Lesson 5 Part 4 – 2 Peter 3: 14-18 New Revised Standard

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. ¹⁵ And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen

First Impression

Stability. In some ways, the stability mentioned here has been rendered as something akin to salvation. It is not the same, as salvation cannot be lost, and I liked the phrasing here that made that easier to communicate.

(Discuss each topic individually)

Be zealous

I am not a freak and do not want to be considered a freak. But only because of the definition of the word as I understand it. To be zealous is to be a freak in the mind that was of my younger self. I eventually came to realize zeal can be good, just as a knife and a gun can be tools to do as the wielder so desires.

Some things in them hard to understand

I love the clarity that Peter gives here. Peter is telling us about things that are hard to understand. He admits it. He also admits that his duty aligns with Paul, and that Paul also writes about hard stuff. My friend Paul likes to play dumb and say he is simply too stupid to understand God. It is true, but it true of every man who ever lived except possibly Jesus. The Bible is God’s Word revealed for everyone who lives from the time of Moses until the time of Christs return. (Note that everyone will know the Bible by heart after Christ’s return, so it will still be true.) If we could understand it, we would be God. We are not, therefore we cannot, and that is ok.

Ignorant and unstable twist

I read this and think our caution is not just to be on the look out for people who are actively working against the church by being “false” teachers, but we are to watch out for those trying to do the right thing yet unaware of how their ignorance clouds the message. And further, we are to watch for those that are struggling and are trying to align the words in the Bible to support the ungodly aspects of the life they lead.

It is ok to “____” if “_____”. Any number of sins can be put in the first blank and supported by words that come from the Bible in the second. Pushing this to an extreme, “It is ok to sin if you want to burn in hell.” Totally true statement, but not supported by the goal of glorifying God.

As they do the other scriptures

The follow on here is that not just the words of Paul and Peter are hard to understand and subject to being incorporated to nefarious uses, but all of the word of God can be. It all has to hang together, and no matter how “true” a small piece is, it has to hang together with the rest to be useful.

Beware

Christopher Cross sings a song “I’m all out of Love” or something along those lines. It popped into my head as I struggled to follow up with something for beware. The song is about people and the feeling that a man has for a woman or vice versa. We can only be all out of love if we have cut our selves off from the source of Love, Jesus. When our lives are about loving Jesus and trying to learn how to love Him more, we do not have to sit back worried about whether we will offend with a question or have an incorrect understanding of an issue. When we are focused on learning, we ask out of love to confirm what we know to be true. In our group, I ask questions I do not know the answer to all the time. It is not about knowing; it is about seeking.

Stability

Discussed above.

Grow in grace, knowledge

Grace from God is something I feel comfortable with, but it is grace with others that I often struggle with. What is comical is when I realize the things that others need grace about from me are the same things I need grace from them in. The whole splinter and plank in the eye thing. Knowledge even more so, only in a different arena.

Glory

Glory is for God. Earthly glory has to be the most fleeting concept imaginable. No matter how great one was, the question is always how great are you going to be for me tomorrow.

God asks it simpler, “How great can I be for you right now?” Glory is His.