1. Instructions for growing in piety
People who are submissive to the desires of the flesh have no respect for the lifestyle of the saints. That type of person delights in inducing others to sin. However, GOD knows the saints and will save them, just as he knows the sinners and will judge them. It is his desire that each Christian may appear pure before his presence.

2:9
Persevere in piety. Know that it's the most secure place in which you can be.

2:19
Diligently avoid returning to the practices from which you have been freed. Understand that you will fall into greater servitude.

3:14-18
Live a stainless life. Don't deviate from the road to likeness with Christ.

3:16
Be careful in how you handle your Bible. Remember that the ignorant distort the truth. Be careful with the teachings that you hear. Measure them by the Word of GOD.

2. Steps toward a fruitful life
Peter gives us an ascending order of Christian virtues that, once established in our lives, will make us bear fruits in the true knowledge of GOD. The life that comes from the knowledge of GOD can only bring good to others. Failing to decide to grow in Christ brings with it the inability to perceive the blessings received with conversion, to the point that our identification with Jesus is forgotten or ignored.

1:58
Remember that an effective and productive life is the result of sanctification (transformation of character) that begins with faith and bears fruits in love.

3. Steps toward a dynamic devotion
Devotion to Jesus supplies what we need to achieve piety. A fervent devotion is born from irrenouncably giving yourself to the Word of GOD, which is the only source of Christian thought. Any other source can contaminate the mind of the believer in the long run.

1:3,4
Understand that GOD's power provides all that you need to carry out a pious life through your relationship with Jesus Christ.

3:1,2
Strengthen you mind reading, rereading and studying the Bible. Understand that integrity of the mind is the result of resting on the Word of GOD.

4. How to identify false teachers
The false teacher or false prophet is guided by the flesh, seeking to obtain the power or benefits of ministry for himself. Initially, his message may not have been false, but his motivation to use the ministry is carnal, so that he calls to the carnal in others, offering them some material or spiritual satisfaction. These people will introduce, finally, some doctrines contrary to the truth. Each one of us should utilize the Word of GOD to measure the message that every preacher presents; in that way we will be able to adequately judge the changes or distortions in what we are taught. GOD will judge the person who teaches.

2:1-3
Reject every teaching that denies the lordship of Jesus. Know that the false teacher introduces distrust of the true ministers of GOD. Judge the words of every teaching. Allow GOD to judge the one who teaches.

2:18-22
Beware of doctrines that sound good but mean nothing. Affirm your position in such a way that you can't be dragged back into sin by a false doctrine.

Key lessons in faith
We can't live the Christian life with logic alone; faith is needed. The Christian life is developed as a result of hearing the Word of GOD, trusting in it and applying it through faithful obedience. It may be that faith doesn't bring immediate dividends, however, its final benefits will be realized in eternity.

1:4
Understand that GOD's promises allow us the following: 1) to possess the true nature of GOD and 2) to escape from moral and spiritual corruption.

1:16-21
Recognize the divine origin of the Scriptures. Understand that every personal interpretation should be examined in the light of the Word of GOD.

3:11-13
Understand that the final goal of the believer isn't in this life. Know that our hope is written in a new heaven and new earth. Life with a holy indifference for the values of this world and all that it controls.