Peter’s second letter is short but powerful. These three chapters contain the seeds for many a sermon on faith, obedience, heaven, and the impending destruction of the earth.

It could also be called a book of reminders. Note these verses…

• 1:12 I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance…

• 1:13 to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

• 1:15 after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

• 3:1 I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

Let us look at these reminders from the Apostle Peter through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The first reminders are in chapter one and are for us to “give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure” [1:10]. He goes on to say, “if you do these things you will never stumble.” What are the things Peter desired to bring into our remembrance?

There are seven things we are reminded to add to our Faith…

Virtue,

Knowledge,

Self-Control,

Perseverance,

Godliness,

Brotherly kindness

and Love.

If we do these things after becoming Christians, an entrance will be supplied to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. [5-11]

The second set of reminders are in the second chapter are about False Teachers. These false teachers will SECRETLY bring in destructive heresies. [2:1]

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

They will make MERCHANDISE of you, using DECEPTIVE words [v3]. They will SPEAK evil of the things they do not understand [v12]. They will ENTICE unstable souls [14]. They have FORSAKEN the right way [15]. They will speak GREAT SWELLING words of emptiness [18]. They ALLURE through the lusts of the flesh [18]. They will promise LIBERTY [19].

Peter says of these people, “For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” [21]. The examples of Scripture should remind us to beware and behave [4-11].

The third set of reminders are in chapter 3, “that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:” [3:2]. What were some of these words of the holy prophets?

First: SCOFFERS will come in the last days [3]. These will be walking in their own lusts and saying, “where is the promise of His coming.” It seems to me that these scoffers may be among us just as the false teachers begin from us [2:1].

They willfully FORGET: [5] These scoffers willfully forget the lessons from the beginning. The lessons from Noah’s ark. That world perished by water; this one will perish with fire [7].

Do NOT FORGET this one thing: [8] that the timeline of God is not the timeline of men. Thankfully, it is not. God’s patient longsuffering is salvation [9, 15].

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”

The DAY of the LORD: [10-13] will come as a thief. When He comes, the physical world will melt with a fervent heat. The hearts of men will melt with the realization of their error [11]. Those who are prepared through obedience to the gospel are looking for and forward to that wonderful Day [12-13].

He closes out this epistle as he opened it, with a call to DILIGENCE [14]. He refers to the letters from Paul, which have some things hard to understand, but not impossible to understand [Eph 3:3-4]. However, we must beware lest we fall. We already know this, Peter has just reminded them, and us [17].

The final reminder: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

— spencer

Spencer has labored with the church as an evangelist in Borger Texas since 2014.