Staying Saved

Preliminary:

I invite you to 2 Peter 3

Appreciate the song & testimonies & God’s help and presence

1 Peter 3 Warren Wiersbe points out the “beloved” statements in this chapter as he is closing out the letter. I’m not going to preach on them but wanted to point them out.

The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Seven: Be Diligent! (2 Peter 3:11–18))

“Beloved … be mindful” (2 Peter 3:1–2).

“Beloved, be not ignorant” (2 Peter 3:8).

“Beloved … be diligent” (2 Peter 3:14).

“Beloved … beware” (2 Peter 3:17).

I do want to talk to you with the Lord’s help on that last one for a while this morning in a sermon I’ve called Staying Saved

There were several experiences this summer, and in reality, we could all gain some help from a reminder such as this.

Read 2 Peter 3:17-18

2 Peter 3:17–18 KJV 1900

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Introduction:

One of the greatest of Aesop’s Fables in my opinion is, “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

While it has been told in various ways by as many people the gist of the story is this:

“A Hare or rabbit like animal is making fun of a slow-moving Tortoise or turtle like animal. So the Tortoise challenges the Hare to a race.

The Hare fully convinced that he can beat the Tortoise no problem quickly accepts the challenge and time and place are set for the race.

The racers line up, the signal is given and the Hare rushes from the starting line with a puff of dust. The Hare had hardly moved his legs to take a step.

So confident that he could win, the Hare pauses to take a nap midway through the race. As the Hare awakens, he finds to his chagrin and dismay his competitor the Tortoise, crawling slowly but steadily has arrived before him.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare

While we often refer to our Christian journey as a race, we have to remember it is not a competition with our brothers and sisters but rather a battle against our adversary who would like to see us fail, fall, to stop and take a nap, or some other kind of distraction and ultimately miss the finish line.

We don’t like to discuss the possibilities or the ramifications of it but backsliding can be a reality. My goal as your pastor is to help you to avoid this.

What does it mean to backslide?

Beacon Theological Dictionary Beacon Theological Dictionary

Backsliding refers to any degree of loss of commitment, fervor, spiritual priorities or testimony, with apostasy as a final consequence if uncorrected. Viewed as a process, backsliding begins with neglect of the means of grace or light, and leads to sin, broken fellowship with God, a defiled conscience, spiritual indifference and hardness of heart, unbelief, and apostasy.

Simply put it means to go back to our old way of thinking and living instead of continuing forward with Christ

Paul spoke about Demas who had forsaken him, “having loved this present world.” 2 Tim 4:9-10

He accuses the Galatians of being “fallen from grace” Gal. 5:4

Jesus through John the Revelator accuses the Church at Ephesus of leaving their first love and exhorts them to “remember from whence thou art fallen, repent, and do the first works...” Rev. 2:4-5

Do we have to backslide? NO! Thank God we can have victory!

We are promised we can be overcomers, more than conquerors.

We are told “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world”

We don’t have to have:

Any degree of loss of commitment, fervor, spiritual priorities, or testimony.

So what is the solution? What is the antidote?

Well, I think you will find it in our text: Peter uses a couple of important phrases that I believe help to keep you in the race and moving forward.

2 Peter 3:17-18 “17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

1. Beware:

“Beware” means “be constantly guarding yourself.”

Guard yourself against what you know to be false or harmful to you. There are some things that take away grace

We sometimes laugh at the labels and warnings on products today but in reality, they are attempting to keep you safe or protect the manufacturers from liability lawsuits.

Peter is telling the Christians that there are some thing they know to be harmful and dangerous and that they should stay away from them. In fact the entire book of 2 Peter has been one long discipleship course.

Threats to the faith are always present and demand that we be always on … guard. Peter pleads with his readers for that kind of preparedness that will enable them to face the false teachings they already know are being promulgated by the enemies of their faith. 2 Peter & Jude (Final Call to Knowledge of Jesus (3:17–18)

But knowledge by itself is not sufficient protection - they had to be - we have to be on our guard to be alert

In fact knowledge by itself according to Paul puffeth up - it brings an overconfident attitude and we forget the warning

In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a "hurricane party" in the face of a storm named Camille. An officer came in an attempt to evacuate - but they were going to party through the hurricane he wasn't able to persuade them to leave. He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.

It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore.

Scientists clocked Camille's wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record.

Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.

Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day.

Christian Values Qs Quarterly, Spring/Summer 1994, Page 10. http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/warning.htm

When Peter says “BEWARE” he isn’t just throwing words around - he means we must be on our guard. Beware - lest you get distracted and led away or fall

Beware of Satan’s suggestions and temptations

Staying saved is going to require we BEWARE but it also includes...

2. Growing

But, grow in grace. Being aware being vigilant, being alert is somewhat negative but Peter sums up all the positive teachings and exhortations in the word “GROW”

The term in a present active imperative verb - that’s just fancy language for saying it means “KEEP ON GROWING”

We cannot become static or settle for the spiritual status quo - in fact there is no such thing.

The late H. G. Wells wrote that his mother went to a finishing school, and at the age of nineteen she was finished. Ideas, he said, rattled around in her head like bullets in an empty container. You could hear the hard little bullets rattling around, ideas that were shaped thirty years ago.

Staying Saved is going to require growth -

2 Peter & Jude (Final Call to Knowledge of Jesus (3:17–18))

Robert Mounce comments: “Heresy begins by decision to change the way of our lives. Once the decision has been made to disobey, human nature searches out some basis to support the willful acts. At this point truth is twisted and pressed into service for a deviant lifestyle” (1982:148).

How to grow -

Grow in grace - Charles Finney faithfully reminds us of “WHAT TO “GROW IN GRACE” DOES NOT MEAN it does not enjoin the gradual giving up of sin. Strange to tell, it would seem that some have so understood it; but we are nowhere in the Bible commanded to give up sin gradually, we are everywhere commanded to give it up instantly and wholly.”

Jesus Christ is our source of grace. Grace can be solicited Heb 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” There are things that can take away grace as we mentioned earlier and cause you to backslide and sever your relationship with Jesus Christ - but there are some things that can add grace. I will address these in just a moment.

Grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ - He is the object of knowledge -

it's not just knowing things about Him remember the dangers of knowledge alone

it is knowing Christ more fully, in better terms, knowing more of His likes and dislikes. Know He likes for you to do what He does not want you to do.

Peter no doubt is remembering as he is writing this letter his experience with Christ back in Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

J. I. Packer illustrates this priority of growth:

God intends that all Christians should grow. Parents of newborns find great joy in them, but imagine the distress they would feel if the months and years went by and their baby still remained a baby, smiling and kicking in its crib, but never growing. We should not allow ourselves to forget that God must know comparable distress when we, his born-again children, fail to grow in grace.… The general idea of growth covers change, development, enlarging, gaining strength and showing energy, advancing, deepening, ripening, and maturing. (1992:160)

Growing in knowledge of Christ is a concept easy to understand. Peter has put it cogently in his own illustration in his first letter: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). The milk is the apostolic teaching that increases our knowledge of Christ, which is evident from the context and from other Scriptures’ use of a similar idea (1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:11–14).

But what does it mean to grow in the grace … of our Lord? ...God’s plan is that we be “conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Rom 8:29), that is, to become like him in outlook, aim, attitude and lifestyle.

Packer expresses this truth effectively by quoting J. C. Ryle:

When I speak of growth in grace I only mean increase in the degree, size, strength, vigor and power of the graces which the Holy Spirit plants in a believer’s heart. I hold that every one of those graces admits of growth, progress, and increase...his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual-mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith and from grace to grace. (1992:161)

MaturityAs a Christian,

you have everything you need to be what you ought to be. Spiritual maturity is not a process of gaining things that you did not have when you became a believer.For example, consider a newborn baby. It isn’t born without arms, and then gets them later. It’s not a pollywog. It doesn’t develop into a frog. When a baby is born, it has all the physical equipment it will ever have. In fact, the older we get, the more stuff we lose!When you were born in Christ, you were made spiritually whole and have all you will ever need to become mature. It’s only a matter of development until you function in a mature way. You have everything you need—there is no lack, you are complete in the Lord.However, a Christian can arrest his development and even permanently damage himself by sinning. As damaging as sin is, we must acknowledge that we sin, not because we lack anything, but because we do not appropriate what we have.

Here are a few practical suggestions to aid in growing in grace. I don’t often tell people to write things down -but I have found these to personally help me in my growth in grace.

Since you expect me to say it in the list I will say it first...Begin and maintain ample devotional time

Find some good Christian biographies or autobiographies to read or other devotional-type reading. (If you don’t like to read find some good spiritual podcasts)

If you only feed on secular or junk it will starve your spiritual life.

Live by faith - not feeling

You will not always feel saved - but unless you have severed your relationship with Christ - you still are.

While I am talking about this - Sis. Cecilia Douglas at camp said something that I think needs to be taught to every young Christian. If you mess up - and do something wrong - don’t run back to the starting line - stop right there and repent. Ask God to forgive you and go on. That is part of living by faith. I’m not talking about living in sin or practicing sin - but when you mess up - you cry out to God. He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse.

We receive salvation by faith and it takes faith to continue receiving salvation.

Obey God - Do not quench the Spirit - follow His promptings and checks. Learn to know His voice

“Firstly, I learned that even a whisper at the back of our mind can be a prompting from God to allow Him to do a mighty work. He does not whisper for the little things and shout for the big ones. He speaks to us the way He wants to speak to us and we need to be sensitive and ready to be obedient to the slightest hint that this might be God.” Walker, D. (2013). God in the ICU: The Inpsirational Biography of a Praying Doctor. United States: Dave Walker.

Be teachable (not gullible)

Pursue holiness

Purity & Power

Testify in and out of church

The Devil likes nothing better than to squelch an individual’s gift of the Spirit in edifying other believers. This can be done in many ways - but one of the main ways we accomplish this in our tradition during worship is by

Exhortation and Testimonies

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Growing in Grace

Growing in Grace

How well I remember a board meeting in a metropolitan parish. Concern was voiced that we were not reaching a sufficient number of persons for Christ. We were in general agreement as to what should be done, but no one was willing to commit himself to the task. There were searching moments of silence. Then, quite unexpectedly, a prominent physician stood and said, “I don’t know much about evangelism, but I love Christ and His church. Pastor, if you will teach me how to become an evangelist and if you, the members of this board, will cooperate, I will head up our evangelism program for next year.”

It was an exciting statement! Like a blood transfusion, he injected new life and enthusiasm into the group. We experienced a great ingathering of souls that year. Moreover, the physician grew in Christian grace and loyalty, as did the congregation.

Let God bless you - participate take freedom and liberty in Worship -

The Lord may ask you to raise your hand

To testify

To start a chorus or a song (if you are not comfortable starting it yourself ask to sing a whatever number or ask someone to start the chorus for you)

Maybe to walk the aisle, or some other form of demonstrating your devotion and love and worship to God. Don’t let the fear of what others might think or say stifle the blessing God has for you.

You know what else - other people will be blessed when you are blessed.

We don’t have to wait until camp to experience the Holy Spirit.

We are all for you here - and want to see you progress on your journey with God.

2 Peter & Jude Final Call to Knowledge of Jesus (3:17–18)

Peter wrote his letters to Christians in the Roman provinces of Asia and Bythynia (compare 1 Pet 1:1; 2 Pet 3:1). Half a century or so later the Roman governor of that area was impressed with the believers there and made notes on what he observed, saying that the Christians “sing a hymn to Christ as God” (Pliny, quoted in Green 1987:165). God used Peter’s letters to make those Christians steadfast in knowledge of Christ. Peter had strengthened his brothers (Lk 22:32)!

I’d be so thrilled that in a few years, we don’t have to wait half a century - but even now we can grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that it impacts the community around us.

I say let's do this. Let's beware of missing it - let's grow Let's stay saved.

Let it be SO. AMEN!!!

Appeal

I’d like us to stand with every head bowed and every eye closed. Please don’t look around I am going to ask a very personal and private question that some may not feel comfortable answering.

If you are saved and feel you are growing in grace would you raise your hand this morning just quietly slip up your hand and let me see it?

I’m not going to embarrass you or call you out - I will simply make it a matter of prayer - but maybe you are here and feel you are saved but just can’t seem to make any progress spiritually you don’t feel you are growing in grace - would you hold up your hand.

Now again please keep your heads bowed and eyes closed - maybe you are one here this morning and you couldn’t raise your hand to either question because you either are not saved or aren’t sure any more would you slip up your hand. Again I will not embarrass you or call you out just simply make it a matter of prayer.

Close in prayer.