Introduction:
A. I love to eat, and I have been blessed to be married to an excellent cook, who is the daughter of an excellent cook, and granddaughter of an excellent cook.
1. I want to show you a few cartoons to get us thinking about cooking and following the instructions of good recipes.
2. This first cartoon illustrates something that happens sometimes when we are eating with the Olbrichts.
a. The cartoon says, “Now that you’ve eaten it, I can tell you what it was.”
b. We often get a chuckle when eating with Kathryn, because one of us will compliment her on something that tastes so good, and she will start to laugh.
c. At that point we know that something happened…the wrong ingredient, or a missing ingredient, or something.
d. She’s such a good cook that she can overcome any obstacle and make it taste good.
3. The next couple of cartoons illustrate the challenge of understanding and following directions.
4. Slide: “The recipe said to stand for five minutes.” I think it meant the food, not the people.
5. Slide: “The recipe said to simmer uncovered.” That would be the pan, not the man.
6. This final cartoon illustrates how inept many of us men are in the kitchen.
a. I know there are many great cooks who are men, and then there are the rest of us who wouldn’t know how to cook a can of beans.
7. I like the story of the two confirmed bachelors who sat talking.
a. Their conversation drifted from politics to cooking.
b. “I got a cookbook once,” said the first, “but I could never do anything with it.”
c. “Too much fancy cooking in it, eh?” asked the second.
d. “You said it. Every one of the recipes began the same way - Take a clean dish and....”
B. Okay, so why are we talking about cooking and recipes? Because as we open the letter of 2 Peter we notice that Peter lays out a recipe for spiritual success.
1. Like all good recipes, if you follow them carefully, you will be pleased with the results.
2. Peter gives us a guarantee.
a. In verse 8 he says, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
b. Then in verse 10, he says, “For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
3. How’s that for a promise?!
4. Does that get your attention?
5. This is the Word of God and we can trust it! Praise the Lord!
C. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
1. Let’s back up and introduce the letter of 2 Peter and begin working through the text.
2. A couple of weeks ago we finished our series on 1 Peter.
3. We noted during that series that 1 Peter emphasizes our living hope especially in the face of persecution. We have a living hope! Praise the Lord.
4. What we will notice about 2 Peter is the emphasis on knowing the Lord.
a. The word “know” or “knowledge” is used at least 13 times in this short letter.
b. This knowledge is not mere intellectual understanding of some truth, though that is included.
c. This knowledge involves a living participation in the truth in the sense that our Lord used it in John 17:3, where he said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
5. In this first chapter, Peter began his letter with a description of the Christian life and how to live it well.
6. Then in the following chapters, Peter goes on to describe the counterfeits to the true faith.
7. The best way to detect falsehood is to first have a clear understanding of the characteristics of what is real and true.
8. Peter’s purpose is to remind us that the gospel transforms lives, that discipleship involves discipline, and that spiritual growth and success is intentional, not automatic.
D. Second Peter begins: 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
1. Peter introduces himself as “Simon Peter,” a reference to the fact that he was once Simon, but Jesus gave him a new name “Peter” the rock.
2. Notice that Peter introduced himself first as a servant, then an apostle.
a. He didn’t need to wave his authority or position of apostle.
b. Peter is happy to be known as a servant of Christ, and so should we!
3. Then Peter identified those to whom he was writing – “to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.”
a. We notice several important things.
b. First, Jesus is identified as God and Savior – He indeed is both.
c. Second, we notice that it is through the righteousness of Christ, that we receive our faith and salvation. It is a gift of grace.
d. Third, we notice that the faith they have received is as precious as the faith Peter had received.
e. It is a precious faith we have received, and everyone receives that same precious faith, whether a person is an apostle or not.
4. Finally, we notice in Peter’s introduction his prayer for them.
a. He prays that they may have grace and peace – who wouldn’t want that!
b. But notice that the grace and peace come through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
c. This grace and peace can be ours in abundance as our knowledge and experience with the Lord grows.
d. Jesus came that we might have life and to have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10)
E. Let’s turn our attention to verses 3-11 and see what Peter had to say about the recipe for spiritual success.
I. The Provision for Spiritual Success (2 Pt. 1:3-4)
A. Peter wrote: 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
1. This is an amazing section – one of my favorites in the New Testament.
2. It is a section just packed full of amazing declarations and promises.
B. First of all, we notice that Peter declares that God has already given us everything we need for life and godliness.
1. Available to us is everything we need for spiritual growth and success.
2. Let that word “everything” sink in. Everything means everything, right?!
3. It comes from God through His divine power.
4. It also comes through our knowledge of God – and let me emphasize again that this knowledge is not just intellectual knowledge, but is relational and experiential knowledge that comes from walking with God and depending on His Spirit.
C. In verse 4, we notice that God has given us His very great and precious promises.
1. God’s promises are great and precious.
2. Great – mega – exceedingly outstanding.
3. Precious – means prized or valuable.
4. God’s promises are mega magnificent!
5. John Bunyan, who spent much of his life in prison for his faith, wrote: “The pathway of life is strewn so thickly with the promises of God that it is impossible to take one step without treading upon one of them.”
6. Aren’t you glad that God keeps all His promises? The Bible makes that abundantly clear.
7. Psalm 145:13, “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.”
D. One final thing we notice about the provision for spiritual success in verse 4 is the declaration that we participate in the divine nature.
1. As Christians we are given the deposit of the Holy Spirit, and our bodies are the temple of the Spirit.
2. A part of God somehow lives in us and enables us to escape the corruption of the world.
3. We have the power of God living in us that enables us to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
4. One of the early Christians declared: “He became what we are to make us what He is.”
E. So every provision for spiritual success is ours.
1. Everything we need is available.
2. We have God’s very great and precious promises.
3. And we participate in the divine nature.
II. The Plan for Spiritual Success (2 Pt. 1:5-7)
A. Peter continued: 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
B. Any plan for accomplishing something includes three Ds: Dream, Decision, and Discipline.
1. Dreaming is the easy part, right?
a. Dreaming doesn’t require anything.
b. As we dream, we think about where we would like to be or what we would like to be.
c. I can dream all I want about going to the Olympics or learning a new instrument or learning to speak a new language, or starting a business, or getting a college degree.
d. Dreams are great, and we must start with a dream, but if that’s as far as we get, then we have not gotten very far.
2. Once we have a dream, then we must make the decision to pursue the dream.
a. The decision phase includes making decisions about how to achieve the dream.
b. We must decide what steps to take to get to our dream.
c. We must decide to get a gym membership, or sign up for lessons, or courses.
d. Making these decisions moves us toward our dream, and is certainly harder than just dreaming, but it is still not the hardest part.
3. The hardest part is the discipline.
a. Discipline is the hard work of following through with the decisions that lead to our dream.
b. It is sticking with the course and finishing it.
c. It is the daily grind of practice and exercise and exertion.
C. Peter gives us this amazing recipe for spiritual success.
1. He began by clarifying that it was going to require a lot of effort – he tells us to make every effort.
a. Not just a little effort. Not just some effort. But every effort.
2. Then he gave a progression of qualities and characteristics that we needed to be adding – things we need to be building into our lives.
3. Let’s pause here for a minute and realize that spiritual growth and success is a partnership with God.
4. Paul captured this idea in Philippians 2:12-13, where he wrote: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” We work it out as God works in us!
5. Paul described how he cooperated with God in his ministry, when he wrote in Col. 1:28, 29: “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” I labor with His energy – see the partnership?
6. It is a little like the power steering and brakes on your car.
a. Have you ever been driving along and have your car stall which causes the power steering and brakes to no longer have the power assistance?
b. When the power steering and brakes are working it is a whole lot easier to steer and stop.
c. But will the power steering and brakes work all by themselves?
d. The power is there and is available, but it requires us to do something – we have to take hold of the wheel and turn it, we have to put our foot on the brake and push it.
7. God’s power is available and it does most of the work, but it is not engaged without us doing something to employ the power.
8. So when we put forth every effort, God is right there to supply the power assistance.
D. Let’s notice the progression of characteristics.
1. We can’t pass on the ones we don’t like or find too difficult.
2. The qualities build on to each other, and overlap each other.
3. Back to the opening illustration of cooking – when you are making a cake you need to have all the right ingredients and then they need to be added in the correct order or you can have a mess.
E. Peter starts with faith – everything starts with faith.
1. To faith, we are to add goodness – this is moral excellence.
2. To goodness, we are to add knowledge – knowledge is indispensible to Christian life and service – especially the knowledge of God and His Word.
3. To knowledge, we are to add self-control – self-mastery, literally “to hold one’s self in.”
4. To self-control, we are to add perseverance – steadfastness, patience, endurance.
5. To perseverance, we are to add godliness – it can be literally translated “well-worship” – it is a love for God and the things of God, it includes being godly and reverent toward God.
6. To godliness, we are to add brotherly kindness – this is the Greek word philadelphia – we are to have nothing but love for fellow lovers of God.
7. Finally, to brotherly kindness, we are to add love – this is agape love- unconditional love in action for all people.
F. Will we make it our dream to embrace and embody all these qualities?
1. Will we make a decision to make every effort to add these qualities to our lives?
2. Will we discipline ourselves to stick with it until we reach the goal?
3. Most of us want instant spiritual growth and success, but it doesn’t come instantly.
4. It comes after years of practicing spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fellowship, worship, fasting, giving witnessing and serving.
5. It comes through remaining faithful through a lifetime of struggles and trials.
6. It comes through being in relationship where we sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron.
7. Are we willing to put forth the effort? Are we willing to pay the price? No pain no gain!
III. The Promise of Spiritual Success (2 Pt. 1:8-11)
A. Peter finished this section: 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. There are some amazing promises in these verses, but they are conditional.
a. If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you…
b. If you do these things, then you will never fall…
2. But if we do not add these things and do these things, then the opposite will happen.
3. We will be nearsighted and blind, causing us to forget the value and importance of salvation.
4. We will fall and then fail to receive the rich welcome into the eternal kingdom.
B. But if we do these things, then we can make our calling and election sure.
1. If we do these things, then we will have a productive and effective spiritual life.
2. If we do these things, then we will have a clear vision of the value and importance of our salvation.
Conclusion:
A. Let me end with a story – The story is told about a man who was born with an awful facial deformity.
1. He grew up alone, rejected, sad and depressed because of his deformity.
2. When reaching adulthood, he decided to move to another town to begin a new life.
3. On his way to the new town, he discovered a mask that would make him look handsome.
4. At first the mask was uncomfortable and he was afraid that people would find out who he really was, but he continued to wear the mask every day.
5. In his new hometown, he made many friends and fell in love.
6. But one day, an evil woman from his old town came and discovered his true identity.
7. In front of his friends and fiancé, the evil woman forced him to remove his mask.
8. When the mask was removed, it revealed a very handsome face.
9. The man’s face had perfectly conformed to the mask he had worn.
B. Becoming like Christ is analogous to this.
1. We are to put on Christ and attempt to live like Christ and look like Christ.
2. At first it may feel unnatural or uncomfortable, and it may be very difficult.
3. But every day, we must put on Christ, and keep striving to be like Christ.
4. Over time, we will grow to look and act more and more like Jesus.
C. May God enable us to understand and follow the recipe for spiritual growth and success.
1. May God help us to put forth the effort required to grow and stay on track.
2. May the promises and power of God be ours in abundance.
Resources:
The Bible Exposition Commentary, 1 Peter, by Warren Wiersbe, Victor Books, 1989
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 1 Peter, by Edwin A. Blum, Zondervan, 1981
The Daily Study Bible Series, 2 Peter, by William Barclay, The Westminster Press, 1976
Interpretation, 2 Peter, by Pheme Perkins, John Knox Press, 1995
Taking the Next Step, Sermon by Brian Bill, SermonCentral.com
The Path of Christian Character Development, Sermon by Dave McFadden, SermonCentral.com
