2 Peter 3:17
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
Truth to Learn
Based on what Peter has just taught us, we must be wary of false teachers who would cause us to stumble.
Behind the Words
“You already know” is translated from proginōskō, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in time or place” and ginōskō, which means “to know absolutely or completely.” The word is expressed here as a present participle. Hence, a literal translation would be “knowing …”
The word translated “be on your guard” is the Greek word phulassō, which means “protect yourself, be on guard, or be aware of.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood, indicating a command. Therefore, we see that the opening phrase of this verse could be translated as, “Therefore beloved ones, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard.”
“Secure position” is from stērigmos, which is derived from stēridzō, meaning “to set firmly in place.” So we see, stērigmos refers to “a position of stability.”
Meaning Explained
Therefore, that is, because there will be scoffers and false prophets who deny the truth of the Word and who deny that Christ is returning again and who don’t believe that there was a flood or that there will be a fiery judgment… knowing beforehand that Christ will return and there will be a judgment of this world and its inhabitants, be on your guard!
Peter is commanding us to be on our guard and to protect ourselves from the teachings of the scoffers and false teachers. Otherwise, he says, we may be led astray by their erroneous teaching. Remember we learned earlier that they will use a symphony of words to entice us into their false teaching.
How can we protect ourselves from false teaching? I learned years ago that people who are trained to detect counterfeit money do not spend their time studying various forgeries and counterfeits. Instead, they study the real thing over and over again in excruciating detail so that they can spot a fake, being different from the real thing. In the same way, we need to constantly be studying the Word of God over and over so that we will be able to spot false teaching. It is not sufficient to simply hear a sermon once a week and spend a few minutes reading our Bibles. We need to be studying the Word constantly!
Peter then tells us that if we do get led astray, we may fall from our “secure position.” Peter is not saying that we will fall from salvation. As we’ve shown before, we cannot lose our salvation. What we can lose, however, is our firm footing, our position of spiritual stability, and we can stumble and fall into sin if we get led astray by false teaching.
Application
We now know that Christ is coming again (it could even be today). And, we know He is coming as the Judge who will perform a trial by fire. We also now know that there are many false teachers who would draw us away from our firm footing. Therefore, beware and lift your eyes, for your redemption draws near!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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