The Life of Peter: Molded in the Master’s Hands by Derek Thomas. Ligonier Ministries. 140 pages. 2024
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In this book, respected pastor, seminary professor and Ligonier Teaching Fellow Derek Thomas examines the Apostle Peter’s life from the accounts of the Gospels and Acts. He also occasionally draws from Peter’s two epistles lessons that Peter may have learned during his life with Jesus and the early days of the church and pondered in the decades that followed.
The material in the book originally came from a series of sermons that Thomas preached at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition, Thomas has recorded an excellent companion teaching series of the same name for Ligonier Ministries, which includes nineteen twenty-three-minute messages.
Peter is a favorite of many because we see him “mess up” so often. We can relate to him because we do as well.
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Thomas takes us through Peter’s public ministry beginning from the time he meets Jesus at about thirty years of age until he is executed by Nero in Rome in AD 64. He touches on all of the important aspects of Peter’s ministry such as his attempt to walk on the water with Jesus, his confession about Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, and in response Jesus telling him in Matthew 16:18 “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This was followed shortly after by Peter’s rebuke of Jesus and Jesus telling him “Get behind me, Satan!”
We read about Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial. Jesus tells him of Satan’s desire to have Peter and to sift him like wheat. But Peter is told that Jesus has prayed for him that his faith may not fail. There was also an exhortation from Jesus for Peter, that when he has turned again (after his denials of Jesus), he is to strengthen his brothers. After Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus has three questions for Peter, which reflect the threefold denial.
At Pentecost, a new Peter emerges, strong and forceful, with a power and conviction that we have only partially previously seen. This is Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter would go on to perform miracles, and be imprisoned multiple times. Thomas tells us that the gospel, which had largely been confined to one ethnic group and one geographic locality, is now spreading across the world. And the person responsible for it, humanly speaking, is Peter.
In Galatians 2:11, Paul writes that he opposed Peter to his face. Thomas writes that for Paul to relate the incident so graphically was not out of spite; it was to ensure that the purity of the gospel, with its central doctrine of justification by faith alone, be maintained.
Thomas tells us that the first twelve chapters of Acts is almost entirely about Peter. After that, the focus is on the Apostle Paul. After Acts 15, we hear no more about Peter. Paul addresses his confrontation with Peter in Galatians 2, and there are further references to Peter in 1 Corinthians, suggesting that he was in Corinth for a season.
In this life of Peter, Thomas takes us from Peter as fisherman to Apostle to martyr. He tells us that despite his glaring faults, he was the “rock,” a “pillar” of the church (Galatians 2:9).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book comprised of nineteen short chapters, and would commend it to you for an overview of the life of Peter.
Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
- The Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. Its testimony is true and can be relied on. It is the source of all wisdom, in every circumstance of life.
- Sometimes Jesus may ask of us things that do not make sense to us, but they do to Him. It is the way of wisdom to do as He says.
- We are not all called to be disciples in the sense that Peter and the others were, but we are called to put Jesus first in everything.
- There is no divine necessity for God to save anyone. But having determined to save, God has no way to accomplish it other than the substitutionary death of Jesus, satisfying the demands of divine justice.
- Each one of us is capable of any sin apart from the grace of God.
- In times when the world seems crazy, it is a good thing to know that God has a plan and that He intends to make it happen.
- Every Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Believers do not have a part of the Spirit; they have Him.
- The exclusivity of Jesus as the way of salvation shaped the direction of the early church.
- Sinners come to Jesus empty-handed. Our repentance is necessary, but it contributes nothing to our salvation. Salvation is by grace alone.
- It is the work of the Holy Spirit to apply all that Christ has achieved for us in His life and death and bring us all the way home to glory.
- God uses flawed people to accomplish His purpose.
- Top 10 Books of 2024. Kevin DeYoung shares his best books from 2024.
- Personality Clash: John Owen and Richard Baxter in Conflict. Brian Gross reviews When Christians Disagree: Lessons from the Fractured Relationship of John Owen and Richard Baxter by Tim Cooper.
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
- Listen to the Truth For Life Daily Devotional. This is good news – you can now find an audio presentation of Alistair Begg’s daily insights on passages from Scripture on the Truth For Life home page and in the Truth For Life mobile app.
Won’t you read along with us?
We are reading through Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by R.C. Sproul. From the Ligonier description:
“The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most precise and comprehensive statements of biblical Christianity, and it is treasured by believers around the world. R.C. Sproul has called it one of the most important confessions of faith ever penned, and it has helped generations of Christians understand and defend what they believe.
In Truths We Confess, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. In his signature easy-to-understand style and with his conviction that everyone’s a theologian, he provides valuable commentary that will serve churches and individual Christians as they strive to better understand the eternal truths of Scripture. As he walks through the confession line by line, Dr. Sproul shows how the doctrines of the Bible—from creation to covenant, sin to salvation—fit together to the glory of God. This accessible volume is designed to help you deepen your knowledge of God’s Word and answer the question, What do you believe?”
This week we look at the first half of WCF 23: Of the Civil Magistrate. Here are a few helpful quotes from this section of the chapter:
- The person who holds the highest political office in the universe is the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him we are to give our supreme allegiance and devotion.
- God is the supreme Lord and King of all the world. It is He who has ordained civil magistrates.
- The main reason that we are called to be obedient to civil magistrates is to glorify God and honor Christ.
- The idea of vocation is that God calls people to their life’s work in many different spheres.
- As Christians, we should think of our careers as vocations.
