March 6, 2016

PPIL - Powerful Passage Impacts Life
2 Peter 3:18 NLT - "Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  All glory to Him, both now and forever!  Amen."

Commentary:

Though I'm just using verse 18 as our Daily Verse you should also be aware of verse 17 (NLT), "I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends.  Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing."  This gives the contextual background to verse 18.  Just like we said yesterday, believers can wander away from the Lord because of false teaching.  And that is exactly what Peter is warning these believers to be mindful of. 

It's important to remember, the devil "lost" you when you got saved.  But that doesn't mean he's finished with you!  By no means.  He will constantly attack you with error and temptation to lure you away from a godly walk and lead you into a fruitless and meaningless life.

So, Peter encourages the proper response to avoid these devilish schemes.  If a Christian grows in "grace and knowledge" of Christ that believer will appreciate that God always works through His grace!  Remember 1 Corinthians 15:10 where Paul speaks of the impact of God's grace, not only on his salvation, but also on his walk.  We never stop needing God's grace and it would do us well to continue to grow in dependency on God to work graciously in us.  We never should "work" for our acceptance from God!  He always accepts us on the basis of grace, not works!

And, growing in knowledge of Christ is PRECIOUS!  Enjoying what the Bible says about Him and remember that He is the same Jesus NOW as He was when His feet walked upon this earth.  See Hebrews 13:8.  This "knowledge" is far more than just academic information!  It is the kind of intimate appreciation of Jesus, the kind of knowledge you get when you spend lots of time with a good friend, a Good Friend like Jesus! 

Suggestion:  Find someone with whom you can share your appreciation of Jesus.  Tell them what you're learning about Him and let them share the same with you.