2 Peter 3:15-16
"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do other Scriptures, to their destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16
Why is Jesus waiting to come back? I am not sure, but I do know that the longer He waits the more opportunity people have to be rescued from their sin. His patience means salvation! Paul indeed wrote about the same things in his letters (1 Thes. 5, 1 Timothy 2), and his writings came from the wisdom that God gave him. I chuckle a little when I read Peter say, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand..."! No kidding, just read the book of Romans. It makes me feel good to hear that Peter, of all people, affirms the difficult content of Paul's letters. Though Paul's writings are hard to understand, if the reader were to slow down and take things into context, they make sense without distortion. Sadly, people have and will continue to distort the truth, which is the oldest strategy in the book that Satan implements. Peter describes people who distort the truth as ignorant and unstable. How? Ignorant people don't care about context, they feed off of phrases and words used. You can distort anything if you take it out of context. They are unstable because they have no foundational premise as to their approach to the Scriptures. When you begin distorting the Scriptures, it leads to more distortion because you begin interpreting things in light of something that is not accurate. You can come up with some bizzare beliefs and behaviors. I love the fact that in a very small way, Peter affirms that Paul's writtings were part of the Scriptures. He talks about people distorting Paul's letters as they do "other" Scriptures. What a facinating book! I need to have a love for the Word of God that handles it carefully, so as to not be guilty of distorting the truth. This book is God's revelation of Himself! In it He reveals who He is and His plan for all of life. He also reveals to us His salvation and second coming. So until He comes, get to know Christ more and more as you study His revelation of Himself and pray that people who don't know Him will come to salvation! After all, the Lord's patience means salvation!
Why is Jesus waiting to come back? I am not sure, but I do know that the longer He waits the more opportunity people have to be rescued from their sin. His patience means salvation! Paul indeed wrote about the same things in his letters (1 Thes. 5, 1 Timothy 2), and his writings came from the wisdom that God gave him. I chuckle a little when I read Peter say, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand..."! No kidding, just read the book of Romans. It makes me feel good to hear that Peter, of all people, affirms the difficult content of Paul's letters. Though Paul's writings are hard to understand, if the reader were to slow down and take things into context, they make sense without distortion. Sadly, people have and will continue to distort the truth, which is the oldest strategy in the book that Satan implements. Peter describes people who distort the truth as ignorant and unstable. How? Ignorant people don't care about context, they feed off of phrases and words used. You can distort anything if you take it out of context. They are unstable because they have no foundational premise as to their approach to the Scriptures. When you begin distorting the Scriptures, it leads to more distortion because you begin interpreting things in light of something that is not accurate. You can come up with some bizzare beliefs and behaviors. I love the fact that in a very small way, Peter affirms that Paul's writtings were part of the Scriptures. He talks about people distorting Paul's letters as they do "other" Scriptures. What a facinating book! I need to have a love for the Word of God that handles it carefully, so as to not be guilty of distorting the truth. This book is God's revelation of Himself! In it He reveals who He is and His plan for all of life. He also reveals to us His salvation and second coming. So until He comes, get to know Christ more and more as you study His revelation of Himself and pray that people who don't know Him will come to salvation! After all, the Lord's patience means salvation!
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