2 Peter 3:14-18 English Standard Version

Final Words

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 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. 18 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.

Peter’s words about Paul were kinder than what Paul had to say about Peter.

Galatians 2:11-13 English Standard Version

Paul Opposes Peter

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

What is to be learned here?

Peter said the ignorant and unstable could not understand everything that Paul was saying.

Paul was saying that knowing the truth doesn’t stop us from making mistakes.

Hypocrisy seems to be a harsh rebuke. None of us want to be accused of hypocrisy since we have placed our faith in Christ.

I once had a pastor who demoted his best friend from associate pastor to a layperson because the man threw a Super Bowl party where beer was served. When I asked him why he said, “He was a leader and should have known better.” As this was a young pastor who was setting up a new church I had to ask, “Did you tell him what was expected of him?”

Some of us will see that the Word is clear. Others need guidance and time in order to grow in grace. We do not all grow at the same rate.

• Matthew 5:17
  Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
  Matthew 10:34
  Not Peace, but a Sword
  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
  John 5:45
  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

Christ on the Cross fulfilled the law of sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:23

Acts 17 English Standard Version

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

Paul’s fervent studies of the law under Gamaliel gave him the tools required to reveal Christ through the scriptures better than anyone. Look at the words “as was his custom”. Everywhere that Paul went he challenged the understanding of the Old Testament by the leaders and teachers in the Jewish community.

The gentiles of the region had been dealing with these hard headed Jews all their lives. Imagine the impact on them to see Paul coming in and converting those stubborn men? It must have been a curiosity to them. Surely they must have wondered what Paul could have said to uproot such entrenched traditions.

Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

In these synagogues Paul encountered those who did not believe in the resurrection. They did not accept the resurrection of Christ. In Paul’s journeys he would encounter some who had never even seen a miracle, so God used him in Acts 28:9 to show them the power of God to heal and raised the possibility of a resurrection and eternal life.

God will use His Children in any way necessary to bring salvation to the lost. Even you.