The Life of a Disciple (2 Peter 1:1-11) | 1/2/2022
2 Peter 1:1-11 | 1/2/22 | Thad Yessa
Simeon Peter, a servant, and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
How do we know if we are true disciples?
We Know (1-4)
Knowledge - we have something more than mere intellect. Knowing Him, not knowing merely about him.
Don’t settle for facts about God when you can experience a personal relationship with God.
It is easy to think you really know Jesus, but merely know about him.
Many will come to Jesus and say Lord Lord, but Jesus will turn away.
How do we get this knowledge?
Gift of faith
This faith is given to us not because we deserve it, nor is given us through our own merit or our own righteousness. It is given us through the Loving-kindness of our God who made this righteousness possible for us through his Son Jesus. By his righteousness, we can now stand as his children in his presence. We didn’t deserve this kind of mercy. He could have simply released us as criminals are released after a sentence is paid off. But he did not treat us as released prisoners. He made us righteous through the blood of his Son and brought us to be with him in heaven as his children— even now.
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Hebrews 12 verse 2 says Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith. All faith within the one who believes was authored by Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:29 says it’s been “granted” unto us to believe in Jesus Christ. And Acts 3 verse 16 says all faith in Christ is faith that has come from and through Christ. So, all faith in Christ originates in Christ Himself. He must grant this faith, and He grants it to those who have been chosen by God from before the foundation of the world. Second Peter 1:1 says faith must be given.
God grants it to us.
A saving knowledge of Jesus is a free gift given to us that we don’t deserve, can’t imitate, and can’t pay for.
Do you know Jesus this way?
Do these verses stir up your hearts?
We Grow (5-7)
Disciples of Jesus are called to work and labor towards this. We are to be participants with God in adding to our faith. We aren’t being told to be better, do better, become better. If you love Jesus you should be able to look in the mirror and see how God has transformed your heart.
God graces always comes before any command.
Why does God give us command?
They enlighten our darkened hearts - God’s salvation of us includes teaching us what is right (by giving us instruction and commands) and remaking our hearts so that we love what is right (through the power of the gospel). God’s laws are like railroad tracks, pointing us in the direction to go. But the tracks are pointless without a train, and the train is pointless without the tracks.
“God’s love provides us with the motivation for obedience, while God’s law provides the direction for the biblical expressions of love.” - Jerry Bridges
They limit the damage of our sins - When we sin, we hurt God, others, and ourselves.
Disciplining ourselves to practice certain behaviors helps us develop a love for them.
Since God has given power for godliness, strive to become godly! God doesn’t throw us to the deep end and figure it out. God equips us with what we need.
Faith is practical. This is not just a nice list of platitudes, this list is distinctly Christian. It is Jesus-like.
Add to faith -> virtue (goodness) Christians of all people should be exceptionally kind, good, morally excellent. Not because we feel obligated, we are motivated by the fact that God is like that, so we pursue that.
Virtue -> Knowledge - The Christian faith requires us to learn in order to grow. If all of eternity hangs on God and is all about him. Why would we not make every effort to discover more and discover about Him?
Like a balloon that grows larger and larger with more air, so too as we grow in our knowledge of Him our capacity to love and appreciate Him more should grow.
A proper theology results in doxology. Our knowledge of the Scriptures and God should cause about a change in us that makes us reflect Christ, not be arrogant or proud.
Knowledge -> Self-control is moderation of good things
Self-control -> Steadfastness is weathering the bad things. Fight the good fight finished the race.
Godliness
Brother affection - love inside
Love - love outside
Faith leads towards love. Knowing Jesus leads us to love all people.
Why don’t Christians always love others? We are perfect, we aren’t there.
How do you see God growing you? Growth doesn’t happen by accident. The only thing that grows by accident is weeds
We Overflow (8-11))
Peter isn’t trying to guilt people. He is trying to remind the audience of what God is doing in their life.
As we walk with God and He fills us with His goodness, that His goodness should spill out of us. We want those around us to smell the aroma of Christ.
Verse 9 describes what has happened in the person who quits swimming and is not pressing forward in Christ's qualities. "For whoever lacks these things (in verses 5–7) is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins." The problem with the person who does not strive toward all the fruit of faith is that he is blind in two directions. When he looks to the future, it's all a haze, and the promises of God are swallowed up in a blur of worldly longings. I think that is what it means by shortsighted. And when he looks to the past, the forgiveness that made him so excited at first is well-nigh forgotten, and all he sees is an empty prayer and a meaningless ritual of baptism. In other words, just as in verse 3 the power for godliness flows through knowledge of God, so in verse 9 blindness to the past and future work of God blocks that power and leaves us limp in the water, drifting toward destruction.
Verse 10 makes crystal clear what is at stake in such blindness and powerlessness and fruitlessness: "Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election." The danger described in verses 8 and 9 (as an incentive to advance in the fruits of faith) is not the danger of slipping into the kingdom with no rewards. It is the danger of not being saved at all. When Peter says, "Be zealous to confirm your call and election," he means that our lack of diligence in Christian graces may be a sign that we were never called and are not among the elect.
If you aren’t seeing fruit, there is a disconnect. The person who isn’t growing is near-sighted or blind.
We don’t see the big picture of what God is doing in us or around us, and we get gospel amnesia. We need to remind ourselves of where we have been and what He has done.
Ask for fruit (John 15 abide in Him)
As we are making every effort to cultivate a life of faith we are proving our calling. We can all the confidence in Him and in the future. This is the beauty in us not earning our salvation. Because we didn’t do anything to earn our salvation, we can do nothing to lose our salvation.
The point of verses 5–11 is that we should earnestly confirm our call and election by making every effort to advance in the qualities of Christ (vv. 5-7). So here's the application: Are you making every effort towards moral excellence? Are you making every effort to increase your knowledge of God's character and his will? Are you making every effort to strengthen your power of self-control? Are you making every effort to enlarge your capacity for patience? Are you making every effort to cultivate godliness to develop a heart for God? Are you making every effort to grow warm in your affection for your fellow believers? And are you making every effort to stir up love in your will for the person you dislike the most? If these things are in you and increasing, you will not be fruitless (v. 8), you will never stumble (v. 10), and you will enter the eternal kingdom of Christ (v. 11). But if these things are not your earnest concern, then it is because you have shut your eyes to the beauty of God's promises, and have forgotten the humble exhilaration of being forgiven.
Therefore, the Word of God warns us against being lazy in our faith and drifting away from Jesus Christ our only hope. And the Word encourages us to fight the good fight of faith and take hold on eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12, 19); to lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and run with perseverance the race before us (Hebrews 12:1); to press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14); to advance and grow and go forward in virtue and knowledge and self-control and patience and godliness and brotherly affection and love (2 Peter 1:5–7); and in this way to reassure our hearts and make our confidence firm that we are indeed called to share in God's glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:10, 3).