Michael Card tells the story of a Masai Warrior named Joseph who came to faith as he encountered someone on a road in Africa who shared the gospel with him. On the spot, he repented and believed, and he was so overjoyed that he went back to his village to share the gospel with them as well. He began knocking on every door, calling all of the people out of their homes so that they might hear the gospel message and find salvation, just as he had. The problem, however, was that these people weren’t as moved by the gospel message as Joseph had been. In fact, they acted violently toward Joseph. The men of the village held him down while the women beat him with strands of barbed wire, then they dragged him outside of the village to die.
Amazingly, Joseph recovered, regained his strength, and determined that he should go back to them. As Card tells us, “He decided he must have left something out or told the story of Jesus incorrectly.” Therefore, he rehearsed the gospel message again, went back, and shared the good news once more. And again, the same thing happened, this time, his fresh wounds being re-opened, and he was dragged outside of the village and left to die.
Miraculously, he recovered again, regained his strength, and determined one more that he must go back. This time, before he could even began speaking, they took hold of him again and began beating him. As they beat him, and as he knew that death would certainly be his, he spoke the gospel to them again. And Card tells us that right before the man passed out, he saw the women began to weep.
Card ends the story writing, “This time he awoke in his bed. The ones who had so severely beaten him were now trying to save his life and nurse him back to health. The entire village had come to Christ.”1
That’s a moving story, isn’t it? It’s an example of courage, compassion, and the power of the gospel. It’s a great example of perseverance and the suffering that may well be required for us to take the gospel to all the peoples of the earth. But perhaps what the story best illustrates is the understanding from a believer that the gospel message is more important than his life, even as we need to understand that the gospel message is more important than our lives.
I’ve often spoken of my grandfather, my dad’s dad, and how thankful I am for his life. When I was young and we would go visit him at his small, simple, run down home, I never remember him standing to greet us without first having to close his Bible that he had been reading. He made a difference in my life and in the life of my children. But it’s not because of what he left us materially. He did have some farm land that he left, and I sold my portion of it to buy a laptop computer back in the mid-nineties. And I have a cane of his. But he impacted my life because he taught my dad the gospel, exhorted him to believe and obey, and prayed for him. And, thankfully my dad did the same in my life, and I’ve tried to do the same in the life of my children.
My children never met him, and every generation that comes from our line hereafter will never see him. But they’re impacted by him, because life Joseph the Masai warrior, my grandpa knew that there was a message that was more important than his life and that would extend far beyond his own death.
That understanding is exactly what we encounter when we come to the book of 2 Peter. The apostle Peter writes this letter as he knows his life is coming to an end. He notes to his readers in 1:14 that he knows his death is coming soon, even as the Lord told him at the end of the book of John that one day men would take him and lead him to his death. But Peter understands that he can pass on something that is far more important than his life. He can pass on to them the gospel, gospel exhortations, gospel promises, and gospel warnings. In fact, he believes the message in this letter is so important that he goes to pains to make sure others will have this message and remember it. He writes in 1:15, “I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”
This isn’t a man consumed with his own life, but he is a man consumed with making sure others understand the truth, obey Christ, and by no means wander away from the Lord. That’s why this letter of 2 Peter is written. What is it then that the apostle wants his readers (then and now) to remember, understand, and obey? Over the four messages through this book, we will answer that question. And this morning, we can answer part of that question by looking at 1:1-11. In these verses we will see that Peter wants them (and us) to understand some important truths concerning how and why we must live godly lives. Therefore, we need to take these truths and pray that God might sow them deep in our hearts as well. And the first of these that Peter reminds us is that:
We see this most explicitly in the beginning of verse 3 where Peter declares that the Lord’s power has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” but this is a theme that pervades these first four verses. First, after introducing himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, showing his humility before Christ and his authority as one commissioned by Christ, Peter notes that his readers are “those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:1).
Now, sometimes “faith” is used in the Bible to refer to the content of the message we believe, so that Jude tells us to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). But here I think it’s referring to the faith we have, that is, the faith we place in Christ when we are saved. Therefore, when Peter tells his readers that they have “obtained a faith of equal standing,” I think he’s stressing both that the faith they have in Christ is equal to the faith he has in Christ, but he’s also stressing that this faith itself comes from God. That is, faith itself is a gift. So, first of all, we are saved by faith, and God himself gives that faith. But that’s not all. Peter continues.
In verse 2 he writes, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Here again, he continues to stress God’s gracious provision. When he speaks of the “knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” he’s referring to saving knowledge. The Bible can speak of salvation in terms of coming to know God and know Christ (e.g., John 17:3; Gal. 4:9), and I think that’s what is being stressed here.
So, now let’s put this together. Faith comes as a gift to us from God. Then, we believe so that we having saving knowledge of Christ. And then, through that saving knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, comes the multiplication of grace and peace. It’s like God gives to us so that we can come to a place where he can give to us more.
But that’s not all either. In verse 3 Peter continues by noting that Christ’s “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.” Now, I think that verse 3 sounds a lot like verse 2 intentionally. It’s kind of echo of the previous verse with more particulars given. The knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, mentioned in verse 3 is now described as the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
Therefore, we can see that we came to faith and to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because Christ called us to himself. His call opened our eyes. And when our eyes were opened, we saw his glory and excellence as we had never seen it before. Perhaps you had no affection for Jesus at all, but when he called you, gave you faith, and opened your eyes, you saw him as glorious and excellence and came to a saving knowledge of Christ so that you belonged to him.
And from that point forward, God’s grace and peace have flowed to you through that saving knowledge of Christ which is nothing less that God’s divine power, giving you everything you need to live a life of godliness from the point of conversion until the end.
And, if that is not enough, he adds in verse four that our Lord also has given us precious and great promises that we can look at and hold to, so that we can run after those promises instead of following sinful desires and corruption in this world, and as we do, we’ll be shaped by God’s grace, being more and more conformed to the image of Christ. That is, when he speaks of becoming partakers of the divine nature, Peter doesn’t mean being made like God in that we’ll become divine but being made like God in our moral righteousness. That is our goal. It’s what God will make of us in the end. But that moral righteousness of God is even shaping us now.
So, let’s put this all together because it’s so much, it may have been hard to keep track of to this point. As believers, here’s where we stand. When we were in our sins, God graciously gave us faith so that we believed and were saved, not on the basis of our righteousness but on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. When we believed, it was because that gift of faith opened our eyes to see the glory and excellence of Christ. He appeared attractive to us. And as we trusted in Christ, grace and peace is now coming to us so that we have divine power to live godly lives, even as we look at the precious and great promises, and turn from sinful desires to pursue those glories that Christ holds out to us.
The point of all of this is then that when the Lord saved you, which was itself a gift of his grace, he didn’t then abandon you to now live a godly life on your own. He’s provided all that we need to press on in faithful obedience till the end. We are actually blessed with his divine power for obedience, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. That’s the first thing that Peter wants us to know.
But Peter wants to build on that, so next he tells us:
Do you see that logic in verse 5? He begins, “For this very reason.” That is, because God has given you everything you need for life and godliness, I want you to do something. And what is it? Peter continues, “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (1:5-7).
Now, sometimes our logic works contrary to this. We think that if God does something, we shouldn’t do something or if we’re doing something, then God must not be doing it. But that’s not the way the logic of the Bible works. Rather, the Scripture consistently tells us, “Because God does, you do.” For example, Paul writes in Philippians 2:12-13, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work within you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Again, the logic is, because God is working in you to want to do his will and them empowering you to obey his will, do his will. Live it out.
In the Bible, God’s sovereign work doesn’t minimize our responsibility, it encourages our responsibility. Because God gives saving faith to people and calls people to himself – evangelize! Because God carries out his will on the earth and nothing can thwart his plans – pray! And here, because God has given you everything to live a life of godliness and will continue to provide what you need to do that every step of the way, diligently pursue godliness. Peter actually says, “Make every effort.”
And notice, Peter doesn’t want us ever to be content with where we are. Do you feel like you’re at a pretty good place with your faith? You don’t have a lot of trouble trusting God? Well, Peter says, “Add virtue to that.” Or if you feel like you’ve grown a lot in your knowledge, then add self-control to that – and on and on. I don’t think his point here is necessarily to show us the particular steps to focus on in pursuing godliness, as if he’s saying make sure we master self-control before pursuing virtue. He’s giving specifics simply to say, “Always seek to try to grow in godliness.”
With that said, however, I do think it’s by design that he begins the list with faith, for that is where our salvation begins. And I think it’s by design that the list climaxes at the end with love because that is the pinnacle of holiness and must be found in all we do. But the major point is that we shouldn’t be content but always seeking to grow more.
And we’re at a good place to think about this as we wind down the year. Usually this time of year we stop and evaluate our lives. That is a good thing. Perhaps there are some areas where we need to grow this year. Great. Pursue them. Make every effort to grow in godliness, trusting that God will give you everything you need to grow in those areas, even as he gave you everything you needed to come to a saving knowledge of him in the first place.
So, Peter reminds us God has given and will give us what we need for godliness. Then he exhorts us to pursue godliness with great diligence (again, make every effort). And finally, he ends by giving us the benefits of diligently pursuing godly living. In verses 8-11 Peter shows us:
As Peter began the text by giving us piece upon piece of evidence that God has given us what we need, so he ends this section by giving us fruit that comes from our pursuit of godly living. There are two fruits that I want us to see.
First, we see in verse 8 that pursuing godliness will keep us from begin ineffective.
Peter writes, “For if these qualities [that is those qualities in verses 5-7] are yours and are increasing [that is, I think, overflowing in your life2], they will keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” If you decide that you will just try to drift along in the Christian life, you’ll be unfruitful and ineffective, but if you diligently pursue growing in godliness (practicing and pursuing and overflowing in the qualities listed in vv. 5-7), then you’ll be someone who has great effect in the kingdom of God.
Peter also lists this negatively. He says in verse 9 that “whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” I think Peter is saying here that the person who doesn’t pursue godliness and growing in godliness, is living life as if he’s not been converted. He’s living like an unbeliever. He’s living as if he has forgotten and can no longer see what has been done for him when Jesus died for his sins and rose from the grave on the third day so that our sins can be forgiven. That is, believers should be characterized by diligently pursuing godliness.
Second, we see in verse 10 that pursuing godliness will help demonstrate the genuineness of our salvation and keep us from turning away from faith in Christ.
In verse 10 Peter writes, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” What he’s saying is that pursuing, practicing, and growing in godliness will be evidence of your calling and election. That is to say, it will be evidence of your salvation. This means that one of the things you can look at in your life to show that Christ has done a saving work in you is your desire to grow in godliness, your work to grow in godliness, and the outflowing of that. It doesn’t mean it’ll be perfect growth. It doesn’t mean we’ll never take steps away from godliness. And it doesn’t mean that every month we will look and say we’re obviously more godly than the month before. But the bend of our life should be that of desiring godliness and pursuing it. And that will show evidence of our salvation.
But it will also have the effect of keeping us from growing hardened in our sin and turning from Christ. That’s what Peter means, I think, when he says “you will never fall.” He doesn’t mean we’ll never sin. Of course we will. He means that we’ll never fall away from Christ in the since of being condemned. That is, the means by which God preserves his people in the faith is through their pursuit of godliness.
This is what I think is being said in verse 11. Peter writes, “For in this way [that is, in diligently pursuing godliness], there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That is, this is God’s prescribed means of preserving you till the end.
How does God preserve his people in their faith? He moves them to desire godliness, to turn from sin, and to chase after godliness. And as we do, we can acknowledge that God is keeping us from turning away.
What I mean is this. This morning, if you’re a believer, you may feel some conviction about your sin. Maybe you are thinking to yourself, “I don’t know that I’m growing in godliness like I should. I don’t think I’m diligently pursuing holiness as I should. I don’t know that these qualities of verses 5-7 really characterize my life like they should.” And if you are thinking that, don’t be discouraged. Be encouraged! Why? Because this is God moving you to turn away from evil desires and pursuing godliness.
This is part of his divine power, enabling you to pursue life and godliness. Conviction is God’s gracious gift to us. Therefore, repent of your sin and make every effort, from this point forward, to pursue growing in godliness. And be encouraged by this work in your heart today. Let it give you assurance that you belong to Christ. See the Lord’s conviction as he way of saying, “I’m giving you what you need for life and godliness because I called you to myself and you are mine. I will not let you go, but I’m going to bring you into my kingdom.” May then our response as we come to the table be, “Lord, thank you for your grace to us,” as we diligently pursue godliness in our lives with our eyes set on the promises of our God who has saved us through the crucified and risen Lord. Let us give thanks today as we come. Amen.