II Peter 3:17-18

The second letter of Peter, in its final two verses, gives us a very strong admonition. I want to read both of them to you. II Peter 3:17-18: "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

Peter's admonition is very clear: "Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked." The word "wicked" here in the Greek is athesmos, meaning "lawless" or "unprincipled." Peter is warning that there are those who twist the Scriptures—he has just spoken of Paul's epistles being distorted by the untaught and unstable—and that the believers must guard against being swept along by such distortions. The "steadfastness" (sterigmos) from which they might fall is their firm grounding in the truth they have already received. Peter is saying: You know these things in advance; therefore, do not lose the stable footing you already have.

But Peter does not leave them with a merely negative warning. He follows it immediately with a positive command: "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The antidote to being led astray is not merely defensive vigilance but active growth. The word "grow" (auxanō) is in the imperative—it is a command, not a suggestion. And notice the two spheres of growth: grace and knowledge. Grace here is not merely unmerited favor in a forensic sense; it encompasses the entire sphere of God's enabling power and transforming influence in the believer's life. Knowledge (gnōsis) is personal, experiential knowledge of Christ—not abstract theological data, but a deepening relationship with Him. Peter brackets his entire second epistle with this theme, for he opened it in chapter 1:2 with "grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord," and now he closes with the same emphasis.

The doxology—"To Him be the glory both now and forever"—is striking because it ascribes to Christ the glory that belongs to God. The phrase "both now and forever" (literally, "both now and to the day of eternity") is unique in the New Testament. Peter uses the unusual expression "day of eternity" (hēmera aiōnos) rather than the more common "ages of ages." This points to the eternal, unending day that has no sunset—the consummation of all things in Christ's eternal kingdom, which Peter has been discussing throughout this chapter. The doxology thus ties the entire epistle together: the glory of Christ is both a present reality and an eternal one, and the believer's growth in grace and knowledge is oriented toward that glory.

II Peter 3:17-18

What is the contrast here between verse 17 and 18? Verse 18 makes it very clear that there is a contrast. Peter says, "but grow." Verse 17 is a warning: "beware lest you also fall . . . being led away with the error of the wicked." The command is to grow, is it not?

Therefore, if the contrast that he is establishing in our minds is to be met, the positive part of the instruction is that effort has to be made in order to grow. If we are not making an effort to grow, the only alternative is to go in reverse. You see we begin to degenerate if we do not make an effort to grow.

My attention is on this translation where he says, "mind you," rather than "beware." He turns it into something that is positive. "Beware" could mean to just look around to make sure that you are safe. But on the other hand, "mind you" says, "Hey, turn your attention to focus on this so that you do not slide away!"

Clearly, I think that we can see from the combination of these two verses, we are being told that effort must be made to produce growth or we are very likely going to fall into the error of the wicked. In other words, doing nothing in the area of spiritual responsibility is akin to doing nothing in the area of physical responsibility in regard to our physical health.

So we are faced with a choice. Now we are forewarned, are we not? Something has to be done. We cannot just stand still. We cannot just drift. Some effort has to be made in order to ensure that growth takes place.