Devotions
Privileged to Participate (2 Peter 1:3–11)
Throughout new covenant history, various Christian groups and denominations have held to some form of Christian perfectionism—that is, the teaching that, in one way or another, it is possible for a Christian, this side of the grave, to attain perfection. Some have...
The Knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1–2)
John Montagu was the fourth Earl of Sandwich from 1729 to 1792. He is known to have had a gambling addiction. It is said that, in 1762, as he sat for hours at the card table, he asked the house cook to bring something he could eat without getting up. The cook placed...
Belief Affects Behaviour
Recently, Phil Zuckerman, writing for Salon.com, argued that hard-core secularists have displayed better morality in recent years than devout Christians. He writes, While most people assume that … morality is grounded in religious faith, and while it is certainly true...
Hopeful Steadfastness (1 Peter 5:6–14)
One of the most frequent New Testament exhortations is for believers to remain “steadfast” in their faith. Paul exhorted the Corinthians to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). He charged the Colossians to...
Hopeful Humility (1 Peter 5:1–5)
Having spent the bulk of his letter exhorting honourable and hopeful behaviour before unbelievers, Peter draws his exhortations to a close by turning his attention inward and challenging his readers to behave honourably and hopefully within the church. In 5:1–5, he...
Hopeful Shame (1 Peter 4:12–19)
One challenge in applying Scripture is that we live far removed from the original audience. We have noted repeatedly in 1 Peter that our suffering as South African Christians, in many ways, does not hold a candle to the suffering of Peter’s readers. The COVID-19...