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"By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand." (1 Peter 5.12).

The threat to believers is ever present whether from false brethren internally or from "outside." Wherever there is a thing of value that can be counterfeited, give it time and it will be; that is Murphy's spiritual law. Peter specifically wrote of "the true grace of God" possibly inferring the existence of systems of false grace that were around in his day. Paul was well acquainted with such systems. He warned the elders from Ephesus of men who would arise from the ranks of the believers who would deceive and "…draw away disciples after themselves." (Acts 20.30). What ever the doctrines that they preached, they were not the "true grace of God."

Both Paul and Peter were well aware of the threat of apostasy that loomed over the heads of believers in every age and in every culture. Peter's chilling words of warning about our adversary, the devil, affirms his sure knowledge of such threats. As Peter put it, he [the devil] walks about "as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5.8). Peter had pulled no punches when it came to the threat of sin among the believers; he warned specifically of apathy and complacency among fellow believers. He warned of those who would perform religious deeds for ill-gotten gain. The spiritual reality that both Paul and Peter preached included the very real threat of error in the camp of the believers.

The thrust of Peter's message was to encourage his readers and fellow-believers to stand fast in the true grace of God. Implicitly, he exhorted believers to avoid "false grace" and cling to the true grace. Implicitly, Peter taught that his readers could discern between true grace and false grace. He also implied that they were able to choose between the two and to stand in the right way, the way of "the true grace of God." Peter's view of truth was a view that demanded that it be seen as absolute and not relative; Peter knew nothing of "your truth; my truth!" Rather, Peter stood for the truth that Jesus declared, the truth that could set men free from the bondage of sin and from it guilt (See John 8.32).

The "true grace" to which Peter testified was the same grace that he had commended to his Jewish brethren on Pentecost (Acts 2), and it was the same grace that he had preached to the first Gentile converts at the house of Cornelius (Acts 10-11). The grace that Peter preached was the same grace that Paul preached; it was the one faith (Ephesians 4.5); it was the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints (Jude 3). The "true grace of God" is nothing more or less than the pure and unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. When he exhorted people to stand fast in that true grace, he exhorted them to stand fast in the gospel!

False teachers were not limited to the first century or to the centuries that followed immediately thereafter. Rather, the spirit of error has gone out into the world (1 John 4.1-2) and the only means by which it can be rebuked is by the marvelous true grace that Peter, Paul, and other inspired men preached. Truth is the precious commodity that Peter commended when he challenged believers to stand "in the true grace of God!"

"Today's Little Lift" from Jim Bullington

Mercy and not Sacrifice (October 5, 2010)