IN this verse we hear the closing exhortation of Peter in his 2nd general letter to the churches. In this verse we have the secret of assurance and deliverance from the doubts suggested by Satan in his attempt to ruin peace and assurance in a believers mind and heart.

What does it mean to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Even here Satan seeks to lead a believer astray to lose peace in believing.

Grow in grace is to grow in the abundance of the blessing of the salvation we know when we are given the gift of faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour and sin-bearer. We are saved by grace. This means that our salvation is based of faith in Jesus and all he has won for sinners in his life and death. Christ has worked a perfect righteousness which meets all the demands of God's holiness. This is the foundation of grace, God's sovereign grace in salvation.

What does this mean for us as redeemed sinners? It means that the fulness of all the requirements of fulfilling the whole glory of God our Saviour Jesus Christ has met for all the elect of God. Grace is the unmerited favour of God whereby he imputes and reckons to all who are given the grace of faith to believe in Jesus as their complete and all-sufficient Saviour. This means that there is no record of sin against the believer. Because of this we are accepted and counted before God in a new nature created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

The devil using doubts from the world, and judgements of other Christians, to place us back under the need to work our own acceptance before God by our own effort.

To GROW IN GRACE is to grow in the faith and blessing of this free aceeptance before God that Christ has won and worked for us. We stand on the sure foundation that Christ has fulfilled all righteousness for us, and God in unmerited favour accepts the perfection of Christ's righteousness as given to us.