Acquired Thru Faith-10(:4b)

ACQUIRED Thru FAITH-X—2Peter 1:4b(:1-4)

Attention:

Soon the Icelandic portion of our family is going to be vacationing with us for a few weeks! We are so excited, as we haven’t seen them for over two years now.

But they can’t just hop in the car & drive over. In order for us to see each other, they must fly. They will leave via a direct flight, from Keflavik airport in Reykjavik, Iceland, & arrive in Raleigh, NC after an approximately 7hr. flight. They will arrive on a specific day & time, & leave on a specific day & time.

In order to get here, they have to put absolute FAITH in the particular methods, times, & places surrounding ‘air travel.’ They especially have to put FAITH in the jet itself.

If they do not have enough Faith in the jet, they will not board it, & we will not get together. Faith in the jet, gets you where you physically need to be.

What their FAITH in the ‘public air transportation system’ Acquires for our family, is the bringing together, of those that love one another very dearly.

Likewise, by your personal & our corporate FAITH in Christ, ALL the needed aspects of our Christian empowerment are met, fulfilled, & satisfied!

Christian Faith, gets you where God wants you to be!

Need:

Dedicated Christians live in a secularized world that actively seeks to indoctrinate them, with fleshly priorities of created things.

In your & my Christian opposition to a multitude of worldviews, others know that only in Jesus Christ, is there a settled, certain, & eternal hope!

The apostle Peter informed those who were faithful to Jesus Christ, that they were fully/completely supplied for every aspect of godly living.

God’s people are completely supplied for godly living thru their faith in Jesus Christ.

BUT, ?What does saving faith in Christ actually acquire for God’s people?

So far in this series, we have found that,

Some provisions acquired thru faith in Jesus Christ, are...

1. TRUSTWORTHY APOSTLES(:1a)[parts-1 & 2]

2. CHRISTIAN FAMILY(:1b)

3. The SINGULAR, PERFECT SAVIOR(:1c)

4. MULTIPLIED GRACE & PEACE(:2a)

5. KNOWLEDGE Of GOD(:2b, :3b)

6. EVERYTHING NEEDFUL For FULFILLING LIFE(:3a)

7. The CALL Of GOD’s GLORY & VIRTUE(:3c)

8. GOD’s FLAWLESS PROMISES(:4a)

Today we’ll find that...

9—Another provision acquired thru faith is...

The DIVINE MINDSET(:4b)

Explanation:(:4b)Against Lust/For Escape

:4b—“...that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

“...that through these...”

The word, “These”, is a reference to everything that Faith Acquires for the person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ alone.

“These” beneficial acquirements of faith, including all of the promises of God, are the conduit & the bounds within which & thru which, we have opportunity to become “partakers of the divine nature.”

“...you may be partakers of the divine nature,...”

*Keep in mind that “partakers of” God’s very “nature” CANNOT mean that we are, or can ever be “partakers of” the very ‘nature & essence’ of His being, as are the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit!

•We CANNOT be partakers in the ‘nature’ & ‘essence’ of God’s ‘being’, because we are created by God.

•However, we ARE created in His image, & similarly, we are given dominion over the remainder of creation!(Gen. 1:26-28).

*So, we CAN & ARE EXPECTED to, actually take part in the very “nature” of God Himself in this way--BY/THRU you & me(God’s people) freely & intentionally, aligning ourselves with & within the perfections of God’s character!

So, being “partakers of” God’s very “nature” must be reflected by our ‘moral’ choices...Our determinations of ‘right’ versus ‘wrong’! They are reflected in the way we live our lives!

•Exactly WHAT determines YOUR understanding of ‘right’ versus ‘wrong’?

?Do you have a Divine Mindset?

*God’s people are “partakers of the divine nature” IN THE SENSE THAT, by the Holy Spirit within them, they are always in the process of confronting & avoiding sin.

•The Holy Spirit compels God’s people to cling to the perfect design of God’s standards of ‘good.’ The Holy Spirit also compels God’s people to recognize the many ‘hindrances’ to God’s ‘good’!

God’s very “nature” is such that He will NOT tolerate sin in heaven, NOR does He ‘desire it’ in those who are His, even though they are currently bound to earth!

God has a HATRED of personal sin, & a HATRED of sin in our relationships. God has a HATRED of sin that drives the world at large. God has a HATRED of anything that is not from faith in Him thru Christ Jesus(Rom. 14:23).

Rom. 14:23—“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

*God equips His people—the saved—with His similar DISTASTE for, & intolerance for, sin!