A Precious Faith - Part 2
A Precious Faith – Part 2
2nd Peter 1:1-2
July 15, 2007
Sun Oak Baptist Church
Introduction
A. Please take your Bibles and turn with me to Matt. 13:3 – we’ll be getting to 2nd Peter in just a moment. I also encourage you to take out the sermon notes in the bulletin and take advantage of that tool that we provide.
Welcome visitors.
B. As we saw last week the center-piece of the table that Peter sets to serve his 2nd letter is the preciousness of the Christian faith. The Christian faith is something precious – something to cherish and value. And while the center-piece is this preciousness, we might say the tablecloth that holds it all together is the theme of “certainty.” One of the central points of 2nd Peter is that in order to guard ourselves against the stumbling that can be caused by false teachers we must be certain of our foundations – the Christian faith is precious and in order to guard ourselves against the threat of false teachers we must know exactly where we stand and in whom we believe.
C. Chapter 13 in Matthew’s Gospel is incredibly powerful. It contains one of Jesus’ most powerful and provocative parables: “The Parable of the Sower.” Read 13:3-9.
Then in verse 18 Jesus explains this Parable. Read 13:18-23. “The Parable of the Sower” is a warning against false conversion – a warning against not being a true believer – it’s an admonition to be certain of our foundation. It describes four (4) different types of people that hear and receive the Gospel, but only one (1) of the four (4) is truly saved – only one (1) has a foundation that stands firm against the trials thrown against it.
And then, after explaining this parable, right in the middle of using some other Parables to also warn against false conversion, Jesus tells two (2) parables that describe the value that Jesus places on the Gospel – the value of the Christian faith: read 13:44-46. The Christian faith is incredibly valuable – it’s precious.
Now turn over to 2nd Peter 1:1. Jesus characterizes true saving faith as something so valuable, so precious, that a person wanting it must be willing to sell everything they have in order to get it. And Peter reiterates this very same truth in his introduction to this 2nd letter. Like panning for gold the Christian faith requires diligence and is something that must be prized and treasured. If we are not certain about this truth, if we are not certain that Christianity is a precious faith, then there’s no reason to go any further in this letter – this truth is foundational to Peter’s message in this letter. Read 1:1-2 and 10.
Pray.
D. As I said last week verses 1-2 are saturated with theology – they are rich with doctrine related to defining the nature of the Christian faith and it’s through this theology and the phrase “precious faith” that Peter lays the foundation for most of what he has to say in this letter. And what we are doing is unwrapping the riches of these first two (2) verses by answering some questions about the precious value of the Christian faith.
I. First of all: how many precious faiths are there?
As we saw last week the answer to this question is just one (1) – one faith. Read 1:1. It’s not “faiths” plural – it’s “faith” singular. Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
II. Secondly, what is this precious faith?
What is this precious faith? How do we define it? Look at Peter’s answer. Read 1:1-3.
A. We saw last week that Jesus Christ is at the very center of Peter’s answer to the question of “what.” He refers to Jesus Christ five (5) times just in these first three (3) verses and a total of fifteen (15) times in this first chapter. What is the Christian faith: it’s Jesus Christ born of a virgin; crucified on the cross of Calvary; buried; risen again on the third day and sitting this very day at the right hand of the Father.
B. Take Jesus Christ out of this letter; take Him out of the NT and there is no Good News – no Gospel. Acts 4:12 says it this way: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus Christ is the bulls-eye center of God’s redemptive plan for man.
III. And now third: how does someone get this precious faith?
Jesus Christ is THE way, THE truth, and THE life – no one comes to the Father but by Him…and this 3rd question is where left off last week: how do we get this faith? Peter’s answer is in two (2) parts – it’s concise and cuts to the chase with the precision of a laser: read 1:1b.
A. The first part of Peter’s answer to the question of “how” is found in the word “obtained.”
This word originally meant “to get something through the casting of a lot,” but came to mean “having something given to you.” So the answer to “how” is that the Christian faith is simply given – it’s a gift – it’s just “obtained.” At some point in a Christian’s life a priceless gift was given to them – they did nothing to deserve it, earn it, or get the gift – they just “obtained” it.
B. But Peter adds a second part to this truth: the “obtaining;” this “giving” wasn’t done in a vacuum. Look at 1:1b again: read 1:1b. The precious faith of the Christian is obtained how: by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
We could literally spend the rest of the morning just on this phrase: it’s thrilling. In this one phrase Peter sums up the doctrines of election, justification, atonement, redemption – or basically everything taught in the Bible about the transaction that occurs when someone is saved. There is nothing a sinner does to get this precious faith – it’s given to them by the righteousness of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ. We can’t do anything to earn it and the truth of this statement has always tripped people up.
1. Flip back to 1st Peter 1:2 for a moment. In both of his letters Peter emphasizes the doctrine of election – many are called few are chosen. Read 1:2; 5:13; 2nd Peter 1:10.
In “The Parable of the Sower” the seeds of the Gospel are sown on four (4) different types of soils but only one (1) of the soils receives the seed it in such a way that it develops deep roots, grows, and produces fruit. The Christian faith is given to us by God’s grace and the righteousness of Jesus Christ – which in my mind makes this faith all the more precious!!
2. Turn with me to Eph. 2:8. Let me try to put some shoe leather to this truth that there is nothing someone can do to earn this precious faith by contrasting how the Bible says people get the precious faith Peter is talking about with how people get other “faiths” in the world today.
a. It’s almost like the religion editor at the Bee is reading my mail. Here’s the headline of Saturday’s article on the Jehovah Witnesses: show and read. How does a Jehovah Witness get a right relationship with their “god?” One Door at a time – it’s doing. How does someone get to heaven or have a right relationship with the god of Islam; or the gods (little “g’s” of Hinduism; or of Roman Catholicism and so on? Adherents to any of these faiths earn a right relationship with their god by doing – by “doing” things – they are faiths that aren’t given – they are earned. Forgiveness, righteousness, and right standing in every single faith except the faith of Peter and the other apostles is earned by fasting; by getting baptized; by going door-to-door; by not drinking coffee; by going to Mecca; by going on a two (2) year mission; by climbing a mountain in Tibet and kissing the Dali Lama’s hand – and on and on. Not a single one of these faiths are obtained – they are earned.
b. And this stands in diametrical contrast to how Peter was saved, to how the rest of the apostles were saved, and to how any lost sinner gets in right relationship with the God of the Bible. Read Eph. 2:8-9.
3. Question: do these verses say anything about anything we can do to get saved? Peter’s letter is about foundations – it’s about certainty. If someone isn’t certain about this truth regarding how we are saved then they are in church for the wrong reason. We don’t get to heaven because we go to church – we get to heaven because God saved us and everything we do as a Christian, including going to church, flows out of our love for Him.
C. Go back to 2nd Peter 1:1. Before we go any further let me make sure that all of us are certain about one (1) thing because I know how sometimes peoples’ minds’ work: 2nd Peter is warning against false teachers. And the religions I just referred to our false religions – they are founded upon the teachings of false prophets and false teachers. I am not in any questioning the sincerity of Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, and so on. All I am doing is telling you what they teach. They do not teach that Jesus is the only way. What I said is what every single one of these false faith teach and practice.
1. There is only one kind of saving faith. Peter and the other apostles didn’t get saved one way and Christians that come later get saved a different way. Anyone and everyone that gets saved does so because God graciously intervenes in their life, works in their hearts, draws them to Himself and then saves them. Salvation can’t be earned – we can never be good enough. This precious faith is obtained completely and entirely by God’s grace – through faith. It’s obtained by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ through faith. God gives saving faith, but it is always tied to the righteousness He provided. If Jesus Christ had not provided righteousness through His death and resurrection as payment for sin, God could not give us saving faith.
2. How does a lost sinner get the faith Peter is talking about? Believe and submit to the truth of God’s Word and say: “I have no righteousness of my own; I accept by faith the righteousness that God gives me in Christ. I am unworthy and sinful, but I can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ; and, clothed with that, I can stand and face God and His righteousness.” This is the essence of the Christian faith that is so incredibly precious – it’s a pearl that money can never buy.
IV. Finally: why is this faith so incredibly precious?
How many faiths are there? One. What is it? It’s Jesus Christ and Him alone. How does someone get it? By God graciously bringing a person to the point that they can humbly say: “I have no righteousness of my own so by faith, I accept the righteousness that God gives me in Christ.”
And now, finally, why is this faith so very precious? Look at 1:1. Why does Peter call it “precious?”
A. Before we answer this question we need to understand the meaning of the word “precious.”
1. Look at verse 1. The KJV and NKJV translate the Greek Peter used here this way: “to those who have obtained like precious faith with us” – the “us” referring to the faith of Peter and the other apostles, while other translations have it this way: “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours.”
2. There are a number of ramifications to this nuance in the original Greek but just understand that Peter is referring to a faith that is very valuable; a faith that is really beyond price; to a faith that is beyond our ability to compute – he’s attempting to quantify the value of something that would stump even the experts on “The Antique Road Show.”
3. Think of it this way: someone becomes ill – they have lost their health so they go to the doctor. They say: “Doctor: if you know of any remedy, or anything that can be done, I beg you to let me know about it. I don’t care what it may cost – I must have it. After all, what is the value of wealth or position or anything else that I have if I lose my health? My health is more precious than anything else. I will mortgage my goods and sell everything else I have to get whatever treatment you may prescribe because my health is precious – it is beyond computation and it is more valuable than anything else I might own or ever have.” That’s precious.
4. Which begs a question: how do we personally value this faith? Is our salvation; the forgiveness of sin; the hope of eternal life this precious to us? Would the value we place on our Christianity be characterized to the value we place on a priceless antique clock that we dutifully dust and wind everyday, or would the value we place on this faith be characterized by a dusty Bible on a bed stand that we hardly ever read?
5. To me, we could stop right here – just considering this question was enough for me in one day but let me take these last few minutes and answer why….
B. Why is the Christian faith so very precious?
1. For one, because of the price that was paid for it.
a. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
b. One reason that the Christian faith is so incredibly precious is because of the price that was paid for it – the death of the spotless lamb. Jesus Christ died the most horrible death mankind has ever devised to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus Christ died that we might have life.
2. Secondly, a second reason why the Christian faith is so very precious is because of what is accomplishes in the life of a sinner.
There are things that happen as a result of the application of saving faith to the life of a sinner that many Christians have no idea of – maybe because they have never been in a church that teaches sound doctrine. Whatever the case, when a person becomes a Christian, there are a number of things that all happen instantaneously and this morning I’m going to touch on just three (3) of them – three (3) transactions that occur when a lost person gets saved that make the Christian faith so precious.
a. For one, when a person becomes a Christian they are instantly “justified.”
The doctrine of “justification” is referred to well over 80 times in the NT. It establishes that a sinner, after receiving Jesus Christ, stands guiltless in the presence of God – they are declared innocent. How could anyone ever measure or compute the value of this – the value of a conscience void of offence; the value of knowing for certain that God has forgiven us; the value of having for certain the fear of death and the grave gone; the incredible value of being certain that we can face any accuser that may ever rise up against us and point to Jesus Christ – not to things we have done – but Christ. One reason the Christian faith is a precious faith is because of the doctrine of justification immediately and instantaneously declares a sinner innocent before a holy God.
b. Second, when a sinner, by faith, obtains this precious faith they are “sanctified.”
The word “sanctify” and its derivatives are found hundreds of times in the Bible. It is a key term in understanding what Jesus Christ did, does, and will do for a Christian. This doctrine establishes that not only is a Christian “guiltless” in the legal sense, the judge declares us innocent, but we also have the promise that the Holy Spirit will work in us in such a way that will ultimately rid us of every spot and blemish and of all pollution. The Gospel is not only precious because we are forgiven and remain the same (that’s justification), but it’s also precious because we receive a new nature and start living a new life: quote 2nd Cor. 5:17.
c. Third, when a person obtains this precious faith they are “glorified.”
Not only are we declared righteous – justification; not only can we now become more and more like our Savior – sanctification; be certain of this: the precious faith of the apostles also glorifies us – meaning that one day every Christian will stand in the presence of God in a perfect state. 1st John 3:2: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him...” “Glorification” means we can be certain that as Christians, sooner or later, we will be taken out of this earth to be with God and Christ and live with them for ever and ever.
C. Justification…sanctification…glorification – and we literally could go on and one with this and much, much more. All this and more comes to us only because God, in His grace, singled us out from among the millions and millions of people who are unconcerned about these things and who live as if these things are nothing more than idle tales.
Conclusion
A. To me, after submerging myself in this letter over the past few months, the monumental question of the hour that Peter is driving us towards is this: do we have this precious faith or don’t we? Read 1:10. Is our calling and election sure? Are we trusting in the precious faith of Peter and the other apostles for our justification, or are we somehow trusting in the things we do?
B. This the foundation says Peter. This is the foundation upon which the rest of what I have to say in this letter is going to be built on. In both of his letters Peter underscores the sovereignty and work of God in our salvation. Peter never exalts the people he’s writing to – he exalts God.
It doesn’t matter who we are, or where we come from; if we are a Christian, this is our faith; this is what this church will teach and it is what we must believe; these are some of the things we have in Christ. Without Him we are lost and nothing, but in Him we have everything that pertains to godliness and we are complete.
C. And the faith in Him is “precious” to me, dear to me. Its value is beyond all human comprehension because of all these amazing things He has done for us, and is still doing for us, and will yet do for us until we stand complete in Him in the presence of God. The question of the hour that Peter would ask is this: is this faith precious to us?