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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
2 Pet. 1
Peter made a mouthful of a statement at the start of this letter. In trying to understand and simplify what he said, I came up with this: Jesus gave us His righteousness. Therefore, we should make every effort to take on His character, not to make ourselves righteous, but because we already are.
2 Pet. 2-3
It seems that Satan at one time somehow thought he could usurp God. That didn’t work out so well for him. Since he knows he is doomed, his primary goal now seems to be to take as many with him as possible. Hence, there will always be deceivers among God’s people trying to lead them astray. Peter gives us a few pointers on dealing with this truth.
- Regarding these deceivers, “Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.” (2 Pet. 2:3b). It may look like evil people get away with their evil, but we can be absolutely certain that their fate is sealed. And, just as with Satan, it isn’t going to go well for them.
- “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” (2 Pet. 3:8b). God is not slow to act on His judgment, but He does not operate on the time line that we know and understand. His plan does, however, have a schedule; one that patiently allows for the redemption of His entire remnant. God‘s patience is our salvation, and we need to likewise be patient.
- “Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 3:17-18a). True knowledge is power. When we keep a firm grip on the foundational truths, it gives us the stability to continue to build on that firm foundation.
Jude 1
Yet another warning, not about the ignorant, unsaved masses, but about the ungodly inside the Church. The danger is real. And it is obvious to me that we, the Church, have not taken all the warnings seriously enough. Instead, we have quietly allowed the ungodly desires and divisions from such people to infiltrate and weaken us. It is interesting to me that, in light of this danger, Jude tells us to both wait expectantly for God’s mercy and to have mercy on others. I think mercy, also called compassion, is a mask such people often use to gain their foothold. And that’s where I think Jude’s final comment on mercy comes into play. “…have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23b). Mercy is never an excuse for acceptance of ungodliness.