Now we Christians have to remember that we have come to the end of all things. Obviously, Peter did not mean that when he wrote, somewhere about 60 ad, the end of this dispensation was reached, but rather that the end dispensation was reached—it is “the last time.” The judge is quite ready (v. 5); He stands “at the door” (Jas. 5:9), ready to enter the court and take His seat so that the judgment may begin. All things then were quite ready for judgment at the very start of the epoch in which we are living, and it is only the longsuffering of God which holds the judgment back (2 Pet. 3:9). How sober and watchful in prayer should we therefore be!

More than this, we should be marked by fervent love among ourselves, and the utilization of every gift and ability to the glory of God, from whom all such things proceed. The world is a cold and critical place; the Christian circle should be a place of warm love. When love among Christians exists in fervor, it expresses itself passively in covering a multitude of sins and actively in giving and in hospitality.

There are alas many sins, even with true believers. The antagonistic world delights to advertise the sins of believers, proclaiming them from the housetops. Love in the Christian circle feels them as though they were their own and covers them. When a Christian busies himself in advertising the sins of some other Christian, he thereby advertises his own carnal condition. Many of us would be rather careful not to advertise the sin of some other believer who happens to meet with us in our public gatherings. Are we as careful in regard to believers who do not meet with us?