I admire Peter for giving props to a man who, in the viewpoint of the world I work in, could be considered a competitor. In 2 Peter 3:15 he uses Paul as an expert witness to his point that God's patience will bring salvation.
That verse is followed by these (vv16-18): "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 the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 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."
I chuckled when I read this, remembering the struggles I had in Greek class trying to translate Paul when I wasn't always clear exactly what he meant in English. As Peter points out, Paul's letters do contain some things that are hard to understand; in fact, most of scripture does.
That can be a problem, because even though I tend to have a high opinion of myself, the occasional reality check reminds me that a lot of folks might sometimes put me in the group that Peter calls ignorant and unstable. And Peter says that people like that, like I sometimes am, will distort those hard things, trying to twist them into something understandable and doable. And, Peter warns, all they do is destroy themselves.
So Peter ends his second letter with an admonition, and a warning. The warning is to look out, because those persuasive, attractive alternate interpretations can easily seduce me away from the truth. If that happens, I too will be destroyed.
The admonition is a very familiar one; I'm beginning to think of it as the universal antidote, the cure for almost everything spiritual that ails me. Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, Peter says. Then all will be well.
Grow in grace, meaning be more and more gracious to others, and rely more and more on the grace of God. Grow in knowledge, so that I can cling to God's promises secure in my understanding of His power and love. Those characteristics will enable me to spot the lies, and armor me against the allurements in them.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Blameless
There's a new heaven and a new earth coming; God promised. And when I get there, instead of this old worn-out body with the creaky knees and achy back and saggy flesh, I'll have a new body too.
Peter has some words of advice for me, to help me get ready. In 2 Peter 3:14-15 he writes, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 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."
Problem is, Peter's advice seems impossible to me. Spotless? I smeared dirt all over my clean white soul a long time ago. Blameless? There's so much that's my fault, including my own choices and my own sin. At peace with God? Sometimes the only way I can bear my own guilt is to keep Him at arm's length.
Why couldn't Peter give me something I can do, like put blankets and food and water in the trunk of my car? That's the kind of preparation I like, the kind I can check off the list, the kind that gets done once and stays done. But an impossible set of requirements that I'll labor at unsuccessfully for the rest of my life? That seems hopeless, not to mention unfair.
But just as I get discouraged, Peter gently reminds me of something: "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation . . ." He doesn't say that if I just keep trying, I can do it. He doesn't say my own spotlessness, blamelessness and peacefulness will do it. He says God's patience will.
Meaning what? Maybe that God will never get tired of encouraging as I keep getting back up, dusting myself off, and trying again. Maybe that He will never grow impatient at my snail-like progress. Maybe that He is going to take His sweet time as I struggle in my own weakness and cling to His sweet grace, time that will mellow me and age me like fine wine until one day, I'm something presentable.
What I do know is this: My part is to "make every effort." The measurement of success is the sincerity of my desire and persistence of my attempts, not my actual blamelessness. If I do that, the Lord in his infinite patience will do the rest.
Peter has some words of advice for me, to help me get ready. In 2 Peter 3:14-15 he writes, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 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."
Problem is, Peter's advice seems impossible to me. Spotless? I smeared dirt all over my clean white soul a long time ago. Blameless? There's so much that's my fault, including my own choices and my own sin. At peace with God? Sometimes the only way I can bear my own guilt is to keep Him at arm's length.
Why couldn't Peter give me something I can do, like put blankets and food and water in the trunk of my car? That's the kind of preparation I like, the kind I can check off the list, the kind that gets done once and stays done. But an impossible set of requirements that I'll labor at unsuccessfully for the rest of my life? That seems hopeless, not to mention unfair.
But just as I get discouraged, Peter gently reminds me of something: "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation . . ." He doesn't say that if I just keep trying, I can do it. He doesn't say my own spotlessness, blamelessness and peacefulness will do it. He says God's patience will.
Meaning what? Maybe that God will never get tired of encouraging as I keep getting back up, dusting myself off, and trying again. Maybe that He will never grow impatient at my snail-like progress. Maybe that He is going to take His sweet time as I struggle in my own weakness and cling to His sweet grace, time that will mellow me and age me like fine wine until one day, I'm something presentable.
What I do know is this: My part is to "make every effort." The measurement of success is the sincerity of my desire and persistence of my attempts, not my actual blamelessness. If I do that, the Lord in his infinite patience will do the rest.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
New Stuff
2 Peter 3:11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Hmmm . . . Yesterday I wrote about losing my stuff on judgment day, either by sneak thievery or by a world-burning blast. Today, Peter says there's some new stuff coming.
He says we're looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. New stuff? Well, either I get a new suit and a new place to live, or the weather will be so nice and the grass so soft I can stay outside all the time. And I'll look so good it won't matter what I wear. Either way, it will be a vast improvement.
I don't spend a lot of time speculating about the eternal life that's coming, but it does reassure me that Peter mentions the new earth. I like earth just fine, especially the parts of it we haven't messed up yet. Maybe my eternal life will be in a perfect version. That thought is kind of comforting.
Whatever it's going to be, Peter has a bit of advice for me as I wait: live a holy and godly life, and speed the coming of that great day. Speed it how? By evangelizing? By prayer? All of the above?
It's interesting to note (verse 11) that while there is no eternal value in all the earthly stuff that will be destroyed, there is value in what we decide to be. Being (a holy, godly person who speeds the day, for example) is much more important than having.
The best investment of my resources is in becoming more like Jesus. Yeah, I'd still like a bigger TV, but it's just going to burn anyway.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thief
I wonder why Jesus' return is described in the Bible like a thief coming in the night.
There are two things thieves do in the night: sneak in, and take your stuff. I get the sneaking part, that we'll be surprised by Jesus' return. But the thieving part doesn't make as much sense.
It seems like maybe comparing the second coming to a lightning bolt would be better. Lightning bolts are surprises too, and their arrival is spectacular. Lots of noise, a flash of light, maybe a splintered, smoking tree - dramatic and powerful.
Peter describes it both ways, or actually he seems to mix the two up. In 2 Peter 2:10 he writes, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."
The way Peter makes it sound, this thief is going to come with a bang, exploding the universe and burning up the H's and O's and N's in our atmosphere and the carbons and other elements that cover the ground with vegetation. The earth will be a naked, smoking ball. Not really sneaky, but quite a shock.
I guess in the end, the two key points are the same. First, if you're not ready when it happens, you'll be out of luck; there won't be time to react.
Second, don't count on saving anything you own. Whether the thief steals it or the big bang burns it up, you'll stand before God that day with nothing to show Him but your heart. It's either going to be miraculously made snow-white by a bath in Jesus' blood, or it will be a dirty, smelly lump of rotten meat.
Getting ready for that day is a lot easier than I make it, and harder than I realize. The easy part is confessing that there's nothing I can do to get ready, and putting all my hope in work Jesus has already done. The hard part is living like I really believe that.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
False Teachers
I know some people who are atheists - they deny that God exists. I know a couple of agnostics - they think we can't ever really know for sure if God exists. And I know a bunch of people who understand God a lot differently than I do.
In these tolerant days we're supposed to grant that any of these ideas is OK, and all of them have equal validity. But Peter knew better. He said, "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them –bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." (2 Peter 2:1-3).
The world tries to silence us in the name of tolerance, and when we speak the truth anyway, we can so quickly seem judgmental and even hateful. We have to be careful to speak for the truth, not against people, or we become repellant.
But Peter's warning is more about listening than speaking. We hear ideas we like. We hear people say, "My religion is between me and God; I don't need a church." We hear people say, "I worship better in nature than in a worship service." We hear these ideas and sometimes we want to adopt them because sometimes we don't want to be in a church, or in a church service, either.
And we hear people say, "A loving God wouldn't send anyone to Hell." That's a heresy called Universalism, that everyone gets into heaven, and we like that idea because the doctrine of election is hard for us.
I need to be careful. I'm scornful of Westboro Baptist Church because, just as Peter warns, they have brought the way of truth into disrepute through their hateful false teachings. But I too carry the name of Christ; I have made myself known as a Christian. As others watch me, do they see some way in which I've compromised? Have I watered down my faith so that it permits me to do something God forbids? Do I set aside the hard teachings because they're too unpleasant?
If I do, then I too am a false teacher.
Being faithful is hard work. It requires me to think critically about what I read and hear, and to be vigilant about what I say and do. I guess it isn't surprising that we're so eager to listen when someone tells us what our itching ears want to hear.
In these tolerant days we're supposed to grant that any of these ideas is OK, and all of them have equal validity. But Peter knew better. He said, "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them –bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." (2 Peter 2:1-3).
The world tries to silence us in the name of tolerance, and when we speak the truth anyway, we can so quickly seem judgmental and even hateful. We have to be careful to speak for the truth, not against people, or we become repellant.
But Peter's warning is more about listening than speaking. We hear ideas we like. We hear people say, "My religion is between me and God; I don't need a church." We hear people say, "I worship better in nature than in a worship service." We hear these ideas and sometimes we want to adopt them because sometimes we don't want to be in a church, or in a church service, either.
And we hear people say, "A loving God wouldn't send anyone to Hell." That's a heresy called Universalism, that everyone gets into heaven, and we like that idea because the doctrine of election is hard for us.
I need to be careful. I'm scornful of Westboro Baptist Church because, just as Peter warns, they have brought the way of truth into disrepute through their hateful false teachings. But I too carry the name of Christ; I have made myself known as a Christian. As others watch me, do they see some way in which I've compromised? Have I watered down my faith so that it permits me to do something God forbids? Do I set aside the hard teachings because they're too unpleasant?
If I do, then I too am a false teacher.
Being faithful is hard work. It requires me to think critically about what I read and hear, and to be vigilant about what I say and do. I guess it isn't surprising that we're so eager to listen when someone tells us what our itching ears want to hear.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Morning star
After reminding me that he was an eyewitness to Jesus' ministry, Peter says, "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." ( 2 Peter 1:19 )
When he says the prophets' words are now more certain, I think that means that Jesus fulfilled or guaranteed them - not just prophecies, but promises. Hope and anticipation become certainty.
Since that's the case, Peter says, I should pay attention to those prophets, and those promise. Why? Because this world is a dark place, full of people enslaved by the King of Darkness, and too often I too choose to live in the shadows.
Jesus' work here on earth brings light. Now it's a torch shining in a dark world, but soon the night will pass, the day will dawn, and the morning star (Jesus) will rise in my heart.
What does that mean? I think it refers to the ongoing process of my sanctification; as I grow holier the gospel of Christ burns brighter and brighter, driving out the darkness of my sinful desires and eventually illuminating every corner. The dark night of my soul becomes the bright daylight of my sanctified self, but only because the Morning Star is there.
So yeah, I should pay attention. I'm sick of this dark heart; daybreak can't get here too soon.
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