Made More Sure

This coming Sunday I get to go out to Harvest Community Church, where Matt Guerino now pastors, and speak for the weekend. It will be great to be there and great to see Matt and Amy and their kids (we get to all have lunch together afterwards; that is, unless I really mess up on the sermon).
Anyway, I get to speak on 2 Peter 1:16-21 and I have been spending some time meditating on the passage today.

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

I find it really interesting to think about the distinction Peter is making here. He is making clear that the gospel is not just an eloquent philosophy. If it was a great philosophy, then it could be communicated through fantastic stories, just as the gospel is. However, if the gospel was simply a bunch of ideas and a philosophy and life and the world, then it would not matter whether or not those fantastic stories were true. After all, they simply exist to illustrate a truth about life.
Peter drastically differentiates the gospel from a philosophy on life that is illustrated through fantastic, but maybe untrue, stories. He emphasizes that he saw the glory of Jesus Christ with his own eyes. He ends up referring to the Transfiguration, where he and James and John saw Jesus shining in glory, and heard (with their own ears) the Father affirm the Son.
What difference do these historical details make, though? I mean, if the things in the Bible are true, then they are true regardless of whether or not the stories are true, right? I mean lying and adultery and murder are all wrong, no matter what. And all people are equal and deserving of dignity no matter what, right?
This thinking misunderstands the core of the gospel. The gospel (and the whole of Scripture) is not a bunch of rules on how to live a nice and successful life. It is the story of how God has chosen to relate to mankind. In Peter's mind, it is vital that we understand that certain things really happened. If they did not happen, then there is no gospel. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 (paraphrased), "If Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead, let's all call this quits and go live how we want to live."
So, how does it impact us that these historical events related to the gospel message really happened?

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, 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.

I love that Peter refers to Scripture and says, "to which you do well to pay attention." It just makes me laugh because it seems like such an extreme understatement (at least it comes across that way in English). God has spoken about how He has related to mankind, and He has given us a message of reconciliation, freedom, and eternal life. Yeah, I would say that it is a good idea to pay attention to it. Sounds reasonable.
I think it is worthwhile to constantly remind ourselves of the historicity of the Christian faith. Jesus really did come, perform miracles, tell stories, overturn tables, sacrifice Himself, and raise from the dead. If these things did not happen, we have NO GOSPEL. Since they did, we have something that we can be assured of. And when we communicate with those who do not follow Christ, we are not simply communicating about competing philosophies and worldviews. We are doing that, but we are doing much more. We are talking about whether or not these things really happened, and, if they did happen, what impact that has on people who live today.