THE PRESENT TRUTH
“Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them, and are established in the present truth.” (2 Peter 1:12)
There is an hour in which we live, and there is a truth that must be proclaimed in that hour. Peter called it “the present truth.” He was not suggesting that truth changes. God’s truth is eternal. What was true yesterday remains true today and will remain true tomorrow.
Sometimes certain truths need to be brought to the forefront of our minds because of the spiritual condition of the hour in which we live. Peter said, “I will not be negligent to remind you.” Sometimes the greatest need of the church is not to hear something new, but to be reminded of something old.
THE REMINDER OF TRUTH
“I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things.” There is great danger in becoming familiar with truth without remaining faithful to truth. We can hear the same Scriptures so often that we cease to tremble at them. We can know the doctrines of the word while allowing the fire of devotion to grow cold. Israel knew the commandments of God, yet repeatedly wandered from them. The church at Ephesus knew how to identify false teachers, yet Christ told them they had left their first love (Revelation 2:2-4).
We need reminders because we are forgetful people. We forget what God has done. We forget what God has promised. We forget the seriousness of sin. We forget the brevity of life. We forget the certainty of judgment. We forget the glory of heaven. Most of all, we can forget that Jesus Christ must remain the center of everything.
The preacher must therefore keep reminding God’s people. Truth does not become less important because we have heard it before. The old truths are still the good truths. The blood still saves. Grace is still amazing. Repentance is still necessary. Faith is still essential. Holiness still matters. Christ is still Lord. Heaven is still real. Hell is still real. Eternity is still coming.
THE REALITY OF TRUTH
Peter said they were “established in the present truth.” To be established means to be settled, strengthened, and firmly grounded. There is a difference between knowing truth and being established in truth.
A person who is established cannot easily be moved by every new teaching, every popular opinion, or every cultural wind. Paul warned- that believers should no longer be children who are “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). The world is constantly changing its message, but the Word of God does not need to change with the world.
We desperately need established Christians today. Christians who know what they believe. Christians who know why they believe it. Christians who will stand when standing is unpopular. Christians who will speak when silence would be easier. Christians who will obey God when obedience costs them something.
The church does not need to become more like the world to reach the world. The church needs to become more like Christ.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TRUTH
Peter said, “I will not be negligent.” Those words carry tremendous weight. Peter understood that possessing truth creates responsibility. If God has entrusted us with His Word, we have an obligation to faithfully proclaim it.
Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Why? Because a time would come when people would not endure sound doctrine, but would gather teachers who would tell them what they wanted to hear (2 Timothy 4:3–4).
That time has not eliminated our responsibility. It has increased it.
We cannot determine truth by majority vote. We cannot measure truth by social approval. We cannot alter truth because someone may become offended. The question is not, “What does everybody believe?” The question is, “What has God said?”
The present truth is not whatever happens to be trending today. The present truth is the eternal Word of God applied faithfully to the present hour.
And the greatest truth we can proclaim is still Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He is the Savior of sinners, the hope of the hopeless, the Shepherd of His sheep, and the coming King. The world may change its message, but Christ has not changed. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
So let us not be negligent. Let us remember the truth, stand in the truth, live the truth, and proclaim the truth. The hour is passing. Life is short. Eternity is near. The world needs the truth, and God has entrusted that truth to His people.
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PRAYER
Father, establish us in Your truth. Keep us from compromise, cowardice, and confusion. Remind us of the things we are so easily tempted to forget. Give us courage to stand, wisdom to speak, humility to obey, and faithfulness to proclaim Your Word. Above everything else, keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ, who is the Truth. In His name, Amen.
BDD
