“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly devised myths, but being eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

And we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes by one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pet 1:12–21)

Study the epistles to align your faith.

“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.” (2 Pet 1:12-15)

The epistles contain all the apostles’ doctrine.

The apostles wrote their letters and epistles to preserve their teaching.

“By revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. About which, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.” (Eph 3:3-5)

The epistles were written deliberately.

Furthermore, the Apostles knew that they were composing Scripture. They always intended it to be the permanent record. In fact, Paul instructs the Colossian Christians to spread his letters among the neighboring congregations:

“And when this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.” (Col 4:16)

The epistles aren’t going to change.

The purpose in writing these things down is to have a permanent, unchangeable text that fully equips the Christian.

“Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.” (1 Cor 13:8-10)

Study the gospels to ground your faith.

“For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly devised myths, but being eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” (2 Pet 1:16-18)

The gospels contain eyewitness records, not myths.

“This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his witness is true.” (John 21:24)

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we are writing, so that our joy may be made complete.” (1 John 1:1-4)

The gospels reveal Jesus in His glory.

When we look at the gospels, they describe to us the life of Jesus, His power, and His identity. They draw us closer to Him personally.

Study the Old Testament to deepen your faith.

“And we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes by one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pet 1:19-21)

The Old Testament enlightens our theology.

The Old Testament was “a lamp shining in a dark place.” The Gentiles had no Scripture at all, and the Jew’s possession of it shone forth brightly. They were able to see who God was and learn what He was like.

Even for us today, the Old Testament gives us the most information about God. It helps us develop a richer, deeper understanding of God.

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom 15:4)

Paul states this after explaining through the whole book that the Old Covenant has been abrogated. Yet to make his points throughout the book of Romans, Paul relies almost exclusively on Old Testament references and analytical reasoning. Paul encourages the Roman churches to spend time reading the Old Testament Scriptures so their understanding of theological matters will be deeper.

The Old Testament shows the power of Jesus in history.

Peter says to read the Old Testament “until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” What’s he talking about?

The “morning star” is an allusion to a prophecy about Jesus back in Numbers. As we read the Old Testament, we aren’t going to suddenly realize that Christ is the Messiah—we already know that. I don’t think that’s what Peter means.

When studying the OT, eventually you will begin to see the work of Jesus the entire time. He did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. Rather, He was involved and active the entire time. At first, you may not notice Second Person of the Godhead in the Old Testament, but through the lens of Jesus, you’ll read the Old Testament very differently.

The Old Testament proves the authority of the New Testament.

“No prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

The OT provides a number of prophecies all fulfilled in the NT, showing that God was at work orchestrating the entire symphony.