II PETER 3:16

" He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction."  (NIV)







When Peter wrote this letter to the Believers, he wrote it to warn them of false teachers who were distorting the writings of Paul.  Peter pointed out that Paul wrote with wisdom inspired by the Holy Spirit. Peter pointed out to his fellow-Believers that while Paul's writings are not always EASY to understand, they were God-inspired truth. The false teachers against whom Peter  wrote were purposely misquoting Paul's teachings, attempting to use scriptures to make themselves seem impressive.  They were purposely creating confusion. Worse yet, false teachers are often subtly deceitful.  This letter from Peter gives us clues to help detect false teaching. Believers today must remain vigilant against falling into false doctrine.

One of my favorite scriptures is I Corinthians 1:33, which states, :For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace."  Okay... if God is NOT the author of confusion, then who IS?    (Hint:  Don't you think confusion goes hand-in-hand with evil?  Have you ever noticed that movie scenes of hell are always chaotic?   Hmmm...)






So, here is the gist of Peters' letter:  Avoid false teachings.  How? By knowing the truth.  We really must read and study on our own;  not depend upon someone else to tell us what the scriptures say.  Many believers want the peace and grace of God, but are not willing to exert the effort to get to know Him better.  To enjoy God's abundance, we need knowledge.  First-hand knowledge, obtainable only through Bible study and prayer.  We must remain diligent in seeking God.



And, what did Jesus have to say about teaching and truth?  "To the Jews who had believed him,  Jesus said,
'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"  (John 8:31,32)





                                      
  

  AND,
 ..." I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)

II TIMOTHY 3:16

    "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good  work."  (II Timothy 3:16-17)

ALL scripture is useful.  ALL. Not just the familiar parts.. not just the easy-to-read portions. Not just the parts that are easy to agree with or comply to.  ALL.  All of the Bible is God's inspired Word. His message, imparted through the Holy Spirit, written by many hands,  yet authored by the One Almighty God.
God wants us to be equipped for every situation that comes our way. He expects us to have a hunger for knowledge; not just so that we can recite the answers to the assigned questions in  Sabbath Class or Sunday School; but, so that we will have knowledge to share with unbelievers and skeptics and fellow-believers.  Knowledge isn't useful unless it's shared and applied.


When should we be prepared to share our knowledge"  The answer is just a few verses away from today's "3:16"
               "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct and rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."  II Timothy 4:2,3  NIV


Paul wrote the book of II Timothy almost 2,000 years ago, warning of a time when people would be unwilling to listen to the truth. If that isn't the case today, I don't know what is!  PEOPLE  JUST  DON'T  WANT  TO HEAR  IT!   Many preachers nowadays have "compromised" to the point that there is very little Scriptural basis to what they are saying.  Naturally, the itchy-eared people are "happy" because they are being told that whatever they do, it's okay... This, of course, is not true - as evidenced by these same people's attempts at escape  through drugs, alcohol abuse, pornography, etc.

It's not easy being corrected or rebuked. None of us wants to hear that we need to change.  And yet, we all need to improve. There is so VERY much to learn.  The Bible is the Word of God; it contains advice about everything under the heavens.  It gives us advice on every important question we people ca come up with. It gives animated examples of how to live life, with unique and unforgettable characters throughout its' chapters and books.  It's all right there;;; waiting for you...  Read it.