In encouraging believers to pursue holiness, Peter also reminds them that the promises of Christ are promises that have come through the Bible. In this instance he mentions Paul who wrote to them with the wisdom God gave him (2 Peter 3:15). Led by the Spirit, his letters can be trusted to contain truth from God—truth on the same level as what Moses or the prophet Isaiah wrote.
Now understanding God’s Word is not easy or simple. It requires reflection and study, comparing different passages of Scripture with one another, discussing thoughts with other believers. In addition our understanding of Scripture is hampered by our sinful nature—a nature which prompts us to distort what the Bible says so that we hear what we want to hear and not what Paul (or any other Bible author) wanted to say.
Given the difficulties we have in studying the Bible, we will always be prompted with two choices. We can either decide to read the Bible in a way that affirms our life choices so that it fits in well with what our culture thinks and so that we are never rebuked or led to make any changes we do not want to. It is easy to read the Bible that way and there are many people who do so. The problem, however, is if we do that then we are on a path that leads to destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Another option is to work really hard at trying to make sure we understand what the Bible wants to teach us, to pray for God’s help, and to make changes in our lives where necessary—sticking close to Jesus even if we do not like everything he says. That is what it means to follow him as Lord and Saviour.
15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,