Growing in Knowing Christ by Obedient Grace

2 Peter 3:14-18 

14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 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; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Since we who are called out look forward to God’s final judgement and recreation of this world of sin, we strive to yield to Christ in us as the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).  This means we earnestly and joyfully seek His righteousness by our obedience in light of His great grace which enables us to desire it and to find His strength to pursue it as He transforms each of us.  We also consider God’s enduring patience in bringing others to salvation, striving in the gospel that they may hear the message brought by our beautiful feet (Romans 10:14-15).  These workings of God and our responsibility are sometimes difficult to put into words to correctly understand and follow, and Peter warns of those who have not learned from God and His messengers, but who instead bend the facts of God’s word out of shape and out of His way to suit their own desires, changing the meaning to lead themselves and others toward destruction instead of grace and mercy in cutting the scriptures straight (2 Timothy 2:15).  These are the false teachers which Paul warned the Ephesian elders of in Acts and which he spoke of earlier in this letter.  But we who are indwelt by God Himself as the Spirit know the truth, and strive to know it more to know Him better each day.  We then do not give up in our hearts by being misled by the the errors of selfish sin-seeking evil men and women.  No, we aim our feet to better things in this race (Philippians 3:14-15) as we progress in His grace by such accurate knowledge attested to by all who seek Him in truth.  This is how we grow in knowing Jesus Christ and in His eternally great sovereign grace, to whom we give all glory, honor and praise!