Weekly Bulletins
On Guard
“ON GUARD”
“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” (2 Peter 3:17-18).
“Beware” comes from a word which means “be on guard.” The Christian should always be “on guard” lest he be “led away with the error of the wicked.”
Peter instructed these Christians to be on guard “lest you also fall from your own steadfastness.” The word “steadfastness” indicates a condition in which one is firmly fixed in the faith. One cannot fall from a position that he never occupied. There is no need for being on guard unless the possibility of falling is real. The “can’t fall” doctrine puts people off guard!
In verse 18, Peter suggested that spiritual growth is the safeguard against falling. Instead of listening to the false teachers that Peter was warning them about, they should keep on increasing in grace and knowledge. If we are not serious students of the Scriptures, we will be caught off guard and our minds will be fertile ground for false doctrine.
Mike Pittman
