2 Kefa 3:14-18

Kefa’s Final Words

In my last post, we unpacked Kefa’s prediction that The Day of the Lord Will Come ~ Part 2 in 3 Kefa 1:8-13. In this post, we examine Kefa’s Final Words in 2 Kefa 3:14-18.

¹⁴ Therefore, dear friends, as you look for these things, do everything you can to be found by Him without spot or defect and at peace. ¹⁵ And think of our Lord’s patience as deliverance, just as our dear brother Sha’ul also wrote you, following the wisdom God gave him. ¹⁶ Indeed, he speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

This final section recaps some of the themes highlighted elsewhere in the letter. In light of the imminent return of Yeshua, Believers are to make every effort to be holy and godly. As sacrificial animals in the Tanakh were to be without spot or defect.

Interestingly, verses 15-16 is the only place in the Brit Hadashah where one of its authors refers to another of its authors specifically by name. In fact, with the phrase, the other Scriptures, Kefa gives Sha’ul’s letters the status of Holy Writ.

Kefa commends Sha’ul as our dear brother; there is no conflict between them, some nineteenth-century scholars thought to the contrary. It is possible, says Kefa, to distort what Sha’ul writes. The most common distortion is in the direction of antinomianism [1] ; this happens mostly when Sha’ul’s letters are read apart from their Tanakh and Gospels-Acts background.

The Lord’s delay in coming is designed to give men and women time to repent of their sins and come to salvation. Therefore, we must take advantage of His patience by repenting, rather than presuming upon His patience and living for unrighteous purposes.

¹⁷ But you, dear friends, since you know this in advance, guard yourselves; so that you will not be led away by the errors of the wicked and fall from your own secure position. ¹⁸ And keep growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory, both now and forever! Amen. ~ 2 Kefa 3:14-18 (CJB)

Since Kefa’s readers had now been warned about the false teachers in their midst, he instructed them to be on their guard and not be led away. He also encouraged them to grow in the grace and knowledge of Yeshua, the Messiah. Recall from our study of the Gospel accounts that Kefa was the first talmid (disciple) to acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah. The theme of spiritual growth bookends the letter, recurring here after its introduction in 1:1-15. Believers should resist false teachers, focusing on growth and spiritual development in a way that glorifies God now and throughout eternity.

Closing Thoughts

We started our journey of Kefa in the Gospels-Acts way back on May 24, 2020, before examining his two letters to the saints. I pray that you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have. As I stated in that first post: “Kefa has always amazed me since I first learned about him. As we will see, he is quite the character.”

In my next post, we will…???? Well, I am not entirely sure. Although a few of my blogging friends have already posted on this topic, I have planned on doing a series on Ya’akov (James). Then I was recently reminded that I have also intended on writing on the early Creeds of the church. Not many modern Believers know they even exist. As finishing up our study of Kefa reminded me, his writings, especially in Second Kefa, have a lot in common with Y’hudah (Jude). So, you will have to check back to learn what the Lord has directed me to write on..

Click here for the PDF version.

[1] Relating to the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law.