This is the last week of This Is the New Testament! Each day we’ll read a thematic selection from a different book or two of the Bible, along with supplemental passages that show how the theme of that day’s main reading is found throughout Scripture. We’ll also read a brief summary of each book and a reflection on how the book fits into the larger story of Scripture. This week, we will finish reading the General Epistles and move on to Apocalyptic Literature.
What Is 2 Peter? In 2 Peter, the apostle Peter cautions believers against false teachers and immoral behavior. He also emphasizes Christ’s second coming and the importance of an active, growing faith as we await Christ’s return.
How 2 Peter Fits Into the Story: Second Peter is strongly tied to the Old Testament. In it, Peter highlights the significance of God’s Word through statements on the origin of Scripture, as well as the inspired nature of Paul’s letters. Peter challenges his audience to live with authenticity, clinging to Scripture as a guide for faithful living.
Reflection Questions:
1. What are some characteristics of a believer who is growing in the Christian faith? According to 2 Peter 1:3–21, how does God’s power help us grow in spiritual maturity?
2. How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
Take time to reflect on your responses and share what you are learning with others in the community in the comments.
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47 thoughts on "2 Peter"
7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. – 2 Peter 1:7
This really resonated with me. For me it is a road map of hope and a life with the Lord in it. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:5-8
Lord help us to have faith and works
I’m so grateful for this Bible study and all of you ladies. Love reading your comments. Thank you ❤️
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So happy to hear this @VICTORIA E!! Have been praying for you and your baby ❤️
YES KELLY I LOVE HIS MUSIC!!!!
That’s lovely and so true. Thank you for than analogy!
I love the visual of a ladder on these characteristics. One thing I read is that we have to continually practice them, like a professional ball player still practices the basics of their sport we don’t just learn one and move on to the next, we continue to “practice” each “step” as we start working on the next new “step”. I hope this makes sense.
Late reading today because of some health issues but wish I could memorize EVERY comment. So so good! Thank you ladies.
A believer who is growing in the Christian faith becomes more and more like Christ, having those characteristics listed in the text (v. 5-7).
I love that as we spend more time with God, we grow more like him.
I’m so glad to hear this great news Victoria!!
Had been praying about that appointment, Victoria. How wonderful… praise Him!
You should continue to take it to the Lord; but baptism is important for you. It is an outward sign of an inward change. When you go under the water you symbolize to yourself and to others that you are dying to a sinful life without Jesus. We you rise out of the water you are rising to a new life in Christ. Baptism is an affirmation of that new life for yourself and others. It is an encouragement to believers and a witness to unbelievers. Hope this helps!
Update: thank you so much to all who have been praying! Our ultrasound went well, praise God and to His glory! I am so blessed to have this community praying for us and walking alongside us in this journey.
Thank you Mari V! It went well, God is truly good and faithful!
Many of my Christian characteristics mentioned by Peter are in need of work. I believe my knowledge of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit need some work. Also in need of work are my self-control, my endurance and sometimes my brotherly love. All of us have something we need to work on and God knows that. God is a giving and forgiving God. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness.
Sisters be blessed.
I think a sign of spiritual maturity is someone who studies Scripture on their own and finding application in their own personal life. Rather than feeding off others’ spirituality. It’s part of growing up that you learn how to find answers for yourself. We should still seek counsel but our walk with Jesus is our own, and in the end we have to give an account of our own life.
Praying now Victoria.
Thank you Claire, Irina, Rebecca, and all who are praying! My ultrasound is in 2 hours. I am believing we will continue to receive good news. Melanie I am praying for your children today. Great selection and comments today- I believe I am working on the knowledge and steadfastness portion of the “ladder” described in 2 Peter 1:5-7. Actually sometimes I feel like I’m working on all of them and my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would continue to mature us all in our journeys so that we look different and more like Jesus every day.
Characteristics of a believer growing? Eagerness. That’s the word came to mind. Eager to learn. Eager to know God’s word. Craving time with Jesus. And then doing our best to put His Word to practice. And sometimes we need to speak the truth in love but we always need to check our motive. It should always be out of love for Christ and for a person.
@Ariana — I absolutely love this! Thank you so much for sharing!
Dang!! Such GOOD words/scriptures this morning!!! I read the entire book of 2 Peter, and ENCOURAGE you to read it too!!! SO GOOD and SO Relevant!!!
A blessed day to you dear sisters!!!
Good morning ladies, what a beautiful morning it is here on the east coast!…Thank you @Tina for sharing your story & reminding us all – that we have not yet attained, but are a work in progress! I love the Joyce Meyers quote – how true it is! @Melanie, praying that your son has a wonderful, positive first day at his new school & that his peers & classmates will be so welcoming, kind & friendly that he looks forward to tomorrow! Also praying for your daughters EKG – May it come back clear!
It is by Gods power alone, that enables us to do good works as we live out our faith daily. Without Him, I can do nothing. With Him, I can do all things!
A blessed Tuesday morning to you all!
KERI BREWSTER –
Baptism is a special part of the church regardless of how you interpret the Bible. Where I land with baptism is whether you know exactly how it works or why it’s a huge deal to some people, ask God to reveal how He can use it in your life. I see it as a powerful tool to move towards God. My heart soars every time I see a baptism, and often I cry. God has called someone, they say yes, and they bring that yes to the community. It’s beautiful. Why not get baptized if you follow Jesus? The Bible says “believe and be baptized.” That’s good enough for me.
Humbled by God’s patient daily work in me. Amazed by how far I’ve come. As I go through life I have to occasionally look back to see who I was because my actions and struggles seem to never change.
“But God…
being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4, 5 ESV
AND
“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you WILL carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NIV
Thank you, God, for pursuing me!
Thank you, Jesus, for Your finished work!
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your constant presence to guide me to a deeper intimacy with You! And giving me eyes to see how I can serve You in the world.
Good Morning all my Sisters, God’s word illuminates so much and I love the questions it makes me consider. Like today, is my faith in Jesus producing good works. Am I finding and doing the works that God has given me and do I give Him the glory? My answer is I do see God working in my life, and sometimes through me. And sometimes in spite of me. But I know He is working, fighting for, loving and I pray that I can be a part of what He is doing, though I fail, He does not. Thankful. for grace in it all. Melanie, praying for your son, that God gives him strength and shows Him he is not alone this day, but has Jesus walking with him. Praying for him to see the good and joy for his heart. And peace for your sister in the EEG, and His good in this. Joy and love to your day Sisters.
Maura, you remain on my mind and in my prayers since your “announcement”. I am praying that you and your children are okay and at peace.
Tina thank you for your sharing,as always i am blessed by another sister that helps me see this struggle in earth is real for all of us. I am so humbled some days at my words or thought. God thank you for a new beginning everyday. Thank you for your Never ending, And unlimited forgiveness
Lord I need YOU. Amen.
Tina, I remember when you told us the story of the bar owner and the dog. The part that stuck with me is that you were obedient,albeit with some hesitancy, and went back to apologize to the owner. I’ve thought abut that and how it wasn’t the apology, but the obedience that God desired from you. He calls us to have a soft and humble heart. I believe that He uses experiences like that to keep us focused on Him. As you said, it is those little steps that move us to where He desires us to be.
Loving all the comments so far this morning! As I was re-reading the 2 Peter passage in response to the 1st question I found myself wondering what “level” I was on in this progression. I found myself landing somewhere in the middle of self-control and perseverance, but I also feel like at times I struggle with faith, goodness, and knowledge. I feel like there are days that challenge every one of these qualities, but we can know and trust that God is not finished with us yet and continues to sanctify us day by day. Lord may I surrender every part of me to you so that I may become more and more like Jesus!
… the power of His Holy Spirit inside of me to guide me!
I loved reading the Message translation of the section in 2 Peter “COMPLIMENTING your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing love..” I long to grow in these characteristics and am grateful for God sharpening me and challenging me each day in His Love and Mercy. It’s not an overnight transformation… one degree at a time we become more and more like Jesus. Praise God that He actively sanctifies us. I can trust and believe that He doesn’t leave me where I am, and that I have the power
I love reading all the responses. It helps me get a deeper understanding of Gods word. I read the Bible but sometimes I miss all it had for me so thank you so much for will who pour into the post. Today my son starts going to a christian school. He has been in public since kindergarten and now is in 7th grade. Please pray for him. He is so nervous and unsure. And my one of my daughters goes in for an EEG. Thank you sweet sisters
Keri Brewster – in my study of Scripture I believe salvation comes only by placing your trust in the finished work of Jesus. Baptism is the sign to the world that you have done that. You are identifying with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. In is a confirmation of the salvation that has already taken place. The act does not do the saving. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was not baptized but was saved by placing his faith in Christ.
RAINS3 – nice salute to Rich Mullins!
TINA – thank you for the great illustration.
1. Every believer will be moving in the direction of being more Christlike. Since we all start from different places, we cannot judge how far we have come compaired to another, but only by our own growth or maturity. Plus as we grow in knowledge and understanding of who God is, He reveals more ways to grow into the likeness of His Son. In some ways, this can seem as though we are going backwards, with “will I ever be free from this?” thinking. YES you will because He has “given us everything required for life and godliness” and that includes His Spirit. We must rely on His power not ours.
2. (I feel like I say this a lot, but it is so true) God WILL finish what He started. My salvation is complete but my sanctification is going to take a lifetime – that is just the way it is, and I can trust God to faithfully guide and correct me through the process. He has things for me to do (works) that are signs to others of the changes He has brought to pass, thus bringing Him the glory and praise He deserves.
It’s clear to me that works is involved in our daily life as a believer. What I’ve not been able to discern is how far that goes.
For instance, some denominations believe that to be saved you must accept Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and be baptized.
For a long time I rejected that until I started studying it, now I’m even more unsure. Can anyone help me with this or shall I continue to take it to the Lord?
Only worry about what the Bible tells you Keri. Acts 16:31 says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. I think to believe in Him, you would believe in his death and resurrection. Other areas of Scripture say to be baptized as an outward sign of your faith.
Jesus made baptism holy when He Himself was baptized by John….Jesus had no need for repentance or baptism, but by being baptized He showed us the way to “die to sin” and to be born again (brought up out of the water) to new life in Him.
My pastor recently preached about 2 Peter 1:3-11. He compared godly living with a ladder. There are 2 stiles without which the ladder will break down. These are our justification by grace alone, and the power we receive through the Holy Spirit. The steps are the characteristics Peter mentions, which are in some way increasing in difficulty: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. If we have faith, we will start to seek goodness. That means asking every day, God what do You want me to do? To do that we need knowledge of God and His will. God asks also self-control, so that we can escape our evil desires and crucify the flesh. To do that we need endurance. To follow Jesus also when injustice is done against us. Especially in those times we will learn godliness. That also means loving our brothers and sisters in the faith. Finally, there is love for everyone. To love the other in the way God asks from us. To reach this, we need all the steps before. We can never do this on our own. We fail every day, but through the resurrection power of Christ we will increase in these qualities.
@Arina Love this! Thank you for sharing!
Great illustration. Thanks for sharing?
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS, IS LIKE A SCREEN DOOR ON A SUBMARINE!!!!!
I was reminded when I read Q1, ‘what are some of the characteristics of a believer growing in Christian faith?’, of the day I went mad at another dog owner because they did not have their dog on a lead, and it was annoying my placid dog who was on a lead!
My 10 year old grandson witnessed it all, and as we walked away.. he said “Wow nan, that was amazing, I never heard you use that language before! I can’t wait to tell dad!(My son).
I apologised to him saying he should never have witnessed that but sometimes even grannies have ‘off’ days, AND I would tell dad, as I didn’t want him repeating my words verbatim to my son..
But God..
Even in that He worked for my good. I was so miserable at what my grandson had witnessed, he had never seem nanny like that ever, and as he excitedly began to tell his father… I stepped in to continue the story..
When I finished, my son looked at me and he said.. ” just remember, I remember you of old”
I did remember the me before, but I also remembered Joyce Meyers words..
“I am not where I need to be.. But (praise) God, I am not where I used to be..”
Each day I grow as a believer! I have not got it all sorted, sewn up or perfect, oh my goodness, far from it, but so so very thankful that I continue on the journey, heart filled with the love, grace and mercy of God every day, to aim high to do my best, and if I should fall short that day, there is a new day to come, to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly..
I am a sinner, in a broken world..
But God…
Amen!
Praying God bless and keep each and every one of you, my sisters and your loved ones.. wrapped tightly in hugs from across the pond. ❤
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