Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 2nd Peter Chapter 3 mean?

Second Peter 3 focuses on dismantling the arguments of the false teachers. Peter’s purpose is urging Christians not to waver in their beliefs, but to continue to live out what they know to be true.

One specific claim being made by false teachers is that that Christ would never return. In some cases, it was also rejecting the idea that God would judge the sins of humanity. These deceivers mocked those ideas by asking, “Where is the coming of Jesus?” According to their challenge, it had been too long. Since time—too much time, in their opinion—has passed, but the world seems to be going along as it always has, they think nothing will change. This is a suggestion that God would never alter the course of the natural, physical world to enforce His will.

Peter’s answers: God made the world, so He can alter it whenever He desires. The laws and patterns of the universe are His to override if He so chooses. These false teachers are also forgetting about Noah’s flood. In that event, God brought catastrophe on the earth as judgment of the sins of humanity. This was a supernatural act through physical means, and an intervention by God in the natural world. For that judgment, God used water. For the next, ultimate judgment, He will use fire.

Peter also points out that God is not bound by time as we mere humans are. For Him, what people perceive as a day and a thousand years are alike. Just because we don’t understand or agree with God’s timing doesn’t mean He is not acting. Or, that He won’t act at all. God’s delay, as we see it, should be considered evidence of God’s patience and mercy. He longs for as many people as possible to come to repentance and to place their trust in Christ. The additional time is an opportunity for more to be saved.

However, Peter reminds us, the judgment will come eventually. The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly. Christ will return. And then the heavens and elements will burn; the earth and everything on it will be laid bare; everything will be destroyed.

Peter then asks an essential question: Because the prophecies of Scripture are true and the false teachers are wrong, how should Christians live right now? Instead of indulging in sin without fear of consequence, as the false teachers suggest, we should lead holy and godly lives. We should live as people looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. That means we should keep working to set aside our sin and to live in peace with God.

Peter indicates that Paul has made the same point about the apparent delay in God’s judgment. The fact that we are waiting for the day of the Lord is due to God’s patience and mercy. In saying this, Peter also affirms that Paul’s words were Scripture: his wisdom was from God.

False teachers, on the other hand, twist Scripture. Christians who know God’s Word are responsible to resist being led away from the truth. Instead, we must keep working to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

Chapter Context
After thoroughly condemning the false teachers in chapter 2, Peter now dismantles their arguments. These deceivers scoff that Christ has not returned as promised. We should doubt Christ’s return, they say, since the world goes along as it always has and always will. Peter reminds his readers that God is the one who made the world. Noah’s flood is evidence of His willingness to alter the course of nature in order to bring judgment on humanity for sin. Christians should be looking forward to the new heavens and earth, rejecting false teaching, and leading holy lives.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

In the previous chapters, Peter has fully condemned the false teachers plaguing Christians in the early church. Here in chapter 3, Peter continues with a new focus. He refers to his readers as beloved, from agapētoi in the original Greek. This word is related to the Greek word for selfless, sacrificial love, agape. Selecting this word demonstrates how dearly Peter loves those he writes to, as well as their status in God’s sight. As Christians, we are truly and always God’s beloved ones.

Peter notes that this is his second letter to these readers. Scholars disagree about whether the book of 1 Peter was the first letter or whether 2 Peter follows some other document meant for a different set of readers. In either case, Peter’s purpose in writing has been consistent: to remind Christians of what they already know and to urge them to act on it.

More specifically, he writes to stimulate them to wholesome thinking, or to stir up their “sincere minds.” The Greek term here is eilikrinē. This literally means something found to be pure when examined by sunlight. A common legend is that the English word “sincere” comes from two Latin words which translate to “without wax.” The story goes that crafty pottery salesmen would sometimes use wax to disguise cracks in their pottery. When held up to the sun, though, light would show through the wax, revealing the deception. A pot held up to the sun and found to be flawless was “without wax,” or “sincere:” hiding no faults. In truth, the word sincere is not based in those Latin terms, and seems to come from words relating to wholeness and purity. As an analogy, however, the story still has some merit.

Peter wants his readers to be clear and self-controlled in their thinking. We should be focused on what matters, without any weak spots obscured by worthless ideas.

Context Summary
2 Peter 3:1–13 includes Peter’s dismantling of the arguments of the false teachers. They will scoff because Christ’s promised return has not yet happened, and the world continues on as if nothing will ever change. Peter reminds Christians that God made the world and Noah’s flood is evidence that He is willing to alter it in order to bring judgment on the sins of humanity. In the coming judgment, everything will be destroyed and laid bare with fire. Christians look forward to the new heavens and earth which will come after.

Verse 2. that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,

In the previous verse, Peter said he was writing to stimulate his Christian readers to sincere, or clear-minded and focused thinking. This verse continues that thought: Peter wants them to be thinking clearly for the purpose of remembering two things.

He wants believers to remember the words or predictions of the holy prophets. This refers to God’s prophets, sent to Israel in the Old Testament. Also, Peter wants them to remember Jesus’ command or teachings made through the apostles. In this way, Peter is giving the same status to Jesus’ apostles, which includes himself and the rest of the 12, along with Paul, as to Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

The point of remembering these things is to keep from being deceived by false teachers. Those who know and understand the truth as revealed by God in the Old Testament and, now, through Jesus’ apostles in the New Testament, will not be easily led astray by the lies of the wolves among the flock of God.

Verse 3. knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.

Jesus himself had warned that false prophets would come and lead many away from the truth (Matthew 24:11). Paul also tied the work of these false teachers to the last days before the return of the Christ (1 Timothy 4:1–3). The New Testament is consistent in describing our era as the last days or end times before Christ returns and is revealed as Lord.

Christians are not defenseless against these false teachers. Peter describes two more things that are true of them: They are scoffers (mocking the return of Christ), and they follow their own evil desires. That is, as Peter wrote in chapter 2, they openly engage in immorality and encourage the Christians to join in with them.

In the next verse, Peter will describe how these false teachers will mock the second coming of Jesus. But first, Peter reminds us that the very existence of these false teachers is a fulfillment of prophecy. Their mocking and scoffing was one of the predictions he mentioned in verse 2.

Verse 4. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

In the previous verse, Peter warned that false teachers among the Christians would be “scoffers” or “mockers.” Here in verse 4, we see what they are mocking: the return of Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus will return in glory to be revealed to all as Lord and to judge the people of the world (John 14:1–3). False teachers dispute this claim.

The essence of this deceptive mocking is the claim that we know better than God. At least, we know when things should occur better than God does. The false teachers seem to be saying, “Jesus promised He would come back, but that was too long ago. The world just keeps going on and on in the same way it always has. So Jesus must not be coming back.” As a result, these deceivers convince others that God’s other promises are not true. If there is no return of Christ, their argument goes, there must not be a judgment coming for sin. So God must not really care about our sin. So it’s acceptable to be “free” and do whatever you feel like doing. This, of course, is both false and dangerous thinking.

The false teachers point back to the deaths—the “falling asleep”—of the Jewish fathers or ancestors. In other words, the men who made the prophecies about the return of Christ were long dead. When Peter wrote these words, even some of the apostles who had predicted the return of Jesus were already passed away. In our modern day, of course, these predictions are even older, and the men who made them even longer dead. Yet the world keeps ticking along in the way it always has.

For all of recorded history, the false teachers argue, the physical world has been operating in a normal, predictable, uniform way. In some disciplines, this perspective is sometimes called “uniformitarianism.” Spiritual events may have taken place, but the “real world” never varies. This can lead to a wrong conclusion about spiritual matters: that God will not intervene in the physical world. That God always lets it go along its natural course.

Peter will dismantle this view in the next few verses.

Verse 5. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,

In the previous verse, Peter described the mockery of the false teachers. These men are trying to deceive Christians in the early church by asking, “Where is Jesus? He promised to return, but it’s been too long. If He were really coming back to judge the world, He would have been here by now.”

This claim is both short-sighted and incomplete. It also leads to a very wrong conclusion: that God does not intervene in the physical world. It assumes that He always lets the world run along without interference. So, the thought goes, Jesus isn’t coming in glory to disrupt the status quo. There will not be a judgment. We are free to do whatever we want without ever having to worry about God judging us for sin.

Now Peter reveals the flaw in their deceptive argument: They are deliberately forgetting some huge details. First, they forget the origin of the very world they say will just keep going the way it always has. God made it in the first place. He intervened right from the beginning by creating it. He designed all the laws and processes by which the world continues to run. He can disrupt or override those processes any time He likes.

The heavens came into being by God’s Word, Peter writes. That same powerful Word is what the false teachers now mock when they dismiss the return of Christ and God’s judgment for sin. False teachers suggest that the consistency of the physical world is evidence of God’s unwillingness to act, which is simply foolish. God will do as He will with His creation, and judgment is coming.

The view of the mockers and false teachers is also contradicted by history. In the next verse, Peter will refer to Noah’s flood. This is a crystal clear example of God intervening in the physical world to judge the sins of humanity. The earth was formed out water and by water, Peter writes, and then God used water to destroy nearly all the life He had created on the earth.

Verse 6. and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

In the previous verses, Peter has described a false argument made by deceivers. Namely, that too much time has passed since Jesus promised to come back. Therefore, they claim, He isn’t coming. There is no judgment. God will not intervene in the physical world. Peter indicated that these teachers are purposely forgetting that God made the world in the first place. The One who designed the universe can alter its course whenever He decides to.

Now Peter reminds his readers that these false teachers are also forgetting a huge moment in history. There have already been times, in the physical world, when God intervened in order to bring judgment. As recorded in Genesis 6—9, God brought the great flood and destroyed nearly all of the life He had created. In other words, God has already done, in the past, exactly what the false teachers were saying He will not do in the future.

In our day, many dismiss the idea of Noah’s flood, calling it a myth, a fable, or an exaggeration. Even some religious teachers are eager to diminish that cataclysmic event. Peter clearly believed in and taught the reality of Noah’s flood. Jesus did also (Matthew 24:37).

Peter’s whole point is that God is ready and willing to disrupt the natural course of the world as it suits Him, including using the natural world He created to bring judgment on the sins of humanity.

Verse 7. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Peter is in the process of answering a deceptive idea. False teachers are working among the Christians, disputing the future return of Christ. They mistakenly suggest that because so much time had passed since Jesus had left, He must not be coming back to disrupt the world, be revealed as God, and to judge the sins of humanity.

Peter exposed the holes in their teaching in prior verses. One error is the thought that since the world mostly goes along in the same, natural way, that it always will. Of course, God created the world, so He can disrupt it whenever and however He chooses to. He can alter the natural processes He designed at any time. Also, God has already done so in a huge way with the flood of Noah, destroying with water nearly all life on earth in judgment of the sins of humanity.

Now Peter reveals that God will bring destruction on the earth again, this time with fire. With the same Word he used to create the heavens, He will destroy them on the day of judgment along with all of ungodly humanity. The false teachers are dead wrong, Peter insists. Christ is returning. Judgment is coming.

In the next verse, Peter will address the issue of God’s timing.

Verse 8. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

In verse 5, Peter indicated that these false teachers deliberately omit the truth about God in order to make their false case that Christ will not return, that there will be no judgment day. Now Peter urges his readers—his dear friends—not to forget something essential about the nature of their God. He is eternal. He is not limited as humans are by the perception of years passing. More specifically, Peter references Psalm 90:4: “For a thousand years in [God’s] sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”

If we took Peter’s statement absolutely literally, as modern people, then in God’s eyes it’s been a mere two days since Jesus promised to return! That, of course, is not the way Peter intends his statement. His point is that God is not bound by counting days from a human perspective. Time does not hold Him. He does not wait or rush in the same sense that mere humans do, locked as we are into minutes and hours and months. What seems like poor timing to us, as limited people, has a plan and purpose known only to God.

As Peter will reveal in the following verses, God will keep all of His promises in His perfect time and motivated by His perfect love.

Verse 9. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Peter continues to answer the mocking of the false teachers working among the Christians in the early church. They ask, “Where is this coming Jesus promised?” They teach that it’s been too long; Christ is not coming. Don’t resist immorality; there will be no judgment. In verse 8, Peter urged his readers to remember that the Lord is not bound by human time. For God, a thousand years is like a day and vice versa. Peter’s point is that God does not suffer the limitations of time, or confusion about it, the way human beings do.

Here in this verse, Peter insists that we cannot apply human demands about time to the promises of God. He is not slow in keeping His promise. God is the one who made the schedule: He cannot be “late.” Instead, God keeps every promise at the perfect time for His glory and for the good of those He loves.

In this case, Christians should view the delay in Christ’s return as evidence of God’s patience, not of His tardiness. In His love-driven patience, God is willing to give more time for more people to come to repentance. This is God’s plan to allow more people opportunity to place their trust in Christ in order to enter into eternal relationship with Him.

God doesn’t want anyone to perish or die. Peter likely refers to eternal death following God’s judgment on the day of the Lord. The overall message of Scripture is that God does not desire anyone’s damnation. That is, He would prefer that all would be saved. However, in His sovereignty and power, God decided not to demand—force—all people to actually be saved. If God is truly sovereign, He can sovereignly allow us to choose things He does not prefer, for His own reasons. Here, Peter shows us God’s heart for the people He has created: He wants them all to be saved, but He will not force them all to be saved.

As Peter tells us, that’s one reason God allows more time—the very time mocked by the false teachers—prior to the return of Christ. He is mercifully creating more space for more people to repent and turn to Him.

Verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Peter has been answering the false teachers who are leading people away from the truth about Christ. They ask, “Where is Jesus? He promised to return as judge, but He hasn’t come. He isn’t coming.” In the previous verses, Peter showed that God is not slow or late, but that He has been patient in order to make room for as many as possible to come to repentance and turn to Him through faith in Christ.

Now, though, Peter insists that the day of the Lord will come. That coming will be sudden and without warning. Peter is quoting Jesus Himself here, who promised that He would return as unexpectedly as a thief breaking into an unguarded house in the dead of night (Matthew 24:42–44; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 16:15). And when the moment finally comes, catastrophic destruction will follow.

Christian teaching on how the end times will unfold is widely varied. Scholars and theologians studying the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments have reached differing conclusions about the exact order of events. While there are differences in these specific details, Christians on the whole believe what Peter writes here, as part of the revealed Word of God. That is, that Jesus will return. And, at some point, God will judge the sins of humanity by bringing destruction on the earth with fire.

The heavens mentioned here include the sky and perhaps the stars, not the “heaven” of God. The sky will disappear in a roar or a whoosh. The Greek word rhoizēdon implies the rushing or crackling sound of a massive fire. Similarly, the elements or heavenly bodies—either meaning the building blocks of all life, or the stars—will be consumed by fire.

In the end, the earth and everything done on it will be “burned up” or “laid bare” or “exposed.” Apparently, it’s hard to know what the word used here means exactly. In any case, God’s judgment will have come and the destruction will be immense.

Verse 11. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,

In prior verses, Peter has declared that God’s judgment will come in His perfect timing, with massive and catastrophic destruction. Here, Peter asks his readers to consider what that means for their lives right now. The false teachers had been saying Christ would not return, so no judgment was coming. If that is true, they suggest, why not indulge in immorality? Why resist our passionate desires? If God does not really care, then there will be no consequence for our sin.

Peter insists, though, that God’s fiery judgment will arrive. The day of the Lord will happen. Everything will be destroyed. If that’s true, how should we live right now? How should we live while the sky remains blue and the sun continues to shine? Who should we be today? Peter says there’s only one answer and it is the opposite of the one the false teachers were offering: We ought to lead holy and godly lives.

By this, Peter means that we must be set aside—or continue to set aside, or continue working to set aside—every kind of sinful or immoral lifestyle. It’s not just a question of what we do with our bodies; it’s a question of who we are. It’s a matter of what kind of people we should be.

As revealed in 1 Peter, Christians are “holy,” meaning “set apart.” We should live accordingly. We have been set apart by God for His specific purposes. That’s why we must live holy lives, making different choices than the unbelievers in what we do with our bodies, our words, even our thoughts. It’s not about self-improvement or religious rule-keeping. It’s about living as God’s people on a fallen planet with limited time before God’s destruction arrives.

Verse 12. waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

This completes a thought begun in verse 11. Peter asked a probing question: Since God’s judgment on the earth is coming and everything will destroyed by fire, how should Christians live today before that judgment arrives? The false teachers were asking the opposite question: Since there (supposedly) is no judgment, why not sin? To the deceivers, Christians would then be “free” to indulge in sexual immorality.

Peter insists that the judgment will come. The destruction will happen. Knowing that this is true should change how we choose to live now. In verse 11, Peter wrote that we should lead holy and godly lives. Now he finishes the sentence by saying we should live this way in anticipation of the day of God’s judgment. It makes sense that we would anticipate the return of Christ. It’s not that we long for the destruction of everything in fire, but we do long for Christ to come and make all things right. We long for justice. We long for all to see His glory.

And, according to English translations, we live holy lives in order to “hasten” that day of judgment. It’s difficult to grasp exactly what Peter means by this. He describes our choice to lead holy lives using the Greek word speudontas, which can mean “quickly,” “make haste,” or “to speed up.” However, the same word can also mean to deeply desire something. We can’t use this verse to claim that our effort will actually cause that day to arrive more quickly. After all, God’s timing is not our timing. And yet, in some sense, God’s perfect timing for the return of Christ and the following judgment is connected to the holy lifestyles of His people. Peter means for us to be motivated by that truth.

The verse concludes by restating what Peter wrote in verse 10: The day of the Lord will bring the destruction of the heavens—meaning the sky, not God’s heaven—by fire. The elements or heavenly bodies will melt. In any case, everything will be destroyed (v. 11).

Verse 13. But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

In contrast to the message of the false teachers, Peter has both assured and warned his readers that Christ will return in God’s perfect time. God will judge the sins of humanity with fire which consumes the heavens—or “sky”—and the elements—or “heavenly bodies.” Verses 11 and 12 gave a more detailed description of these events.

As it turns out, destruction in judgment is not the only prophecy to be fulfilled. God has also promised a new heaven and a new earth for His children, a place we already look forward to and long for. In contrast to this present world, that new one will be a place where righteousness lives forever in the form of God Himself (Revelation 21:1–4).

Does Peter mean that our current heavens and earth will be completely destroyed and replaced with a brand new planet or perhaps a whole new universe? Or is he saying that God will purify our current heavens and earth with fire, creating a new world on the same planet after all the unrighteousness has been burned away from this one? Theologians and scholars have differed on that point for hundreds of years.

In truth, it’s difficult for us to know exactly what God’s fiery judgment or the new heavens and earth will be like. What does seem clear is that the judgment will be terrible and final and that the new earth and heavens will be a real, physical place where God Himself lives with us.

The apostle John confirms Peter’s prophecy in Revelation 21:1–5, including these hopeful words: “God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Verse 14. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Jesus will return in God’s perfect time. With Christ will come God’s fiery destruction of the heavens and earth in judgment for the sins of humanity (2 Peter 3:10–12).

After that, God will institute a new heaven and a new earth and will come to live with His people (2 Peter 3:13). That’s the moment Christians are longing for, even if we don’t always realize it. That’s the moment when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4).

If we, as Christians, do indeed long for that day, how should we live? Peter writes that we should live in a state of preparation. We should be motivated by the idea of how Christ will find us when He returns. This, of course, will require work, but its work we should embrace. Peter writes that we should take on the tasks of being found spotless, blameless, and at peace with God.

We must be careful here. As Peter himself has made clear, God has already made His people holy through faith in Christ. He counts our sins as fully paid for by the blood and death of Jesus. He has given us credit for Jesus’ righteous life. All saved believers have peace with God in Christ, and He does view us—in Christ—as spotless and blameless. Eternal salvation is not something we work for or earn.

Peter echoes the beginning of his letter here. He says that Christians now, in God’s power, should work to live up to those things that are true of us in Christ. We should work to root the sin out of our lifestyles and to fully engage in our peaceful relationship with God. We don’t do this to earn our place in God’s family; we do it because we already have one.

Context Summary
2 Peter 3:14–18 concludes Peter’s letter. Because Christians are looking forward to the new heavens and earth, we should be working now to set aside sin and live in peace with God. Peter acknowledges that Paul is a writer of Scripture. False teachers twist the words of God. Since Christians know God’s Word, though, we are responsible not to be misled by the false teachers. Instead, we should continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and to give Him glory.

Verse 15. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,

It’s understandable that God’s people would be eager to get to the day of the Lord. Saved believers want to see the new heaven and new earth. That’s especially true in our times of suffering, and it is exactly what we should be longing for (Colossians 3:1–4).

Unlike the false teachers, however, Christians must not view the seeming delay in the coming of Christ as evidence that God is unloving or unfaithful or has broken His promise. Instead, as he did in verse 9, Peter again writes that any such delay is motivated only by God’s patience. What we are tempted to think of as God waiting too long is really an expression of His desire to bring salvation to as many as possible. God’s timing is motivated by love, not indifference.

Peter recognizes here that Paul has written something similar. Maybe he had in mind Romans 2:4, where Paul mentions God’s patience and says that God’s kindness is meant to lead to repentance. In any case, Peter acknowledges that Paul’s wisdom comes from God and calls Paul a beloved brother. This is helpful to us because it confirms what is already clear from a careful reading of the New Testament: The inspired writings of each of the books establish and support each other. Peter, Paul, and the other writers all wrote the words of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16).

None of the apostles were sinless men themselves though. Writing in one of his letters, Paul said that he rebuked Peter “to his face” at one point for sinful hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11–14). All the same, near the end of Peter’s life, he speaks warmly of his brother Paul and affirms Paul’s authority to speak on behalf of God as a full apostle.

Verse 16. as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Having praised the apostle Paul as a beloved brother speaking with wisdom given by God, Peter now acknowledges that some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand. He also refers to Paul’s writing as “Scripture.” Both of these are important ideas.

First, this reveals that at least some of Paul’s letters were already considered the Word of God, even as early as Peter’s day. Peter recognized that Paul spoke with authority and on behalf of the Lord. That helps to confirm that the New Testament writers and apostles were not competing with each other; they understood they were together delivering God’s words to God’s people.

Secondly, though, some of Paul’s writings were hard to understand. We have certainly seen the same with Peter’s letters. The best way to understand some Bible passages is not always clear or obvious. Unfortunately, according to Peter, there are those who see difficult passages as an opportunity to distort the overall truth of God’s Word. Either due to ignorance or instability, they twist the meaning of a difficult passage to try to make Scripture say what it actually does not.

God takes His word seriously, and He holds accountable those who distort His meaning. Peter warns that destruction comes to those who do so.

This leaves us in a tough spot: how should we handle difficult-to-understand passages? Peter doesn’t answer that question directly. However, the implication is that we should not use an obscure or difficult passage to contradict the clear teaching of other Scriptures. Reasonable and honest Christians may disagree quite strongly over the meaning of some things in the Bible. However, we cross a dangerous line when we distort the meaning of any passage to try to support our position on some theological argument.

The bottom line is that all of us must handle God’s Word with respect, honesty, and a healthy dose of fear about getting it wrong—even when it’s hard to understand.

Verse 17. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

Peter concludes his letter over these next two verses. These provide a clean, concise summary of the whole book of 2 Peter.

Once again, Peter calls his readers “beloved.” He has written to them because he cares for them deeply. Peter acknowledges that his readers already know the basic truths he has delivered to them. Now, he writes that this knowledge makes them personally responsible not to be deceived. False teachers are lawless people, meaning they have rebelled against the authority of God and seek to lead others away from the Father.

Christians must sense our responsibility to continually check the content of what our teachers tell us (Acts 17:11). We must compare what others say, or proclaim, against the truth of God’s Word. We are responsible not to be carried away or misled by false teaching, no matter how good and reasonable it sounds on the surface (Colossians 2:8).

Otherwise, Peter writes, we will “lose your own stability.” This phrase is also translated as “fall from your secure position,” or “fall from your own steadfastness.” The Greek phrase uses the word ekpesēte, which literally means, “to fall,” but this phrase is not indicative of salvation. The potential loss Peter has in mind is not that of eternal damnation, if we allow ourselves to be misled by false teachers. Peter, however, has written in 1 Peter 1:4–5 that a Christian’s place in eternity is shielded by God’s power and cannot be lost.

Others suggest that this warning applies to those who may consider themselves to be Christians but have never truly trusted in Christ.

The most defensible interpretation is that Peter refers to the confidence and sense of stability which comes from living in the truth. Peter warns against losing our intellectual and spiritual security, not our eternal salvation. There is peace which comes only from trusting God and His Word absolutely.

Verse 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.

Verses 17 and 18 are the conclusion of Peter’s letter and should be taken together. These words summarize Peter’s letter, and include both a warning against being misled by the false teachers and an encouragement to keep growing in Christ. Specifically, Peter urges his readers to grow in two areas: The grace of Jesus, and their knowledge of Him.

To grow in grace does not mean to get more and more of God’s grace, necessarily. Grace, by definition, is unearned, unworked for. By His grace, God has forgiven our sins and given us full rights as His children in Christ. We can’t get more of that. But living under the grace of Jesus provides us a huge opportunity to grow spiritually stronger and deeper. Peter wrote in chapter 1 that we are not missing anything we need to lead the life God calls us to. Now it’s time to do it.

One way we grow under the grace of God is to grow in our knowledge of Christ. This implies two ideas. One of these is knowing more and more about Christ in our minds: information. The other is getting to know Jesus better and better in our relationship with Him. Both contribute to making us more productive servants (1 Peter 1:8).

Peter describes Jesus as both our Lord and our Savior. To really know Him, we must continue to grow in our understanding of what it means to live in relationship to Jesus as Lord and as Savior.

And we, like Peter, will reach a single conclusion: Jesus is the one who is due glory both in this moment and forever.

Book Summary
Apparently written shortly before his death in the AD 60s, 2 Peter may have been written to the same audience as 1 Peter, which was Christians scattered by persecution. Peter writes this letter to encourage Christians to live out the purpose of their lives in Christ. He warns readers to beware of teachers who claim to be believers, but present a false version of Christianity. And, Peter calls on all Christians to eagerly watch and wait for the return of the Lord.

End of Chapter 3 and the book of 2nd Peter.

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