Most of us have heard at some point in our lives that Christianity is a religion of dos and don’ts. You need to act a certain way, read the Bible, pray, do good, watch goofy Christian TV (to clarify, not all of it is goofy, just most), etc. This is usually said and spun negatively as a set of obligations. Peter is going to give us quite a different outlook in 2 Pet. 1:1-15. Over the next few weeks we will be examining this passage and really picking out what Peter is trying to tell us and why it is so important.
This will be Peter’s final letter to the church. He knows it and gives us his final advice and encouragement as he prepares to depart and be with Christ. He has lived a great life and has become a great leader of the church in Jerusalem, but Peter has had some obvious issues throughout his sanctification process. He is writing, in this passage, to tell us how we might avoid some of the pitfalls hel fell into.
If you were to read this passage without keeping in mind verses 1-4, you may think that Peter is preaching a gospel of salvation by works, but as we will see in the next few weeks, he is keenly aware that salvation is by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. As I read and studied this passage I became more and more excited because Peter tells us that if we practice the qualities mentioned here, they help us grow in knowledge of Christ and fruitfulness in ministry! Man has no greater aspiration than knowing the God that created the universe!
