Increasing our Faith
2 Peter 1:1-11
Introduction.
In this encouraging epistle, Peter expressed the wonderful grace of God who gave us everything we need for life and godliness made possible by our knowledge of Jesus Christ who called us to his glory and excellence.
The basic element of faith is clearly seen in this: we were enlightened by our knowledge of Jesus Christ. (2 Peter1:1)
Through faith we were called to the obedience of the gospel from which we received great and precious promises enabling us to partake of the divine nature of God through the Holy Spirit that He gave to us.
But faith needs to grow in order that we can successfully overcome temptations, trials, the desires of the flesh, and the flaming arrows from the evil one who is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Apostle Peter explains that faith needs to be applied to our lives through the righteous virtues given to us by Jesus in his precious words.
He also warns us of the danger of ineffective and unproductive faith caused by the lack of effort on our part to apply godly virtues, in increasing measure, to our lives.
And so, today we shall consider four very practical guiding principles from apostle Peter concerning our precious faith:
1. Obtaining our Faith
2. Building up our Faith
3. Dangers of a stagnant Faith
4. Reward to the Faithful
Main Points:
I – Obtaining our Faith
2 Peter 1:3-4
1. We received Faith through the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:1
1 Simeon[a] Peter, a servant[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
It is amazing that we received just the same faith that the apostles received. We did not see Jesus; we have not witnessed his miracles. We have not heard him tell us about those thought-provoking parables about his kingdom, yet we received the same faith just as the apostles did through his wonderful words as written by the apostles, just as the Holy Spirit inspired them.
2. Faith comes from hearing the message about Christ – Romans 10:17
3. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews 11:1
4. We cannot please God without Faith – Hebrews 11:6
5. The end result of our Faith is the salvation of our souls – 1 Peter 1:9
6. Through our Faith we obeyed the gospel. Consequently, God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[a] his own glory and excellence,[
7. Through them we received great and precious promises – so that we can participate in the divine nature – 2 Peter 1:4
b]4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
a. Promise of the Holy Spirit
b. The promise of forgiveness
c. Promise of answers to our prayers
d. Promise of eternal life in heaven
e. Many more promises we find when we read our Bible.
i. Promise that God will never leave us or forsake us – Hebrews 13:5-6
8. We have escaped corruption in this world caused by evil desires. We were once a part of the world corrupted with sin.
II – Building up our Faith
2 Peter 1:5-7
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[a]and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
1. Faith without action is dead - James 2:17
2. The wise man hears his words and puts them into practice – Matthew 7:24
3. Therefore, let us add to our Faith these virtues in increasing measure.
a. Knowledge – Without knowledge we cannot achieve wisdom, for wisdom is the application of knowledge as God through His Spirit grants to us in answer to our prayer (James 1:5). Therefore, the more knowledge we have of God’s righteousness, the more we can receive wisdom so valuable in the life of a Christian.
b. Self Control – temperament. Simply stated self-control enjoins us not to give in to the worldly desires of the flesh.
c. Steadfastness – perseverance – patience. Note James 1:2.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[a] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
d. Godliness – walking in the Spirit. This is possible because of the sanctification we received through the blood of Jesus Christ. We were made holy, separated from the darkness and called to be saints
e. Brotherly affection – brotherly kindness – love of the brotherhood. We are one body
i. Helping one another is an expression of our faith. (James 2:14-15)
ii. Praying for our brothers and sisters who are in need of help.
iii. We help, we will also need help
iv. Encouraging one another as we travel together on the narrow path to our eternal home.
f. Love – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
4. Compare these parallel passages:
a. Be clothed with Jesus Christ – Colossians 3:12-14; Romans 13:14
2 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
b. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
i. The Spirit in us yearns that we bear fruit in him. If we do not bear fruit of these virtues, we quench him, (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
ii. or grieve him (Ephesians 4:30).
5. Constant practice of our Faith leads us to maturity – Hebrews 5:14.
III - The danger of a stagnant Faith –1 Peter 1:8-9
8 For if these qualities [a] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
1. One becomes ineffective
a. We all have our ministries as we are given gifts to share to everyone. It is more joyful and uplifting if our ministry is motivated by our Faith and godly virtues applied to it.
2. One becomes unfruitful; unproductive
a. Likewise we are stewards of everything we possess. Applying these virtues in managing our blessings produces joy in God’s service.
3. One is nearsighted – blind – no foresight
a. When our goal is only for our present needs, and not looking forward to the long-term of eternal life and serving God while we are in the world, we are near-sighted.
b. One forgets that he was cleansed from his sins.
i. We were once slaves to sin.
4. Faith becomes stagnant.
a. When our Faith is stagnant, our worship and service to the Lord is like a matter of lip service, just going through the motions.
b. Always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. – 2 Timothy 3:7
c. I compare a stagnant faith to a stagnant water in ditches and canals. This water becomes slimy and filthy. It provides a breeding place for insects and mosquitoes. Such is a stagnant faith.
i. Our faith starts to drift and is easily swayed by false teachings to rationalize or justify our compromise to sins.
Conclusion.
IV– Reward to those who put their Faith into practice:
2 Peter 1:10-11
10 Therefore, brothers,[a] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. We will never fall.
a. By this we can be confident of our calling and election.
i. For every action on our Faith, there s a reaction from the Spirit. Be it joy, strength, comfort, etc.
ii. When we realize the effect of our application of our faith by a change in our life, character – for the better; we can exclaim – Thank you Lord for choosing me.
b. Falling away is to completely turn our backs from God. (Hebrews 6:4-5)
i. We were enlightened
ii. Shared in the Holy Spirit
iii. Tasted the heavenly gift
iv. Powers of the coming age (promise of eternal life)
v. There is no reason for us to fall away.
c. We may fail but we will not fall.
i. We make mistakes, we still sin, but there is the promise forgiveness
d. With these virtues we can keep our Faith strong till the end – 2 Timothy 4:7
I have kept the good fight, I have finished the rate, I have kept the faith.
2. We are provided an entrance in heaven
a. We can look forward to the promise of God to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells.
That’s amazing!
