Be Aware
It’s the last week of our ‘Stand Firm’ Series going through 1 & 2 Peter. We spent three weeks in Chapter 2 taking a deep dive into Peter’s excursus on false teachers. But in Chapter 3, Peter has turned his attention back onto his beloved friends. 2 Peter 3:14-18 reads:
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by himwithout 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 ashe does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some thingsin them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their owndestruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing thisbeforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people andlose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Peter helps his beloved friends understand that there is an unbreakable link between conduct/character and conviction. If we are convicted that Christ will return then it will produce in us a character that reflects his own and conduct that conforms to his Kingdom ethic. By doing this, we actually cooperate with Christ in this Kingdom era and the preparation of this second coming! What a hope we have because of this.
Knowing all of these things “beforehand,” Peter further encourages his audience to “take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.” Peter, as a fellow elder, has done due diligence in warning them of the destructive heresies around them. The responsibility to not be carried away by them now falls on his beloved friends. We, likewise, must do the same. Give the sermon a listen as we take a deeper look at all of these beautiful realities.
We also took a few minutes to dive into the core values of a Creative Minority. We definitely recommend you pick up a copy Jon Tyson’s book, but here they are:
COVENANT: Authentic Community over Loose Networks
NARRATIVE: A Compelling Alternative Story
ETHICS: A Distinct Moral Vision
PRACTICES: Counter-formative Action
AUTHORITY: A Humble Alternative Allegiance
PARTICIPATION: Exerting Redemptive Influence
Give the sermon text a read and a listen and we hope to see you this week at a Family Meal and/or a DNA group to dive even deeper.