2 Peter 3:16

My Notes

What Does 2 Peter 3:16 Mean?

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." Peter acknowledges that Paul's letters are difficult — "some things hard to be understood" (dysnoēta — hard to comprehend, intellectually challenging). And the difficulty creates danger: unlearned (amatheis — uneducated, untrained) and unstable (astēriktoi — unsettled, not firmly grounded) people twist (streblousin — distort, torture, wrench) Paul's words to serve their own agendas. The twisting isn't accidental. It's deliberate mishandling that produces "their own destruction."

The phrase "as they do also the other scriptures" is historically significant: Peter classifies Paul's letters as Scripture (graphas). The earliest canonical recognition of Paul's writings as sacred text comes from Peter — the other pillar apostle.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What 'hard to understand' passage have you been tempted to twist to support what you already believe?
• 2.What training and stability do you need to handle difficult biblical texts responsibly?
• 3.How does Peter classifying Paul's letters as 'Scripture' affect your view of the New Testament canon?
• 4.Where has mishandling of Scripture produced destruction rather than illumination — in your life or in your community?

Devotional

Some things hard to understand. And the uneducated and unstable twist them. Like they twist the rest of Scripture. To their own destruction. Peter acknowledges the difficulty of Paul's letters AND the danger of mishandling them — AND elevates them to the status of Scripture.

Some things hard to be understood. Dysnoēta — Peter admits what every reader of Romans has felt: Paul is hard. Some of his arguments require sustained attention. His theology is dense. His logic is layered. And the difficulty isn't a design flaw. It's a feature of the depth. Shallow truth is easy to understand. Deep truth requires effort. And Paul writes deep.

Which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest. Streblousin — to twist, to distort, to put on the rack and stretch until the original shape is unrecognizable. The twisting is done by two categories of people: unlearned (untrained, lacking the interpretive tools) and unstable (ungrounded, lacking the doctrinal foundation). Without training and grounding, difficult texts become raw material for whatever the reader wants them to say.

As they do also the other scriptures. Peter drops the classification: Paul's letters are Scripture. The other scriptures — the ones the twisters also distort — are the Old Testament. And Paul's letters are in the same category. Peter, the pillar apostle who walked with Jesus, affirms that Paul's writings carry the same authority as the Hebrew Bible. The canonical recognition is embedded in a warning about mishandling.

Unto their own destruction. The twisting isn't harmless. It destroys the twister. The person who mishandles Scripture doesn't just produce bad theology. They produce their own destruction (apōleian — ruin, loss, destruction). The Bible that was given for salvation becomes, through mishandling, the instrument of the mishandler's ruin. The same text that saves the careful reader destroys the reckless one.

The verse is simultaneously the most honest and most terrifying statement about biblical interpretation: Paul is hard. Some people twist him. The twisting destroys them. And the hard passages will continue being hard — requiring the training and stability that the twisters lack.

The antidote isn't avoiding Paul. It's training. The unlearned need to learn. The unstable need to be stabilized. And both need to approach the difficult texts with the humility that difficulty demands: if it's hard to understand, slow down. Don't twist it into what you want. Learn what it means.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture