Scoffers
Day 672, Sunday, June 14
2 Peter Chapter 3
The author adds to the warnings we have already seen in the previous New Testament books that there will be people who reject the gospel and persecute those who accept it. Compared to some of the previous persecution we’ve seen, dealing with “scoffers” sounds pretty mild—but it exactly what we frequently deal with in our own time. At least in the United States we’re unlikely to suffer physical harm for our faith, but receiving ridicule is increasingly common. “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.”
Each time some misguided person makes the claim that Christ’s return will come at a specific time, they open the door to the kind of ridicule we read about here.
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
In making this point, the writer makes a striking point in verses 15 and 16. “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”
The author refers to Paul’s writings alongside “the other scriptures” suggesting that by the time 2 Peter was written, the early church already considered the words of Paul to be scripture. This has led scholars to think that the letters of Peter must have been written later than Paul’s letters. This could mean that it was written, not by Peter himself, but by one of his followers.

Sunday meditation

Psalms 142:1-7
I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.
When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

Prayer focus
May we persevere in the face of harsh words and ridicule.

-Rev. Mark Fleming