The Need to Understand scripture 2 Peter 3:15-16
Dear Strangers and Aliens in this world,
As we approach the end of this letter, Peter draws our attention back to the word of God. However, it is not entirely the word of God as the Jewish people knew it, because for them the Old Testament was the only written word of God. Peter introduces the works of the apostles, Paul in particular, as scripture, also. But we get ahead of ourselves.
Patience that Yielded Salvation (v. 15a). The thought in this verse is a continuation of what started in the previous verse, that believers ought to be found blameless at the Lord’s appearing. Peter now says that the Lord himself is our example. He was patient and as a result, he is able to save us. We often do not think about the challenges that our Lord went through. Imagine the Creator having to limit himself to the helplessness of nine-month confinement in a woman’s womb, the limitations of childhood, and having to endure the folly of ignorant, sinful people, teaching people who would not understand and finally submitting to the shameful, painful death on a cross. All this time, he could have spoken a word and he would have been back on his divine throne. But he came to save us and had to suffer through all the limitations in order to accomplish salvation for us. Even now, he is patient with the wicked, wishing them to come to repentance.
People that Twist the Scriptures (vv. 15b-16). Peter acknowledges that Paul has written to the Christians. The possibility is that he is talking about the epistle to the Ephesians, which seems to have been written to a wider audience than just the church at Ephesus and was probably already in circulation in the Roman province of Asia, where Peter’s readers also lived. What is interesting here is that Peter considers Paul’s letters scripture. Considering that Paul is an apostle, and an apostle is a person Jesus sent to represent him and speak for him, the teaching of the apostles can be considered the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Secondly, Peter acknowledges that there are some difficult things in Paul’s letters and that some people have twisted them. Worthy of note here is that this is willful distortion. It is the habit of the untaught and unstable people to misrepresent the scriptures. It is important for us to bear in mind that ignorance is bliss, only to the fool. Knowledge is available to those who sincerely seek it because we have people who are schooled in the scriptures. Anyone who goes teaching falsehoods and misrepresentations of scripture does so because he has refused to be taught, and his end is destruction.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.