The Fail Proof Way To Have A Great Life
II Peter 1:5-15
If I were to ask you this morning…how many of you would say you had a good life?
How about a GREAT life? How many then?
Do we even know the definition of having a great life…
If we don’t then how can we know if we have it or not?
Peter tells us in II Peter 1:5-15 tells us THERE ARE 7 THINGS, WHICH IF WE ACQUIRE, will lead us to have a great life.
This is one of the most important passages in all of Scripture for the believer, a passage that must be studied and heeded time and again. It covers the great things (qualities and virtues) which are to be in the life of the believer.
2 Peter 1:5 - 15 (NKJV) 5But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.
Peter says here that there are some things in our control that determine what kind of life we live here below.
If there are, and they reside in our own power, we need to be figuring out how to use them!!!
This morning I want to answer three questions that have the power to enhance your life…
How many people would pay big money to go to a seminar with some big name spokesperson to find out the seven Fail Proof secrets of having a great life…this is good stuff…get in on it!!!
First, what are "these things"?
Second, how powerful are these things?
Third, how important are these things?
1. WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?
There is the charge to add these things to one's life. The word "add" (epichorēgēsate PWS: 46) means in addition to God's great salvation—right along side of what God has done—add these things. And give all diligence to adding them. Hasten, jump, act now to add them; don't wait. Be energetic and earnest, strenuously work to add these things to your faith and salvation. There are a lot of people in the church today who think salvation is all there is…they come into the church and get saved…they pick out their pew…and they sit there week after week…wondering why they are not experiencing the abundant life…they are missing out on the good stuff…Being a child of God is not what we are…it’s who we are…and according to Peter, if we are missing out on the good stuff, it’s noone’s fault but our own!!! So what do we add?
1. Add "virtue" (aretēn PWS: 4234): moral excellence and goodness of character; moral strength and moral courage.
Webster’s says a : conformity to a standard of right : MORALITY b : a particular moral excellence
In our application it means always doing things in a Christian manner…
2. Add "knowledge" (gnōsin PWS: 2274): practical intelligence, practical knowledge, practical insight. It means knowing what to do in every situation and doing it; it is practical, day to day knowledge that sees situations and knows how to handle them. Remember the charge: we must add knowledge to our faith. So how do we do that? We change our minds to conform more with the mind of Christ…
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We renew our minds by putting in it the things of the Lord until He starts to push the things of the world aside…that’s when we start to function in the “knowledge of Christ”.
3. Add "temperance" (egkrateia): to master and control the body or the flesh with all of its lusts. It means self-control… the master of desire…appetite…and passion, especially sensual urges and cravings.
It means to be strong and controlled and restrained. It means to stand against the lust of the flesh…the lust of the eye…and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-16).
Many will say, I just can’t fight temptation…I don’t have the willpower…yes you do…
Galatians 5:22 - 23 (NKJV) 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The believer is to proclaim self-control to the lost.
⇒ The believer is to control his sexual desires.
⇒ The believer is to strenuously exercise self-control, just as an athlete controls himself.
⇒ Peter tells us in this passage of Scripture that the believer is to grow in self-control.
4. Add "patience" (hupomonēn PWS: 2848): endurance, fortitude, stedfastness, constancy, perseverance. The word is not passive; it is active. It is not the spirit that just sits back and puts up with the trials of life, taking whatever may come. Rather it is the spirit that stands up and faces life's trials, that actively goes about conquering and overcoming them. When trials confront a man who is truly justified, he knows that God is allowing the trials in order to teach him more and more patience (endurance).
5. Add "godliness" (eusebeian): see note, Godliness— godliness is living like God and being a godly person.
The word "godliness" (eusebeian) actually means to live in the reverence and awe of God; to be so conscious of God's presence that one lives just as God would live if He were walking upon earth.
It means practicing the presence of God. It is to walk every day with the consciousness that God is with us…
Too many times the Christian in their mind reasons this…One day Jesus is coming back…I hope He doesn’t catch me doing this…In reality everything we do He is right there with us…
1 Peter 1:15 - 16 (NKJV) 15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”£
6. Add "brotherly kindness" (philadelphian PWS: 452): the very special love that exists between brothers and sisters within a loving family, brothers and sisters who truly cherish one another. It is the kind of love...
• that binds each other together as a family, as a brotherly clan.
• that binds each other in an unbreakable union.
• that holds each other ever so dearly within the heart.
• that knows deep affection for each other.
• that nourishes and nurtures each other.
• that shows concern and looks after the welfare of each other.
How can people possibly love one another like this when they are not true blood brothers and sisters? Here is how. The Greek word "brother" (adelphos) means from the same womb. The word used for love is phileo which means deep-seated affection and care, deep and warm feelings within the heart. It is the kind of love that holds a person near and dear to one's heart. Now note: the two Greek words are combined together by the writer to convey what he means by brotherly love.
⇒ People who have brotherly love have come from the same womb, that is, from the same source. They have been born again by the Spirit of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When they receive this new birth, God gives them a new spirit—a spirit that melts and binds their hearts and lives in love for all the family of God.
John 13:34 - 35 (NKJV) 34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
7. Add "love" (agapēn): the love of the mind, of the reason, of the will. It is the agapē love of God, the love that goes so far...
• that it loves regardless of feelings—whether a person feels like loving or not.
• that it loves a person even if the person does not deserve to be loved.
• that it actually loves the person who is utterly unworthy of being loved.
Note three significant points about agapē love.
a. Selfless or agapē love is the love of God, the very love possessed by God Himself. It is the love demonstrated in the cross of Christ.
⇒ It is the love of God for the ungodly.
⇒ It is the love of God for unworthy sinners.
⇒ It is the love of God for undeserving enemies.
b. Selfless or agapē love is a gift of God. It can be experienced only if a person knows God personally—only if a person has received the love of God, that is, Christ Jesus, into his heart and life. Agapē love has to be shed abroad (poured out, flooded, spread about) by the Spirit of God within the heart of a person.
Romans 5:5 (NKJV) 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
c. Selfless or agapē love is the greatest possession and gift in human life according to the Scripture.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV) 13And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
2. HOW POWERFUL ARE THESE THINGS?
They are powerful enough to completely change a life…the ability to change it from one of bitterness, sorrow, and self pity…into one of joy, happiness, and satisfaction!!!
In his NATURAL state:
⇒ Man is barren and unfruitful (2 Peter 1:8).
⇒ Man is blind, cannot see the purpose, meaning, and significance of life and cannot see how to be absolutely sure of tomorrow, much less the distant future (2 Peter 1:9).
⇒ Man forgets, does not know how to deal with sin. Or if he knows how—knows the gospel—he is unwilling to give up his sin (2 Peter 1:9).
⇒ Man does not know how to keep from falling in life, from failing and coming short. He does not know how to meet his full potential; how to control the problems of life; to bring love, peace, and joy to himself and his loved ones and the world (2 Peter 1:10).
⇒ Man does not know how to gain and be perfectly assured of eternal life; he does not know how to receive an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of Christ (2 Peter 1:11).
But note: all these needs can be met perfectly. They are met if these things of 2 Peter 1:7-8 are added to our lives in abundance. The word "abound" (pleonazonta) means to increase and grow; to overflow and be filled with more and more, ever learning how to increase these things in our lives. In other words, do not be satisfied...
• with your life as it is.
• with present growth.
• with staying where you are spiritually.
• with just knowing Jesus.
• with doing no more than what you are.
To have the needs of our hearts and lives met, we have to continue on in these things.
If we abound in them, then the needs of our hearts and lives will be met to the fullest.
1. We will not be barren nor unfruitful.
⇒ The word barren (argous PWS: 269) means idle and slothful; being empty and useless. It is the very opposite of being fruitful and productive in life. Therefore if we do these things, if we really work at our salvation, we will not live a barren, dry life. We will not be unfruitful nor live a life that is empty and useless, idle and slothful. On the contrary, we will live a life that flows with nourishment and that bears the ripest of fruit: love, joy, and peace (cp. Galatians 5:22-23).
But note the source of such a life: the source is our Lord Jesus Christ.
We must know Him and grow in the knowledge of Him.
The knowledge of Him must be our aim and purpose in life.
If it is then we are promised in scripture that we will be successful in our fruitbearing.
Matthew 13:23 (NKJV) 23But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
2. We will not be blind and shortsighted. Without Christ men are blind. They do not see...
• the purpose, meaning, or significance to life.
• the importance of morality and virtue, love, joy, peace, and the goodness of God and Christ.
• the way to conquer sin and evil, trials and suffering, life and death.
But note: if we do these things, if we work at our salvation, we will not be blind or unable to see ahead. We will not lack purpose, meaning, or significance in life.
These things, the things of salvation, will not only give us purpose in this life, they will give us eternal purpose. We will understand life, what life is all about.
3. We will not forget that we have been cleansed from our sins. Very frankly, the person who fails to do these things, who fails to work out his own salvation, soon forgets the death of Christ. He forgets the great price that Christ paid to forgive his sins. The person becomes a backslider. How can we say this? Because a person is either moving ahead in Christ or else sliding back from Christ.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10:38).
4. We will never fall. How often we come short, stumble, and fall. We just do not do what we should. If there is any single trait that runs through human life, it is stumbling, coming short, and falling. People stumble and come short and fall...
• in marriage
• in family duties
• in relationships
• in work
• in planning
• in behavior
• in resolutions
• in the Christian life • in school
• in responsibilities
• in life
• in promises
• in devotions
• in witnessing
• in serving Christ
• in worship
How can we keep from stumbling and falling? God has called and elected us to live a rich and fruitful life and to be rich and fruitful for all of eternity. How can we live such a rich, fruitful life? Note the verse:
2 Peter 1:10 (NKJV) 10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
We must be diligent in doing these things. We must give ourselves totally to the things of salvation. We must work and work at them. If we do, then we shall never stumble and fall, not in a tragic, devastating or destructive sense. On the contrary, we will live the most abundant and fruitful life imaginable.
2 Peter 1:10 (NKJV) 10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
5. We will be given eternal life and more. We will receive an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The word abundant means rich.
We will be richly and gloriously welcomed into heaven.
There will be different degrees of reward, of richness and wealth in heaven.
How can we be assured of receiving the richest entrance into heaven?
By being diligent in doing these things, in working out our salvation.
CONCLUSION
3. How important are these things?
What Peter now does is most interesting. He tells us how important he considers these things.
1. They are so important that he is always going to preach and teach these things. He is going to remind and remind believers of them.
2. Genuine believers know them and are even established in these things. But Peter says he is going to repeat and repeat them. He will not neglect them.
3. They are so important that he is going to stir believers to do them as long as he is alive. He is going to remind and remind them of these things as long as he is in "this tabernacle," the tent of his body.
4. Peter has to repeat and repeat these things. Why?
5. Because it is right (dikaion), the only right thing to do. Believers must do these things in order to experience the rich and fruitful life Christ gives.
6. Therefore, he must stress them and drive them home to the hearts of his dear people. But note: this is not all that Peter has to say about these things.
7. They are so important that Peter is going to see that believers are stirred to do these things even after his death.
8. Peter apparently knew that he was soon to be taken on home to heaven. But these things were so important that he was going to make arrangements with those left behind to teach these things.
Thought 1. How important are these things? How important is it that we preach these things? Few Scriptures are stressed and emphasized as much as these. Peter says he is going to see to it these things are taught to believers; he says this three times. This alone should stir us to preach and teach them—always—ever so diligently and faithfully.
John 21:15 - 18 (NKJV) 15So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of £Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of £Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of £Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
This morning I have fed the sheep of God’s pasture…what you do with it is up to you…
This Is My Church It is composed of people just like me. It will be friendly if I am. It will do a great work if I work. It will make generous gifts to many causes if I am generous. It will bring others into its fellowship if I bring them. Its seats will be filled if I fill them. It will be a church of loyalty and love, of faith and service. If I who make it what it is, am filled with these, Therefore, with God’s help, I dedicate myself to the task of being All these things I want my Church to be. Anonymous
