A L M A C I A S

PUTTING THE BRETHREN TO REMEMBRANCE

One thing that has puzzled me while I have been preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to observe that some who obey the Gospel will remain faithful to the Lord, while others will, after a time, become unfaithful members of the church of Christ. I am sure that we all have, at one time or another, wondered why people behave the way they do. There may have even been times when we have wondered about ourselves and our own actions. In 2 Peter 1:5-15, the apostle Peter, by inspiration, tells us why, at least in spiritual matters, some of the brethren seemed to be very productive in their Christian lives while others were not productive at all. First, Peter gives us a list of some of the things that all Christians need to have as they grow in their lives as Christians; and tells what happens when these qualities are added to our lives.

In the Scripture under consideration, the apostle Peter wanted to stir up the minds of the brethren of the first century by writing to them of things they already knew and in which they had already been established and, yet, of which they needed to be reminded. The list mentioned here included the following: faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. Peter gave this list of Christian qualities to show the brethren of the first century, as well as us, that unless Christians possess all of these qualities, they are in danger of falling away. We live in a world that is so hostile to the ways of God that we all need as much help as we can possibly get. Peter tells us, by inspiration, what will happen if we do possess these important qualities ­ we will never be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will belong to that group of brethren who do the best they can to be productive. We will be among those brethren who are not "like children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine." When we think about it, we all must agree that ignorance is a very dangerous thing. We all understand how some have run into all sorts of problems for having been ignorant of the law. Others have run into problems for having been ignorant of their physical health, regarding diseases or other contagious illnesses that are about us. Why is it such a hard thing to understand that ignorance of the Word of God can also be a very dangerous thing? Peter, in the passage before us, mentioned that when someone lacks the qualities he described in 2 Peter 1:5-7, he is blind and has apparently forgotten how he had been purged from his old sins. This is why Peter felt that it would always be necessary for the brethren to be reminded over and over again; he knew how people tend to forget so easily the things they have learned in the past. This is why he felt it was his responsibility to remind the brethren always of those things that were so important in the life of every Christian, in order to make his or her election sure in the Lord. Do you possess the Christian characteristics found in 2 Peter 1:5-7? I hope and trust that we all are striving to do so.