You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

2 Peter 3:17-18

This week at a church small group we discussed the warnings of Jesus toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount. There is similarity in the verses above in Peter’s second letter.

These accounted for the last recorded words from the apostle Peter and in those words he completes his message by summarizing his two main points throughout this letter.

• Guard your hearts and minds so that you are not caught up in the smooth words of false teachers.
• Grow in the grace and knowledge of our faith that is founded on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.

It is this grace and knowledge that will guard against the errors of those who undermine and deny the truth of the Gospel. But, knowing about Christ is no shortcut to knowing Him personally. So, how do we get to know someone? We spend time with them and so we should be dedicated to learning who Jesus is as He is revealed in Scripture.

Peter was a flawed man who truly loved the LORD with all of his heart, even when he got out of line from time to time. Still Peter made it his ambition to follow hard after Christ until the very end. We can learn from Peter’s example as well as his words and we maintain our focus on what is most important.