The
apostle Peter told the church that the heavens, its elements, and the
earth will be dissolved in the “day of the Lord”, and they
should not count God slack concerning His promises just because there
is a delay. He told his readers “the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation;”, and he made reference to
Paul's writings as a further reference to this truth. In chapter
three and verse sixteen Peter adds to his comments upon Paul's words.
We read:
As also in all his
epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things
hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction.
The
verse begins, “As also in all his epistles,
speaking in them of these things;” Peter assures those who read
or hear his words will know that Paul wrote of these last day events
as well. By telling them “as also in all his epistles”
Peter would encourage church members to see what Paul spoke about
these end time prophecies.
The
verse goes on to say, “in which are some things hard to
be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as
they do also the other scriptures,...” No
doubt Peter read the words of Paul and found some of them “hard
to be understood” or perhaps
difficult to comprehend, but they were nonetheless true. Those who
were “unlearned”
or “ignorant” and those who were “unstable”
which means “unsteadfast” would “wrest”
or “twist, turn awry, torture, put to the rack, pervert, and
be like one who wrests or tortures language in a false sense”. In
other words rather than read and believe Paul's words and “the
other scriptures” they twist them to meet their own interpretations
of them. They pervert the scriptures to meet with their own personal
agendas.
Finally
the verse says, “unto their own destruction.” Peter ends
this verse by declaring the fate of those who do such things with the
scriptures. It will be “unto their own destruction” or
“destroying, perishing, and ruin” and infers “the destruction
which consists of eternal misery in hell”. This is no doubt an
extreme warning reckoned by Peter as he wrote these words. Those who
twist the scriptures to make them fit their own ways, attitudes and
actions should beware of doing so lest it lead them to their own
demise.
Although
Peter has identified a group of people who “wrest”
the scriptures, we should take time to examine our own lives to be
sure we do not do the same. When we read the Bible we must be careful
to disallow our own thoughts and ideas to become agents of
interpretation. The best commentary upon the Bible is the Bible, and
if we are unsure or think without clarity about a particular verse we
should look further into that verse to be sure we align with God. We
do not want to become those who “wrest”
the scriptures unto our “own destruction”,
and by taking the time to understand the scriptures we can, wait upon
understanding for scriptures we cannot, and being steady in our
growing in understanding we will avoid being those who twist the
scriptures to our own advantage and eventual destruction.
Next
time we will see one final warning from Peter, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
No comments:
Post a Comment