The Ladder of Faith

Foundational Opening

2 Peter 1:1–2 NIV

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: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Peter opens with often taken for granted foundation for our lives that Jesus Christ has stepped into our lives and given us hope and purpose. Remember in Peter’s first letter, he spoke at length about how to live well through suffering. Here in his second letter, Peter is elderly and writing his final response to the church. The church had been giving in to a popular teaching of the day that you have been saved and so it does not matter how you live in this life. The church had abandoned the teachings on sanctification. Peter desires to speak against the things that lead us astray off the path of trusting God and encouraging us to chasing after the Lord.

So Peter in his opening lines points us to what God has for us and lines out the means by which we obtain that which God has. Peter states, grace and peace are ours in abundance. God desires for us to know so intimately grace and peace abounding in all things and in all times.

How many of us today are feeling grace and peace in the midst of chaos? The CHristian life is about reflecting the Lord to the world. God is steadfast, abounding in peace and grace.

All Through the Lord

2 Peter 1:3–4 NIV

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. 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 states that this peace and grace is the desire of the Lord to keep us steadfast through all things in life. To obtain this peace and grace, Peter points his hearers to this central truth, everything that we need is found in who God is.

For many of us, we see the Scriptures as a rule book for how we are to live our lives. This is a Pharisaic approach to the Lord and to His Word. This approach allows for the flesh to twist the truth of God for its own pleasure. Everything that we need for life and godliness is found in the person of God to which the Word of the Lord speaks. If you are overwhelmed with worry, anxiety, fear during this uncertain time, everything that you need to find peace and grace in abudnace can be found in God.

Peter points to the thing that keeps us steadfast is our knowledge of who God is. As we grow in deeper and deeper understanding of who God is, we grow in our ability to reflect Him and to cling to who He is. In other words, the more we grow in the Lord, the more it should be seen in how we respond to the world in our everyday. It is not about the knowledge but rather the object that we are to know that our hope truly lies.

The Ladder of Faith

2 Peter 1:5–7 NIV

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

In our partiipationg with the divine nature of Christ, Peter states that we can not rest on our faith, but rather that we must respond with growing effort to come alongside the work of God and move as instruments of sancitification that we might mature in such a way that we could be as CHrist and snatch others from the fire, keep others steadfast, point others toward the One upon whom grace and peace exist.

Faith to Goodness - Goodness denotes excellence in accomplishing one’s purpose, like a knife excellently cuts. Our faith should move us to effort for excellence in the fulfillment of our purpose.

Goodness to Knowledge - Gnosis, practical knowledge gained from goodness. The Christian should be efforting to grow in their knowledge of who Christ is that he might reflect Christ all the more.

Knowledge to Self Control - Sefl control is controlling the passions instead of being controlled by them

Self COntrol to Perseverance - Perseverance is the temper of mind that makes us unmoved by the difficulty and stresses of the day.

Perseverance to godliness - Our perseverance results in steadfastness which moves us to respond to God and His creation in the most difficult times just as God would desire us to.

Godliness to Brotherly Kindness - The true mark of a mature disciple in Christ is seen in their desire to put the needs of others before themselves.

Faith in Action

2 Peter 1:8–11 NIV

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