compromise and cultural assimilation

Main Concepts & Theories

The Complementary Nature of Peter’s Letters

Peter’s two letters address the dual challenges facing early believers:

  • 1 Peter: “Keep walking in faithfulness despite persecution and suffering”
  • 2 Peter: “Don’t lose your distinctiveness by giving in to cultural norms”

This creates a balanced approach to living as believers in hostile environments, avoiding both the extremes of giving up under pressure and blending in to avoid conflict.

Audience Analysis: Gentile Focus

Peter’s opening in 2 Peter 1:1 reveals his primary audience:

  • “To those who… have received a faith as precious as ours”
  • “Ours” refers to Jewish believers
  • Recipients are Gentiles who have received faith equal to Jewish faith
  • These are likely educated Gentiles familiar with Jewish teachings (similar to Galatian converts)
The Nature of False Teaching: Orthopraxy vs. Orthodoxy

The false teachers in 2 Peter are not promoting doctrinal heresy but behavioral compromise:

  • Orthodoxy: Right belief or correct doctrine
  • Orthopraxy: Right practice or correct behavior
  • Peter’s concern throughout 2 Peter 2 focuses on conduct, not beliefs
  • The “denying the Lord” mentioned refers to practical denial through behavior, not theological denial
Three Areas of Compromise

The false teachers are leading believers into three specific areas of cultural accommodation:

  1. Cultural Idolatry: Participating in the ungodliness and idol worship of their surrounding culture
  2. Desire for Power/Wealth/Influence: Seeking the worldly status and privileges they lost by becoming Christians
  3. Sexual Immorality: Engaging in the sexual practices incongruent with the way of Jesus
Guild Feasts and Greco-Roman Culture

Guild feasts were central to Greco-Roman professional and social life:

  • Structure: Combination of labor union and college fraternity
  • Organization: Based on vocational groups (blacksmiths, potters, etc.)
  • Frequency: Monthly gatherings, often associated with new moons
  • Idolatry Component: Each guild had a patron god (e.g., blacksmiths worshiping Zeus)
  • Raw Meat Consumption: Eating raw meat to ingest the god’s blood and receive divine power
  • Sexual Immorality: Concluding with prostitutes and drunken debauchery
Midrash and Jewish Arguments

Peter employs Jewish rabbinical teaching methods:

  • Midrash: Vast library of Jewish oral teachings and interpretations
  • Specific References: Angels in chains, Noah and seven others, Sodom and Gomorrah, Balaam’s story
  • Balaam Tradition: Midrash connects Balaam to all three areas of compromise (idolatry, greed, sexual immorality)
  • Purpose: Using familiar Jewish interpretative methods to address Gentile behavior
The Shephelah Principle

The episode connects 2 Peter to the broader biblical narrative of living at cultural crossroads:

  • Shephelah: The tension zone between coastal plain and Judah mountains from Joshua/Judges
  • Crossroads Living: Being positioned between cultures without fully adopting either
  • Kingdom of Priests: God’s people called to show the world what God is like
  • Consistent Mission: From Joshua’s time to Peter’s era, God seeks partners at cultural crossroads

Examples & Applications

Guild Feast Parallels

The guild feast structure helps explain the comprehensive nature of cultural compromise:

  • Professional Integration: Job security and advancement required guild membership
  • Social Acceptance: Professional and personal relationships centered around guild activities
  • Religious Syncretism: Each guild had its own religious practices and patron deities
  • Sexual Practices: Guild feasts concluded with practices completely contrary to Christian ethics
Balaam as Archetypal False Teacher

The Midrash understanding of Balaam provides a template for false teachers:

  • Historical Balaam: Prophet hired by Balak to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24)
  • Midrash Addition: After failing to curse Israel, Balaam advised Balak to seduce Israelites through Moabite women
  • Three-Fold Pattern: Idolatry (serving foreign gods), greed (payment for prophecy), sexual immorality (seduction strategy)
  • New Testament Confirmation: Multiple New Testament books (2 Peter, Jude, Revelation) affirm this Midrashic interpretation
Contemporary Cultural Accommodation

Modern applications of Peter’s warnings:

  • Professional Compromise: Participating in business practices that conflict with Christian values for career advancement
  • Social Integration: Adopting cultural practices for acceptance that compromise Christian distinctiveness
  • Moral Flexibility: Relaxing biblical standards to avoid social exclusion or persecution
  • Power Pursuit: Seeking worldly influence and status over kingdom values
The Noah Movie Example

The 2014 Noah film illustrates Midrash in popular culture:

  • Filmmaker Background: Written and directed by former Orthodox Jews
  • Midrash Source: Every element not in Genesis comes from Jewish Midrash
  • Rock Creatures: The “Watchers” from the Book of Enoch and Midrash
  • Ham’s Wife: Midrash teaches Ham had no wife on the ark
  • Nimrod: Midrash tradition of Nimrod secretly boarding the ark
  • Christian Reaction: Many Christians criticized it as “unbiblical,” not recognizing the Jewish interpretative tradition

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

  1. Comprehensive Midrash Study: Deep exploration of Jewish interpretative traditions and their influence on New Testament writings
  2. Guild System Analysis: Historical investigation of Roman professional guilds and their religious and social functions
  3. Greco-Roman Religious Syncretism: Study of how pagan religious practices integrated with professional and social life
  4. Balaam Tradition Development: Tracing the evolution of Balaam interpretations from Numbers through Midrash to New Testament
  5. Cultural Accommodation Patterns: Analysis of how early Christians navigated professional and social integration without compromise
  6. Orthopraxy vs. Orthodoxy: Investigation of the relationship between belief and practice in early Christian theology
  7. Revelation Connections: Study of how 2 Peter and Jude connect to themes developed in Revelation
  8. Sefaria.org Resource Exploration: Practical guidance for accessing and understanding Jewish textual resources
  9. Post-Christian Cultural Navigation: Contemporary applications of Peter’s principles for living distinctively in secular culture

Comprehension Questions

  1. How does Peter’s opening address in 2 Peter 1:1 (“faith as precious as ours”) reveal his primary audience and concern, and what does this suggest about the specific challenges facing Gentile converts in the Greco-Roman world?

  2. Why is the distinction between orthodoxy and orthopraxy crucial for understanding 2 Peter 2, and how does this focus on practice rather than belief change our interpretation of the “false teachers” Peter confronts?

  3. How do guild feasts exemplify the comprehensive nature of cultural accommodation that Peter warns against, and what modern parallels can we identify in professional and social contexts that require similar biblical discernment?

  4. What role does Jewish Midrash play in Peter’s arguments, and how does the Balaam tradition illustrate the three-fold pattern of compromise (idolatry, greed, sexual immorality) that characterizes false teaching?

  5. How does the concept of living in the “shephelah” (cultural crossroads) from Joshua/Judges apply to the challenges addressed in 2 Peter, and what does this continuity reveal about God’s consistent mission for His people throughout history?

Brief Personalized Summary

BEMA Episode 169 presents 2 Peter as the essential counterbalance to 1 Peter, addressing the equally dangerous temptation of cultural accommodation when persecution becomes difficult to bear. While 1 Peter encouraged endurance under suffering, 2 Peter confronts the subtle but deadly compromise of losing Christian distinctiveness by blending into Greco-Roman culture.

The episode’s most striking insight is Peter’s focus on orthopraxy over orthodoxy—the false teachers aren’t promoting wrong doctrine but wrong practice. This challenges contemporary Christianity’s tendency to prioritize doctrinal correctness while sometimes overlooking behavioral compromise. The guild feast system provides a powerful illustration of how cultural accommodation wasn’t just about individual moral choices but about comprehensive integration into systems that required idolatry, professional compromise, and sexual immorality.

Peter’s use of Jewish Midrash, particularly the Balaam tradition, demonstrates how biblical authors employed familiar interpretative frameworks to address contemporary challenges. The three-fold pattern of compromise—idolatry, greed for power/wealth, and sexual immorality—remains remarkably relevant for modern believers navigating professional and social pressures that require compromising Christian values for acceptance or advancement.

Perhaps most profound is the connection to the shephelah principle from Joshua and Judges—God’s consistent call for His people to live at the crossroads of culture without fully adopting the values of either side. This requires the delicate balance of engaging culture without being absorbed by it, maintaining distinctiveness without isolation. Peter’s letter reminds us that the mission of being a “kingdom of priests” showing the world what God is like remains unchanged from the conquest of Canaan to the streets of Roman Asia Minor to contemporary secular culture. The challenge is neither to retreat from cultural engagement nor to compromise our distinctiveness, but to live faithfully in the tension as God’s representatives at the crossroads of human experience.

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