A Call to Repent

Chapter 7

1 We write these things, dear friends, not only as a reminder to you but also to remind ourselves. For we are in the same struggle, and the same contest awaits us. 2 Therefore, let us abandon idle and vain thoughts and conform to the glorious and venerable rule that has been handed down to us. 3 And let us consider what is good, what is pleasant, and what is acceptable in the sight of Him who made us. 4 Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ and understand how precious it is to His Father, for by being shed for our salvation, it won for the whole world the grace of repentance. 5 Let us look back at all the generations in turn and learn how, from age to age, the Master has given a place for repentance to those who desire to turn to Him.⁠ 6 Noah preached repentance, and those who obeyed were saved.⁠ 7 Jonah preached destruction to the people of Nineveh, but they repented of their sins, obtained pardon from God through their supplications, and received salvation, even though they were strangers to Him.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 7:6 and 2 Peter 2:5

Early Christian · New Testament

Summary

1 Clement and 2 Peter each say Noah preached to his generation, a tradition not found in Genesis. Clement speaks of repentance where 2 Peter speaks of righteousness, so Clement likely knew this Jewish tradition about Noah apart from 2 Peter.

Passages

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 7:6

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

4 Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ and understand how precious it is to His Father, for by being shed for our salvation, it won for the whole world the grace of repentance. 5 Let us look back at all the generations in turn and learn how, from age to age, the Master has given a place for repentance to those who desire to turn to Him. 6 Noah preached repentance, and those who obeyed were saved. 7 Jonah preached destruction to the people of Nineveh, but they repented of their sins, obtained pardon from God through their supplications, and received salvation, even though they were strangers to Him.

90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

2 Peter 2:5

New Testament

5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, 6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, 8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) 9 —if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment,

120–130 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Peter

References

“... Noah’s preaching of repentance may also be implied in I Pet 3:20: [...] “did not obey”). The fact that this tradition appears also in 1 Clement (7:6: ἐκήρυξεν μετάνοιαν, “he preached repentance”; cf. 9:4) does not prove that Clement knew 2 Peter; on the contrary, his use of μετάνοιαν (“repentance”) shows that he had independent access to the tradition about Noah’s preaching. But it is one of many signs that the two works belong to a common milieu. ...”

Richard Bauckham, Word Biblical Commentary: Jude-2 Peter (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), 423.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

A Call to Repent

1 Clement65 chapters

Compare Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 7:6 and 2 Peter 2:5

Summary

Passages

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 7:6

2 Peter 2:5

References

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