II Peter 1

Growing in Grace – GROW UP!

In his first letter Peter taught his readers to endure external enemies with hope; II Peter teaches the same audience to oppose internal enemies with knowledge of the truth.  Apostasy within the church can be much more devastating than persecution against the church.  Peter warns against the moral perversions and denial of Christ’s return that false teachers propagate then exhorts his readers to resist errors by growing in grace and knowledge.  Knowledge is the prominent theme of this letter as the best antidote for heresies. 

HOLINESS AMID HERESY  Paul writes this second letter to warn believers about the danger of false teachers who are peddling damaging doctrine.  The Christian walk demands diligence in pursuing moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, Godliness, brotherly kindness, and selfless love.  By contrast the false teachers Peter warns against are sensual, arrogant, greedy, and covetous.  They scoff at the thought of judgment, and live as if the present will always be the pattern for the future.  Such men may prosper for a time.  Peter reminds his readers but their ultimate end is sure. 

Imagine for a moment that you are living your final twenty four hours on earth.  The last words of encouragement you will ever speak will be spoken today.  The last letter you will ever write will be written today.  The last friendly visit you will ever make to a lonely person needing a spiritual lift will be made today.  The last opportunity to provide direction and correction for your children will happen today.  Would that change the way you approach the next few hours? 

“Consecration is resolution that is not afraid of sacrifice.”

This book of II Peter was the apostle’s swan song…the last piece of inspired correspondence he would send to his spiritual children.  In it, Peter speaks of facing death joyfully…of defending the faith vigorously…of standing against the enemy faithfully.  Though Peter would be gone, his inspired words would live on providing hope and help for all who would read them.  

What will you leave behind as your legacy to other Christians when your days are through?  Now is the time to be speaking and writing, and visiting, and doing things before it is too late and you discover that you swan song has already been sung. 

Peter, our fisherman friend knew the importance of being alert.  He had the tendency during his early years to feel overconfident when danger was near and to overlook the Master’s warnings.  He rushed ahead when he should have waited, he slept when he should have prayed, he talked when he should have listened.  He was a courageous, but careless Christian. 

But Peter learned a valuable lesson that he wants to help us learn.  Peter knew what he knew that we needed to know.  He used the word KNOW or KNOWLEDGE 13 times in this short epistle.  More than just knowing with intellectual understanding, it means a living participation in the truth in the sense that our LORD used the word in John 17:3…”This is life eternal, that they might KNOW Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” 

v.1-4 Peter right away reminds us of our position in Christ.  We are fully prepared IN Christ.  Our faith is in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior “one who brings salvation” … meaning deliverer from trouble (particularly the enemy) and a Deliverer of health and safety.  … the victorious Conquerer, the Great Physician … the One Who gave His life on the cross and died for the sins of the world.  GRACE is God’s favor to the undeserving…He gave us what we did not deserve. 

v.3 Just as a baby has a definite genetic structure that determines how he will grow, so the believer is ‘genetically structured’ to experience ‘glory and virtue’.  But we are also called to virtue v. 9 …We should not wait until we get to heaven to become like Jesus Christ…In our character and conduct, we should reveal His beauty and grace today.  How is that possible?  Appropriating what is yours…HIS Life in you…HIS Life through you!

v. 4 “partakers of HIS divine nature”… A baby shares the nature of its parents.  Nature determine appetite (pig/slop; dog will even eat his own vomit), behavior (eagle flies, dolphin swims), environment (squirrels climb trees, moles burrow underground, trout swim in the water), association (lions travel in prides, sheep in flocks, fish in schools.)

If nature determines appetite, then we ought to have an appetite for that which is pure and holy.  Like the Father…we ought to live in the kind of spiritual environment that is suited to our nature.  We ought to associate with that which is true to our nature.  The only normal, fruit bearing life for the child of God is a Godly life.  Because we possess this divine nature, we have ‘completely escaped’ the defilement and decay in this present evil world.  If we nourish our new nature on the Word…we will lose interest in the garbage of the world.  But we must not make provision for the flesh Rom. 13:14.  Godly living is the result of appropriating our new nature which the LORD has given us…COUNTING SO WHAT IS NOT SO THAT IT MAY BE SO BECAUSE GOD SAID SO!

V.5-11  EXCERCISING, EXERCISING, EXERCISING…Just as our bodies must have moment to continue to function according to our design, we must KNOW, and APPROPRIATE by EXERCISE that which is ours … OR  we will live oblivious of the fact that we are cleansed from our old sins.  In other words, spiritual growth is not an automatic process.  (Phil 2:12-13…work out your own salvation) 

True virtue is not ‘polishing’ human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but displaying HIS nature.  YIELDEDNESS!  It is impossible for a fallen human nature to manufacture these seven qualities of Christian character.  They are only produced by the Spirit of God.  There are unsaved people who possess amazing self-control and endurance, but these virtues point to them AND NOT TO him.  They get the glory…when HE produces the beautiful nature of His Son in a Christian, it is God who receives the praise and glory.  (Karen reading my book!)

As the amazing image of Christ is reproduced in us, the process does not destroy our own personalities.  We still remain uniquely ourselves.  It is not imitating another person…a child resembles his parents and yet is different….so each child in God’s family comes more and more to resemble Christ and yet is different. 

Spiritual growth brings practical results * Fruitfulness v.8 Beautiful qualities of character do exist ‘within us’ because we possess the divine nature…we must yield our lives so that the qualities might increase and produce HIS fruit in and through our lives.

*Vision.  Being born again gives us new sight…we were blinded, but now we can see if we continually increase our vision and see all that God wants us to see.  We don’t want to be SHORTSIGHTED.  (v.9)  SEE beyond our small limited world.  “lift up your eyes, and look on the field, for they are white already to harvest  John 4:35.  Life is too brief and the needs of the world too great for God’s people to be walking around with their eyes closed. 

v.10-11..*Security  If you walk around with your eyes closed, you will stumble.     The Christian life begins with faith (HIS gift to us) … Faith leads to growth and growth leads to practical results in life and service.  Then we are not likely to fall prey to apostate false teachers. 

The best defense against false teaching is true living.  This true living must be based on the Word of God.  Those who are not founded on the Word are easy prey to false teachers.  Peter shows us in the last half of this chapter, the importance of the Word knowing and relying on it completely.  We need to know what we believe and why.  Peter underscores the dependability and durability of the Word. 

v.12-15 Peter stirs us up by way of remembrance…he was laying truth out for us…not only to be valuable to the ones listening while he still lived, but “you may be able at all times to call these things to mind.” 

Peter was an intentional man.  He was being OBEDIENT, it was the RIGHT thing to do…it is always right to stir up the saints and remind them of the Word of God.  And he was endeavoring with diligence (v.15) …he knew he would soon die, so he wanted to take care of his spiritual responsibilities before it was too late.  You and I do not know when we will die, so we had better start being diligent today!!!

Peter knew that we can learn truth, take it for granted and tend to forget what we ought to remember…We remember what we ought to forget!

The church is always one generation away from extinction.  We do not and should not depend on the traditions of dead men; we depend on the Truth of the living Word.  Men die, but the Word lives forever. 

Experience fades, but the Word remains!  V. 16-18 Peter was a witness!!! And he gave us the Words to confirm his testimony of being present at the transfiguration…he saw and he heard!  `

The Word of God was written to common people, not to theological professors.  The writers assumed that common people could read it, understand it, and apply it…led by the same Holy Spirit who inspired it.  Men die, but the Word lives Experiences fade, but the Word remains.  The world grows darker, but the prophetic light shines brighter.  Let’s build our lives on the Word of God and look for the coming of the Savior … we will be taught by the Spirit and grounded on the sure Word of God.

Peter’s message is Wake up—and remember!  A sleeping church is the devil’s playground.  It is while men slept that the enemy came in and sowed the tares Matt. 13:24  Be alert…wake up…and remember!