AVOIDING SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
2 PETER 1:1-11
#SpBlind
INTRODUCTION… Spiritual in Terms of the Physical (p)
Human beings are unique in all of creation in that we are made up of two distinct parts. Human beings, like all living things, have a body. We have flesh and bone and blood which are part of our earthly existence. To be honest, all animals and plants have a physical body of some kind which is not what makes us unique. What makes us unique? We have a soul. Our soul or spirit (we wrongly mash them together most of the time; Hebrews 4:12) are what make human beings unique in all of Creation for it is in possessing our souls that we are made in the image of God. Our souls are what separate us from all other beings created by God.
We can see our bodies. We can study organs and injuries and learn all about our bodies. That makes talking about the physical body of a person easier than talking about the soul or spirit of a person. Talking about spiritual things can often be difficult because spiritual things are often unseen. Faith is not what is seen, but what is unseen. We cannot see our spirits and so often when we talk about spiritual things, we must use terms and words that we are familiar with. Most of the time, we use physical references to talk about spiritual things. For example, we talk about:
Disobedience to God being described as stiff-necked even though an actual neck is not involved (Exodus, Deut)
Having eyes of faith, even though our eyes are not involved (Jeremiah, Acts)
Hearing the voice of God, even though our ears are not involved (Deut, Isaiah, Matthew, Revelation)
Trusting God with our heart, even though that organ is not what we mean (Matt, Mark, Luke, John)
Today, as we begin to look at 2 Peter, the Apostle Peter talks about our spiritual lives as authentic believers in Jesus Christ in physical terms using our eyes.
READ 2 PETER 1:1-11
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: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 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. 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. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 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, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I. SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
The Apostle Peter is warning us in this passage about “spiritual blindness.” In verse 9, Peter says that it is possible to be spiritually nearsighted and blind. What does he mean by that? There are three words in verses 8-9 which help us define spiritual blindness for us.
Ineffective. I noticed that the translation of this word that the NIV uses is quite nice compared to what the word actually means. The word used here means “useless.” It comes from a word that means “careless,” “lazy,” and “idle.” Part of being spiritually blind means that you are lazy spiritually. Spiritually laziness is exactly like what it sounds I think.
Spiritual laziness puts off to tomorrow what should be done today
Spiritual laziness means no spiritual disciplines are active and working
Spiritual laziness results in ineffectiveness for God
What might be some specific examples of ineffective spiritual laziness?
* Coming to church and sitting in the gym drinking coffee and eating donuts while Sunday School is going on
* Coming to the Wednesday night meal and then leaving and skipping out before groups start
* Deciding to watch TV in the evening until you fall asleep and not once reading the Bible or praying
* Telling someone you will pray for them, but never actually doing it
* Doing sports, entertainment, music, and anything else you can find before doing a spiritual activity
Unproductive. Being unproductive in a spiritual sense is not hard to figure out. “Unproductive” is a farming term which means without fruit, barren, or not yielding what it ought to yield. An apple tree with no apples is unproductive. A strawberry field with no strawberries is unproductive. A Christian who is yielding no spiritual fruit on the inside or the outside is unproductive. It is not hard to figure out. A person who is spiritually blind is one that is producing absolutely nothing for God.
* Are you in the Bible memorizing verses and meditating on what it says to change you?
* Are you spiritually different today than you were last year at this time?
* Are you sharing faith with those around you who do not know Jesus?
* Are you serving the needy and those who cannot do for themselves?
* Are you using your God-given gifts inside the church to build it up?
* Are you spending money for God and on Godly pursuits?
Forgetting. Forgetting is often warned about in the Bible. Keeping God and His character and actions in the forefront of our minds is often commanded in Scripture. Forgetting God is possible. Forgetting God’s character is possible. Forgetting God’s promises is possible. Forgetting how God wants us to live is possible. That is why over and over in the Bible believers are commanded to keep God in the forefront of their minds and hearts:
We should remember all of God’s promises (Genesis 9:16, Exodus 32:13, Luke 23:42)
We should not forget God’s commands (Deuteronomy 8:11)
We should not forget God is the only God (Deut 6:13, 2 Kings 17:38, Luke 4:8)
We should remember holy things and keep them holy (Exodus 20:8)
We should not forget to do good in God’s name (Hebrews 13:16, 2 Corinthians 9:6, Galatians 2:10)
We should not forget how God wants us to live (Matthew 5:23, 2 Timothy 2:8, James 5:20)
We should remember God’s constant help for us (Judges 8:34)
The Apostle Peter is warning us in this passage about “spiritual blindness.” What does he mean by that? The Apostle Peter means that if we are spiritually lazy and we are unproductive with the Spirit and we have forgotten the basics about God that we are most likely unable to…
… see God clearly in our lives and follow His directions
… read His Word and properly understand it
… see ourselves honestly for who we really are and change
… watch for temptations and traps around us and be godly
I don’t know about you, but I would like to avoid spiritual blindness!
II. AVOIDING SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
In our passage today, Peter does not introduce the idea of being spiritually blind without a way for us to cure it. With physical blindness, there is not always a cure. Sometimes surgery or lenses or a medicine can restore some or all of a person’s sight. Sometimes blindness is permanent and a person must learn to read, move, work, and play blind. Spiritual blindness is not a condition that need be permanent and is a spiritual malady that can be avoided.
How do we avoid spiritual blindness? We must “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world” (verse 4) and do so in “an increasing measure” (verse 8). Peter tells us that we can participate in the divine nature. Peter describes 7 characteristics to add to our faith that will ensure that we fight spiritual blindness. Each of the items he describes are antidotes to spiritual blindness and he describes them as progressing in order from one to the next like 7 steps or 7 layers one on another or 7 dominos moving from one to the next. To avoid spiritual blindness, Peter commands us to participate with God in several areas.
1 Goodness: virtuous courses of thought and action
2 Knowledge: learning about the Bible, God, Jesus, and faith
3 Self-Control: mastering one’s desires and sinful appetites
4 Perseverance: steadfastness in faith, consistency with Godly things
5 Godliness: Reverence and respect towards God, faithfulness towards God
6 Brotherly Kindness: love towards brothers and sisters in faith, love towards others
7 Love: absolute love for God and for other
Each one of these seven areas the Apostle Peter lays out as a pathway away from spiritual blindness towards seeing God and spiritual issues clearly. We could take much time in discussing each of them, but I thought it might be helpful to focus on just one of these today.
III. GOODNESS
Goodness is step 1 on the staircase Peter lays out.
Goodness is link 1 on the chain that Peter describes.
Goodness is domino 1 that Peter pushes over.
Goodness is described as “virtue” in the KJV, and ASV and “good character” in the MSG and “moral excellence” in the AMP, CEB, and NASB. I got wondering about how I might develop moral excellent good character in me. How might you and I chase goodness in our lives that we might participate in the divine nature and avoid spiritual blindness? I did some reading in the New Testament and seemed to notice that the word “good” seemed to cluster in three important areas.
GOOD FRUIT (Inside)
Matthew 3:10: “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Matthew 7:17-19: “Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Matthew 12:33: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”
The word “good” is definitely associated with the word “fruit” in the New Testament and speaks to what goes on inside of us. One of the first things we can do to develop goodness in our lives is to cultivate the good fruit of the spirit inside us. Galatians 5:22-23 lists for us the fruit of the Spirit which should be bountiful inside us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Our attitudes and thought life must be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit if we are to have any hope of good moral character. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control need to flavor every attitude, action, hope, conversation, and goal we have. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control need to be the framework that marks out the framework of our lives.
GOOD DEEDS (Outside)
Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
1 Timothy 5:25: “In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.”
1 Timothy 6:18: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
Hebrews 10:24: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
James 2:14: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”
James 3:13: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”
The word “good” is definitely associated with the word “deeds” in the New Testament and speaks to what goes on outside of us. The deeds that we do must reflect the faith inside us and reflect the God in whom we believe. Our obvious deeds should shine the light of God to those around us. Our deeds should be flavored by love. Out deeds should be a reflection of the faith that is already inside us. The Christian faith is not a faith where you say magic words and you are done. The Christian faith is not a faith where you say you believe and there is no outward result. Faith produces deeds and deeds prove the faith.
What types of things are we talking about?
* Tithe each week to the church
* Teach a Sunday School class weekly at church
* Bring in food for the food pantry at church
* Send a card to someone you haven’t seen in church in months
* Give away your extra washer and dryer to a neighbor
* Take a meal to a person who has just had surgery
* Volunteer and sit with someone who has Alzheimer’s so the spouse can get away for the day
* Buy an extra value meal and give it to the person standing on the corner
* Have a garage sale and give all the profits to a needy family or to a mission’s organization
GOOD NEWS (Purpose)
Mark 1:15: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Mark 16:15: “He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Acts 5:42: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
Romans 10:14-15: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
The word “good” is definitely associated with the word “news” in the New Testament and speaks to our purpose as believers. What is the good news? What is it that the early church was sharing on a daily basis and we should be as well?
The Good News:
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was born for a divine purpose to give grace to sinners.
Jesus Christ lived a perfect life.
Jesus Christ has a ministry for three years where He taught about who He is and did miracles to back up His claims.
Jesus Christ willingly died on a cross (even though He was innocent) and on that cross He paid with His blood and His life for our sins.
Jesus Christ offers us forgiveness and eternal life because of His sacrifice.
That is the good news we must be sharing with our children, our grandchildren, our family members, our co-workers, our spouses, and anyone we find hurting. Sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ should be in the foreground and background of every aspect of our lives.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds when we are at Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds on the sports field.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds at the company picnic.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds when we see an old friend from college.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds at family gatherings.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds when we meet a new neighbor who just moved in.
Sharing the Gospel should be on our minds when we visit someone dying in the hospital.
Committing ourselves to goodness is the first step in keeping ourselves from being spiritually blind. Our goodness should come from cultivating the fruit of the Spirit inside us. Our goodness should come from our good deeds which point people to God. Our goodness should come from the good news we share about God with those in our lives. Goodness is the first step to curing spiritual blindness and keeping it from us.
SUMMARY & APPLICATION
How are your eyes?
How are your spiritual eyes?
How are your spiritual eyes seeing?
How are your spiritual eyes in seeing where you are lazy?
How are your spiritual eyes in seeing where you are unproductive?
How are your spiritual eyes in seeing where you are forgetting God?
How are your spiritual eyes in terms of spiritual blindness?
CONCLUSION
