Authentic Holiness

Reading: 2 Peter 1:3-11

2 Peter 1:3–11 ESV

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 his own glory and excellence, 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. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, 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. 8 For if these qualities 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. 10 Therefore, brothers, 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.

Pray

2 Peter is a book about counterfeits. Some false teachers were spreading false doctrines to some churches, likely in the region we call Turkey. The false teachers preached that the second coming and divine judgment were not real. They taught that because there is no judgment, people were free to indulge their flesh. They also undermined apostolic authority while looking for financial benefit from their “ministry.”

Peter wrote this letter to combat these counterfeits. When I was a teller for a bank, we had annual security meetings. We’d talk about all sorts of things like cash-handling procedures, security protocols, things to watch out for, etc. One topic that always came up was counterfeit money. There’s all sorts of tricks counterfeiters use; bank tellers especially need to be aware of all the methods. The interesting thing is the training NEVER told us the hallmarks of a counterfeit.

Does that seem odd? Wouldn’t bank tellers need to know what features to look for on a fake bill? Nope. You see, we spent our time in training reviewing the characteristics of the real thing. Once you know the authentic, you can easily spot the counterfeit.

Hear me, church. The more time we spend in the presence of the Holy God, the better we will recognize authentic holiness. We’ll also better spot the phony baloney. The same was true in Peter’s day: that’s why he starts a letter focused on false teachers by showing was genuine disciples look like. We do well to take Peter’s words to heart; after all, they are God’s Word.

First, look at the

Foundation of Holiness: God’s Gracious Provisions

2 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

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 his own glory and excellence, 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.

Did you catch that? The Bible tells us that each one of us has received everything we need for life and for godliness. Charles Simeon, the great British pastor, said “There is nothing needful for us to know, but it may be found in the Scriptures of truth….Nothing is omitted there.”

Let that sink in. God has already richly provided every single need: physical and spiritual. The basic essentials like air and water and heat are gifts from God. So are the things that make life worth living: loving relationships, joy, and having a purpose. God richly blesses us every moment of everyday; and he does so just because he loves us.

And that’s not even to mention godliness. That word for godliness means living in such complete devotion to God and no other that it shapes us into his likeness. God has given us everything we need to become more like him - to live lives that reflect his holiness.

Do you know what that means? It means we can’t say we’re missing anything to obey him. I’ve heard so many people say

“I don’t have the training.” God has provided all things pertaining to life and godliness!

“I’ve never been to seminary.” God has provided all things pertaining to life and godliness!

“I’ve only been a Christian for a little while.” God has provided all things pertaining to life and godliness!

“I’m nobody special.” God has provided all things pertaining to life and godliness!

If we truly believe God’s own words, we’ll stop making excuses and simply obey, because God has provided all things pertaining to life and godliness!

And those provisions that he gives are more than just what we need: he gives us his precious and very great promises. Promises that are so great, Peter uses a superlative: they are not just great, but are the greatest promises!

The promises are so precious and great that they save us from the slow, unstoppable decay of the world due to sin and make us partners in God’s own divine nature! He brings us out of certain destruction and gives us shares in his divine stock.

Oh, how great is the love of God toward us! Our holiness is founded upon God’s gracious provisions.

Next, I want you to see the

Formation of Holiness: Supplemented Faith

2 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, 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.

We move in these verses from passive receiving to active participation. Look at the change of verbs. Verses 3-4 are a single sentence with one main verb: provided. And who provides? God does.

But here, verses 5-7 have the main verb “supplement.” Now, who supplements? You and me. We do. God provided, and we are to “supplement.” But what are we to supplement? Faith.

Now, we are not told to find faith, or to build faith, or to discover faith, or to create faith. Faith is part of the “all things” God provides. We are called, rather, to supply our faith: and to do so by making every effort. The Greek phrase here is literally: “applying all diligence.” Spare no expense and leave nothing left in the tank: give holiness everything you’ve got!

Last weekend, the Blue Angels flew in the area. I love watching the Blue Angels; growing up in Mobile I got several chances to see them perform. So last weekend, while they were flying and my kids were enjoying the show from our view just off the interstate, I looked up some info about the squadron. Turns out that the Blue Angels can be combat ready in under 72 hours. The F-A 18 Super Hornet jets they fly can go into battle within three days. Isn’t that amazing?

But they can’t go straight into battle. The jets have the functionality already there. They have all the necessary components. The team has everything they need for combat; there is nothing missing to keep them from going into battle. But the jets are not always supplied with all the combat tools. In order to fly into war, they need to supply the jets with war-time supplies. Then they are ready to deploy.

Do you see where I’m going with this? We are not capable of authentic holiness until we take all those gracious provisions God has lovingly given us and we equip our faith. We must gear up for holy living! Notice the gear of choice for the disciple:

Virtue - this same word is used to describe God in the last phrase of verse 3: there the translation is “excellence.” Virtue equips our faith with the character of holiness. You will not do holy works without being holy. So supply your faith with virtuous character.

Knowledge - part of how God provides all things we need for life and godliness is through our knowledge of him; we supply that virtuous character with ever-deepening knowledge of God so that we can continue to be shaped into his image.

Self-control - what better way to limit pride than to control ourselves? We supply knowledge with self-control so we never get too big for our britches.

Steadfastness - the life of holiness requires more than just piety; it requires a firm consistency that never quits. We must supply our self-control with a steadfastness that never lets go of God no matter the circumstance.

Godliness - we must have such loyal devotion to God alone that it shapes who we are. Supplying our steadfastness with godliness brings holiness into our innermost beings.

Brotherly Affection - Our love for one another is the natural outworking of our love for God. We supply godliness with brotherly affection because the more we’re like God, the more we’ll love one another “because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Love - this is the summit of the mountain of holiness: Agape love. We supply our brotherly affection with the love that perfects our holiness and completes our faith.

We’ve seen the foundation and formation of holiness, but now we need to observe the

Function of Holiness: Fruitful Righteousness

2 Peter 1:8–10 ESV

8 For if these qualities 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. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

When I talk about “function,” I want us to see the impact that these qualities make on us. How do they actually matter? Verse 8 tells us that those who are growing in holiness are protected in a sense from ”being ineffective or unfruitful.” Notice that holiness does not make us “spiritual superheroes.” There’s no executive of Marvel or DC comics that wants to talk with the disciple of Jesus about a new movie franchise. No, holiness doesn’t make us the star of the show: it just makes us faithful sidekicks of the true Hero.

Holiness makes us effective and fruitful. If we want to be the kinds of disciples that bring God glory, we will grow in holiness. If we aren’t growing, however, Peter says in verse 9 that we are “so nearsighted that [we] are blind” and that we forget God’s work of saving us! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be oblivious to God’s work in me!

Therefore, verse 10 says, “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election.” This is the same language as verse 5’s “making every effort.” Holiness takes diligence: it takes hard work. That diligence is what validates our calling. Remember verse 3: God himself is the “one who called us to his own glory and excellence.” We have been called by God, but that calling is not valid until we respond. Just like you don’t realize a growth in your investment until you sell it, we don’t realize the fulness of God’s grace until we put it into practice. And the work is worth it: “for if you practice these qualities you will never fail.”

We find the foundation of holiness in God’s gracious provisions and promises. We actively participate in the formation of holiness as we supply God’s gift of faith with the qualities of righteousness living: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and most of all agape love. We observe the function of holiness in our fruitfulness as Christ’s disciples: we are not blinded to God’s work in us, or forgetful of his great salvation. There is also a

Future of Holiness: God’s Eternal Presence

2 Peter 1:11 ESV

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.

Peter ends this passage where he started: in God’s provision. This time, the provision isn’t just for today: he provides entrance into his eternal kingdom. Oh, that will be glory! To be in God’s eternal presence: there can be no greater future! The Bible tells us that, in that day,

Revelation 7:15–17 ESV

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

That’s what awaits the disciple of Christ. The future of holiness is eternity in God’s presence. Yes, the streets of gold will be a sight to behold. The mansions in glory will be quite a story. But the essence of heaven is God himself - he makes it heaven. Eternity with him is the future of holiness today.

He’s given you all you need. So what are you waiting for? Gear up! You’ve got eternity waiting for you! Live like it.

Pray