A Call to Persevere

2 Peter 3v1-4 (BSB)
“Beloved, this is now my second letter to you.  Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask.  “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

Jude 1v17-23 (BSB)
“But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.” These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.  And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.”

“Here it is Peter’s purpose to arouse the people, to remind them, and to urge and impel them not to neglect their faith and to remain in their sincere mind and in their understanding of what a true Christian life is.  For since our flesh and blood always cling to us, the Word of God must be awake in us, lest we give way to the flesh instead of fighting against it and being more than a match for it.”

Martin Luther, Sermons on 2 Peter

Hebrews 10v23-25 (BSB)
“Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.  Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

“One Christian conversing with another is a means to confirm him.  As the stones in an arch help to strengthen one another, one Christian, by imparting his experience, heats and quickens another.  How does grace flourish by holy conference!  A Christian by good discourse drops the oil upon another that makes the lamp of his faith burn the brighter.”

Thomas Watson, A Divine Cordial

(BSB Berean Study Bible)