Dead Men’s Bones
Be On Guard – Part 2

Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:14-18

Key Verse: 2 Peter 3:17

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

The reason Peter wanted to write these final thoughts of warning is found in the last part of 2 Peter 3:17: “and fall from your secure position.”  When we stay alert and faithful to God’s Word, we are in a secure position with the Lord.  However, if we get lazy in our relationship with God, we can start believing the lies of the evil one.  We must be careful, lest we fall from our secure position.  The Apostle Paul said that he disciplined his body daily, so that after he preached to others, he would not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The Apostle Peter wrote about “falling from a secure position” in more detail, in 2 Peter 2: “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.  Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud” (2 Peter 2:21-22).

One could easily conclude that if it was impossible to fall from our secure position, the New Testament could have stopped after the Gospels.  In other words, the letters from the apostles were all instructional and challenges warning God’s people to be careful how they live.  We are secure as long as we “remain in Him,” as the Apostle John wrote!  (John 15:16).

Father, I want to remain in you each day and walk in fellowship.  Grant me your strength.  In Jesus’ name, amen.