Walking Closer With Jesus: Growth & Productivity
Notes
Transcript
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
I want to grow in Christian virtue
Because - present benefits
I will always be occupied in Christ
I will always be productive in Christ
I don’t want to be found without them
Else - present detriment
I can’t really know Jesus
I forgot how much guilt GOD
As a professional engineer, every year or two years, it is required to show the licensing bureau what continuing education one has received. Thus, to maintain status as a PE, they expect continual growth and development in ones knowledge of the practice.
I want to grow in Christ’s virtues
Peter sets out to further explain why it is important for these believers to do their part to arrange these traits and behaviors in their lives. But it’s more to it than just a simple one time, or annual, or weekly event. They need to continually be their inward property, that’s the idea when he says “are yours”. But they also need to be growing. This term is used in other texts to mean “too much”. But with Christ’s character, there’s no such thing as “too much”, because there’s always room for growth.
Application: Our response to this text should be “I want to grow in Christian virtue!!!” As with many of us and our physical property, we like to expand and increase what we have. With these spiritual things in our hearts, we should also seek that they are growing. Not just having them, but also growing!! Not quantitatively, that’s the list, but qualitatively, never to be stagnant and satisfied with where we are. But reaching to where the world would thing “that’s too much self-control, faith, understanding, or love”.
Because - present benefits
I will always be occupied in Christ
Peter says when this is the case and the process and progress in these believer’s lives, it will place them in a beneficial position regarding their walk with Jesus. Or their conduct which proves they are walking with and know Jesus!! Peter uses “not” to emphasize the direct opposite definition. The first is “useless”, a word originally understood as unemployed. Jesus used it in Matt 20:3 ,6 to describe those in the marketplace “standing around doing nothing”.
Application: When you and I are growing and maturing, we can’t help but be occupied in our walk with Christ. COVID indeed might be making unemployment lines grow, but if I’m growing in Christ, I’m never unemployed in serving him and conducting life which reflects I know him. Growing in love, brotherhood, self-control, etc. there’s always something for you and I to be occupied with.
I will always be productive in Christ
In addition, Peter says another present benefit is that they will not be unfruitful. “Unfruitful” was understood as not producing desired or intended results. Commonly illustrated by a tree or plant, hence the term “fruit”. And fruit is the desired and intended result of planting a seed and it growing! Thus Peter is saying they will always be productive in demonstrating their knowledge of Jesus.
Application: It’s one thing for us to be active, it’s another to be productive. When we are growing in Christian virtue, GOD sees the desired results from knowing Jesus.
I don’t want to be found without Christ’s virtues
One would think that explanation is sufficient grounds for why growing in Christian virtue is so important. However Peter furthers his explanation by showing the condition of not having these things in our hearts. Notice, he doesn’t say “he who lacks and isn’t growing”. That’s because for the one that doesn’t have them, they can’t grow. Same argument used for Mark 16:16. Thus, our response here should be “I don’t want to be found without Christian virtue”.
Else - present detriment
I can’t really know Jesus
Peter says for the believer found without Christ’s virtue in them at all has an entirely different status, that is blind. Used metaphorically to describe ones darkness of knowledge, which is because they aren’t able to see at a distance. The idea is that this person blind to Jesus.
Application: We don’t want to be found without them because it means we’re just around Jesus, but he’s not really our Lord. We’re around him, but we can’t see him for who he is. We’re around him but we don’t really know him.
I forgot how much guilt Jesus cleaned from me
Then Peter further supports the fact of blindness. How do you know Peter, that this person is blind to Jesus, it is because they have deliberately put out of their minds that they were cleansed of all that long history of sin and guilt. So, it is then obvious they can’t see!!
Application: If we’re found without these things, we forgot the contract we signed in our baptism. We know the phrase “That’s a slap in the face”. We ignore the groans, lacerations, blood, cross, etc. For our sins, but just how guilty we were. But if we truly appreciate what Jesus did, we will have a desire to be more and more like the one who cleaned us.