Daily Devotions
2 Peter
"He who lacks these things is short-sighted"
Text: 2 Peter 1:9
SPIRITUAL SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS
To be short-sighted is a common problem. There is also spiritual short-sightedness.
“For he who lacks these things is short-sighted,
even to blindness,
and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
2 Peter 1:9
1. “For he who lacks these things”
a) What the word “lack” does not mean:
i) It is not a lack of knowledge.
ii) It is not a lack of power on God’s part.
b) What the word “lack” means here:
i) The things that God has done are not fully grasped.
ii) The individual has not made these qualities personal or real in his life.
c) What is lacking?
i) The seven things Peter outlined (2 Peter 1:5-7).
ii) They remain mere “theory”.
iii) Thus, the individual is described as “lacking”.
2. “Is short-sighted”
a) The word “myopia” is derived from this word.
b) The individual is badly near-sighted.
3. “Even to blindness”
a) This describes the degree of near-sightedness.
b) This person is “legally blind” though he can “see”.
4. Spiritual short-sightedness
a) We cannot see what God has done in giving us salvation.
b) We are blind to the many acts of grace shown to us.
5. “And has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins”
a) The individual has forgotten that he had been cleansed from his sins of the past.
b) The danger is that he could be drawn to his old sinful ways!
c) This was a problem that had to be highlighted and addressed.