¹² For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³ Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, ¹⁴ knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵ Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. (2 Peter 1:12-15)

One of Peter’s goals in 2 Peter was to remind his fellow Christians they partook of the divine nature through “exceedingly great and precious promises” as they diligently made their “call and election sure” through spiritual growth and fruitfulness (2 Pet. 1:2-10). By doing so, they would enter the everlasting kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11).

Note that Peter was not telling them a new message. They knew the “present truth” and were firm in it. He reminded them of these great truths so that after his death, they would continue to remember them and remain faithful.

Teaching the gospel is not about hearing and telling some new thing like the Athenian philosophers (Acts 17:21). It is about telling “the old, old story” to each generation with repetition, clarity, and resolve. Like Peter, this present generation will die. May we continue to secure and arouse faith in our generation and the next by preaching the gospel truth that abides forever (1 Pet. 1:22-25).