Monday Devo
Scripture:
2 Peter 3
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
Commentary:
3:14 Concerning Diligence. Peter calls his readers beloved for the third of four times in this chapter (cf. vv. 1, 8, 17). In light of the Lord’s return, Christians are to be diligent to be found without spot or blemish (doctrinally and morally pure), thereby receiving the full reward of eternal life. This is in stark contrast to the spiritual condition of the wicked (2:10b–22, esp. v. 22).
3:15–16 Concerning the Distortion of Paul’s Teaching. The delay of Christ’s return should be reckoned as his patience leading people to salvation (cf. v. 9; Rom. 2:4). The apostle Paul also wrote to these same readers at some point prior to the composition of 2 Peter, and apparently the false teachers of ch. 2 used a twisted version of Paul’s gospel of freedom (see 2:19; also Rom. 8:1–5; 2 Cor. 3:1–18; Gal. 5:1–6) to entice some of them into sin.
3:16 In all his letters shows awareness of some kind of collection of Paul’s letters, with the number unspecified here. Some things … hard to understand does not say that everything in Paul’s letters is hard to understand, nor does it say that anything is “impossible to understand,” but it does imply that correctly interpreting some hard passages of Scripture requires much effort and God-given wisdom. The ignorant and unstable twist Paul’s teachings as they do the other Scriptures, implying that Paul’s writings were also considered Scripture in NT times, on the same level of divine authority as the OT Scripture. Greek graphē, here translated “Scriptures,” occurs 51 times in the NT, and every time it refers to the canonical OT Scripture, and not to any other writings, except that twice (here and 1 Tim. 5:18) some NT writings are also included. This indicates that NT books written or authorized by Christ’s apostles were recognized, at a very early date, to be God’s Word.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2423.
3:15–16 Concerning the Distortion of Paul’s Teaching. The delay of Christ’s return should be reckoned as his patience leading people to salvation (cf. v. 9; Rom. 2:4). The apostle Paul also wrote to these same readers at some point prior to the composition of 2 Peter, and apparently the false teachers of ch. 2 used a twisted version of Paul’s gospel of freedom (see 2:19; also Rom. 8:1–5; 2 Cor. 3:1–18; Gal. 5:1–6) to entice some of them into sin.
3:16 In all his letters shows awareness of some kind of collection of Paul’s letters, with the number unspecified here. Some things … hard to understand does not say that everything in Paul’s letters is hard to understand, nor does it say that anything is “impossible to understand,” but it does imply that correctly interpreting some hard passages of Scripture requires much effort and God-given wisdom. The ignorant and unstable twist Paul’s teachings as they do the other Scriptures, implying that Paul’s writings were also considered Scripture in NT times, on the same level of divine authority as the OT Scripture. Greek graphē, here translated “Scriptures,” occurs 51 times in the NT, and every time it refers to the canonical OT Scripture, and not to any other writings, except that twice (here and 1 Tim. 5:18) some NT writings are also included. This indicates that NT books written or authorized by Christ’s apostles were recognized, at a very early date, to be God’s Word.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2423.
Questions:
- As Peter closes his letter, he reminds the church what we should be doing as we await the return of Jesus. We should be eagerly awaiting his return, but also PREPARING for it. Most of us might think about going to heaven after we die, but not so much about Jesus' actual return that could happen at any moment. Although we aren't promised tomorrow, our deaths can feel a long way off. Solomon said that a wise person thinks about death often. What are the benefits of thinking about your own death? How does it change your perspective and priorities?
- Having said all that, there is a very big difference between thinking "I'll see Jesus when I die" and "I could see Jesus ANY DAY!" We don't know the day or the hour... He could split the skies at any moment! How much different would your life look if you expected to see Him any day verses just expecting to see Him after you die?
Pray:
- That you would live with the end in mind.
- That you would live with an expectation of His return.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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