2 Peter 1 Leader's Guide
Leader’s Guide
2 Peter 1:1-11
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.
Making One’s Calling and Election Sure
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 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 and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 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 if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 1: To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours
Do you realize that we can have the same sort of relationship with God as Peter, one of the original 12 disciples, probably the one closest to Christ Himself?
So … How come I don’t feel like it? I think my relationship with God grows hot or cold depending on what is going on around me, what circumstances I’m in.
Look at Hebrews 4:2:
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, …
Why was it of no value to these people? Was something missing from it? Was there something wrong with it?
No. It is what those people didn’t do with it that messed them up. Look at the rest of the verse (Hebrews 4:2):
… because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
God offers this sort of relationship to everyone, but not everyone takes advantage of it.
Now look down at 2 Peter 1:3,4
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 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 and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Peter said “ … you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world”
God wants us to share in the Divine Nature ....He wants us to escape corruption.
Well, where or with whom does the CONDITION lie? ----with YOU! He said you may participate....
We need to understand that the POTENTIAL is THERE
The Word of God is FULL of Potential for you and me....
There’s no shortage on God’s Part to make His Word come to pass in and for you.
God’s Word contains very great and precious promises and yet not everyone will enjoy the benefit of them....
But the Promises are for the one who is thirsty; “… let the one who desires take the water of life without price.......”
Psalms 145:9 The LORD is good to all: .....and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Don’t let Satan convince you that God’s Goodness isn’t for you.....
....that you’re not good enough, .....righteous enough......His goodness is extended to ALL....
We need to Let the Spirit of God help us to Change our thinking about God....
Look at Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …
The Power of God becomes available to us as we believe the Gospel .......
The Gospel is the Good News about God to us....
God wants to Bless us ---- but He will not do it if we do not cooperate ....
Look at Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The first part of that verse is not too hard – most all of us believe God exists.
But look at the second half: “… He is a rewarder of those who seek Him”
The rewards He offers here are the “…very great and precious promises” in 2 Peter 1:4.
Notice that it does not say He is a rewarder of just anybody who does any old thing ..... or believes any old thing.
He is looking for those who “seek Him.” Look at 2 Peter 1:5,6
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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
Faith – more than just believing God exists, it is allegiance to, trust in and loyalty to God. And it is our conviction that God and God alone is the object of our faith.
Goodness – Moral excellence, uprightness, good character.
Knowledge – Spiritual understanding, coming from reading and studying the Bible.
Self control and perseverance – Discipline.
Godliness, brotherly kindness, love
Now, Look back at verse 3:
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness …
Notice the words “has given” – we already have all these gifts!
So, what is happening when we feel distant from God, when we don’t feel like our relationship is anything like what Peter had with God?
I don’t think God has changed or gone back on His word – I think it is that we have moved away from Him. We are not seeking Him as we could.
What do we do about it?
Let me suggest four things, and if you have been in these Bible studies long you have heard me mention them:
1. Pray – talk to God. Let Him know how you feel. He already knows, you are not hiding anything from Him, but you are being honest with Him.
2. Read your Bible – let God talk to you. How else do you expect to learn about Him? And be organized about it, don’t pick and choose what to read and what to avoid. Use the Straight Street plan.
3. Hang out with other Christians – strengthen each other. You are all going to be out of here one of these days – if you are not strong, if something doesn’t change, you will probably be back. The statistics are something like 8 of 10 guys are back in jail within five years.
4. Witness – tell others about what Christ has done for you. Not only did Christ command us to proclaim the Gospel, but you will put yourself under the spotlight. It will be harder for you to slip back into your old life without people knowing about it.
Questions?