2 Peter 3:18
“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: 2 Peter 3:14-18.

Sometimes the main point to make is fully said and emphasized at the very end. In this case, it is the commission to grow! What is not growing is dying. 2 Peter 3:18 expresses the end of many important truths the apostle had taught. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, because:

1. There is a great day coming (2 Pet. 3:10-13).
2. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise but is longsuffering (2 Pet. 3:1-9).
3. There will be false teachers among you who can lead you astray (2 Pet. 2:1-22).
4. The prophetic word is confirmed (2 Pet. 1:12-21).
5. One is fruitless without such graces of virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Pet. 1:5-11).
6. God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through Christ (2 Pet. 1:1-4).

Questions: Have I grown more this year than last or am I flat or perhaps digressing? What am I doing to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord? Am I easily distracted from attaining personal achievement in the word by things in the world? Is my measure of growth concurrent with my measure of diligence? Surely, we are never diligent in what we are disinterested.

Therefore, consider our highlighted passage in light of these segments from 2 Peter:

• “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge” (1:5).
• “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (1:10).
• “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (3:14).

--Steven J. Wallace

1 Peter 3:21, 22:

“21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: 1 Peter 3:18-22 (Noah’s salvation)
EXTENDED CONTEXT: 1 Peter 3:13-4:19 (Suffering for Christ with a good conscience)

As is the case with every book in the Bible, it is hard to select only one verse to highlight for memory work. Our last passage from James 5:20 focused on restoring the Christian who had wandered from the truth. 1 Peter 3:21 has in view the salvation of the alien sinner—one who has never obeyed the gospel and has lived alienated from God (cf. Eph. 4:18; Col. 1:21).

Those who have been Christians for some time have likely memorized 1 Peter 3:21. If that is the case for you, consider advancing it with memorizing verse 22 which speaks of the authority of Christ. Jesus has the power to command us what to do to be saved because He is the Son of God who died and rose again. All authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth and He commanded His apostles to make disciples baptizing them (Matt. 28:18-20). To reject water as the element of baptism is to reject the immediate context found in 1 Peter 3:20. Accordingly, the clarification “not the removal of the filth of the flesh” is pointless if Peter had Holy Spirit baptism in mind.

To reject water immersion as a necessary requirement for salvation today is committing the same sin as that of the Pharisees and lawyers in Luke 7:30:

“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

Refusing water baptism is rebelling against the will and authority of Jesus Christ. With that in mind, water baptism does not save us because of some inherent power found in water, but rather through the word, the blood, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (cf. Jn. 8:51; 14:23; Rom. 5:9, 10; Eph. 2:13).

--Steven J. Wallace

James 5:20, “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: James 5:19, 20 (winning souls)

EXTENDED CONTEXT: James 5:7-20 (in view of the Day of the Lord)

James is a book that on the one hand calls the Christian to action where a key passage for the book could be, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jas. 2:17). On the other hand, it is a book defining true versus fake religion with a key passage being James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Such a religion has an upward view (toward God), and outward reach to the needy (toward orphans and widows), and an inward examination (keeping oneself unspotted). We are designed to live in the world but are not be of the world.

Our recall verse speaks of turning a sinner from the error of his way.

1. Who is the sinner in this immediate context? It is one who wandered from the truth or a wayward sheep (5:19). A Christian can wander from the truth and therefore revert back to being a “sinner.”
2. What is the status of a Christian who wanders from the truth? By the fact that when he turns back results in the saving of a soul, it is necessarily indicated that he is lost. It is possible for a Christian to sin so as to be lost!
3. What is his condition when he turns away from his error? He is forgiven. God is always willing to forgive when we repent. He is willing to forgive even a “multitude” of sins. Such reconciliation with God is conditional and it requires us to “turn” and to “confess” (5:16).

--Steven J. Wallace

Hebrews 10:25

“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

This will likely be a memory verse many of you already know. I had other passages to use but recently heard of a controversy about this in my travels to the Northwest and so it spurred me on to use this for the current memory passage.

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT Hebrew 10:19-39

• Not forsaking – a command in the negative to forbid one not to leave behind or desert. This negative command is in connection with three positive orders previously stated: to draw near with a true heart (10:22), to hold fast the confession of our hope (10:23), and to consider one another (10:24).  The one who forsakes is not drawing nearer, is not holding fast and is inconsiderate of God and his brethren.
• The assembling of ourselves together – this is the gathering together of the saints of a local church for public worship and study (1 Cor. 11:18; 14:26). It takes in every “assembling of ourselves.”
• As is the manner of some – some were sinning in giving up the assembling times of the saints for other things. This became a “manner” or custom. They were, therefore, habitually neglecting their duties to God, the good confession, and their brethren.
• But exhorting one another – Their actions were not for the better, to exhort, but for the worse. We never exhort others to faithfully serve God by an example of willful neglect of the worship assemblies. We should ask “What kind of activity do my actions encourage?” Let us also remember, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17).
• And so much the more as you see the Day approaching – Some have reasoned that this “Day” is “the first day of the week” and that only Sunday is the day one must attend. They assert that neglecting the mid-week or gospel meeting gatherings is not “forsaking the assembling.” The absurdity of this would be seen in the fact that we are to exhort one another as we see the day approaching. However, assigning the first day of the week definition to Hebrews 10:25 would mean that we would exhort one another leading up to the “Day” but not during “Day.” We would, therefore, be exhorting one another from Monday through Saturday and not on the first day of the week! What would this definition make Sunday worship times out to be? It would make such gatherings void of exhortation! In truth, we exhort each other whenever we come together for worship and Bible study.
  
  Rather than the first day of the week, the Day of Judgment is in view in Hebrews 10:25. Previously written, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Heb. 9:27, 28, emphasis added). The second coming of Christ is Judgment Day and is where our salvation will be fully realized. Forsaking the assembling of ourselves places us in danger of the judgment, rather than in a position to gain the reward and crown of life.  “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26, 27). And again, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:29).  And further still the Holy Spirit adds in 10:30, 31, “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The LORD will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (emp. added).

In conclusion:

Our attendance and participation in such gatherings is an indicator of our love and faithfulness to God and brethren. The context demands us to view Hebrews 10:25 in light of the coming of Christ, which is the day of judgment. Our standing before God is either for salvation or doom. 10:37-39, “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”

--Steven J. Wallace

“Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say” (Philem. 1:21).

It is easy to become skeptical and suspicious of men because not everyone has faith and some prove themselves to be unreasonable and wicked (2 Thess. 3:2, 3). However, Paul shows personal belief and confidence in a man named Philemon and of his willingness to obey—even such obedience to do more than he would ask. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who wrongfully ran away and was by chance, converted to Christ by Paul. Yes, the gospel calls the rich and the poor to heaven’s grace. The aged Paul (Philem. 1:9) is sending him back to his master with an appeal that Philemon would forgive him, receive him as a brother, and also send him back to Paul to minister to him.

In Paul’s older years he did not become bitter toward people but found members of the church refreshing to his heart (Philem. 1:20). Can we have such confidence in brethren today? We can when we know that their aim is not to please men but the Lord. Paul penned to the Philippians, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). Paul also wrote to the Thessalonians, “And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you” (2 Thess. 3:4; see also Gal. 5:10; 2 Cor. 2:3; 7:16; 8:22).

For this memory verse, I asked myself, “If Paul were writing a personal letter to me, would he have had the same confidence that he had in Philemon?”

--Steven J. Wallace