2 Peter 3:14-18

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

There is a real danger to believers who live in a fallen world.  Our faith is under attack, and we all run the risk of being deceived or becoming discouraged.  In fact, it is likely that will happen to us unless we are intentional about preventing it.  Peter closes this book in which he warns us about the dangers of false prophets and urges us to remain firm in the faith, by giving us some direction as to how to prevent falling prey to the evil intent and terrible consequences of false prophets.

APPRECIATE YOUR SALVATION: There is a judgment coming upon this earth and the sin that has infected the world.  We are waiting for this judgment to come and recognize that it will be a glorious day for all believers and a horrific day for all unbelievers.  All injustice and blasphemy will cease and world as we know it will be no more.  A New Earth will be inaugurated where sin will be no more and there will be boundless joy and pure worship through every activity in which we engage.  As we wait for this day, we are called to live out this precious salvation with diligence.  In Christ we have been made holy and it is in His holiness that we can enter the presence of the Father.  Our goal should be to live now in a manner that is as close to our future reality as possible.  When the day of judgment arrives we want to be found diligently living out our faith.  Waiting and diligence are not normally associated with one another, but it is what God has called us to.  Living in this fallen world can by hard but this eternal hope should encourage us to persist.  God is patiently waiting to judge the earth because He wants others to join us in the joy of salvation.   

APPLY THE SCRIPTURES: Peter points to the writings and teachings of the Apostle Paul who has been spreading this same Gospel diligently.  There are so many people who are clamoring for us to pay attention to their teaching.  They claim to know and teach the truth but we have the only reliable source of truth in the Scriptures.  The Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and serve as an anchor for our souls.  The doctrines of God’s grace can be difficult for us to comprehend.  Paul’s theological teachings can be profound and take real effort to fully grasp.  False teachers will either ignore these teachings, or they will twist them for their own benefit.  These are destructive abuses of God’s Word.  We must be very careful not to be deceived by these false teachers and pay close attention to the Word of God and above all obey the Scriptures.

AMPLIFY YOUR SANCTIFICATION: There is no way that we can be passive or neutral about these things. We are either saved or we are lost.  We either believe the Scriptures, or we don’t.  We are either growing in our faith and knowledge, or we are going backwards.  The best way to prevent being overtaken by discouragement or falling prey to deception is to keep growing in our relationship with the Lord.  We must never become satisfied with our level of conformity to Christ or our knowledge of the Scriptures.  Our call is to press forward and diligently seek to grow in both.  This is how we bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ.

APPLICATION: Constantly remind ourselves and others of the wonder of salvation and the horror of God’s judgment.  Study the Word of God diligently out of a deep desire to know God, the Gospel, and the promises of His Word.  Press forward in our walk with Christ to always seek to grow closer to Him and become more like Him.