For, "All flesh is like grass, And all of man's glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
People may busy themselves with studies of theology and a multitude of religious matters, but the means of saving the world from sin is the same as it always has been, namely, that of preaching the gospel to all people. It is not the deductions that people make from the sacred text, but the word itself that saves.  The church's chief mission on earth is the proclamation of the word Peter mentioned here; failing in that, a church becomes not merely useless but abhorrent.  What can give people the new birth and save their souls?  The answer lies in the last verse of this chapter: It is, "The word of good tidings which was preached unto you."