II Peter 1:3 tells us that God has “given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” What does this mean? What can I learn from such a statement? I know I usually write these short articles, but I am making an exception today. Brother R.L. Whiteside wrote on this subject years ago, and I think he explains this verse better than I could. Please read his writing and benefit from his wisdom on II Peter 1:3.

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (II Pet. 1:3). We are in the habit of saying that God has given us in the gospel, everything that is essential to life and godliness, but Peter goes a little farther than that and affirms that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. There is a difference. To illustrate: There are certain things that are essential to an automobile, and there are other things that pertain to an automobile but are not essential to it. When you have all things that are essential to an automobile, you can go to a supply house and purchase a lot of extras that pertain to an automobile. But suppose you have all the essentials of an automobile, and then you add all the things that pertain to an automobile, nothing else could be added that would make it any more complete. God has not only given us all things that are essential to life and godliness, but He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

But do religious people believe it? If so, why all these flummeries that God has said nothing about? If you will read the verse again, you will notice that He has given us all these things through the knowledge of Christ. The knowledge of Christ means the knowledge that has been revealed about Him -- the gospel of Christ. Hence, through the gospel God has not only given us all things that are essential to life and godliness, but all things that pertain to life and godliness. If there is, therefore, anything in your religion that did not come to you through the gospel, it does not so much as pertain to life and godliness. Is it not time to check up on our religion and see if we have anything that we cannot find in the New Testament? Any person of intelligence can do that for himself.

(Whiteside, R.L., The Kingdom Of Promise And Prophecy, p. 42)

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (II Pet. 1:2). Read this verse again carefully because I don’t know of any two things more sought-after in this world right now than grace and peace. Grace (put simply, unmerited favor) and peace (lack of hostile feelings toward another or toward you) are things that soothe the soul of man. We clamor for this in a world where many are hostile and uncaring. Look around, and in the US, rioting seems to occur daily right now. Police departments are threatened with being “unfunded” (This has already happened in some cities. Think about the consequences of no police protection in an area.) and many atrocities are committed by people claiming to be “oppressed.” Our social media is often filled with those who seem more ready to “bite and devour” (Gal. 5:15) than to love and understand. Yes, there are those still willing to talk and work out differences, but this rarely happens in a “tweet” or a Facebook message. This is something that happens one-on-one when we can face one another and talk and understand our differences.

Why the lack of grace and peace? I thought we were “enlightened” and above petty differences! Have we not grown beyond the petty bickering and the turmoil of the past? Without God, the answer is no (Jer. 10:23). Man continues to sin (Rom. 3:23), and he remains in his downward spiral so long as he refuses to acknowledge God and His truth (Jn. 17:17).

In contrast, grace and peace are “multiplied” (not merely “added”) “through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (II Pet. 1:2). What a concept! When we strive to know God and strive to learn what Christ taught us while on this earth, this is when grace and peace are multiplied to us! How much time are YOU spending in God’s word? Availing yourself of the knowledge found in Scriptures will multiply grace and peace for you. Rejecting it will not bring grace and peace of any kind.

Haven’t we spent enough years NOT reading God’s word? Why not take some time (30 days perhaps?) and read God’s word daily. Then be amazed at how you are benefited by the knowledge of God and Jesus when you apply it to your life.

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

Obadiah was a prophet sent to the Edomite nation (v. 1). This short book speaks volumes about the sins of the Edomites and how God was not going to allow their error to continue indefinitely (v. 4, 8-10, 15, 21). Among the sins of the people, God lists pride as a great sin that ruined those people. He said it deceived them (v. 3).

Pride in this text refers to a man’s arrogance, insolence, or presumption. To deceive means “to lead astray, seduce, beguile” (Strong’s). What pride did was lead the Edomites astray from the truth and the reality of God’s power. This is what pride does to men today! God says He hates even the “proud look” (Prov. 6:17). Solomon adds to our understanding by saying that a man’s pride precedes his destruction (Prov. 16:18). Can we see that there is nothing good associated with a man’s arrogance or presumption (pride)? David begged God to “keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins” (Ps. 19:13).

Pride deceives us! In the past, pride deceived Edom into thinking that they were untouchable by the enemy (v. 3). Pride deceives Christians into thinking they cannot be touched by sin. Pride deceives the lost into thinking that they are saved. Let us beware of the danger of pride. It will destroy a nation like Edom, a family, a church, and even an individual (Prov. 16:18)!

What is the cure for pride? It is humility! Rather than being arrogant and haughty, let us be “clothed with humility” (I Pet. 5:5). Let us humble ourselves now that God may exalt us “in due time” (I Pet. 5:6; Jas. 4:10). It is not the most pleasant decision we will make, but it is for the best. Humility now will save us from destruction later.

Christ reminds us, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Lk. 14:11). The Edomites were going to experience that truth. What about us? Will we humble ourselves now that we might be exalted later? Friend, don’t let pride deceive you anymore!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

When the walls of Jerusalem were erected, and only the gates remained to be hung, Israel’s enemies again tried to stop the progress. Seeing that brute force would not work (Neh. 4:7-23), Sanballat and Geshem tried a more “diplomatic” approach where perhaps they could get Nehemiah to compromise with them. They asked him to stop the work and meet them in one of the villages in the plain of Ono (Neh. 6:2-3). Nehemiah was not falling for this, and refused, even though the men hounded him for a meeting (v. 4-5).

When Nehemiah refused, Sanballat sent an open letter (Neh. 6:5) accusing him and the Jews of rebellion against Xerxes. Understand, an “open letter” was a form of insult against Nehemiah. Yet, when insulted, Nehemiah spoke the truth that Sanballat made up these charges. He then prayed for God’s strength (v. 8-9). He faced yet another test when Shemiah tried to get him to hide in the Temple under the ruse that Nehemiah needed to do this to save his life (v. 10-11). Thankfully, Nehemiah refused to listen and stood his ground with his people, again turning to God in this time (v. 14).

Satan does the same to us. First, he tempts us to give in to our lusts and sin against God (Jas. 1:14-15). If temptations that lead to rebellion do not lure us, then he uses other tactics, like compromise, to lead us away from the Lord. We see this in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 when Satan tempted Christ. When other tactics failed, he tried to get Jesus to compromise. If Jesus bowed and worshipped Satan, He would have the “kingdoms of the world”! He could avoid the cross altogether (Matt. 4:8-10; Lk. 4:5-8)! Why not compromise, Jesus? Isn’t this a way to “have your cake and eat it too”?

Compromise with the truth has been Satan’s tactic for years. He wants men to feel good about their partial obedience and then justify the behavior we want to do. For example, we might not yield to the temptation to be homosexual (Rom. 1:26-27), but Satan wants us to say we love others and will accept this behavior in others (ignoring Rom. 1:32). Similarly, we might not drink alcohol (I Pet. 4:3), but Satan says we ought not to condemn others who drink and exercise their “rights” in the USA. If someone takes a stand for truth and says that there is only one way to Heaven, through the teachings of Christ (Jn. 14:6), Satan’s minions will hound us and call us “narrow-minded,” and a “Pharisee.”

Yes, when Satan fails at getting us to turn from the Lord, he will try to get us to compromise. Friend, what will we do about this? What have we done? I hope we haven’t fallen into the trap of compromising with sin, but if so, know that there is still time to repent while we live (II Pet. 3:9; Heb. 3:7-8). If you need to be baptized for the remission of sins, then do it (Acts 2:38; I Pet. 3:21). Don’t compromise with false doctrine on this issue or any other! Take advantage of the time we have and do what God says without compromise or apology -- just like Nehemiah!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

Nehemiah 5 records a sad event in the history of God’s people. As the wall was being built, and the people united against a common enemy, Nehemiah records that the “nobles and the rulers” (v. 7) were guilty of oppressing their countrymen. They did this by charging usury (KJV) or interest against their people. Think: Loan sharks!

The affected people came to Nehemiah, crying out against this treatment. Why had they gotten out of the bondage of Xerxes only to trade it for bondage to their brethren? Sons and daughters were sold into servitude so landowners could pay the interest they had accrued (Neh. 5:5). This was wrong, and Nehemiah condemned the “nobles and the rulers” for their behavior (Neh. 5:7, 9).

There had been a famine (Neh 5:3), and though there were people who needed to buy grain or other things, those making the loans could have left off charging their brethren interest (v. 10). Can you imagine the decline in morale as the work of wall-building is taking place, and then those trying to build the wall cannot work because of how their brethren are treating them! In this chapter, we see that it was not what Sanballat, Tobiah, and the others had done that was killing them. This issue was internal!

How are we treating our spiritual brethren? Christ says the world will know we are His disciples when they observe the love we show our brethren (Jn. 13:34-35). Loving the brethren is more than words. It is also action (I Jn. 3:18)! What does the world see in us? What do we see in each other (Phil. 2:3)? Friend, how can a man love God whom he hasn’t seen if he doesn’t love the brethren he has seen (I Jn. 4:20)?

Have we noticed that often we treat strangers better than we treat those we know the best? Just observe and contrast how we treat a stranger in town with how we treat a family member at home. Why the difference? Similarly, some treat their brethren in harsh ways. Do we backbite? Gossip? Treat them cruelly? Why is this? Aren’t we supposed to be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17)? Why then, do brethren treat those we are supposed to spend eternity with worse than the people who have rejected God? Please understand, our work is to love all men without partiality (Jas. 2:8). So, why are we not completing our work?

Let’s take a moment for some self-examination (II Cor. 13:5). How are you treating your brethren? Are you treating them with love (Matt. 22:39)? Are you treating them as you want to be treated (Matt. 7:12)? If not, why not? Why are you not willing to treat those whom God loves with respect? Don’t act like the “nobles and the rulers” did. Instead, read Romans 12:9-21 and treat fellow-Christians in a manner that respects them and God!

I am thankful to see that when confronted by Nehemiah about their behavior, the “nobles and the rulers” repented (Neh. 5:11-12). What will we do if we examine ourselves (II Cor. 13:5; Jas. 1:22-25) and see that we are guilty?

- Jarrod M. Jacobs