C. The Responsibilities in View of the Lord’s Coming (3:11-17)

If God’s Word can be trusted and Christ will return for judgment and salvation, then Christians must be ready at all times for his coming. They will express their readiness by holy living as they anticipate the new heavens and new earth God will create. Peter understands the holy life in terms of loving relationships with others and with God. In such relationships, which are ultimately rooted in God’s grace, Christians will seize every opportunity to cooperate with God’s desire that all persons come to know him through Jesus.

That the Lord will come is precisely why Christians must grow in grace. Only as they continue to shape their lives by God’s grace will they avoid the snare of false teaching and embrace God’s saving work in the world (see the purpose statement in 1:4) in anticipation of their final triumph in the eternal kingdom (1:11).