“. . . as also our beloved brother Paul, . . . has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand . . ..” —II Peter 3:15-16

We have all experienced what follows in some form, especially those who are young, but even those who may have once been young. We are driving down the road, and a song on the radio really stirs our soul. Having heard it only a time or two before, we do not know it all that well, but it somehow strikes a chord with us. It could be the beat. Maybe it is the masterful melody. Perhaps it is the genius of the lyrics or at least the ones we can understand.

But we hear this song and start singing it at the top of our lungs. When we get to a part where we do not know the words, well, our head keeps bobbing, and maybe we still bounce in our seat—if that is how we roll—but we hum and slur our way through that part until we get to one we can sing again. We belt out the lines of the song we know, and we ease off for the lines we do not know as well, especially if someone is in the car with us.

In addition to not knowing all the words, sometimes the lines in a song are misunderstood. Most of us have looked up the lyrics of some song and were surprised—maybe hilariously so—because (at least with more modern music styles) what we think the artist is singing is not always the case. Sometimes when we find out the actual lyrics, we come away with a very different impression of the song. Even when the words are clear, they may refer to something we do not catch immediately. We may have that “aha!” moment when it dawns on us that “Mary Jane” is not a person’s name. Then the song takes on a whole new meaning.

A similar thing happens with reading Scripture. One long section of a New Testament book contains some of nominal Christianity’s favorite lines. Nominal Christianity really belts out those parts of the book. During other parts, though, where the lyrics are not as familiar, it hums and does a little head-nodding to get through those lines until it gets back to familiar lyrics, at which point it sings with gusto once again. Yet, if nominal Christianity really grasped the song’s meaning, it would sing a different tune.

Some Things Hard to Understand

Before getting to the “song” in question, keep in mind an advisory that God purposefully included for us in His Word:

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (II Peter 3:14-18)

Peter cautions that some of the things the apostle Paul writes are hard to understand, as though some people do not truly understand Paul’s lyrics and thus end up with wrong impressions of his compositions. Knowing a couple of lines from a piece of music is not the same as grasping the totality. Yet, nominal Christianity gives an embarrassing performance before God because it latches onto some memorable lines from Paul and believes it knows the whole song.

The terms Peter uses provide clues about what is on his mind. When we perceive where he is coming from, we can know what lyrics from brother Paul we should listen to extra carefully to ensure that we are not mishearing.

In verse 14, Peter commands diligence, meaning we must exert ourselves and be zealous. He emphasizes robust and focused effort as opposed to offhandedly grabbing a line or two from Paul and believing our understanding is complete.

Peter urges us to “be diligent to be found by God in peace, without spot and blameless.” Since he is telling us to be diligent, it means that the spotlessness and blamelessness he has in mind are not the ones God imputes to us. Christ’s righteousness was imputed to us when we accepted His blood, and then, in a legal sense, we became without spot and blameless.

But accepting Christ’s blood did not require the diligence Peter talks about here. After we come under His blood, though, we must submit to God in living up to that imputed spotlessness and blamelessness. Doing so requires significant effort; thus, Peter uses “diligent.”

In verse 16, he warns that misusing Paul’s words leads to destruction, a term frequently used concerning God’s judgment on the disobedient. Jesus says that “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). In other words, the easy way does not end well. The future “man of sin” is called “the son of perdition [destruction]” (II Thessalonians 2:3), at least in part because he is destined for the Lake of Fire—his sins lead him to destruction. Earlier in the chapter, Peter warns of the fire that characterizes the coming day of judgment (evaluation against a standard) and destruction of ungodly men (II Peter 3:7). To summarize, then, the unstable and untaught will interpret Paul’s teaching in such a way that will lead them into God’s judgment—to destruction or perdition.

In verse 17, Peter adds another warning, this time against apostasy, or as he puts it, “fall[ing] from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.” He describes a change from a good spiritual state to a bad one.

The New King James Version uses the phrase “the wicked,” giving the impression that Peter is talking about deeply depraved people. However, the people the apostle describes do not have to be characterized as extreme at all. Several translations interpret the phrase as being “carried away with the error of the lawless.” The Greek word translated as “wicked” or “lawless,” athesmos (Strong’s #113), indicates a person who is against what has been instituted as law, custom, ordinance, precept, or rule. The wicked do not have to be mass murderers but simply those who disregard the established standards. In this context, the established standards are the laws of God.

To summarize, Peter warns us to check ourselves regarding Paul’s material, so we are not led away by false teachers (the theme of Peter’s previous chapter) or our own incorrect impression of what Paul says. If we fail to hear it correctly, we will fall into the error of those who disregard God’s law, those who are ignorant of the whole counsel of God (“untaught”), and who thus are not steadfast (“unstable”). These individuals avoid the narrow way because they find it constraining, even though it leads to eternal life.

Paul’s Oft-Misunderstood Song

The metaphorical song in question is the book of Romans. Like a song by a skilled musician, some lines are memorable, but their full meaning comes from their place in the overall work. One stanza does not make a song.

While Peter’s caution extends to all of Paul’s writings, it is common within nominal Christianity to use select verses in Romans to support the idea that God’s law has been “done away”—or at least certain parts. Indeed, hardly anyone argues that idolatry, adultery, or murder are acceptable since Christ died for our sins. Charges of legalism are rarely laid when considering most of the Ten Commandments. For example, when men and women consistently uphold their marriage vows, we call them “faithful” or “committed.” When a man is careful about being honest, we consider him “trustworthy”—and wish there were more like him around!

However, when the fourth commandment is under discussion, the tune changes. The seventh-day Sabbath quickly brings out the hostility to God’s law in the carnal mind, which often uses various verses in Romans to defend breaking it. Further, the carnal-minded frequently call those who keep the fourth commandment “legalistic” or “Pharisaical” or accuse them of trying to earn salvation. These allegations are never made about the other nine commandments. Why the double standard?

Due to how Paul arranges the material in Romans, he sometimes appears to contradict himself. Yet, such is not the case because God’s Word cannot be broken (John 10:35). What he does is explore one side of the issue in one passage, then in the following passage, he switches to another side of the issue and explains it before returning to the first side.

But what commonly happens with the untaught and unstable mirrors what we experience when singing a song we do not know well. Nominal Christianity will jubilantly belt out those sections that sound as if Paul says the law is done away, but when the apostle changes keys and upholds God’s law, it hums and mumbles and looks around uncomfortably.

Later, when the lyrics sound as if they might indicate it can ignore the fourth commandment, nominal Christianity cranks up the volume and resumes singing. It lasts until Paul again upholds God’s law, at which point worldly Christianity gets quiet and fidgety, waiting for the next line that sounds like he asserts that God’s law no longer applies.

The Law Is Done Away? Or Not?

Notice this sampling of verses that law-averse Christians often interpret to indicate that obedience to the law is passé (at least in matters like the Sabbath)—that all God now requires is faith:

» “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

» “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference . . ..” (Romans 3:20-22)

» “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28)

» “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” (Romans 4:2-3)

» “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works . . ..” (Romans 4:5-6)

» “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13)

» “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

The following lines are part of the very same song. However, they are far less popular because they show that works and obedience to God’s law are still incumbent upon the Christian:

» For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified . . ..” (Romans 2:12-13)

» “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

» “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:12-13)

» “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15-16)

» “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” (Romans 7:12)

» “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” (Romans 7:14)

» “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” (Romans 7:22)

» “So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)

» “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)

Peter was right to say some things Paul wrote are hard to understand! Despite some considering it to be so, the apostle who wrote so much New Testament theology is not contradicting himself. On the contrary, all of what he writes is true; otherwise God would not have included it in His Word. However, such things as timing, context, and purpose, among others, are critical factors in properly understanding Paul’s arguments and explanations, aspects that many misunderstand or miss altogether.

We will consider in detail one of these often garbled lyrics in Part Two.