Other Epistles of the New Testament: 1 & 2 Peter

The primary goal of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series is to make available serious, credible biblical scholarship in an accessible and less intimidating format. A visual generation of believers deserves a commentary series that contains not only the all-important textual commentary on Scripture, but images, photographs, maps, works of fine art, and drawings that bring the text to life. Each volume of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series features a CD-ROM, which expands the uses and capabilities of the Commentary even more.

Crisis in the Church is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the Church has always been (and probably always will be) involved in some kind of crisis. Even in the apostolic period, which is regarded by many as the Church's "golden age," there were serious crises coming from both the outside (as in 1 Peter) and from the inside (as in Jude and 2 Peter). The three short New Testament letters treated in this volume illustrate the kinds of problems that early Christians faced, as well as the rhetorical techniques and theological concepts with which they combated those problems.

Second Peter and Jude are among the most neglected books of the New Testament. But alert readers have long noted an unmistakable family resemblance between these two letters. Like orphans reunited, in this commentary 2 Peter and Jude show themselves to be robust theological siblings, charged with a keen, no-nonsense desire to warm young believers of the false spiritual guides that are out to beguile them. This commentary is a skillful exposition of these two letters within their original setting. More than that, it narrows the gap between our day and that day, between our cultural and spiritual setting and that setting, and allows the Spirit-driven message to arc between then and now. Wherever Christians face or anticipate the destabilizing and destructive influence of misled teachers and subverters of truth, these letters will speak today.

Peter David's study on I Peter is part of The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and fully abreast of modern scholarship yet faithful to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.

One of the general or catholic epistles near the end of the New Testament, this letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Peter contains important ideas and reveals a fascinating relationship to the surrounding literary world. The book shows what problems Christians faced at the time the epistle was written and how the author addressed them. The commentary discusses the Greek original, with translation, verse by verse.

Attempts to look through the New Testament texts into the lives of real human communities of the past received a significant boost with the first publication of A Home for the Homeless.Elliott's work has had a central and provocative role in the debate that has grown and matured during the subsequent decade and which continues vigorously today:What are the appropriate ways of using methods of the social sciences to understand texts from antiquity?

The prevalence of salvation language in the first letter of Peter has often been acknowledged though rarely investigated in depth. Martin Williams presents a new account exploring the concept of salvation in this theologically rich letter. He brings together the disciplines of hermeneutics, New Testament studies, and systematic and historical theology in order to explore the language of salvation which resonates within the text. The book also elaborates on a methodological level the segregation which has arisen between Biblical studies and theological studies. In doing this, Williams identifies a basis for how there can be interaction between these two different viewpoints. This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the exegesis and theology of 1 Peter, the doctrine of salvation and Biblical interpretation.

This book proposes new and comprehensive chiastic structures as well as new unifying themes for the often-neglected New Testament letters of 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. In accord with these structures, which organize the oral performance of these letters in a context of communal worship, the subtitle of the book, "Worship Matters," expresses the letters' main concern. By "worship" is meant not only liturgical worship but also the ethical behavior that complements it for a holistic way of worshiping God. "Matters" refers not only to the "matters" or issues regarding worship in these letters but also to the fact that worship "matters" in the sense of making an all-important difference to Christian living, not only for the original audiences of letters, but equally for their contemporary audience. Accordingly, this book proposes that: 1 Peter exhorts its audience to worship for life, both present and eternal, through the sufferings of Jesus Christ; 2 Peter exhorts its audience to worship in the knowledge regarding the final coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and Jude exhorts its audience to worship in the mercy and love of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.