2 Peter 3:17

2 Peter 3:17 ‘You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,'

‘You, therefore, beloved' -Notice what Peter doesn't say. He never tells people to stop studying their Bibles, lest they mis-interpret it. And neither does he charge the elders to make sure that only the elite are allowed to interpret the Scriptures. The Scriptures can be properly understood, if we love the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

‘knowing this beforehand' -God gives His people plenty of warning, God has prepared the Church for the trials and challenges of the future. We have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness and all things necessary to maintain. relationship with God! (2 Peter 1:3) The Scriptures will enable any Christian to be prepared against any error which man will invent (2 Timothy 3:16).

‘be on your guard' -‘the word is. military term, denoting the action of soldiers, who keep guard in fortified towns or castles' (Macknight p. 578). ‘To be forewarned is to be forearmed' (Woods p. 192). The tense is present, the Christian must continually be on guard (1 Corinthians 10:11). Carefully note that God won't stop error from arising, and that God will not remove our freewill. The Scriptures give us all the ammunition and warning that we need, we have the obligation to use it. This verse also admits that false teachers and false doctrine will always exist. We must know the truth, if we are going to recognize error (Hebrews 5:14).

‘Peter can see the damage that results from believing and teaching an error. We find it hard to understand how people who seem so amiable can be so harmful, but that can only be because we have not made the effort to be well-taught Christians who are willing to call false teaching false teaching. That puts us in supreme danger, for we are prime targets for those who wish to “seduce the unstable” (2 Peter 2:14).' (Lucas/Green p. 155)

‘lest, being carried away by the error' -Christians can fall away! Usually, the first group of people who are swept up into error, and seduced by false teachers are those who argue that we can't call anyone. false teacher. The phrase ‘carried away' suggests that many errors will sound attractive, it is easy to get caught up in what is being taught!

‘unprincipled men' -‘lawless' (Thayer p. 13) ‘men who live without law' (Green p. 149). Men who refuse to submit to the law of God, men who resent God's law and men who try to pit God against His own law.

‘you fall from your own steadfastness' -The Christian can fall (Galatians 5:4; Revelation 2:5). ‘Your own steadfastness'-indicating that no one can be steadfast for you. This warning only has meaning if the Christian can fall from grace. ‘Steadfastness'-‘lose one's firm hold' (Arndt p. 768). In reference to the truth, Christians are to be fixed (Colossians 1:23). The idea that truth is always evolving or that new truths are constantly being revealed or gleaned from the Scriptures, contradicts everything that this letter stands for. ‘He sees these false teachers offering us. helping hand, and making us wobble and then fall.' (Lucas/Green p. 156)

Points To Note:

You know you have run into error, when you encounter. teaching that undermines your confidence in the Word of God and your ability to properly understand it. Any doctrine which suggests that you don't have to believe the truth to be saved (John 8:32) that salvation exists separate, apart and completely independent from following the teachings of the apostles, is. doctrine, if accepted, will result in your downfall.