The emphasis of Peter’s 1st epistle was on the external suffering and persecution believers were facing from the outside world.

 

The emphasis of his second epistle was to warn believers about the dangers that were in their midst—inside the walls of the church.

 

Peter knew that if the devil couldn’t persecute the church out of existence from without—he would infiltrate the church and poison it from within. This he would accomplish thru false teachers who would peddle their destructive doctrines to unsuspecting Christians leaving them sick and ineffective.

He begins by urging them to keep a close watch on their personal lives, reminding them that the Lord has called His people to a life of virtue.

 

This life, Peter tells them, was made possible thru the new birth at which time they became partakers of His divine nature.

 

This new birth along with the Spirit’s power allowed them, and all believers in Christ, to escape the corruption that is in the world and to live a life of holiness for His glory.