2 Peter 3:16

2 Peter 3:16 ‘as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.'

‘as also in all his letters' -Which admits the existence of more letters than those which had been written to Christians in the region of Asia Minor. This statement also infers that. body of material known as Paul's letters was available to Christians, even before the first century ended. Peter knew about the letter to the Romans 1:1 and. Corinthians, and so on! Definitely, this informs us that Peter had read Paul's letters.

‘speaking in them of these things' -Peter says that Paul taught the same thing concerning the Second Coming and the need for holiness on our part! ‘in which he mentions these subjects' (Ber). In like manner, Paul spoke of Jesus coming as. thief (1 Thessalonians 5:1); of fire, destruction and judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7); the expectation which Christians should have (1 Peter 3:20; Titus 2:13); the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1); our future home (2 Corinthians 5:1); the final judgment (Romans 2:4; Romans 14:10). And many other passages could be included (Romans 8:19; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:1).

‘in which are some things hard to understand' -Carefully note what Peter isn't saying: He didn't say that they are impossible to understand, or that only the elite can understand them. Neither did he say that such things were beyond his understanding. Peter understood what Paul wrote, including the meatier portions! Paul clearly taught that what he wrote could be understood by every Christian (Ephesians 3:3). Rather, they are hard to understand, because they take some effort, and they also take honesty. What is hard to understand in the Bible, isn't necessarily hard to understand because is was revealed in big words or language that is hard to interpret. Rather, some things are hard to understand, because they go against what we might prefer, or they contradict our view of reality.

‘which the untaught' -‘a mind untrained and undisciplined in habits of thought, lacking in the moral qualities of. balanced judgment' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 147). ‘They are ignorant---which means not that they know nothing, but that they refuse instruction.' (Lucas/Green p. 152)

Points to Note:

One can be highly educated in secular subjects and yet remain ‘untaught' in reference to the truth. All learning doesn't lead to enlightenment or salvation (2 Timothy 3:7). There have always been individuals who wanted to teach, long before they understood the topic they were teaching (1 Timothy 1:7). 2. This category also includes people who refuse to subject themselves to the authority of the Scriptures. Modern day ‘scholars' who reject the inspiration of the Scriptures, are ‘untaught' men, that is, men who refuse to place themselves under the Bible, instead of over it. 3. The answer to this problem is to educate Christians in the Scriptures (Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 2:15). The answer is not, to train an elite group of men who will interpret the Scriptures for us.

‘unstable' -People who are not grounded in the truth (Colossians 1:23). Those who cannot place the truthful thing, ahead of their own personal comforts and desires. People who are willing to compromise and sell-out for short-term gain. ‘G. K. Chesterton drew his famous picture of orthodoxy. Orthodoxy, he said, was like walking along. narrow ridge, almost like. knife-edge. One step to either side was. step to disaster. Jesus is God and man; God is love and holiness; Christianity is grace and morality; the Christian lives in this world and also lives in the world of eternity. Overstress either side of these great truths, and at once destructive heresy emerges. One of the most tragic things in life is when. man twists Christian truth and holy Scripture into an excuse and. defence, and even. reason, for doing what He wants to do, and does not accept it as. guide for doing what God wants him to do.' (Barclay p. 414)

One writer described such individuals as, ‘those without definite convictions, they regard nothing as settled, they are under the control of their feelings and emotions, and are liable to embrace one opinion today and another directly opposite tomorrow…Men that do not admit “ignorance” or exhibit caution in “hard” texts, but rather rush headlong into. definite interpretation.'

‘distort' -‘twist, distort, so that. false meaning results' (Arndt p. 771). If the Scriptures can be ‘distorted' then. definite and true meaning does exist. Every interpretation isn't right,. true meaning was intended by God! And that true meaning can be understood (2 Timothy 2:15). In fact, we are directly commanded to find it (Ephesians 5:17).

‘the rest of the Scriptures' -1. First century Christians had access to the Old Testament Scriptures! 2. Peter calls Paul's writings ‘Scripture'! 3. What Paul wrote and what Peter wrote is just as inspired as what any prophet in the Old Testament wrote. 4. Be impressed that when you start forcing passages to fit your preconceived ideas that you end up distorting. host of passages, and not just one passage. False doctrine never affects the meaning of just one verse or one chapter! 5. Mis-interpretation is never caused by the Scriptures, rather, it results when we have the wrong attitude in approaching the Word of God. Attitude is essential (Acts 17:11; Ezra 7:10). 6. There are many things that we don't have control over, (our own IQ) or absolute control over (access to study materials, people we come into contract with, who our Bible class teacher is, whether our parents went to church or not when we were children, and so on). But all of us have absolute control over the most important aspect of bible study, that is, our own honesty and humility as we approach the Word of God.

Point To Note:

Something here needs to be said about one's own personal IQ.. higher IQ only means that you are able to process information at. faster rate. But IQ in the vast majority of cases has little to do with one's own personal morality. Apart from God's revelation, the highest IQ can't determine if something is right or wrong, moral or immoral.. sharp man or woman may nor may not obey the truth. But an honest man or woman always will!

‘to their own destruction' -God will condemn the person who distorts the Scriptures! Ketcherside was wrong when he said, ‘If one is right about Jesus he may be wrong about. lot of things and still be saved' (The Twisted Scriptures, W. Carl Ketcherside pp. 67-68). ‘There is all the difference in the world, through, between finding the Bible difficult, and willfully twisting it to say only what we find helpful or relevant or reasonable to believe. Where is the voice of God if he says only what we want him to say?' (Lucas/Green p. 153) To this day, people try to argue that Paul taught that grace liberates one from the laws of God (Romans 3:8; Romans 6:1). Bible study is serious business!

Final Exhortation And Conclusion