Beyond All Doubt

Introduction

In the final verses of the book of John, the beloved disciple recalls for us some events that took place after the resurrection of Christ. This particular event is found in John 21 and takes place of the shores of the Sea of Tiberias and results in the restoration of Peter. During Peter’s restoration we read the following: John 21:15-17

John 21:15–17 LSB

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

From these verses we see the clear implication to Peter for care for the flock of Christ. Three times Christ commands Peter and Peter took this command to heart. Peter would spend the rest of his life, up to his martyrdom on the cross, caring for the flock which had been entrusted to him. We see Peter given the responsibility for delivering the initial message on the day of Pentecost and continuing to lead the apostles and the church for approximately 40 years. Towards the end of his life the he was moved by the Holy Spirit to write two letters. These letters where significant in that they were the words of Almighty God given to Peter by the Holy Spirit for the sake of the body of Christ, the church.

It is to the second of those letters that we turn this morning. Peter tells us in the first verse of chapter three that this letter is written for the purpose of 2 Peter 3:1–2 “...stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles,” and then he warns us that we should remember these things because 2 Peter 3:3–4 “knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”

In other words, Peter is writing this letter as a reminder so that when the day comes and the truths that we have been given are being disputed we will be able to call these truths to mind. Our text for this morning is the first 15 verses of 2 Peter chapter 1.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Authoritative, Sufficient and Complete Word;

2 Peter 1:1–15 LSB

Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For in whom these things are not present, that one is blind, being nearsighted, having forgotten the purification from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and choosing sure; for in doing these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Almighty God,

Though we are allowed to approach You, may we remain mindful of our sins, let us not deny our guilt but confess our wickedness and ask for Your forgiveness. May we like Moses choose affliction rather than enjoying the pleasures of sin. Help us to continually place ourselves under your care, that which both guides and guards us. Give us strength to take a firmer hold of the sure covenant that binds us to You. Through your grace, grant us to feel more of the purifying, dignifying and softening influence of the faith we profess. Grant us more compassion, love, pity and courtesy. Merciful Lord may we understand it to be an honor to be in service to You, to serve as an instrument of Your hands, to be prepared to seize every opportunity of usefulness and willing to submit all that we have been given by You in service to You. You have done all things for us well, have remembered us, distinguished us and been merciful towards us. You faithful love of us have guarded us and denied us when our wishes would have proven to cause ruin or injury. Our trials are far less than our sins and when we have humbly accepted Your discipline You are faithful, merciful and gracious to restore us. You have often wiped our tears, restored peace to our mourning heats, and corrected us for our good. All of Your work in us and for us is perfect and we praise You for Your faithfulness. All of these things we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Urgency

From the very first time in scripture that we encounter Peter until the writing of these letters we see major changes in the life of Peter. Although Paul was used mightly by God to write for us the majority of the New Testament, Peter stands, in my mind at least, as the most relatable of the apostles. It is easy to look at his life and see ourselves, making the same mistakes, inserting our foot in our mouth at the same places that Peter does, right up to and including three denials on the night of Christ’s arrest and trial. A fisherman by trade, a simple man, who as he walked alongside our savior and later with the indwelling of the Spirit grew as it were right before our eyes into one of deep understanding and wisdom.

It is out of these 40 some odd years of deep personal commitment to God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that Peter delivers for us this letter that is of utmost important to all believers. He opens his letter with a very simple, yet powerful, introduction. His identity, not merely a name, but one rooted and grounded in his desire to serve the Lord Jesus as an apostle, and the identity of those to whom he writes, “those who have received the same kind of faith as ours” are joined together by the common thread of salvation by the righteousness of our God and Savior.

Even in this sentence, we see that Peter is already recalling to our mind the method of our salvation. We find this in how he identifies the audience of his letter, in the phrase “received the same kind of faith as ours”, the Greek here could also be translated “those given the same faith as ours”. The idea here being one of massive importance in that Peter is clearly identifying the faith that we share and that this faith is a gift, it is something that was received. Here received carries with it the implication of something done by divine will or decree.

So this letter, written by a slave of Christ is written to all believers, continues with request that “grace and peace be multiplied to you”. This is a common thread in both Peter and Paul’s writing where they remind us that the grace of God and the peace of God are needed by His people everyday. We need to be reminded daily that His grace is sufficient and that His peace is everlasting and this is accomplished in the full knowledge of God and Jesus. In other words, this reminder that we need, continually in our lives of both the grace and peace of God is found in the place that contains the full knowledge or understanding or revelation of God. This reminder of grace and peace is something that we see on page after page after page in Scripture. This is why the Word of God should be so dear to the people of God.

Peter quickly moves through this greeting in order to get to the subject matter at hand and it is not until we get to verses 13-15 that we see why Peter is writing with such a sense of urgency. These words are written near the end of the life of Peter. 2 Peter 1:13–15 “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

Twice in these short two verses Peter writes that the reason for his writing is as a reminder so that believers can call to mind these truths that he has proclaimed. We will circle back around in just a moment to exactly what “these things” mean but for the moment let us focus in on a couple of realities Peter reveals regarding the urgency.

The first is the obvious one, Peter feels his life is nearing an end and he needs to write these things so that they will stand, because they are God’s Word, His truth, for all believers everywhere. Notice, however that Peter says that he “considers it right” and that he will “be diligent”. If you will, for just a moment, recall the words we read earlier from John’s gospel. As Peter stood facing Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, he promises to tend and shepherd the Lord Jesus’ sheep. Sheep are hardheaded and dumb animals with a flock mentality. They need correction, guidance, discipline and continual reminders. We are sheep, as a believer we are Jesus’ sheep… yes, I called all of us hardheaded, dumb animals with a flock mentality… tough pill to swallow but this is why Peter writes these words, because we are so hard headed, we are dumb, in the sense that we continually return to the former things, or as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 26:11 “Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.”

These Things

So we see that Peter feels this pressing urgency to deliver this message, he knows the end of his life is near, he feels the imminency of death, and knows that his duty, as a shepherd of the Christ’s sheep, is to ensure that we can recall “these things” to mind as the need arises. What exactly, then, are these things. Peter, in verses 3-12, provides that answer.

He opens in verse three by calling to mind what has already occured, past tense. Regardless of if you have been a Christian for 4 minutes or 40 years, verse 3 describes what has ALREADY happened. It opens with our 2 Peter 1:3 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” Note that granted and called are both in the past tense, these are the two actions that have occured. First, that you have been granted everything that pertains to life and godliness. Some have these two coming together to simply form the phrase “godly life” which indicates that the life you live should be in a manner that is pleasing to God, and I could not agree more, it should, but to limit this verse to that statement is to reduce the truth here.

The truth we find here is that we receive everything pertaining to life, through the full knowledge of Him and we recieved everything pertaining to godliness through the full knowledge of Him. Firstly, be reminded of what I said earlier, full knowledge, understanding, revelation of Him, is contained in one place and one place only, His Word. There is no substitute for YOU spending time in God’s word. Lord’s day worship is awesome, small groups are magnificent, but these all exist to SUPPLEMENT your time in God’s Word, not to replace it. You can listen to all the podcast, read all the books, sing all the songs, but if you are not spending time in God’s Word, you are missing truth.

Second, we must understand that although we are called to life a godly life, there is a difference here between what is being called life and what is being called godliness. Life is the act of living, the daily activities that we are a part of, work, home, school, clubs, etc. It is all of the activities that you do as who you are. We are called to do all things to the glory of God and our very lives should be spent glorifying Him. The hard truth of this is, that everything we do should be informed by the Word of God. Each Sunday as we stand to read God’s word, we remind ourselves that it is authoritative and sufficient, it is that not just in the portion of our lives that is set aside for gathering as a church, not just the portion that is set aside for our time of religious practice, but day in and day out, in everything we do. Our lives, the TOTALITY of our lives, is to be shaped by His word.

Then there is godliness. The word used here denotes right belief and faithful practice of those beliefs of God. In other words what we believe and how we practice our belief or faith, is determined and directed by God. It is not according to our whims. Not only do we remind ourselves that His word is authoritative and sufficient but we also remind ourselves that it is inerrant, infallible and complete. There are no alternatives, everything that we need to RIGHTLY believe and RIGHTLY worship, is contained within the pages of scripture.

As a short aside, please note that Peter adds nothing to this. He does not say that it is found in the full knowledge of God and our own thoughts, feelings, emotions or desires. In fact, he is so emphatic, that he goes on to ensure we are clear on this when he adds “who called us by His own glory and excellence”, ensuring that there should be no room for error, the Him of whom he speaks is the Him who called us by His Glory and by His Excellence and none other.

Promises and Effects

Since He has called us by His glory and excellence and has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness in the full knowledge of Him, Peter continues to say that He has also granted, another past tense, His precious and magnificent promises. Many want to end their reading here. They want to see that we have been given all of the precious and magnificent promises of God but what they do not want to see is the why, the purpose, the reason that God has done this. The desire is to receive all of these wonderful things as long as it does not interfere with who I am and what I want. We see the rotten fruit of this viewpoint in the effects it has had on the so called church today, where people claim the promises while promoting the sin and even “correcting scripture” so that it allows them to live the life they choose, in the sin they desire, without being confronted or changed, but note Peter’s next words “So that”.

These promises we have been given, the precious and magnificent promises of scripture, are given so that we may become “partakers of the divine nature”. This is the transformation, from death to life, from sinner to saint, being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Not staying dead in our sin, not continuing to live in the flesh, not continuing as the old man. A few weeks ago we talked about that we have been put to death to sin… this is more of the same language, there is a transformation that happens as a result of the reception of the promises of God and the thing that transforms, is us… God does not change, His word does not change, He changes us, His word transforms us as indicated by the fact that we have escaped the corruption. The corruption that occured at the fall, the curse that is found, far and wide, no longer has a hold on us.

Our Responsibility

Again, this is the Sovereign act of God in the lives of His people, we who have true faith are being transformed… BUT we also have a role to play. Notice as Peter moves into verse 5 he moves from the work of God in our life, to our response, something that is to be done by us. Let us be crystal clear here, Peter is not promoting a works based salvation but works based on salvation, the difference being a works based salvation seeks to obtain salvation by our efforts and work based on salvation is a work that results from the salvation that has already been given. In verses 1-4 Peter is clear that this is accomplished by God alone and as a result of the truth that it has been accomplished, you have a responsibility.

Your responsibility is to diligently by faith supply the next seven characteristics to your life. Before we get into the characteristics we need to take a moment and explore what is meant by Peter when he writes “also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply”. First note that it is by or in our faith that this is to be done. Faith, being that belief we have in, our submittal to, and our reliance on Christ, is where the power is derived for this effort. In other words, although we are taking the action, we are doing so by faith, trusting that as we walk through this life in obedience that all that we need to walk rightly will be supplied. Secondly, note that we are to apply all diligence. This is a sobering truth to most of us, because quite literally this means to bring every effort to. So, in our life, we are supposed to put forth full effort in all of these things that Peter is about to list and we do so faithfully knowing that God will supply.

For example, the first of the characteristics Peter lists is moral excellence, or virtue. Living a life of outstanding goodness. Our part in this is to daily make the right decisions, daily do things that are good, not just in our eyes, but in the eyes of God. As we put forth all of our human effort to be obedient to God by living a life of goodness, we faithfully come to Him and submit our lives to Him, when we do this we are earnestly seeking his direction and discernment regarding what is good and ensuring that it is for God’s glory. Roughly paraphrasing Tom Ascol we are to “evaluate to see if things are for our good and God’s glory. If we see that it is for God’s glory, but cannot see how it is for our good, do it anyway because all things that are for His glory are ultimately for our good.”

Peter then goes on to identify six other characteristics that we should be diligently seeking to apply to our lives:

2. Knowledge - what is known - specifically of God - through His word

3. Self-control - complete control over both desires and actions

4. perserverance - capacity to bear up under circumstances

5. Godliness - again the right belief in and the faithful practice of those beliefs to God

6. Brotherly Kindness - love and affection demonstrated towards fellow believers

7. Love - true love based on God’s love for us - here agape

Doubt Elimination

After delivering these Peter contrasts the life of one with and one without these things. Verse 8 speaks of our assurance as a result while verse 9 speaks of those without this assurance because these things are not displayed in our lives.

There are some who have a disagreement about who Peter is referring to here in verse 9. Peter, again is writing to believers, admonishing them according to God’s word and demonstrating the right way to live. If we couple that with his statement regarding the “purification from former sins” it seems to me that he is talking to believers who are not demonstrating those characteristics we have mentioned. If you this is you, Paul gives the method of recovering the assurance of verse 8 in verse 10 and then demonstrates the ultimate reality in which you will find yourself.

Conclusion

As we bring our time together this morning to a close, let us reflect carefully and personally on the gravity of Peter’s final earthly exhortation. These are not the musings of an aged fisherman simply imparting lessons learned through the passage of time; they are the Spirit-inspired, divinely ordained words of a man who walked with Christ, failed Christ, was restored by Christ, and spent his remaining years living for Christ — even unto death. Peter is not merely offering advice; he is making an earnest plea that flows from a heart gripped by grace and burdened by the knowledge of his soon departure. And his message is clear: You must remember these things.

The urgency of Peter's words, written in the shadow of his impending death, leaves no room for spiritual laziness or indifference. We are to be stirred up — shaken from our spiritual slumber — not with some new, novel teaching, but by being reminded of the unchanging truths we have already been given. Truths that must govern not only what we believe but how we live.

Have you been diligent in making your calling and election sure? Have you applied every effort, in your faith, to cultivate moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love? Peter does not present these qualities as optional accessories to the Christian life but as necessary evidences of it. If these qualities are increasing in you, they serve as an assurance that you are neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if these things are lacking — if there is no fruit, no growth, no perseverance — Peter warns that you have become blind, shortsighted, having forgotten that you were cleansed from your former sins.

There is no neutral ground in the Christian life. You are either growing or you are withering. You are either being shaped by the Word of God or by the world around you. Peter, with great pastoral love, is calling you — commanding you — to live a life that reflects the reality of your salvation. Not to earn it. Not to maintain it. But because you have truly received it.

And so the question presses itself upon your heart this morning, and it demands a response: Are you living in such a way that if your earthly dwelling were laid aside today, those who knew you best could call to mind these things because they saw them so clearly in your life?

If your voice was silenced today, would the imprint of your faith remain in the lives of those around you? Would your family, your church, your friends be able to look back and say, "They lived a life that pointed me to Christ"?

Or have you spent your days pursuing the things of the world, chasing after the fleeting pleasures that Peter says we have been called to escape? Has your life been a testimony to God's precious and magnificent promises, or has it been a monument to your own self-will?

Beloved, eternity is not some distant reality; it is just one breath away. And Peter, knowing this full well, calls you today to examine yourself. Not with worldly fear or fleshly doubt, but with a heart humbled under the mighty hand of God. A heart that trembles at His Word and rejoices in His grace.

If you find this morning that the qualities Peter describes are not evident in your life, the answer is not despair — the answer is repentance. The answer is not to work harder in your own strength, but to throw yourself once more upon the mercy of God, to confess your weakness, and to plead for His sanctifying grace to abound in you. Christ does not despise the broken and contrite heart. He welcomes it.

And if by God’s grace you see these qualities — even in small and imperfect form — increasing in your life, then take heart and press on. Be all the more diligent. Do not grow weary in doing good. Persevere in the race that is set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Peter reminds us that entrance into the eternal kingdom will be abundantly supplied to those who persevere in faith and godliness. What a glorious promise! Not a barely-there arrival, not a scraping by the gates, but an abundant, victorious welcome into the joy of our Master.

This is the goal. This is the race. This is the reason Peter writes with such urgency, and the reason you and I must receive his words with the utmost seriousness. The world mocks. The world doubts. The world entices. But we are not of the world. We have been bought with a price, redeemed from corruption, and made partakers of the divine nature. Our lives must bear witness to that reality.

So I ask you again: When you lay aside your earthly dwelling, what will be remembered of you? What legacy of faith are you building today?

Let us, by the grace of God, commit ourselves afresh this morning to live in such a way that Christ is magnified, His Word is treasured, His promises are clung to, and His people are loved. May we be diligent to make our calling and election sure, so that in the end, we may hear those precious words: "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master."

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Almighty God, We come before You in humble gratitude for Your Word — living, active, sufficient, and true. Thank You for not leaving us to stumble in the dark, but for granting us all that we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of You, our Lord and Savior. Thank You for the precious and magnificent promises that are ours in Christ Jesus, promises that call us not to complacency, but to transformation.

Father, we confess that so often we are blind and forgetful, quick to return to the broken ways from which You have redeemed us. Forgive us for our slothfulness, for our love of ease, for our readiness to listen to the mocking voice of the world instead of the sure voice of Your truth. Stir up our hearts today by way of reminder, O Lord. Rekindle in us a holy diligence to pursue You with every effort, to grow in faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.

Lord, strengthen our weak hands and feeble knees. Set our eyes firmly on Christ, that we would not grow weary or faint-hearted. Conform us more and more into His likeness, that when the day comes for us to lay aside this earthly dwelling, our lives might bear clear and lasting testimony to Your saving grace.

Let it be said of us, Lord, not that we chased after vanity, but that we treasured Christ above all. Not that we clung to the fleeting things of this world, but that we held fast to Your unchanging Word. Keep us faithful, keep us fruitful, and keep us near to You.

We pray this, with full dependence and hope, in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.