Bro M,

It sounds as if you are looking for reasons to doubt what you already have ... though you know that you already have it. Don't forget what you are seeing.

Peter is no different than Paul, in that CONTEXT will give a totally different insight. Seriously! What do the first 4 verses of the letter establish? What does His divine power grant to us? What have His precious and magnificent promises granted to us? This is very important ... for it establishes the SOURCE of the "supply" mentioned in verses 5-7. I, too, had great reservations about Peter's letters for the longest time. It is only in the past couple of years that it began to come together in a big way. It had been the result of YEARS of questions ... and little pieces here and there of cool things. I would not have seen the big picture had I not had all the little questions and doubts and small insights along the way. I will remind you that you are in for a HUGE blessing from Peter's writings ... eventually.

Do yourself a favor ... learn to tuck these things away in a file in your head labeled, "Stuff that will be cleared up as I view my life and the Bible through the reality of the finished work of Christ". :) That's my favorite category! My prime "rule" for Biblical interpretation. Hahaha!

Go back and read all the letters you wrote me and DON'T FORGET WHAT GOD HAS SHOWN YOU, okay?

Love, Jim

Do yourself a favor ... learn to tuck these things away in a file in your head labeled, "Stuff that will be cleared up as I view my life and the Bible through the reality of the finished work of Christ". :) That's my favorite category! My prime "rule" for Biblical interpretation. Hahaha!

That must be 1 Shovel 1:1 hahahaha I didn't realize there were 67 books in the Bible! Kidding aside that is great advice. Let me expand that universally....View everything (the entire universe) through the finished work of Christ....even the unsaved world. While they (the unsaved) don't share the full benefit, grace is in fact afforded to them through His work. I mean after all they're still breathing right? Certainly that's a benefit of the Cross. I mean how does God overlook sin in order that men might live long enough to be saved...I presume through the Cross. Jim, Check me on this one. Even if its not correct, it certainly applies in the sphere of God's elect (I love that term....makes me feel important. I never got that from the world ). Paul perhaps is eluding to that when he says, "I have been crucified to the world and the world has been crucified to me". The world must someday see me through the finished work of Christ (even if now they deny it) and I too must view them in a somewhat similar manner, i.e., Its what renders the whole world savable and never too far gone. I must never look at the worst reprobate and say he's not savable...even a Hitler. Very humbling thought! Hope that's not poor exegesis of the text :)