Warning

Have you noticed that the world just seems to spiral more and more out of control?  Things that used to be true are no longer true, things that used to be wrong are now considered right, and whatever a person wants to believe is ok and no one can tell them it’s not.  In this letter, Peter is warning us about the direction the world is headed in. There will be an uprising of false teachings about God and bad influences will be louder than any other influence. He also warns us to be ready for the return of Jesus! So in all the bad news, there is great news that comes at the end.

Peter doesn’t want us to fall into these traps, so he gives us some tips on how to avoid believing these lies. “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7). You see, growth in our faith doesn’t just happen. We need to continually add these things to our faith in preparation for the lies that will be thrown our way. God has such an incredible plan for us, but if we lack these things, we’ll have an incomplete Christian life. Peter goes on to say, “For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:9). I don’t want that said about me.

All of those characteristics are simply evidence that we aren’t turning to lies and false teachings. The fruit that comes from us following Jesus is evidence that we are saved. It makes us confident in our salvation, “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:11). I want to live a life with that confidence! Have you ever experienced being in a car that was low on gas, wondering if you’d make it to a gas station before being on empty? It’s a horrible feeling. We don’t want to enter Heaven low on gas, but cruising past the finish line fully confident in the work Jesus has done in our lives!