II Peter 3:16-18
“Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it. But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers.”
“Some of his (Paul’s) comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.”
The institutional church can be a controller; set boundaries, stay inside them, and all will be well. But this is fear, not freedom. Besides, we bring sin into the enclosure and the boundaries are porous anyway. Force feeding the Bible does not develop soldiers. Peter calls us to be on guard in our faith. That means drilling through our doubts with critical thinking skills, skirmishing with the worldly crowd, getting bumped, bruised and shot at. Setting aside control to develop skilled soldiers, false teachers don’t have a chance.
Lord, please allow me to assist my grandchildren as their minds grow. May I help them to learn and test their faith, to make it their own. Grant me time and opportunity to do this. And, lead me to put my own faith into practice, as a soldier out on patrol.