2 Peter 3:17-18

"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter 3:17-18

In the final two verses of this letter, Peter encourages the readers to act both defensively and offensively when it comes to their faith. They have been warned about the destructive and persuasive ways of false teachers, and God's people should always be on their guard against false teaching. Peter has already told us that false teachers are unstable, they have no foundation! As a matter of fact, their goal is to wreck a believer's biblical foundation. When you think biblically and are grounded in the truth, then you are in a secure position...you have a solid foundation! False teaching can wreck that foundation if you tolerate it and passively invite it into your life. If you are like me, conflict is something that you do not like, and the fear of conflict leads us toward tolerating things that we know oppose the truth. We have to be on our guard against those things. The second thing that Peter tells the reader to do is to go on the offensive. Do something about growing in your faith! Peter tells the reader to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. I love those two words together, because they balance each other. We are to be people who know and defend truth and at the same time people of grace! I have been around folks who camp in the extreme of one or the other. I know people who are all about truth but have no grace in thier approach to people, and I know very gracious people who think that understanding the Bible is unnecessary. Its not an either or...its a both and! So as Peter ends his letter, I am challenged to grow in both the knowledge and grace of Christ! I must grow in my understanding of Him! I must get better at being gracious toward others! How do you do this? The best way to grow in your knowledge of Christ is to get into the Word, and I would suggest reading the book of John. As you read, keep notes about Jesus - who He is, what He loves, how he deals with people, and how He relates with His Father. Why do we do all of these? We do it to bring glory to God! So keep on keeping on, and may God be glorified in and through your journey!

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