Cross References

Scripture: And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 2 Peter 3:15-17

Observation: Peter references the letters of Paul, ascribing to them three traits:

1) They contain sound advice consistent with his own advice related to patience and wisdom for the coming of Jesus.

2) They can be confusing and therefore become twisted by people either out of ignorance to bad intentions.

3) In these ways, Paul's letters are like the other Scriptures.

All three of these qualities are interesting because they imply a level of elevated authority. The fact that Paul and Peter are in agreement on advice to the church while acting independently reinforces the truth and work of the Holy Spirit in their words and teachings. Second, while Peter is a simple fisherman, Paul is an educated man and thus his teaching can be both deeper but also more difficult to understand. Finally, Peter directly bestows the authority of Jewish Scriptures upon Paul's letters - he does not say they are like the Scriptures, but rather they are misinterpreted like "the other Scriptures" ... Paul's letters are one Scripture, and the Old Testament books are the other Scriptures.

Application: I don't have a lot to say today but this: After several conversations I've had recently, it is great to see Peter is such support of Paul. "Church people" like to think of them as if they were at odds. There is one example of an argument between Peter and Paul (both reported in Acts and referenced in other letters), and then they went separate ways (Peter to the Jews, Paul to the Gentiles), and people like to say "see, the early church had strife even between their two greatest leaders!" That just isn't true.

Paul and Peter were unified. They spoke of each other, and valued the fact they had different callings - they could cover twice the audience that way!! They both comment on the greatness of each other, and here Peter equates Paul's writings to being equal to Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, Samuel, Jeremiah, etc.

The church was not in conflict. The church doesn't need to be in conflict, even when leaders disagree. It's nice to see.

Prayer: Lord, please be with the pastors - all the pastors - at Evergreen Church. I pray for Phil, Laurie, Jed, Bette, Caleb. Give them unity not only between themselves, but with others in our church. Let your spirit unite minds and hearts. Stand between us and Satan so he can no longer whisper his lies in the ears of others and foster division, anger, jealousy, doubt, and fear. Amen.