You will receive a rich welcome
into the eternal kingdom.
—2 Peter 1:11
There is a harsh theology that brutally hammers the fragile, allowing no room for weakness, little room for grace, and almost no chance for salvation.
God, on the other hand, is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love … he does not treat us as our sins deserve” (Ps. 103:8, 10). Micah assures us that he “delights in showing mercy,” and Paul reassures us that we “are justified freely by his grace.”
Peter prods us to build muscle in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. The promised result is “a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” As Williams’ translation has it, “you will be generously granted a triumphant admittance.”
Not saved-by-the-skin-of-the-teeth, but welcomed with the fanfare of a “triumphant admittance.”
Anxiety about destiny is eliminated
by certainty about grace.