Summary: 

Live lives of holiness and godliness as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

The coming of the day of God will bring about the destruction of the heavens and the heavenly bodies.  But not only that – we are also waiting for the promised new heavens and new earth.  Since these are things which Christians can look forward to, it should therefore impact the way we live our lives.  More specifically, Peter urges believers to live lives of holiness and godliness (v11), and be diligent to be found without spot or blemish, and at peace (v14).  Knowledge of the future should shape our present living. 

Christians should also remember the Lord’s patience in delaying the second coming of Jesus so that people should reach repentance.  It is not an excuse for complacency or for pursuing sinful desires.  Being on guard against false teachers who distort Paul’s teaching and other Scriptures is of utmost importance, since this will help prevent Christians from losing their stability and following the path of destruction of these false teachers.  Instead, Peter urges believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Application: 

(i) Encourage each other to live lives of holiness and godliness.  One of the key themes in this letter is how knowledge of the future ought to affect our present behavior.  We have seen three motivations to live lives of holiness and godliness: 

First, since we have certainty regarding Christ’s second coming, we should be all the more diligent in the present to make our calling and election sure so that we will never fall.  Growing in godliness keeps us from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and provides us with assurance that there will be richly provided for us an entrance into heaven. 

Second, since there will be false teachers just as there were false prophets in the Old Testament times, we should be careful to not be carried away by their lawless ways and lose our stability, knowing that certain destruction awaits the unrighteous.  Pursuing a life of holiness and godliness enables us to be on guard against false teachings and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

And finally, since the coming of the day of God will bring about new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, Christians ought to be eager to hasten the coming of this day by being diligent to be found with spot or blemish.  If we truly look forward to and trust in the coming of this day, then the right response is to live lives of holiness and godliness. 

In short, believers ought to pursue holiness and godliness because (i) Jesus really IS coming back again, (ii) false teachers will try to lead you astray and (iii) we have a glorious future to look forward to. 

(ii) Remain stable in the Christian faith and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The existence of false teachers and the dangers of following their ways are real.  Christians however need not fear and instead should be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, remembering that God’s divine power has already given us what we need for life and godliness.  

The final verse is a fitting summary of the letter’s key purpose.  Peter knows the eternal consequences at stake, and so writes this letter in love to remind and encourage believers who share in the Christian faith to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.”