2 Peter 3:18....But Grow...
2 Peter 3:18....But Grow...
INTRODUCTION..
HISTORY..
the grace of which Christ is the author, and the knowledge of which Christ is the object.
Grace is unmerited favor, undeserved kindness, unearned blessing. Grace is God giving to us not because of what we do, but in spite of what we’ve done
Grace is ours not because we earned it, not because we willed it, not because we were born into it, but because God chose to be kind to us for no reason whatsoever.
Growing in grace often means experiencing trials and even suffering. We never really experience the grace of God until we are at the end of our own resources. The lessons learned in the “school of grace” are always costly lessons, but they are worth it. To grow in grace means to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom we receive all the grace that we need (John 1:16).
We must also grow in knowledge. How easy it is to grow in knowledge but not in grace! All of us know far more of the Bible than we really live. Knowledge without grace is a terrible weapon, and grace without knowledge can be very shallow. But when we combine grace and knowledge, we have a marvelous tool for building our lives and for building the church.
POINTS...
There is a vast difference between grace growing and our growing in grace. God’s grace never increases; it is always infinite, so it cannot be more. It is always everlasting; it is always bottomless; it is always shoreless. It cannot be more, and, in the nature of God, it could not be less
We are in the sea of God’s grace. We cannot be in a deeper sea, but let us grow now we are in it. We cannot be more in it than we are or than we always have been. We are in God’s grace; we are in the covenant; we are in the scheme of redemption; we are in union with Jesus
for we are eternally secure through the blood of our Savior
When we light a fire, we always put the straw and kindling at the bottom. When we first light it, there is flame and a great deal of smoke. But afterward, when the flame gets hold of the coals, there is not so much blaze, but there is really more heat. You may have lost some of your flame and smoke, but then you have more solid fire; we would rather warm our hands by the coals than by the straw, for that must soon go.
So is it with grace. It begins with a flame that catches the lighter substances and lays hold on the imagination and the passions. But in later life, it appeals to the judgment and makes the man one solid lump of burning fire. He is not a little flame, rising toward heaven, which the wind might blow out with a puff. He becomes so strong a fire that the wind shall but increase the flame, and shall make the heat the greater. So it may be with you. Perhaps you have become more solid though you are less fiery
We must also grow in knowledge. How easy it is to grow in knowledge but not in grace! All of us know far more of the Bible than we really live. Knowledge without grace is a terrible weapon, and grace without knowledge can be very shallow. But when we combine grace and knowledge, we have a marvelous tool for building our lives and for building the church.
This knowledge is not merely that of the Bible; it is knowledge of Christ through the Bible. We must come to know Him better
There cannot be any grace at all except as we know Christ, and there can be no growth in grace except as we grow in our knowledge of Christ.
CONCLUSION..
The theme of 1 Peter was grace; the theme of 2 Peter was knowledge; Peter sums up both books by admonishing us to grow in grace and in knowledge.
Peter wants us to have balanced lives: we should learn and live the Word.