INTRODUCTION
• Today we begin a short series entitled Grow In Grace, a study of 2 Peter.
› Big Idea of the Series: The body of Christ, the church, must be diligent in recognizing false teachers and doctrine while trusting the Scriptures and recognizing true ministers of the Word.
• By learning to recognize false teachers, Christians will also be able to identify those who teach truth, and by living into that truth, they can grow in the grace of God and Christian virtue.
• I bet you have heard the statement, “IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE AS LONG AS YOU BELIEVE.”
• The problem with that statement is the fact that what you believe affects how you live your life.
• False teaching has plagued the church almost from the beginning.
• The problem is not new, and realistically it will always exist until the Lord returns.
• The first message in this series may not seem to fit the narrative of growing in grace we will unveil over the next four weeks, but it does.
• What we believe impacts how we live our faith.
• False teaching impacts our lives and our faith.
• I contend that many do not know why they believe what they proclaim they believe.
• It seems for some; COVID exposed this truth.
• When people habitually CHOSE to stay home over being at worship with their church family, it is apparent they really never understood why they needed to come to worship in the first place.
• With that said, notice I used the word CHOSE to stay home, not SHOULD stay home because of health issues.
• When we feel that church is the only place we can get COVID, we have some theological issues we need to address.
• Second Peter is “a farewell letter from the apostle, in which he seeks to combat the teaching of unethical behavior and the denial of the return of Jesus Christ and final judgment” (P. H. Davids, “2 Peter,” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000], 350).
• The precise date of the writing of 2 Peter is uncertain; however, Christian tradition tells us that Peter died in 68 AD under Roman emperor Nero.
• Based on 2 Peter 1:14, it appears Peter is close to that death, so this letter is generally dated around 67 AD.
• The focus on the message today is: Christians must grow in faithfulness through the virtues found in Scripture.
• We are called to grow in Christ; we are not called to simply exist and hope.
• Let’s begin by turning to 2 Peter 1, we will begin in verse 1.
2 Peter 1:1–4 (CSB)
1 Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
SERMON
I. God’s power fully equips us for life.
• Peter begins this final letter by telling the readers who he is in Christ.
• He is writing to other Christian’s probably in the Asia Minor area.
• He reminds the readers that our faith comes through Jesus!
1, 2 Peter (A. Salutation and Greeting (1:1–2))
The reference to “knowledge” already anticipates the major reason for Peter’s writing.
The false teachers had a knowledge problem—they denied the truth concerning Jesus’ Second Coming.
This errant knowledge then had disastrous consequences for their lives.
They were completely overcome by sin (see chapter 2), thus destroying their relationship with Christ.
Here, as elsewhere in Scripture, knowledge is not simply an intellectual matter but also a relational one.
The false teachers did not truly “know” God.
Peter’s prayer, then, is that his readers will have the abundant grace and peace that comes from knowing God and knowing the truth about God and about Jesus our Lord. (College Press Commentary Series)
• Peter immediately begins to tell his readers that the knowledge of God is theirs to obtain through Christ’s power in them.
• “Grace and peace be multiplied to you: Peter indicated that grace and peace—those two most precious of gifts—are ours in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
• As we know God, we gain these essentials foundations for salvation and living.”
• (David Guzik, “2 Peter 1: The Sure Christian Life,” Enduring Word, 2018, https://www.enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-peter-1/).
• The false teachers would tell the people that they were missing something, that these teachers had the key to help them have a new understanding of God.
• By the way, this tactic is still employed today.
• We do not have to go anywhere outside of God’s Word, the Bible.
• Peter tells the readers that despite what these “teachers” told them, they already have full knowledge; there are no additional truths that need to be learned from the false teachers!
• It goes without saying that we are called to grow in our understanding of the full knowledge we have in the Bible through Jesus!
• When we get to verses 3-4. we see something that is encouraging,
2 Peter 1:3 (CSB)
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
• By His divine power, He has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness!
• We are called to put forth the effort to live according to the truth of the Word because everything we need to do so has been given to us.
• Notice we are told that everything required for life and godliness has been given to us!
• We have to take the time and effort to plug into that power!
• Why do you think He has given us everything required for life and godliness?
• It is because He wants to be successful in life!
• He wants us to know Him!
• If you do not know God, it is because you are not spending time in the Word getting to know Him!
2 Peter 1:4 (CSB)
4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
• Through their primary obedience to the gospel of Christ, Christians are added to Christ’s spiritual body, inducted “into Christ,” and “in him” sharing his perfection, his righteousness, his death, and all the glorious benefits of being in him. Coffman, J. B. (1984). Commentary on James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude (2 Pe 1:4). A. C. U. Press.
• Our life is not supposed to look like the lives of those outside of Jesus.
• Being in Christ is supposed to make us different!
• We can use the knowledge of God to escape the corruption and temptations that fall before us!
• Let’s look at verses 5-8
2 Peter 1:5–9 (CSB)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,
7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.
II. Supplements needed for a healthy life.
• Our bodies need certain vitamins and minerals to function properly.
• As for me, I intake a lot of protein, so I can do so without eating 3 pounds of chicken a day; I take supplements and protein powder daily.
• As the word implies, the supplements I take to supplement my diet so I can take in the nutrients I need to get where I want to be physically.
• In the previous verses, we are told that God has given us gracious gifts and made precious promises, so as a result of those things, there are some expectations that go with those great promises and gifts.
• Because we possess such great things from God, we are called to make every effort to supplement our faith with the items found in verses 5-9.
• The phrase MAKE EVERY means to bring alongside, to contribute alongside.
• EFFORT denotes to make haste, to be eager, to do one’s best
• Christians are called to contribute to what God has done
• In other words, just taking the gifts and claiming the promises are not enough!
• With the claiming and acceptance of the gifts comes expectations that will round out our faith.
• Without these supplements, our faith would be lacking.
• Supplement denotes diligently and energetically performed!
• The word picture painted in ancient Greek was one of a rich patron who lavishly provides all the expenses for training, equipping, and staging of a Greek drama in the theater of some public celebration!
• This effort was usually a cost to the rich man of over 3000 days worth of wages for the normal working person.
• This supplementation was not meant to be a half-hearted effort!
• We are called to first supplement our faith with GOODNESS!
• This first supplement can be translated MORAL EXCELLENCE; it is the same word used of Christ in verse 3.
• Goodness is the DESIRE to do what God says is right!
• Next, on top of GOODNESS, KNOWLEDGE!
• If you are going to do what is right, you have to know what is right!
• This supplement is not the same word used in verse 2,3.
• This word admits the need for growth—knowledge to be added to knowledge.
• Diligent study of the Word of God is needed to fulfill this supplement!
• On top of KNOWLEDGE, SELF-CONTROL!
• This speaks of the restraint of passions.
• The false teachers taught that knowledge leads to liberty.
• In their context, emancipation for any restraints.
• Peter teaches that knowledge leads to restraint, which leads to true freedom since enslavement to sin is broken!
• In our SELF-CONTROL, ENDURANCE!
• We cannot exercise self-control at only one meal per day. We have to do so at each meal; we are in it for the long haul!
• With our ENDURANCE, GODLINESS!
• Now we see how the godliness described in verse three is produced in the life of the Christian.
• When we study the Word, we learn right from wrong.
• We begin to practice self-control so that our life reflects that knowledge as we seek to please God.
• That leads to one reflecting God’s character in one’s life!
• With GODLINESS, BROTHERLY AFFECTION!
• We realize how important our brothers and sisters in Christ are to God, and we see ways to help out and be a blessing!@
• We work hard at firming relationships, of which we will do all we can to keep wedges from forming in our relationships.
• With BROTHERLY AFFECTION, LOVE!
• Love is doing what is spiritually best for the other person.
• Love expands our view to all people.
• We get to where we will willingly make sacrifices to help others come to Jesus!
• Peter tells us in verse 8 that if these qualities are increasing, it will keep us from being unfruitful or useless.
• It will ensure that we do not waste the gifts and grace from God!
• On the flip side, if we are not cultivating these traits, we are blind and short-sighted, and we have forgotten the grace God has shown us when He forgave our sins!
2 Peter 1:10–15 (CSB)
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.
11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,
14 since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.
15 And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.
III. The ultimate goal of this life.
• The ultimate goal in this life is to be prepared for the next one!
• The previous passages show us the proper response of one who appreciates the forgiveness of their sins and the grace God has extended to them for that to happen!
1, 2 Peter (B. Preface: Exhortation to Godly Living (1:3–11))
Once again, Peter’s words are as timely today as the day he penned them.
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that our sins are of no great concern or that we will eventually grow out of our sins.
In this passage Peter underlines the importance of working hard at spiritual growth.
Although the power comes from God, we must make every effort to avail ourselves of it.
Failure to do so may result in our failure to “receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom.” (College Press Commentary Series)
• If salvation were something that God hands out like candy, why would we care how we live?
• What difference would how we life make?
• Verse 10 tells us that we need to make every EFFORT to CONFIRM our salvation (election through the plan of salvation, and calling, answering the call of the Gospel).
• God gives us the gift of salvation; now, we have to do something with it.
• We are called to make sure the qualities discussed in verses 5-9 are being developed and increasing!
CONCLUSION
• Our application for today is: Practice Christian virtues to deepen your faith and trust in God.
• We are not called to take the gift of salvation and do nothing with it.
• We are called to grow in our faith and to be more Christ-like every day!
