LESSON XXXV
THE CHRISTIAN'S ATTITUDE TOWARD ERROR AND IMMORALITY
The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude
1. AUTHENTICITY
The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude are among the least known and most seriously questioned parts of the New Testament. Even in ancient times their authenticity was disputed; in the third and fourth centuries there were some at least who desired to exclude them from the New Testament. These ancient doubts have been continued in the modern Church. By very many scholars of the present day, Second Peter and Jude are assigned to second-century writers who falsely assumed the names of an apostle and of a brother of the Lord.
Against such views as these, a number of arguments might be employed. But the strongest argument of all is provided by the self-witness of the epistles themselves. Second Peter, in particular, not only lays claim to apostolic authorship in the address, but is written throughout in the name of an apostle. Either it was really written by an apostle or else it was a deliberate fraud. The latter alternative is excluded by the epistle itself. Second Peter does not look at all like a pseudonymous work, but is a weighty bit of writing, full of the sincerest moral earnestness. Both Second Peter and Jude ring true, with the genuine apostolic note.
2. SECOND PETER AND FIRST PETER
Resemblances have often been pointed out among all three divisions of the New Testament material attributed to Peter. Second Peter has been shown to resemble not only First Peter, but also the speeches of Peter as they are reported in The Acts. Such similarities of course point to a common authorship. It cannot be denied, however, that differences stand side by side with the similarities. In the comparison of the epistles with the speeches, such differences are of course not surprising. The total difference of subject and the wide interval of time provide an amply sufficient explanation. But how is it with the difference between Second Peter and First Peter?
(1) Difference of Purpose and Subject.—In the first place, the difference may be partly explained by the difference of purpose and subject. First Peter is a presentation of the glories of the faith in order to encourage Christians under trial and make them feel their separateness from the world; Second Peter is a solemn warning against dangerous perverters of the life of the Church.