We Care About Being Biblically Obedient

Show video — Is Your Faith Still in Kindergarten?

Have you ever wanted to go up to someone and tell them it is time to grow up?

See when it comes to a person being grown up, we refer to that as being mature.

Thinking and acting like a grown up.

How do you measure the maturity level of a person?

What criteria do you use?

What standards do people use to determine whether one is mature or immature?

Is there such a standard?

Mature –having attained a final or desired state; of or relating to a condition of full development.

Who determines where that final or desired state should be? What does being fully developed look like?

What criteria can we use to determine if someone has reached a “condition of full development” or to recognize when that development has slowed, stopped, or worse, reversed?

When it comes to deciding what is normal or abnormal thinking and behavior, from a cultural standpoint, there doesn’t seem to be an objective standard for what should be normal, mature behavior.

We are in a culture right now that is growing in the wrong direction…some people who are adults physically, still behave like children!

My dad would say “some people are just a few fries short of a Happy Meal.”

You know the kind of people I am referring to…the ones who just don’t seem to grow up…you look at them and wonder will they ever stop making foolish choices and start acting like an adult.

Whose standards will you use to determine acceptable “adult thinking and behavior.”?

Our culture, which changes almost moment by moment has a very difficult time deciphering what is “normal” thinking and behavior.

What may be considered right and acceptable to one generation is not always going to be shared by the next.

So if the standard for what is right, acceptable and “normal” keeps changing over time is that really so bad?

Isn’t it a good thing for humanity to be “progressing” in greater acceptance of all thinking and behavior?

In other words, shouldn’t we celebrate the inclusivity of all humanity regardless of how they think and act?

Who really has the authority to judge what is right thinking and behavior anyway?

What is the danger of living in a culture that has no standard of what is right?

It will be a culture like the period of Judges where everyone will do what is right in their own eyes.

Would you agree with me this morning that that would be a dangerous way to live?

Would you also agree with me this morning that making sure we are maturing in the right way is something worth studying?

This whole month we’ve been laying out our vision as a church…we’ve gone on record to say that our mission is...

Building Lives to Know and Live for Jesus Christ

that means we are to be a disciple making church…building into one another the principles that are important to our Savior…expecting change in all of us…so that we grow up into mature believers.

To do that effectively we ought to formalize our priorities…our standards...these formulate the key principles we believe ought to be the most important things in our lives.

This will impact where we go as a church…

So far in our study...

We Care About Glorifying God

We Care About Proclaiming Christ

This morning we will seek to develop principle number 3.

Our third principle comes from 2 Peter 1:3-10

Principle #3 – We Care About Being Biblically Obedient –God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through His Word, the Bible. We strive to understand and put into practice how God expects us to live for His glory through the practical teaching and application of the Scriptures.

Main Point – Maturing Believers Take Responsibility For Their Spiritual Growth

Two truths to challenge us to take ownership of our spiritual growth

Please turn to 2 Peter 1:3-11.

God has Equipped Us with Everything We Need for a Life of Godliness. (3-4)

These verses are connected to verse 2 — Grace and peace will be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus…Our call to godliness is rooted and secured by God’s grace…what God demands of us, he supplies for us with his gracious power.

Knowledge is used 5x in this text…it is a key word in 2 Peter...however there is a difference in the word usage...

In verses 2, 3, 8 — is one word for knowledge...

In verses 5, 6 —Peter uses a different form of the word…simply gaining an understanding of something, acknowledgement of facts

The difference between the two usages here is that the word Peter uses in 2, 3, and 8 is referring to more than just knowing facts…it is an experiential knowledge…goes far deeper…it is an intimate knowledge…personal relationship knowledge...

Godliness is a word that denotes respect and awe for deity…everything we need to live in respect and awe of God has been graciously supplied to us…the ability to live righteously and in the way God desires does not have to be elusive...

Sadly, even though God has provided all that we need, many believers search for answers to life and its difficulties outside the realm of God’s resources when the real solution is staring them in the face from the pages of Scripture.

Colossians 2:8 NASB95

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB95

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Spiritual maturity both begins and continues to happen when we believe in and are committed to the sufficiency of Christ and His Word to tell us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right!

We are not going to grow in the way or at the rate God intends for us to grow if we are seeking knowledge from sources outside God’s provisions.

He Equips us with Divine Power.

Whatever spiritual sufficiency we have is not because of any power we possess in ourselves.

We derive our power from His divine power.

Paul expressed it this way: Eph 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

It is the same power which resurrected Christ (cf. Rom 1:4; 1 Cor 6:14; 15:16-17; 2 Cor 13:4; Col 2:12).

It is a power that enables every believer to do works that please and glorify God (cf. 1 Cor 3:6-8; Eph 3:7)

It is a power to accomplish spiritual things we cannot even imagine.

It is an eternal power that never fails.

If we think and feel that we have lost that power, it is not because God has taken it away, it is that we have distanced ourselves from it, failed to minister with it, or even use it.

the point is the fault is not God’s, it’s ours!

from the moment we trusted in Jesus Christ, God has granted His power to us.

Has granted is a perfect, passive participle meaning that it was something that happened in the past, with continuing results in the present,

God permanently bestowed His power on believers.

Everything we need for life and godliness is ours through Christ.

Every believer is responsible to live a godly life...From salvation to final glory we are expected to live in a manner worthy of the glory of God.

We cannot blame our sin and failures on the lack of God’s provision or on others.

There is no temptation or trial that comes our way that God’s power has not equipped us to handle – 1 Cor. 10:13

We have every resource we need to fight off sin and Satan’s schemes.

The bottom line is obedience. It is not a matter of needing more faith because faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

Maturing in Christ is in part recognizing that saying “I can’t” is saying “I won’t”. You can rest assured that God will empower you for all of your life to live as an overcomer through all things. Obedience is a matter of the WILL!

Even when doing the right thing is what you think is the hardest thing to do, whatever that “thing” is, it is possible because God empowers you to do it.

How then do we experience that power in our lives?...Through our true knowledge of Him.

We are being urged here to take advantage of the full knowledge available to us through Christ…to go deeper into our relationship with Christ.

He Encourages us with Divine Promises

Because Jesus accomplished all that is necessary for our salvation, He also granted to us His precious and magnificent promises.

Has given = same as before = past action with ongoing effects.

All the salvation promises in Christ are precious and magnificent

Time does not permit us to list all the promises God makes to His children but here is just a small sample...

indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33; Eph 1:13),

abundant grace (John 10:10; Rom 5:15,20; Eph 1:7),

joy (Ps 132:16; Gal 5:22),

strength (Ps 18:32; Isa 40:31),

guidance (John 16:13), help (Isa 41:10,13-14),

home in heaven (John 14:1-3; 2 Peter 3:13)

All of these are bestowed by the Lord so that we may become full partakers of the divine nature.

He Enables us with a Divine Partnership

Partakers = koinonos = fellowship, sharer, partner

Every believer in this life is a partner in the very life that belongs to God.

We are now enabled to become more like Christ .

Notice Peter did not say we participate in His Being, but rather in His Nature.

Being = points to essence and substance

We can never participate in God’s essence…we can never BE God.

Nature = indicates growth, development and character

What Peter says here is that believers share God’s holiness which we experience through the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In addition, we escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires because we have been made new.

We are now able to stand up against sin and evil because we know we no longer belong to this world but to God.

We are called to live IN this world but not to PARTNER with this world.

Holiness is not just possible, it is expected!

Truth number 2...

We Are Responsible to Diligently Apply Biblical Truth to All of Life (2 Peter 1:5-11).

Because God has provided all that we need, we must respond with maximum effort.

V.5 – be diligent…v.10 being all the more diligent…there is an urgency in this process...

Apply = “to bring in” or “to supply besides”…implies making a strong effort to provide something necessary.

We do not earn our salvation by working for it. We are being compelled here to call upon all our regenerated faculties to live godly lives.

Supply = literally means to contribute lavishly and generously...derived from the word meaning choir master.

In Greek culture, the choir master was responsible to supply everything needed for his group and the choir master wants his troop to excel at their job, so at his own expense he would supply all that was needed for an outstanding performance!

On the basis of God’s exceeding generosity to supply all the provisions necessary of a life of holiness, we are to be lavish in the way we invest ourselves in the growth process. We should strive to offer the world the best window for viewing God’s grace!

Believers must come alongside all that Christ has supplied and employ a maximum disciplined effort to grow in the virtues necessary to please God.

You can’t just take a pill and be holy…holiness requires discipline…sustained daily effort…we should never be satisfied with “just enough” spiritual growth to get by...

It is not a let go and let God type of life.

We must actively Put On Godly Virtues (5-7)

These are the “essential oils” of biblical living…

Moral excellence

Proper and excellent fulfillment of one’s duty…

Moral heroism

Knowledge

Knowledge of the divine truth that leads to wisdom and spiritual discernment

Self-control

“holding one’s self in”

Perseverance

Patience and endurance in doing what is right

Carries the idea of remaining strong in un-welcomed turmoil or hardship

Godliness

Reverence for God

One who has it properly honors and adores God.

Brotherly kindness

Fervent practical caring for others

Love

Desiring the highest good for others.

We must Open Our Eyes to the Truth(8-9)

True growth as a believer results in spiritual effectiveness and productivity.

It comes as these virtues grow in increasing measure.

However, a believer who does not progress in these seven areas becomes useless and unfruitful.

Useless , meaning "inactive," or "idle" when employed in the New Testament, always describes something inoperative or unserviceable (cf. Matt 12:36; 20:3,6; 1 Tim 5:13; Titus 1:12; James 2:20).

Unfruitful or "barren" is sometimes used in connection with unbelief or apostasy.

Sadly, many believers know the Lord in salvation but do not progress beyond the elementary things, they are still infants.

Heb 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

The non-growing Christian is what the Scriptures refer to as being carnal and they are blind or nearsighted…they suffer from a spiritual myopia.

The believer with spiritual myopia (Greek word for nearsighted = myopazon which literally means “to close the eye) is willingly choosing to not magnify the grace of Christ.

Sadly, some have willfully closed their eyes to the truth (know the truth and refuse to live by it) and now they suffer from a spiritual blindness that is not inherited but cultivated.

Having forgotten = literally reads “having received forgetfulness…which suggests a voluntary acceptance of their deceived and darkened condition...

These believers forget that they have been cleansed from their sins and have not grown spiritually and they are okay with that…if that is the condition of your heart right now, you are not being productive…you are proving yourself useless to communicate the change Christ makes in your life!

We Can Enjoy the Assurance of Our Salvation (10-11)

All the more diligent = eager, with urgency

Make certain about His calling and choosing you = the believer can be assured of his standing before God

to offer proof — or disproof— of one’s profession — this is one of those tensions in Scripture that reveals God is responsible for our salvation but yet we are responsible to live in such a way that is is clear what God has accomplished..

While we all are recipients of God’s grace, by no merit of our own, we prove we have recieved that grace by the choice to live a righteous life.

The burden of spiritual maturity clearly rests upon the shoulder of the believer. The guarantee is not that we will not sin, it is a guarantee we will not fall!

Believers who are committed to living God’s way, will not forsake or abandon Him…when we are actively engaged in our sanctification, we will not stumble into fear, doubt, despair or questioning.

v.11 — Our abundant entrance into heaven is guaranteed in Christ (not something we work for) and abundantly assured to us by the confirmation (because we give evidence of life change) of our maturity in the application of the virtues…not only do we experience the full joy of our assurance in the present, we look ahead to an even greater joy of reward in heaven.

Life Step – Take Ownership of Your Spiritual Growth

No One Can Be More Committed to Your Spiritual Growth than You!

James 1:22 NASB95

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

As a church, we can supply multiple opportunities for you to receive biblical instruction, it is up to you what you do with those.

As pastors and elders we all love you all very dearly, and we want to shepherd you well...but your spiritual growth is just that…it is yours…take ownership of it.

We must apply maximum effort to growing and changing…to maturing.

We cannot grow in our relationship with Christ if we are neglecting to hear Him speak to us through His Word.

Our growth in Christ can be stunted if the only time we open the Word is on Sunday morning for one hour.

Progressive sanctification is the process of our learning and applying biblical truth more consistently as life in a sin-cursed world happens.

Every response to life, every thought we possess must be taken captive by the Word of God and brought into subjection of Christ.

The only way to avoid being taken captive by worldly, human philosophies is to allow the Word of God to permeate everything you say and do.

Let it penetrate your heart so that when life happens, your cup overflows with righteousness.

Your growth will happen when you take advantage of all the opportunities you have to be transformed by His living Word.

As a church, we will continue to provide a multiplicity of avenues for you to receive the sound teaching of the Word…it is what you do with those that will make the difference.