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Text -- 2 Peter 3:15 (NET)

Strongs On/Off
Context
3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him,
Parallel   Cross Reference (TSK)   ITL  

Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Dictionary Themes and Topics: Word of God | Wisdom | Salvation | PETER, THE SECOND EPISTLE OF | PETER, SIMON | JUDE, THE EPISTLE OF | God | Beloved | BROTHER | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , PBC , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Pe 3:15 - -- In his sight ( autōi ). Ethical dative. Referring to Christ.

In his sight ( autōi ).

Ethical dative. Referring to Christ.

Robertson: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Is salvation ( sōtērian ). Predicate accusative after hēgeisthe in apposition with makrothumian (long-suffering), an opportunity for repent...

Is salvation ( sōtērian ).

Predicate accusative after hēgeisthe in apposition with makrothumian (long-suffering), an opportunity for repentance (cf. 1Pe 3:20). The Lord here is Christ.

Robertson: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Our beloved brother Paul ( ho agapētos adelphos Paulos ). Paul applies the verbal agapētos (beloved) to Epaphras (Col 1:7), Onesimus (Col 4:9; ...

Our beloved brother Paul ( ho agapētos adelphos Paulos ).

Paul applies the verbal agapētos (beloved) to Epaphras (Col 1:7), Onesimus (Col 4:9; Phm 1:16), to Tychicus (Col 4:7; Eph 6:21), and to four brethren in Rom 16 (Epainetus Rom 16:5, Ampliatus Rom 16:8, Stachys Rom 16:9, Persis Rom 16:12). It is not surprising for Peter to use it of Paul in view of Gal 2:9., in spite of Gal 2:11-14.

Robertson: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Given to him ( dotheisan autōi ). First aorist passive participle of didōmi with dative case. Peter claimed wisdom for himself, but recognises ...

Given to him ( dotheisan autōi ).

First aorist passive participle of didōmi with dative case. Peter claimed wisdom for himself, but recognises that Paul had the gift also. His language here may have caution in it as well as commendation. "St. Peter speaks of him with affection and respect, yet maintains the right to criticise"(Bigg).

Wesley: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Not only designed to lead men to repentance, but actually conducing thereto: a precious means of saving many more souls.

Not only designed to lead men to repentance, but actually conducing thereto: a precious means of saving many more souls.

Wesley: 2Pe 3:15 - -- This refers not only to the single sentence preceding, but to all that went before. St. Paul had written to the same effect concerning the end of the ...

This refers not only to the single sentence preceding, but to all that went before. St. Paul had written to the same effect concerning the end of the world, in several parts of his epistles, and particularly in his Epistle to the Hebrews. Rom 2:4.

JFB: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Is designed for the salvation of those yet to be gathered into the Church: whereas those scoffers "count it (to be the result of) slackness" on the Lo...

Is designed for the salvation of those yet to be gathered into the Church: whereas those scoffers "count it (to be the result of) slackness" on the Lord's part (2Pe 3:9).

JFB: 2Pe 3:15 - -- A beautiful instance of love and humility. Peter praises the very Epistles which contain his condemnation.

A beautiful instance of love and humility. Peter praises the very Epistles which contain his condemnation.

JFB: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Adopting Paul's own language, 1Co 3:10, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master-builder." Supernatural and inspired wis...

Adopting Paul's own language, 1Co 3:10, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master-builder." Supernatural and inspired wisdom "GIVEN" him, not acquired in human schools of learning.

JFB: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Greek aorist, "wrote," as a thing wholly past: Paul was by this time either dead, or had ceased to minister to them.

Greek aorist, "wrote," as a thing wholly past: Paul was by this time either dead, or had ceased to minister to them.

JFB: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, the same region as Peter addresses. Compare "in peace," 2Pe 3:14, a practical exhibition of which Peter now gives in...

Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, the same region as Peter addresses. Compare "in peace," 2Pe 3:14, a practical exhibition of which Peter now gives in showing how perfectly agreeing Paul (who wrote the Epistle to the Galatians) and he are, notwithstanding the event recorded (Gal 2:11-14). Col 3:4 refers to Christ's second coming. The Epistle to the Hebrews, too (addressed not only to the Palestinian, but also secondarily to the Hebrew Christians everywhere), may be referred to, as Peter primarily (though not exclusively) addresses in both Epistles the Hebrew Christians of the dispersion (see on 1Pe 1:1). Heb 9:27-28; Heb 10:25, Heb 10:37, "speak of these things" (2Pe 3:16) which Peter has been handling, namely, the coming of the day of the Lord, delayed through His "long-suffering," yet near and sudden.

Clarke: 2Pe 3:15 - -- And account that the long-suffering of our Lord - Conclude that God’ s long-suffering with the world is a proof that he designs men to be saved...

And account that the long-suffering of our Lord - Conclude that God’ s long-suffering with the world is a proof that he designs men to be saved; even as our beloved brother Paul. "This epistle being written to those to whom the first epistle was sent, the persons to whom the Apostle Paul wrote concerning the long-suffering of God were the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Accordingly, we know he wrote to the Ephesians, (Eph 2:3-5), to the Colossians, (Col 1:21), and to Timothy, (1Ti 2:3, 1Ti 2:4), things which imply that God’ s bearing with sinners is intended for their salvation. The persons to whom Peter’ s epistles were sent were, for the most part, Paul’ s converts."- Macknight

Clarke: 2Pe 3:15 - -- According to the wisdom given unto him - That is, according to the measure of the Divine inspiration, by which he was qualified for the Divine work,...

According to the wisdom given unto him - That is, according to the measure of the Divine inspiration, by which he was qualified for the Divine work, and by which he was so capable of entering into the deep things of God. It is worthy of remark that Paul’ s epistles are ranked among the Scriptures; a term applied to those writings which are divinely inspired, and to those only.

Calvin: 2Pe 3:15 - -- 15.The long-suffering of our Lord He takes it as granted that Christ defers the day of his coming, because he has a regard for our salvation. He henc...

15.The long-suffering of our Lord He takes it as granted that Christ defers the day of his coming, because he has a regard for our salvation. He hence animates the faithful, because in a longer delay they have an evidence as to their own salvation. Thus, what usually disheartens others through weariness, he wisely turns to a contrary purpose.

Even as our beloved brother Paul We may easily gather from the Epistle to the Galatians, as well as from other places, that unprincipled men, who went about everywhere to disturb the churches, in order to discredit Paul, made use of this pretense, that he did not well agree with the other Apostles. It is then probable that Peter referred to Paul in order to shew their consent; for it was very necessary to take away the occasion for such a calumny. And yet, when I examine all things more narrowly, it seems to me more probable that this Epistle was composed by another according to what Peter communicated, than that it was written by himself, for Peter himself would have never spoken thus. But it is enough for me that we have a witness of his doctrine and of his goodwill, who brought forward nothing contrary to what he would have himself said.

Defender: 2Pe 3:15 - -- Evidently, Peter's readers in the churches of Asia had already read one or more of Paul's earlier epistles and had accepted them as inspired and autho...

Evidently, Peter's readers in the churches of Asia had already read one or more of Paul's earlier epistles and had accepted them as inspired and authoritative. In his very first (or possibly second) epistle, Paul also had written about the imminent coming of the Lord, urging his readers to live in light of that fact (1 Thessalonians 5:4-24)."

TSK: 2Pe 3:15 - -- account : 2Pe 3:9; Rom 2:4; 1Ti 1:16; 1Pe 3:20 our beloved : Act 15:25 according : Exo 31:3, Exo 31:6, Exo 35:31, Exo 35:35; 1Ki 3:12, 1Ki 3:28, 1Ki 4...

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Pe 3:15 - -- And account - that "the long-suffering of our Lord"is "salvation."Regard his delay in coming to judge the world, not as an evidence that he nev...

And account - that "the long-suffering of our Lord"is "salvation."Regard his delay in coming to judge the world, not as an evidence that he never will come, but as a proof of his desire that we should be saved. Many had drawn a different inference from the fact that the Saviour did not return, and had supposed that it was a proof that he would never come, and that his promises had failed. Peter says that that conclusion was not authorized, but that we should rather regard it as an evidence of his mercy, and of his desire that we should be saved. This conclusion is as proper now as it was then. Wicked men should not infer, because God does not cut them down, that therefore they never will be punished, or that God is not faithful to his threatenings. They should rather regard it as a proof that he is willing to save them; because:

(1)    He might justly cut them off for their sins;

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 he only reason of which we have knowledge why he spares the wicked is to give them space for repentance; and,

(3)\caps1     a\caps0 s long as life is prolonged a sinner has the opportunity to repent, and may turn to God. We may therefore, in our own case, look on all the delays of God to punish - on all his patience and forbearance toward us, notwithstanding our sins and provocations - on the numberless tokens of his kindness scattered along our way, as evidence that he is not willing that we should perish.

What an accumulated argument in any case would this afford of the willingness of God to save! Let any man look on his own sins, his pride, and selfishness, and sensuality; let him contemplate the fact that he has sinned through many years, and against many mercies; let him endeavor to estimate the number and magnitude of his offences, and upon God’ s patience in bearing with him while these have been committed, and who can overrate the force of such an argument in proof that God is slow to anger, and is willing to save? Compare the notes at Rom 2:4.

Even as our beloved brother Paul also - From this reference to Paul the following things are clear:

(1)\caps1     t\caps0 hat Peter was acquainted with his writings;

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 hat Peter presumed that those to whom he wrote were also acquainted with them;

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 hat Peter regarded Paul as a "beloved brother,"notwithstanding the solemn rebuke which Paul had had occasion to administer to him, Gal 2:2 ff.

(4)\caps1     t\caps0 hat Peter regarded Paul as an authority in inculcating the doctrines and duties of religion; and,

(5)\caps1     t\caps0 hat Peter regarded Paul as an inspired man, and his writings as a part of divine truth. See the notes at 2Pe 3:16.

That Peter has shown in his Epistles that he was acquainted with the writings of Paul, has been abundantly proved by Eichhorn (Einleitung in das N. Tes. viii. 606ff), and will be apparent by a comparison of the following passages: Eph 1:3, with 1Pe 3:1; Col 3:8, with 1Pe 2:1; Eph 5:22, with 1Pe 3:1; Eph 5:21, with 1Pe 5:5; 1Th 5:6, with 1Pe 5:8; 1Co 16:20, with 1Pe 5:14; Rom 8:18, with 1Pe 5:1; Rom 4:24, with 1Pe 1:21; Rom 13:1, Rom 13:3-4, with 1Pe 2:13-14; 1Ti 2:9, with 1Pe 3:3; 1Ti 5:5, with 1Pe 3:5. The writings of the apostles were doubtless extensively circulated; and one apostle, though himself inspired, could not but feel a deep interest in the writings of another. There would be cases also, as in the instance before us, in which one would wish to confirm his own sentiments by the acknowledged wisdom, experience, and authority of another.

According to the wisdom given unto him - Peter evidently did not mean to disparage that wisdom, or to express a doubt that Paul was endowed with wisdom; he meant undoubtedly that, in regard to Paul, the same thing was true which he would have affirmed of himself or of any other man, that whatever wisdom he had was to be traced to a higher than human origin. This would at the same time tend to secure more respect for the opinion of Paul than if he had said it was his own, and would keep up in the minds of those to whom he wrote a sense of the truth that all wisdom is from above. In reference to ourselves, to our friends, to our teachers, and to all men, it is proper to bear in remembrance the fact that all true wisdom is from the "Father of lights."Compare the notes at Jam 1:5, Jam 1:17.

Hath written unto you - It is not necessary to suppose that Paul had written any epistles addressed specifically, and by name, to the persons to whom Peter wrote. It is rather to be supposed that the persons to whom Peter wrote 1Pe 1:1 lived in the regions to which some of Paul’ s epistles were addressed, and that they might be regarded as addressed to them. The epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians were of this description, all addressed to churches in Asia Minor, and all, therefore, having reference to the same people to whom Peter addressed his epistles.

Poole: 2Pe 3:15 - -- And account reckon with yourselves, and be confidently persuaded; or take for granted. The longsuffering of our Lord viz. in his not yet coming to ...

And account reckon with yourselves, and be confidently persuaded; or take for granted.

The longsuffering of our Lord viz. in his not yet coming to judgment, and bearing with so much sin in the world without presently punishing it.

Is salvation i.e. tends or conduceth to salvation, in that hereby he gives space for repentance to the elect unconverted, and alloweth time for the building up and perfecting those that are converted, 2Pe 3:9 .

Even as our beloved brother Paul not only brother in Christ, as a saint, but in office, as an apostle.

According to the wisdom given unto him that eminent and profound knowledge in the mysteries of the gospel in which Paul did excel, 1Co 2:6,7 Eph 3:3,4 . Peter makes such honourable mention of Paul:

1. That he might commend to the Jewish Christians the doctrine Paul had preached, though a minister of the uncircumcision;

2. To show that he had nothing the worse thoughts of him for being so sharply reproved by him, Gal 2:1-21 ; and:

3. That he might arm the saints against those heretics that abused Paul’ s writings, and wrested them to their own meaning, probably, to patronize their errors.

Hath written unto you unto you Jewish believers, viz. either:

1. In his Epistle to the Romans, Rom 2:4 , where is a passage very like this: or:

2. In his Epistle to the Hebrews, which, though it were not entitled to the Jews of the dispersion, yet was written to their nation; and in that Epistle several places there are of the same purport with this here; see Heb 9:28 10:23,25,36,37and other Epistle of Paul to the Jews we have none: and in this he shows much of that wisdom God gave him in the mystery of the gospel; and in this likewise are many things hard to be understood.

PBC: 2Pe 3:15 - -- If you study Ac 15:1-41 from a purely human perspective, you could wonder about residual tension between Paul and the Jerusalem establishment of which...

If you study Ac 15:1-41 from a purely human perspective, you could wonder about residual tension between Paul and the Jerusalem establishment of which Peter was an integral part.  After all, Paul and the Antioch contingency took a problem that had been created by Jerusalem church members in Antioch right back to Jerusalem church for its resolution.  How refreshing.  Further in Ga 2:11-21 Paul records a situation in which he confronted Peter for a significant lapse that Peter committed, possibly also in the Antioch church.  Given our humanity, even the dominant humanity of many who claim to be true believers in Christ, Paul and Peter might have died as archenemies.  Obviously this didn’t happen.  Why?  Whatever the tension of the moment, Paul and Peter worked it out and continued as respected and faithful brothers in the faith.  We have a similar parallel between Paul, Barnabas, and Mark.  Mark disappointed Paul and shook his confidence in the young man.  At the moment Paul refused to invite Mark to join him and others in a fairly strenuous evangelistic work because of Mark’s failure.  Yet later in Paul’s writings we find both Barnabas and Mark mentioned with tender respect.  Apparently the Holy Spirit was quite pleased with Mark, for He chose Mark to write one of the inspired gospels.  In our study verses Peter offers a tender affirmation of his love and respect for Paul in the shadow of his own death.  

This noble example of Christianity at its best serves to shame contemporary Christians, who look for reasons to break fellowship with other believers rather than working hard to preserve it.  Sometimes rather peripheral ideas may be elevated to the stature of an essential, and people who differ part company over their difference.  Trivial practices occasionally follow suit and divide believers.  In these cases the parties grieve their loss and will try to find a way to restore their former fellowship.  However, many who claim to march under the Christian flag live a fractious, self-absorbed life that inevitably isolates them from friend after friend and never think for a moment that they, not their friends, are the problem.  They will speak endlessly of the way others hurt or mistreated them.  Their life is sadly missing the essential elements of grace that we see so prominently in the lives of these New Testament leaders and example-setters in our faith.  A life marked by broken friendships, broken relationships, and an endless complaint of how others disappointed " me," is missing one of the most essential ingredients of authentic New Testament Christianity.  In Joh 17:1-26 Jesus prayed that His followers in this life should be one, even as He and the Father were one.  In Eph 5:13 with a convincing exhortation for personal forgiveness, based not on merit but on the noble example of God for Christ’s sake forgiving us.  In other words God’s forgiveness of us because of Christ serves to direct us to forgive in the same model.  We forgive each other for the sake of Christ.  " I have forgiven, but I haven’t forgotten" is not forgiveness.  Ask yourself a simple question.  If God had supposedly forgiven our sins, but we discovered that He still remembered them, how comfortable would you feel facing God in judgment?  Scripture consistently informs us that God’s forgiveness means that He will no longer remember (Jer 31:34).  In fact spend some time with Jeremiah studying the " remember" passages in that book.  To remember is to hold against and to visit justice upon.  To stop remembering is to forgive.  If we could come to terms with the profound reality of our own forgiveness before God, we would surely live more gently toward other believers in our life.  

How sadly often we defensively offer rationalizations for not forgiving others when confronted with the Biblical directives to forgive for Jesus’ sake.  Anytime we discover this rationalizing attitude we should stop and reflect on our Lord’s personal example toward those who crucified Him, as well as the nearly countless additional examples by which Scripture dictates a gentle and forgiving lifestyle among believers.  

Think of the utter hypocrisy of this fractious, unforgiving lifestyle.  We live before unbelievers in the claim that we believe all of God’s children shall spend eternity together praising God and engaged in a myriad of wondrous activities that suitably honor our God throughout eternity.  We will do all these things " together."  Yet in this life we live in a constant process of putting everyone around us under a magnifying glass to emphasize their faults, real or imagined, so that we may set them at a distance from us.  

This contentious attitude contradicts Jesus’ personal prayer for His followers (Joh 17:1-26).  It violates Paul’s stated result of the gospel in believers’ lives, and it denies that the gospel has had any impact whatever upon us.  By practicing fractious grudge-holding and refusing to forgive those in our life whom we believe offend us, we practice heathenism while claiming holy Christianity.  This contradictory conduct may deceive others for a season, but I dare say that it will not deceive our omniscient God. 

Indeed the New Testament sets an ethical mark for each of us that challenges every aspect of our conduct and interpersonal relationships.  Scripture directs us to work to avoid offending other believers, not nudge the edge of the envelope to see how much we can do before they react against us.  It directs us to live in respectful honor of our brothers and sisters in Christ, even when they and we disagree.  Christian ethics does not appear when we all agree on every point of doctrine and Biblical teaching.  It appears—or its absence is clearly demonstrated—when we deal with differences of perspective.  How do we deal with them?  Do we denigrate those with whom we disagree?  Or do we speak kindly of them, despite our differences?  Do we firmly keep our focus on all the points of common faith despite a few areas of difference?  Or do we ignore the many areas of agreement and shine the spotlight on those few areas of difference?  

Those of us who believe in the doctrines of God’s sovereign and efficacious grace point with a touch of disdain at others who believe in salvation by works or by some form of God-man synergism and at times feel a bit superior.  But do we live by the same grace that we claim for our salvation?  Did Jesus point at those who walked away from Him, rejecting His teaching, with disdain or with grief (Joh 6:67)?  Did He react with scorn against those who crucified Him (Lu 23:34)?  We criticize them for their pride in their works, but do we feel equal pride in our superior doctrinal posture?  Would we not win more converts to our belief by living the grace toward them that God showed toward us when He saved us? 

We marvel at a small group of eleven men with some 112 associates who served to catalyze the beginning of our faith that literally transformed the ancient world.  We look at rampant moral decay in our own world and wonder why we can’t see similar transformation now.  We could.  If we started practicing the gracious Christianity that Peter demonstrates in our passage, the same unbelievers who view us with scorn today might stand up and take notice.  Living God’s grace, not just talking about it; practicing it, not just claiming it for our eternity; these things empower believers with the supernatural magnetism that drove the first generation of believers to " turn the world upside down" (Ac 17:6).  This process begins, not with me demanding that others forgive me or treat me with grace.  It begins with me treating others with undeserved grace.  It begins with me speaking in gracious and respectful tones regarding those with whom I disagree, showing supernatural grace toward people with whom I disagree.  Is there a Paul in your life who withstood you to your face?  A Mark who forsook you in a moment of crisis?  A faithful Barnabas who intensely disagreed with you and would not back down?  How is your relationship with them today?  Have you sought and insisted on practicing the healing grace of God to restore your relationship with them?  Wouldn’t this be a good time to start that process? 

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                Over the centuries Paul has seen his controversial days.  Some sects have almost worshipped him rather than his Lord, an act that Paul would have disdained.  Others have rejected his teaching almost entirely.  In either case the balanced and whole of inspired Scripture is altered to suite the fancy of the reader.  Peter doesn’t specifically tell us what Paul wrote that prompted this comment.  Factually, Paul didn’t teach anything that Peter doesn’t affirm, but his emphasis in certain theological issues is different from Peter’s or other New Testament writers.  Paul has always been noted for his emphasis on the theological issues of predestination.  The word translated as the various derivatives of this word appears six times in the New Testament, five of which appear in Paul’s writings.  The word also appears in Ac 4:28 under Luke’s pen.  We should note that Peter didn’t reject Paul’s teaching; rather he accepted it and described it as hard to understand.  

                Often Paul’s related writings in Ro 9:1-33 regarding election are mentioned as unique to Paul’s writings.  Although modern Bible teachers will seldom outright reject Paul’s writings in this chapter, they frequently " wrest" these teachings in an effort to avoid the obvious teachings that appear there.  The most common wresting effort is that Paul was simply writing about God’s choice of the Jews as His national people in the Old Testament, and that this chapter has nothing to say about Gentiles or New Testament Christian teaching.  It almost seems that Paul knew that these teachings would come under just such an attack, for in Ro 9:24 he specifically mentions that God’s electing mercy extends to all whom He has called, " not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles."  In light of this verse the teaching that Paul had reference only to Jews is patently false, a clear example of wresting, twisting a bone out of its joint or twisting a Scripture out of its context and intended teaching.  

                We find subtle evidence that this teaching was under attack throughout the Roman letter.  In the third chapter Paul raises a criticism of his adversaries that he taught that we should intentionally do evil that good may come, a wholly perverted idea that Paul rejected.  In the sixth chapter he asks the rhetorical question, not once but twice, " Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"  And twice he resoundingly rejected the idea in the strongest possible terms.  

                Rather than guess, why don’t we allow Paul’s writings to define the opponents who wrested his writings?  He confronts these unnamed twisters in the third chapter of Romans with the notation that they falsely and absurdly accused him of advocating that people should sin in order to bring about good.  On occasion when I have talked with people about Paul’s teachings in Ro 9:1-33, saying little beyond Paul’s literal teachings, they have responded with precisely the critic’s Ro 3:1-31 objection.  " Why, if I believed that doctrine, I’d just go out and live in sin, knowing that I’m saved regardless of what I do."  Perhaps these people reveal more about their own moral outlook than about the doctrine.  Do they have any moral conviction beyond fear of retribution, of divine judgment against their sins?  Do they have any sense of right and wrong that compels righteous conduct on the basis of its inherent rightness before God?  Why not avoid sin because it is inherently wrong and destructive?  Because righteous conduct honors God apart from any consequences, positive or negative, to them?  

                While most modern Christian teachers either reject or shamefully misrepresent Paul’s teachings of these doctrines, we should never forget their prominence in historical Christianity.  Although you will likely not hear an Episcopal minister teach on predestination or eternal election, these doctrines are clearly set forth in the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.  Though you frequently hear Presbyterian ministers sidestep these doctrines, they form an essential part of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the historical statement of what Presbyterians believed and taught.  You will not likely hear a Lutheran minister teach these doctrines in his Sunday sermon, but Martin Luther left no doubt of his belief in his writings on the bondage of the human will and his commentary on the book of Galatians.  Although these doctrines were integral to historical Baptist doctrinal statements, the Founders’ Movement in the Southern Baptist fellowship faces significant hostility for advocating a return to them.  

                Obviously Paul lived a highly moral and spiritual life that avoided sin in every way possible, and that filled his hours with righteous conduct in the service of his God and his fellowman.  Clearly, Paul’s belief regarding election, predestination, or any other doctrine, didn’t diminish his zeal for holy living, nor for evangelism.  Therefore, claiming Paul’s doctrinal teachings as justification for such sinful conduct is a manifest example of Peter’s notation.  They " wrest," twist, Paul’s writings out of joint and out of context to their own destruction. 

                The whole concept of humans earning their salvation with a bit of necessary help from God has perverted much of Christian teaching in our time.  Ask the common Bible teacher or believer to describe their expectations of heaven.  What do you hear?  They will plunge into a near-endless sequence of excited imaginations about how big their eternal crown will be, what they will do to indulge their personal fancies throughout eternity.  Seldom indeed will you hear them immediately and excitedly tell you how they long to be able to praise God with both body and soul throughout eternity without the hindrance of sin.  Praise God?  Glorify Him?  They far prefer walking their pet lion or some other fanciful self-indulgence to spending eternity in praise to God.  Several years ago I heard a popular and nationally known Christian teacher illustrate his view of heaven in a radio program with a lengthy description of how he expected to have a pet lion in eternity and how he looked forward to taking it on daily walks.  

                The abysmal corruption of heaven in people’s minds reveals much of the dreadful depth to which contemporary Christianity has sunken into the quicksand of man-centric religion that has almost no relationship whatever to New Testament Christ-centric, God-honoring Christianity.  For Paul, Peter, John, and all New Testament inspired writers, the walk of faith was not about self-indulgence, but self-denial.  It did not involve egomaniacal anticipation of satisfying personal appetites in heaven, but the wondrous opportunity to glorify God without restraint.  Such self-indulgent ideas fit the Moslem idea of heaven better than the Christian.  

                Rather than wresting Paul’s writings or outright rejecting them, Peter honored his brother Paul for writing " according to the wisdom given unto him."  I wholeheartedly believe Paul’s writings to the extent that I can understand them.  Rather than argue with his conclusions in Ro 8:1-39 and Ro 9:1-33, or Eph 1:1-23, I want to understand them and believe them.  

                For those of us who rather believe than reject Paul’s teachings on these doctrines, I offer a challenge.  Does our life bear credible testimony to our commitment to holy, Christ-centric, and moral living?  Do we by consistent conduct demonstrate that those who believe these doctrines are not anti-evangelical, but in fact are faithfully evangelistic in our efforts to spread our faith wherever we have opportunity?  

                It is somewhat amazing that the major revivals and evangelistic works of historical Christianity were effected under the teachings of godly men who embraced Paul’s teachings of these doctrines.  History rejects the idea that Paul’s teachings of these doctrines will dampen evangelism or weaken a believer’s commitment to godly living.  Those who believe all of Scripture will not neglect Paul’s reminder that if we name the name of Christ, we are obligated to " depart from iniquity" (2Ti 2:19).  Rather than engaging in foolish arguments as to whether or not the " Great Commission" applies to Christians today, they faithfully practice the Lord’s teachings that require those who believe in Him to constantly teach His truth wherever they go, and to go where they wouldn’t otherwise go in order to take that truth to others.  

                Our challenge is clearly set before us.  Hold fast to inspired Scriptural teachings as interpreted by historical believers of many stripes across the centuries.  Believe it and live it.

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Haydock: 2Pe 3:15-16 - -- As also our most dear brother, Paul,...hath written to you. He seems to mean in his epistle to the Hebrews or converted Jews, (Chap. x. 37.) where h...

As also our most dear brother, Paul,...hath written to you. He seems to mean in his epistle to the Hebrews or converted Jews, (Chap. x. 37.) where he says: yet a little while,...and he that is to come, will come, and will not delay. ---

In which are some things hard to understand, especially by unlearned, ignorant people, unstable, inconstant, not well grounded in faith, and which they wrest, [2] as they do also the other scriptures, by their private interpretations, to their own perdition. (Witham)

Gill: 2Pe 3:15 - -- And account that the longsuffering of our Lord,.... Not his longsuffering towards the wicked, and his forbearance with them, for that is not the mean...

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord,.... Not his longsuffering towards the wicked, and his forbearance with them, for that is not the means of, nor the way to, nor does it issue in, their salvation, but in their sorer punishment and greater damnation, see Rom 2:4; but towards the elect, as in 2Pe 3:9; whom he bears much and long with before conversion, while in their sins, and in a state of unregeneracy, and waits to be gracious to them, as he is in their calling, and to make known and apply his great salvation to them; and as with particular persons, so with the whole body of them, till they are all gathered in, and even with the world for their sakes; and particularly the Lord's longsuffering here intends the deferring of his coming, or his seeming slackness in the performance of his promise: the reason of which is,

salvation: the salvation of all his chosen ones, and in that it issues; he waits, he stays, that none of them might perish, but that they might be all brought to faith and repentance, and so be saved: wherefore the apostle would have the saints consider it in this light, and not imagine and conclude, with the scoffing infidels, that he is slack and dilatory, and will not come, but that his view in it is the salvation of all his people, which by this means is brought about: in confirmation of which, and other things he had delivered, he produces the testimony of the Apostle Paul;

even as our beloved brother Paul also; he calls him a "brother", both on account of his being a believer in Christ, one that belonged to the same family with him, and was of the household of faith, born of the same Father, and related to the same Redeemer, the firstborn among many brethren, and likewise on account of his being a fellow apostle; for though he was not one of the twelve apostles, but his call and mission were later than theirs, yet Peter does not disdain to put him among them, and upon an equal foot with them, nor was he a whit behind the chief of them: he styles him a "beloved" brother; expressing his affection for him, which the relation between them called for, and which he bore to him, notwithstanding his public opposition to him, and sharp reproof of him, Gal 2:11, and perhaps loved him the more for it; see Psa 141:5; and he makes mention of him, and that under these characters, partly to show their agreement and consent in doctrine; and partly to recommend him to the Jews, to whom he writes, who had, upon report of his doctrine and ministry, entertained an ill, at least a mean opinion, of him; as also to set us an example to speak well of one another, both as ministers and private believers:

according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you; meaning not all his epistles, as being written for the general good of all the saints, as well as for those particular churches or men to whom they were sent; for what Peter speaks of is what was particularly written to them, and is distinguished in 2Pe 3:16 from the rest of Paul's epistles; nor does he intend the epistle of Paul to the Romans, for the longsuffering of God spoken of in that, as in Rom 2:4, is his longsuffering to the wicked, which issues in their destruction, and not his longsuffering to his elect, which is salvation, as here; but he seems manifestly to have in view the epistle to the Hebrews, for Peter wrote both his first and second epistles to Jews; wherefore, since none of Paul's epistles but that were written particularly to them, it should seem that that is designed, and serves to confirm his being the author of it; in which he writes to the Hebrews concerning the coming of Christ, and of the deferring of it a little while, and of the need they had of patience to wait for it, Heb 10:36; and in it also are some things difficult to be understood concerning Melchizedek, the old and new covenant, the removing of the Aaronic priesthood, and the abrogation of the whole ceremonial law, &c. things not easily received by that nation; and the whole is written with great wisdom, respecting the person and office of Christ, the nature of his priesthood, and the glory of the Gospel dispensation; and in a most admirable manner is the whole Mosaic economy laid open and explained: he was indeed a wise master builder, and whatever he wrote was "according to wisdom"; not fleshly wisdom, the wisdom of this world, nor with enticing words of men's wisdom, but according to the divine wisdom, under the influence of the spirit of wisdom and revelation; for he had not this of himself naturally, nor did he learn it at Gamaliel's feet, but it was what was "given to him"; it came from above, from God, who gives it liberally; and as he himself always owned it to be a free grace gift of God bestowed on him, and that all his light and knowledge were by the revelation of Christ, so Peter ascribes it to the same, that God might have all the glory, and all boasting in man be stopped.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Pe 3:15 Paul wrote to you. That Paul had written to these people indicates that they are most likely Gentiles. Further, that Peter is now writing to them sugg...

Geneva Bible: 2Pe 3:15 And account [that] the longsuffering of our Lord [is] salvation; ( 12 ) even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him h...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Pe 3:1-18 - --1 He assures them of the certainty of Christ's coming to judgment, against those scorners who dispute against it;8 warning the godly, for the long pat...

MHCC: 2Pe 3:11-18 - --From the doctrine of Christ's second coming, we are exhorted to purity and godliness. This is the effect of real knowledge. Very exact and universal h...

Matthew Henry: 2Pe 3:11-18 - -- The apostle, having instructed them in the doctrine of Christ's second coming, I. Takes occasion thence to exhort them to purity and godliness in th...

Barclay: 2Pe 3:15-16 - --Peter here cites Paul as teaching the same things as he himself teaches. It may be that he is citing Paul as agreeing that a pious and a holy life is...

Constable: 2Pe 3:1-16 - --V. THE PROSPECT FOR THE CHRISTIAN 3:1-16 Peter turned from a negative warning against false teachers to make a ...

Constable: 2Pe 3:11-16 - --D. Living in View of the Future 3:11-16 Peter drew application for his readers and focused their attention on how they should live presently in view o...

College: 2Pe 3:1-18 - --2 PETER 3 C. THE NECESSITY OF BELIEVING IN CHRIST'S RETURN (3:1-13) 1. The False Teaching (3:1-7) 1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to y...

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PETER ABOUT a.d. 66 OR 67 By Way of Introduction Most Doubtful New Testament Book Every book in the New Testament is cha...

JFB: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS.--If not a gross imposture, its own internal witness is unequivocal in its favor. It has Peter's name and apostleship in ...

JFB: 2 Peter (Outline) ADDRESS: EXHORTATION TO ALL GRACES, AS GOD HAS GIVEN US, IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST, ALL THINGS PERTAINING TO LIFE: CONFIRMED BY THE TESTIMONY OF APO...

TSK: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) Overview 2Pe 3:1, He assures them of the certainty of Christ’s coming to judgment, against those scorners who dispute against it; 2Pe 3:8, warni...

Poole: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) PETER CHAPTER 3

MHCC: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) This epistle clearly is connected with the former epistle of Peter. The apostle having stated the blessings to which God has called Christians, exhort...

MHCC: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) (2Pe 3:1-4) The design here is to remind of Christ's final coming to judgement. (2Pe 3:5-10) He will appear unexpectedly, when the present frame of n...

Matthew Henry: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle General of Peter The penman of this epistle appears plainly to be the same who wrote...

Matthew Henry: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) The apostle drawing towards the conclusion of his second epistle, begins this last chapter with repeating the account of his design and scope in wr...

Barclay: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER The Neglected Book And Its Contents Second Peter is one of the neglected books of the New Testament. ...

Barclay: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) The Principles Of Preaching (2Pe_3:1-2) The Denial Of The Second Coming (2Pe_3:3-4) Destruction By Flood (2Pe_3:5-6) Destruction By Fire (2Pe_3:7...

Constable: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) Introduction Historical Background This epistle claims that the Apostle Peter wrote it...

Constable: 2 Peter (Outline) Outline I. Introduction 1:1-2 II. The condition of the Christian 1:3-11 ...

Constable: 2 Peter 2 Peter Bibliography Alford, Henry. Alford's Greek Testament. 4 vols. New ed. London: Rivingtons, 1884. ...

Haydock: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PETER, THE APOSTLE. INTRODUCTION. This epistle, though not at first received [by some Churches] as canonical, was ac...

Gill: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO 2 PETER Though there was, among the ancients, a doubt concerning the authority of this epistle, which is first mentioned by Origen ...

Gill: 2 Peter 3 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO 2 PETER 3 In this chapter the apostle makes mention of the end and design of his writing this second epistle; foretells that there ...

College: 2 Peter (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION ABOUT THIS COMMENTARY This commentary is written for serious students of the Bible, including Bible class teachers, preachers, college ...

College: 2 Peter (Outline) OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION - 1:1-15 A. Salutation and Greeting - 1:1-2 B. Preface: Exhortation to Godly Living - 1:3-11 C. Occasion: The ...

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