The Story: God’s judgment against false teaching and sin is not restricted to events in the heavens. We need only recall the events of the flood to remember how the wrath of God can suddenly break out against a sinful world. We note here that Peter makes no attempt to qualify his understanding of the flood. He seems to accept the Genesis account at face value, and that augurs well for our doing so, too. The flood speaks to us of the wrath of God, but it also reminds of His grace, and that in two ways.

First, Noah and seven others were saved. Was it because they were so good? Not according to Genesis 6. All the human race had become troublesome to God, presumably, including Noah. But Noah “found favor” with God; God reached to him and his family with grace, after which Noah became a herald of righteousness, calling his generation to repent and be saved. This is the second evidence of God’s grace. In our day the judgment of God is ready to fall on those who turn from His truth. Let us plead with God for grace to rescue and spare us, and for the courage to call others to stand with us in the truth.

The Structure :In a real sense, our purpose in life boils down to these two poles of grace: seeking the grace of God and proclaiming it. None of us deserves exemption from divine wrath. We have all, in many ways, turned from God’s truth to our own, selfish ideas about what’s best for us. Daily confession, repentance, and renewal in God’s grace is the antidote to lingering sin. But we must also celebrate the grace and goodness of God before the people of our age, calling them to repentance and faith in the Gospel, so that they might join us in the ark of the Church and know the safety of God’s loving provision and truth.

What does this twofold mission – seeking grace and proclaiming it – look like in a typical day of your life?

Each week’s studies in our Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For this week’s study, “Truth and Consequences: 2 Peter 2.1-11,” simply click here.

T. M. Moore

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.