Reminders Needed

The intercom on the plane sounded as I settled into my seat. From the front of the cabin, the head flight attendant launched into a series of life-saving instructions. The rest of the team stood in the aisle to point out the exits and demonstrate how to use the oxygen masks. It all seemed very important, but as I looked around at my fellow passengers, none of them were paying any attention. Some slept, others looked out the window, most were buried in a phone. They had heard it all so many times, many of them could deliver it themselves. They didn’t need to hear it. They didn’t want to hear. It was a formality to endure so they could be on their way.

That’s how most of us react to hearing the same message over and over. Repetition is tiresome. Boring. It seems unnecessary. Once we learn something, we’re not interested in going over it again—we’ve got it! We want to move on to something new, fresh, exciting. That is why Peter’s description of his ministry today may surprise us: his goal is simply to remind this church of the same, basic truths they already know.

Peter has just described the Christian life as a journey, through this corrupt world to the eternal Kingdom of Jesus. He wants us all to make it there safely, without falling, until we receive a rich entrance from Jesus himself. But the only way to confirm that we are headed in the right direction is through our own, diligent effort to grow in the Lord. We are to supplement our faith. We are to continually practice the qualities of virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.

His readers already know all of this. They learned it in the early stages of their Christian lives. Peter knows how well-taught they are, and considers them “established in the truth (1:12).” These are not beginners, stragglers, or backsliders. Yet Peter says they still need ongoing reminders to grow: “Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have (1:12).” The most mature Christian needs constant reminding to press on with the Lord.

Why? Peter has already told us how forgetful we are (1:9). God’s people have an amazing capacity to forget the most essential Christian truths—even that we’ve been cleansed from former sins (1:9)! We may not literally forget that Jesus died for us, but we forget how precious this truth is, and we forget to apply it in our lives as we return to our former sins. In addition to being forgetful, we quickly grow apathetic, careless, and lazy. Whether we get distracted, discouraged, or drained, we often just don’t want to give the time and effort required to grow in grace. We need to be “stirred (1:13, 3:1).”

Peter knows the only answer for our spiritual forgetfulness and laziness is regular reminding: “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,” Peter says (1:14). However many more letters or sermons the Lord lets Peter deliver, he will use them not to entertain, impress, or unveil amazing new insights. He will faithfully discharge the ministry of reminding, because that gets Christians home.

Is that how you see it in your own life? Do you show it by committing to the life of the local church? It exists to carry out the “ministry of reminding” until Christ returns. You’ve heard it all before, I know. But that’s the point. God seems to think that the weekly rhythm of prayer, Scripture reading, singing, sermons, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, and fellowship all supply the life-saving instructions that we all need.

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church