The Second Epistle of St. Peter is probably the last book of the Bible to be written down. It reflects the situation of the nascent Church at the beginning of the second century. Paul’s letters would have been fifty years old and you wonder if the epistle is reacting to a misunderstanding of the role of faith. Paul wrote in Romans: “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” Second Peter sees faith as the starting point, not the end point, of a Christian life: “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.”
JUNE42018
By Church Staff
