Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Peter 3:14 - 3:18
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
An admonition to steadfastness:
v. 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
v. 15. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you,
v. 16. as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
v. 17. Ye, therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
v. 18. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
In the fact that the new earth will be the abode of righteousness there is included a solemn warning to all believers: Therefore, beloved, because you are expecting these things, use all diligence to be found spotless and blameless in His sight. We Christians know that a life of sanctification, in which we avoid sin and earnestly strive to fulfill the will of God in every respect, will not merit salvation. But as children of God our one desire is to please our heavenly Father by leading such lives as conform to His will. Having been made partakers of the redemption of Christ, we have also received His complete fulfillment of the Law of God, His righteousness has been imputed to us. For this reason it is possible for Christians at least to make a beginning in a life of sanctification.
Of one thing the Christians must never lose sight: And consider the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation. The fact that the Lord has so much patience with the people of the world, also with us, that He does not send punishment as often as we deserve it and in the measure that we deserve it, means salvation for us. The present time is still a time of grace for us, and we should, be earnestly concerned about making the best of this time, knowing that God's reward of grace will come upon us, be given us, in the end.
St. Peter now refers to the letters of Paul to substantiate his words: Just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, has written you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some difficult passages, which the unlearned and unsteady distort, as also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Two points are here evident, the inspiration of the letters of Paul and the agreement between the doctrine as taught by the various apostles. Peter says of Paul that he is a beloved brother, a teacher of the Church with himself, that Paul did not write his own philosophy, but wrote what the Wisdom from on high prompted him to say. Peter may have in mind especially the letters of Paul to the Galatians and to the Ephesians. In these letters, as well as in others which Paul sent to various congregations, he treated of the same doctrines, the same fundamental truths of Christianity; which Peter had here discussed, and taught the same facts. But with a note of sadness the apostle continues, stating that some people who were uneducated, that lacked both mental training and balanced judgment, and some that were unsteady, that were not yet fully and soundly established in Christian doctrine, had distorted or twisted his words and sayings. They had done the same thing also with the other Scriptures, with the writings of the prophets, apostles, and evangelists, and that to their own damnation. It seems strange that the Holy Scriptures, containing, as they do, the fundamental truths of salvation in such simple, unmistakable passages, should yet give a great many people, usually such as lack the training for intensive explanation of the Bible, occasion to teach the greatest heresies. It is but necessary to glance over a few pages in the books published by the most modern sectarians in order to be convinced of the truth of this statement. What Paul and Peter and all the apostles taught of Christian liberty, of sin and grace, of the corruption of man's nature, of salvation by grace only, all these doctrines are garbled and twisted and modified until it is impossible for the readers to get any satisfaction out of the presentation. And the authors, unless the belief of their heart differs from the belief of their pen, will receive to themselves damnation. We simply follow Luther's rule and explain the difficult passages in the light of those that are absolutely clear. And where a solution is not possible, we cheerfully teach our hearts patience, knowing that everything shall be made plain to us when we reach our home above.
Incidentally, we heed the warning of the apostle: You, then, beloved, knowing this before, be careful, lest, carried away by the error of lawless men, (you) fall away from your own foundation. It is by means of warnings such as these that Christians are enabled to be on the lookout for sectarians that pervert the gracious Gospel of Jesus Christ. They know what they may expect, and they conduct themselves accordingly. They will not permit the false interpretations of godless and impious men to swamp them, to carry them off their feet, to lose their foundation. They have the trustworthy, the solid basis of the Gospel, and they will not risk the shifting sands of man's interpretation of the Word. The Word interprets itself, and we should be satisfied with the explanation thus offered, and not seek interpretations which are intended to satisfy human reason.
With this thought in mind the apostle concludes: But grow in the grace and in-the understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the Christian's happiness: to increase in grace, in the conviction founded on the Gospel that we possess the grace of God in Christ Jesus, that His merits have been imputed to us, and that our inheritance is awaiting us above. By becoming more firmly established in this conviction day after day, we also grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; for those facts are the essential facts for this life and for the world to come. Therefore we join the apostle in his fervent doxology in praise of Christ the Savior: To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Summary.In speaking of the certain corning of the day of the Lord, the apostle warns against the scoffers that ridicule the idea, emphasizes the certainty of the Lord's return, shows what attitude the Christians should assume, and admonishes them to show all steadfastness in faith.