by Tim Hall

"You just go through that door down the hallway . . ." "Excuse me for interrupting, but which door exactly do you mean? I want to make sure I go to the right place." It's an exchange we've all had at one time or another. In getting directions on how to get to our desired destination, someone tells us which door we should enter. What happens if we go through a different door? Sometimes, we find ourselves in a place we didn't want to be.

Peter used the word "through" a couple of times in his second letter, and his thought is vitally important for those wishing to get to heaven. For example, in 2 Peter 1:3, he wrote "As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue" (New King James Version). Is it our goal to obtain life and godliness? Certainly. Then in order to obtain those precious gifts, we must go "through" the right door, a door Peter specified as "knowledge". The knowledge of Jesus Christ, to be more specific.

The same concept appears in 2 Peter 2:20: "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . ." Here again is a desired destination for Christians: to escape the pollutions of the world. Sin defiles us and separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1,2), and those who remain in sin have no hope of spending eternity with God. Then how can we "escape the pollutions of the world"? Through that same door of knowledge, Peter affirmed.

"The knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" - Isn't that just another way of saying "Read your Bible"? That's about the size of it. It's an old adage we've heard too many times to count. But how many of us have taken heed? Instead, the world distracts us with its glitter and buzz, and we lay down night after night without having opened the pages of God's word. Far too many Christians neglect their Bible study, and thus do not have the knowledge of which Peter speaks. (But how many of those same Christians neglect their television programs, daily newspapers or favorite hobbies?)

According to Peter, there is only one door through which to enter if we want the blessings of (1) life and godliness and (2) escape from the pollutions of the world. We dare not take a wrong turn on this journey! We must be careful to search God's word daily so we will have this knowledge that leads to so many desirable things.

Oh, did I mention that Peter spoke of the idea a third time in this same short letter? "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). As long as we live, we'll never get too much knowledge. It's time Christians took the admonitions of Peter seriously!

"Excuse me, Lord, but which way do I go to get to heaven?" "You just go through this door . . ."