Supply Perseverance
Be Certain of God’s Promises, Part 6
082309 PM
Text--2 Peter 1:1-11
Introduction
This lesson continues a series focused on the promises of God and our part in receiving what has been promised.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a promise is a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.
In every promise there is the one who makes the promise and the one who receives. God has made to all who believe in His Son great and precious promises but it remains to us to be in a position to receive what has been promised.
1 Be Certain of God’s Promises
A. It is God’s Promise:
1. This is not a worldly contract with worldly uncertainty.
2. God sent, God approved, God guaranteed! And God is Faithful to His Promises
Joshua 21:45 Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
B. Know To Whom It Is Promised
2 Peter 1:4 For by these (His power and our true knowledge of Him v3) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of this world by lust.
1. A “partaker” is a participant, partner, or sharer.
2. Romans 8:17 …heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
C. We Have a Part in the Promises.
1. “Now for this very reason…” (v5) tells us that there is action required on our part.
2. In order to become partakers in the divine nature and so inherit His precious and magnificent promises we must have “escaped the corruption that is in the world.”(v4)
a. This is accomplished first (and foremost) by faith
3. To escape the corruption that is in this world we begin in faith but grow our character as a child of God through diligent effort. 2 Peter 1:5a Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith…
4. Peter lists the spiritual characteristics that need to be a part of a believer’s life. V5-7
a. Each quality is a tile laid on the rock foundation of our faith and serve to help us stand firm in our faith.
b. Diligent effort is needed as we obey the will of God: Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
D. In Your Faith Supply…
1. Supply to your faith.
a. The Greek word translated here as supply or add, (in the imperative) is the word from which we get the English words “chorus,” “choreograph,” and “choreography.”
b. In ancient Greece the state established a chorus but the director, the chorēgys, paid the expenses for training the chorus.
c. Then the word came to be used of one who provides for or supports others or supplies something for them in abundance.
d. A believer is to “furnish, supply, or add” to his faith with these qualities.
2. Moral Excellence (aretē)
a. It is derived from the root word Aresko which means to please or be pleasing. It implies intentional, deliberate and continuous conduct that is pleasing to God
3. In your Moral Excellence, Knowledge
a. Remember we are supplying this to our faith.
b. “Knowledge” (gnosis) as used here does not refer to the knowledge of God that leads to salvation but is that knowledge that leads to wisdom and discernment that enables us to live godly lives
c. This is beyond knowing “the book.”
4. In your Knowledge, Self-Control
a. We must also make every effort to practice self-control (egkrateia); used only two other times in the NT, in Acts 24:25 (where Paul testifies to Felix); Galatians 5:23 (as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit).
b. self-control, which literally means “holding oneself in”. It was used of athletes who sought self-discipline and self-restraint, even beating their bodies into submission (analogy used by Paul: 1 Corinthians 9:27).
2 In Your Faith, Supply Perseverance
A. This word hypomenēn means “staying under.”
1. It is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to steadfast endurance under adversity, without giving in or giving up.
a. 2 Thessalonians 1:4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
b. Perseverance is not a stoic indifference to whatever fate allows; rather, perseverance springs from faith in God’s goodness and control over all that happens in believers’ lives.
2. This is the “staying power” of the Christian in times of trial.
a. This is the ability to steadfastly endure all that life brings (suffering, or evil, or joy, or goodness) without giving up one’s faith.
B. Perseverance is learned.
1. Through the Holy Word of God.
a. Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
2. By following the examples of the brethren.
a. Speaking of Abraham:
Hebrews 6:12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
b. Hebrews chapter 11, the great cloud of witnesses.
1) The outstanding characteristic of the Old Testament men and women of faith was their endurance. They lived on a promise. They acted in faith.
2) Hebrews 11:39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
3) They stayed true to God even though they did not see the fulfillment of what had been promised to them.
c. Jesus the ultimate example of endurance.
Hebrews 12:1 - 3 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
3. Through trails, trouble, and tribulation
a. James 1:2 - 4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
1) Dokimion is the Greek word translated testing; it means “approved after testing.”
2) The term is used in the context of “proved genuine” (like pure gold) and means that by trial our faith is proved genuine and endurance is the outcome (endurance is the “proof”.)
3) The trials do not determine whether or not believers have faith; rather, the trials strengthen our faith by adding perseverance.
b. By way of commending the church at Philippi, Paul wrote:
Philippians 4:11 - 13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
4. We need desire the adding of perseverance to our faith.
a. Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
Conclusion
In this series of lessons we are studying the qualities Peter identified that we need to ensure we can be certain we will receive the promises of God.
2 Peter 1:10 - 11 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Invitation
Let's remember one final great and precious promise: “I will come again.”
1. John 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Jesus is coming back to take us home…forever. That’s a promise!
