PETER’S FINAL WORDS
The final words of person are always significant. When all of life has passed and death is staring at you, the essence of a person is revealed. Peter the leader among the apostles and the rock on which Jesus promised to build his church, is close to death as he writes his second letter.
I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (2Peter 1:13,14)
Peter had indeed fulfilled his destiny of building up the early church of Christ and having shepherded it faithfully for many years, he is awaiting his near death and foremost on his mind is to refresh the minds and memories of the early believers to keep holding on to the truth. And the last 2 verses in the second letter of Peter reflect and summarize that concern.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless 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. (2Peter 3:17,18)
Believers would always be surrounded by a greater majority of people who do not believe the law of God and the truth and live in error. And the error of these lawless people would induce believers to fall away from the truth. Nothing can be more tragic than for those who know the truth to be carried away by the error of those around, and end up falling from the security of salvation. And what was true then is true now. We live in a world where liberal, godless doctrines have become mainstream. To say that you believe in God or would modify your behavior according to what God says is anathema to the intelligentsia of the world. You become the odd man out, the laughing stock of the world for holding on to apparently fanciful concepts like God. Yet, a pilgrim needs to forge ahead in life not being carried away by these empty inducements.
In fact to help with that process and to ground oneself more securely in the eternity of salvation, Peter recommends that we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. It is an exhortation to develop intimacy with Christ, wherein we get to know Him and the truth better, take efforts to internalize those truths and in doing so find supernatural enablement to help us progress onward in our journey towards eternity. And Peter ends with the words declaring the uninhibited exaltedness of Christ. By receiving him and holding on to him, you will always have the last laugh.
