Growing in Grace

Welcome

Today we are going to begin to look at the book of 2 Peter. Back in the early months of Summer we studied 1 Peter and this letter is a follow up letter to that first one. Peter is not writing to a specific church with these letters, rather he is writing to a collection of churches that are spread out throughout Asia Minor, this would be our modern day Turkey.

As we study this book then, we will notice the tone that Peter writes with is not the most pastoral. We are going to find times where it almost seems like Peter is rough with what he is saying, but the reason behind this is because he knew this was going to be his final word to these churches. It isn’t long after this that Peter is killed by the Romans and Peter knows that his death is coming soon. Because of that, he gets straight to the point. There are two big issues that need to be addressed and he wants to address them for the current believers, but also for those that come after. Over the next few weeks we will see what issues these churches are having, but today we are going to cover the introduction and a reminder from Peter that we are called to continue to grow in our faith.

Prayer

1. Foundation of Faith

2 Peter 1:1–4 NIV

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Peter introduces himself and he does so by including his former name as well. Simon Peter. These churches that Peter is writing to likely are Jewish Christian churches and so he includes his former Jewish name alongside the name that Jesus gave to him.

Peter doesn’t specifically address who the recipients are of this letter, instead we are told it is “to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” That’s a mouthful, but I want us to think about this for a moment. Peter is writing to fellow believers, people who have heard the Gospel of Jesus and believe in him, people who recognize this righteousness that isn’t a result of them but a gift of God, and he says these people have a faith as precious as ours. The faith that these believers have is just as precious as the faith that Peter and the other apostles have, those who physically met with Jesus and saw him face to face. What Peter is pointing out here, and it will be important later in the letter as we deal with false teachers, is that the faith they have through Jesus is everything they need. They don’t need false teachings because they have the revealed word of God in Jesus.

Verse two gives us a more normal greeting, grace and peace to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus. and in verse 3 Peter elaborates a bit more on having everything we need. Through Jesus’ divine power, we have everything we need to live a godly life because we know him. Because we know Jesus, we know all of the information that we need in order to live a godly life.

Verse 4 tells us that because of this faith we have been given the promises of God.

There are two benefits of God’s promises.

First, we are able to be participants in the divine nature. It is a picture being joined to God and not to the world. This image pictures a changed life. God has given us everything we need to move closer to God. Sin separated us, but the righteousness of Jesus has allowed us to come close to God. This is a fantastic picture of what is available for us.

Second, we are escaping the corruption of the world because of evil desires. Notice that we are not escaping the world. The answer to dealing with sin is not to isolate ourselves from the world. Rather, we flee the corruption of the world. We are working to be partakers and sharers in the divine nature and avoid corruption that comes from our desires in the process.

A lot of good reminders in this opening then. We have faith just as precious as the apostles, we have everything we need to live a godly life through Jesus, and we are recipients of the promises of God. Verse 5 then begins with “FOR THIS VERY REASON” The reason that we should do what he is about to say has already been told to us.

2. Cultivate Christlike Character

2 Peter 1:5–7 NIV

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

God has given us everything we need for life and godliness and so now we need to act because of all that God has done for us. One thing that we can take away from this is that we should never reach a point where we think, “Gee, I have figured out this faith stuff. There isn’t anything else I can learn, there isn’t anything else I can grow in”. Christians never stop growing. Christians are never content in where they are in their faith. When you think you are getting a handle on virtue and moral excellence, don’t be satisfied in that but strive forward in knowledge. But don’t be satisfied in growing in knowledge alone, also make every effort to grow in self-control. But don’t be satisfied in your self-control. Also striving to grow in steadfastness. But don’t be satisfied in working on your steadfastness. Make every effort to also move forward in godliness. But as you grow in godliness, do not be satisfied with that. Grow in brotherly affection also. But don’t be satisfied with your growth in brotherly affection, move forward in love. Keep growing. Never stop making every effort. Continue pressing onward to deeper spiritual qualities that will bolster your faith. Don’t stop swimming, or you will be drifting back. There is no floating in the Christian life.

As we think about this list though, I want to remind us all that Christianity is not about perfection. Peter is not saying, “You better do all of these things perfectly or else!” Rather, it is about making every effort. Christianity is about striving, working hard, and making every effort because of the great and precious promises that God has given us. We are sinners. We cannot attain perfection. But we are striving to live for God and grow in our faith.

Peter builds off this section by continuing on...

3. Promise of Productivity

2 Peter 1:8–11 NIV

8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If we strive to grow in these areas, Peter says we won’t be ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of Jesus. (Can you see what I mean when I say Peter isn’t exactly being the most pastoral?) Peter tells us that we have everything we need to live godly lives because of our faith in Jesus, he tells us areas of our lives that we should grow in BECAUSE of our faith in Jesus (not in order to have faith), and finally he says that if we are growing in these areas, we are not ineffective and unproductive.

Why is this so important? Jesus talked about the importance of being fruitful, of bearing fruit that demonstrates your connection to him.

John 15:5–6 NIV

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Once again, I want us to see that growing in these areas of our life is a result of our faith in Jesus. I don’t want us to get this twisted, that this a list of things we have to do perfectly in order to have salvation in Jesus. If we remain in Jesus, we will bear fruit. If a branch on a tree grows an apple, that means it’s an apple tree.

Peter gives us an illustration on what it looks like if we are lacking in these areas. If these things are a part of our lives, then we are so nearsighted that we are blind. I truly understand this metaphor. I have terrible vision without my glasses. I can’t read, I can really see faces, everything that I look at is fuzzy and out of focus. I really see just blobs of color.

Peter is saying that when we lack these qualities and don’t strive to increase in these qualities listed in verses 5-7, we are so nearsighted that we cannot see what Jesus has done for us. We cannot see that Jesus has cleansed us from our sins. How can we be so nearsighted in our vision that we become consumed with life here on earth, with the physical, and with the material! It is nearsighted to leave Jesus as the most important thing in life to be focused on everything else in this world. When we do so, Peter says that we have forgotten what Jesus has done for us. Never forget what Jesus has done and our need to be devoted to Jesus because he has cleansed us from our sins.

We then get to the conclusion of this section. “Therefore, we need to be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure.” We cannot come to Jesus, have our sins forgiven, and then coast in our service. We cannot come to the Lord and then stop. Baptism is not the endpoint but merely the beginning point. We need to be diligent and practice these qualities.

One of the things we are promised is that we will never fall. Peter is not saying that you will not sin. We won’t be perfect. But we are able to have a confidence that our salvation is secure. When we doubt our salvation, the answer concerning whether our doubts are legitimate are found right here. If we are increasing in these qualities and striving to practice them, then our doubts are unfounded and we can have confidence. Going back to an apple tree. If an apple tree could think, and if it ever had doubts about whether or not it was an apple tree, all it would have to do is look at the fruit it was growing to be confident that it is an apple tree. Likewise, if you ever have a moment of doubting your faith. If you ever have a moment of thinking, am I really saved? Ask yourself, do I bear the fruit of a Christ? Do I love people? Are goodness, self control, and love part of my life? We can then see those things in our life and go, yep, I am an apple tree, yes I am a follower of Jesus.

We don’t know if someone is a Christian based on what is on their social media bio, we know if someone is a Christian based on the fruit they bear.

Conclusion

Are you making every effort to add these characteristics to your life? There is never a point where we can stop growing. If we are not moving forward and growing in these qualities, then we are falling away from the Lord. There is no coasting in this walk with God. There is no drifting or floating. Make every effort to increase in these godly characteristics.