2 Peter 3:11-18 In Light of Christ's Return
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Summary of passage
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Text and Translation
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Original Context & Exegesis
A. Passage Boundaries (why are these verses grouped together in this chapter or pericope?)
B. Exegesis of passage as a whole (or verse-by-verse, if helpful).
3:11-12 Here's a sobering question that rings down through the corridors of history challenging all who will truly consider it – since everything that now is in this world will be totally destroyed, how should we be living? Our house, job, car, boat, and myriads of other things will be dissolved. The chance for salvation will be gone forever for those who have not accepted Christ. The records of history and the tombstones and monuments will be obliterated. The only things left will be our immortal souls. The only records of our deeds will be the books in Heaven. What will God have written about us? Do you honestly think He cares if you managed to secure that promotion or acquire the latest technical gadget unless you use it to advance His kingdom in some way? Also in these verses is the answer to the question, namely that we should be living holy, godly lives, looking for and desiring the Day of God.
3:14 Note that peace, spotlessness, and blamelessness require diligence. These are not characteristics that magically appear in the Christian life. "Let go and let God" is a mantra oft repeated in many Christian circles that with each passing year seems more to me to be nothing more than a Christian form of "urban legend". Passivity is never encouraged in Scripture as a means of acquiring any of the Fruit of the Spirit that I am aware of. We are to actively love, not wait for some mushy feeling. We are to actively rejoice, not wait for some mystical joy. And we are to diligently pursue peace if we desire to have it. We are also not to wait for God to take away the desire to sin to make us blameless as some would teach, but we are to actively wrestle with temptation and sin, putting to death those things that lead us down those paths.
3:15-16 We need to remember that the delay in the return of the Lord is an evidence of His grace and mercy, giving us more time to spread the message of His salvation to the lost. (It also gives us more time to view His grace and mercy on earth and more things to praise Him for in Heaven.) Here also we have validation of the epistles of Paul as being a legitimate part of Scripture, as well as consolation for those of us who struggle with some of Paul's writings (Romans in particular for me) that Peter struggled with them as well. We see that some people were distorting what Paul had written at this time already, we should not be surprised to see this today. Peter calls those who distort Paul’s writings "ignorant" and "unsteadfast" and says that they do this to other Scriptures as well. I found it interesting in studying that the word translated "wrest" or "twist" in verse 16 has a literal meaning of "torture (by the rack)" -- Peter isn't saying that they distort it as a defective mirror, but that they stretch, bruise and destroy it! The Living Bible says that they are looking for some unusual interpretation, and many today do this as well. We need to be careful students of Scripture, searching out everything it says, but we must also be on guard not to interpret "deeper" figurative meanings from it where there are none. Many heresies have just this as their foundation. Lastly, Peter says that these "Scripture-twisters" do this to their own destruction, with an implied warning to us.
3:17 Here is a warning not to listen to the "Scripture-twisters" of v.16, as the results will be that we will be carried away with their error and become unsteadfast. We need to be cautious about listening to error, as it may undermine what we know to be true. I don't advocate the proverbial "life in a bubble," but we do need to be thinking critically at all times. It is a dangerous thing to accept whatever people tell you as truth without comparing it to The Truth. Even pastors and teachers that you greatly trust are subject to error. Test everything in light of Scripture (1 John 4:1, Acts 17:10-11) to see if it is true, including what I have written. If we do not listen critically and test everything that we hear, we will become unstable, not knowing what to believe and thus be ineffective in the battle for the Kingdom of Christ.
3:18 Now Peter sets down his pen and extinguishes his oil lamp, but not before penning a few final words of encouragement and challenge. He tells us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." To grow in grace I believe means to train ourselves to continually see God's grace more and more in our lives. Here are a few for starters. Our food doesn't have to have taste -- all food could taste like wet cardboard and still provide the necessary nutrition. The fact that we can taste good food is God's grace. We don't have to see colors, most animals don't. See how many others you can find. To grow in knowledge means to keep studying and learning to find out more of who God is and what He wants from us. All glory and honor is to go to Him exclusively. If ALL honor goes to Him, we will not be honoring ourselves and our "personal kingdoms" and our lives will be reflections of Him. Amen means "let it be so." I have learned much in my months of studying 1 and 2 Peter, and I hope that you have learned much as well. If we have learned and are not transformed, however, my time and the electricity to power my laptop have been spent in vain. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1) May our lives be continually changed by the exposure to His truth. Amen.
C. Literary Features--What genre is it? What literary devices (e.g, metaphor) does it use?
D. Connections to the rest of book—what purpose does this pericope serve in the bigger picture of the book?
E. Connections to the rest of Scripture--How is it referenced or alluded to elsewhere?
Jesus Christ: The Redemptive-Historical Context
A. Where is Christ and the Gospel present in this passage?
B. How does this passage point to Christ or depend on Christ? How does Christ fulfill this passage? How was it fulfilled already? How will it be fulfilled?
C. What does this passage tell us about God’s plan of redemption in Christ?
Current Context
A. What does this tell us about ourselves, our world, and the human condition?
B. What are some modern parallels to the original situation?
C. What is the call/command/invitation of this passage?
D. How does Christ & the Gospel in this passage enable us to see, think, and live differently?
Links/References/Bibliography
A. Representative sermons on the passage
B. Examples and Illustrations
C. Commentaries on this book
D. Articles on this book or passage
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