2 Peter 3:14-18 -Growing in Grace

Read 2 Peter 3:14-18

I really like the Peter character as he’s being portrayed in the television series, “The Chosen.” Angel Studios has done a marvelous job of casting and creating historically possible back-stories to draw us in and touch our lives. I can relate to Peter, so as I read his closing today, I couldn’t help but picture that character. Sometimes having a visual can be helpful, especially if you’re a visual learner like me!

I get the feeling that Peter could go on and on about the dangers we’ll face as followers of Christ. He would have had personal knowledge of what it was like. But he lived in the world immediately after Jesus’ death and resurrection. There are a lot of similarities still present today. Thankfully, we can apply Peter’s wisdom to what we see happening in the world around us.

2 Peter 3:8-13 – God’s Timing

Read 2 Peter 3:8-13

Have you ever heard someone say, “God’s timing is perfect”? I did, just today. It’s a phrase we like to use when God seems slow in answering our prayers. Peter calls out that big old elephant in the room for us. He starts out by explaining that God’s clock works differently than ours. “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

Is that a helpful reminder for you? Are you waiting on God for something big in your life to happen? It seems like we are always waiting for something, whether it’s a job promotion, finding the right house to move into, getting pregnant, getting married, being able to retire and start living life the way you want. What is it for you? When we welcome God and expect him to move in these life events, we can trust he is working out the “best” solution for us. Could that be why one of the gifts of the spirit is “patience”? We must continue to wait.

2 Peter 3:1-7 – Last Days

Read 2 Peter 3:1-7

Peter believed this “last days” discussion to be of utmost importance for us moving forward in faith. He isn’t discussing the “when” or “how” the last days will take place but tells of a sign we can expect. We may even be seeing good examples of Peter’s description today. He said, to expect people to be “mocking the truth and following their own desires.” You can’t turn on a news program or read news on the internet without seeing some group or individual challenging Christians and mocking the truth on which we stand. And with such a self-seeking society, people regularly follow their own desires seeking to “be happy” or to live “their” truth.

The truth Christians profess is Jesus, the Word made flesh. We know there is no other truth, yet we stand by and let other people do their “own thing” in the guise of “freedom.” Certainly, we expect the same courtesy to be able to speak the truth about Jesus, without being criticized or marginalized. Sadly, many Christ-followers keep quiet out of fear because we do take the heat for trusting Jesus.

2 Peter 2:17-22 – Are You Disgusted Yet?

Read 2 Peter 2:17-22

Dissociation and disgust may be what Peter is going for when he uses the dramatic example of dog vomit. If you’ve ever had a pet, you have probably been grossed out by this phenomenon. Peter uses this and other proverbs in today’s reading to help us appreciate the serious dangers of false teachers among us.

Peter’s fear was that if we go astray and listen to these teachers, we’ll never return to God. Their lure is enticing. It’s up to us to have the discernment and boldness to be strong in our faith. There is a lot of truth in Peter’s statement: “you are a slave to whatever controls you.” Think about that for a moment. What are you being controlled by?

2 Peter 2:10-16 – Avoid Destruction

Read 2 Peter 2:10-16

How much more can be said about false teachers? Avoiding them seems to be the wise thing to do. We can avert our own destruction when we keep our eyes on Jesus instead.

Peter has absolutely no regard for false teachers as he likens them to “unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.” We should adopt similar thinking lest we, too, be destroyed. Yet, these “beasts” are among us.