Calvary Bible Church - Pastor Ken’s Weblog

Passage for Sunday, April 13, 2008

II Peter 1
“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.  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.
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.  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”

Spiritual Growth

Last week we started with kind of an “overview” of Peter’s spiritual growth as we walked quickly through a short time-line of his life and ministry.  I think I told you (I intended to at any rate!) that one purpose of that “overview” was because I believe that the better you understand the author of the letter, the better you will understand that author’s message.  When you know where Peter came from, the struggles he had, and how he had grown, it helps you understand his desire to see you become the man or woman God has called you to be.  This week, we’ll take a look at some guidelines Peter gives on how we can achieve the spiritual growth necessary to accomplish the ministry God has called us to as His children.  Spiritual growth is a part of God’s plan for His children, He does not intend for us to remain spiritual babies.  Saving faith and participation in the divine nature through the indwelling Spirit of God are a wonderful beginning, but they are the beginning to our abundant life and ministry, not the end!
I get a kick out of my Grandsons.  (They, of course, as are all my grandchildren, are above average in intelligence and good looks.)  We spent a couple days up there the other weekend, basking in the glow of bein Poppa and Grammy, and I want to tell you, those boys are obsessed with growing “bigger.”  That’s the passion for growth the Lord wants us to have.  Tate, the 5½ year old, was telling me some of his plans from now till he’s 12.  Seriously.  He’s not too sure what he’s going to do after 12, but between now and then, he’s got it figured out!  Seth, who’s 3½, is determined he is almost as big as his brother, and tries to prove it whenever he gets the opportunity.  Whatever he sees his big brother do, he wants to do too, and he’s pretty sure he can do it just as well!  They continually want to demonstrate their growth!  Why are we so content to stagnate?  Why is the goal of spiritual growth and maturity so unappealing to many Christians?

Why are we so content to be “Insurance Policy” Christians?  Listen to the tone of Paul’s voice as he addresses the subject of spiritual growth to the believers at Corinth: I Corinthians 3:1-3:  “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ.”  Wow!  How would you feel if I started my message with a line like that?   He goes on:  “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere men?”   You can read the disappointment in his voice, can’t you?  Spiritual growth is expected of us.  The work of the Holy Spirit, if unhampered, should produce change, positive change.  We shouldn’t remain worldly, nor act or behave like “mere men”.  We’re Children of God, Holy Warriors!  Listen to Paul’s prayer for the believers in Philippi:  Philippians 1:9-11 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.”

That’s a prayer for spiritual growth!  The writer of Hebrews speaks to the issue as well.  Listen as he expresses his frustration in relating spiritual truth to his readers: Hebrews 5:11-14:  “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”  Our righteousness is at least partly expressed or demonstrated by developing the ability to discern between good and evil, choosing the good, and then displaying those choices in the way we live our lives.  Put simply, right living instead of wrong living.  As Peter said last week, escaping the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  Such living is a sign of spiritual maturity.
Last week Peter let us in on a huge spiritual secret.  Well, not a secret really, but a critically important spiritual truth. Listen again to what he said God has done:  “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.  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.”  That is an important truth to try to wrap your mind around, isn’t it?

God, in His grace, gives us everything we need to grow spiritually.  He doesn’t just tell us what to do; He also equips us to do it!  We only fail if we choose to fail.  That, my friends, is the plain truth.  Peter expands on the idea by giving us a formula, so to speak, of how to grow.  We pick it up this week in Verses 5-7:  “For this very reason,” (What reason?  So that through the promises of God we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  God desires good for us!) “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.”  That’s Peter’s formula for spiritual growth!  It starts with that saving faith, a faith, he said, as precious as that which the apostles themselves had.

But it doesn’t stop there.  Adrian Rogers said: ” We are saved by Faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone!”  Peter here shows us seven virtues that come alongside that faith to produce growth.  Salvation is the beginning of the new life, and we are expected to do our part to become mature, effective Christians.  Peter shows us how.  First, you will notice that it requires hard work.  Maybe that’s one reason so many never grow very much.  He says: “make every effort” to “add to” your faith… and then lists seven Christian virtues necessary for spiritual maturity.  A “virtue” is an attribute not innate to any human—it is a divine attribute made available for the believer’s appropriation.  We participate in the divine nature, Peter told us.  The Psalmist nails our natural bent in Psalm 69:5:  You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.”  The word folly means “morally deficient behavior.”  Folly may sound better, but we are morally deficient apart from the power of God in our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Our only hope for virtue is through the power of God in us.

The good news is that we already have it!  We can live victoriously in this world.  We can grow up!  We can escape the corruption if we choose to.  Hard work?  Yes, definitely.  But possible?  Yes, definitely!  Let’s take a closer look at the virtues and the process.  You’ll notice that as Peter presents it here, it is a process of growth.  You start with faith, then supplement or support or supply it with it these other virtues. (”Add to” gives us kind of a misconception.  We don’t “add to” our faith for salvation, but for growth.)  Peter begins with goodness; otherwise translated as virtue, moral character, integrity, literally “moral excellency.”  One source described it as “manliness.”

I kinda liked that, “man-up” in other words.  The first virtue to shore up or support the faith you have as you strive for growth is moral character, integrity.  Without integrity of character all you have is empty promises.  With it you have virtue in action.  Not just doing good things, but actually being good.  Your goodness then, Peter says, is supplied or shored up with knowledge.  Not just a head full of facts and information, a scholastic degree, this is spiritual knowledge, which comes through the Holy Spirit and is focused on the Person and Word of God.  And remember, Peter says we must make “every effort” to acquire these virtues, they don’t just happen; the Spirit doesn’t just “zap” us with them.  He enables us, but we have to do our part too.  Spiritual knowledge is acquired through diligent reading and studying of the Word of God, and then applying the truths discovered there in every-day life.  This becomes then the “personal and experiential knowledge” of God and his Son, Jesus Christ, as Peter pointed out back in verse 1.  Peter is talking about this knowledge being “applied” in a manner that affects your daily life in visible, tangible ways!
Faith, goodness, and spiritual knowledge, effective and necessary as they are, are not enough for a Christian’s walk.  He must also make every effort to practice self-control.  This basically means to have your passions under control.  This is in sharp contrast to the world’s viewpoint.  The world says indulge your passions any way you want.  If it feels good, do it!  And sadly, many a professing Christian has swallowed the lie and gone along with the world’s philosophy in this area.  Not the spiritually growing Christian.  Our passions are not the problem by the way, it’s the expressing of them that requires the self-control.

Passions are God-given blessings when used in accordance with His purpose and plan.  (Yes, even my passions for chocolate and for mint chocolate chip ice cream!☺)  The virtue that supports or supplements self-control is perseverance.  It’s a critical attribute.  What good is your self-control if it’s only temporary?  We need to persevere, not just in the area of self-control but all of them.  Many times the only difference between success and failure is perseverance.  Listen to James in James 1:12  “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”  What do you call the guy who doesn’t persevere under trial?  Defeated!  James is the one who said earlier, in Verse 4, that “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Perseverance is critical to our spiritual growth.  I’ll let Jesus have the last word on it.  Explaining the parable of the soils to His disciples, Jesus concluded with this verse: Luke 8:15: “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”  Peter then gives us the virtue that helps keep our efforts from becoming fuel for pride.  He says to our perseverance, we are to add godliness.  My favorite definition of godliness is: “a personal attitude towards God that results in actions that are pleasing to God.”  We persevere because we desire to please God, not for our own glory.  Godliness keeps our focus on Him.  Another good definition is: “A genuine reverence toward God that governs one’s attitude toward every aspect of life.”  That works well here too.  In order for our godliness to be properly directed, Peter says we are to add to or supplement or support it with brotherly kindness.  One source defined brotherly kindness as: “Warmhearted affection toward all in the family of faith.”  Adam Clarke feels it a bit stronger.  He says it is: “Love of the brotherhood—the strongest attachment to Christ’s flock; feeling each as a member of your own body.”  Paul stated in Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

This is a practical concern and response to others needs.  Peter sums it all up by saying we are finally to bring in as the final virtue the greatest of all, love.  Agape. The love that seeks the others good above your own.  The love only possible for us to display or demonstrate because we receive it from God.  It is the love that produces the kind of outgoing, selfless attitude that leads one to sacrifice self for the good of others.  John defines/explains it well for us in I John 4:7-12: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”  Peter begins with faith and ends with love.  That’s his formula for spiritual growth.  Listen to his summation:
Verses 8-9:  “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, (continual spiritual growth) they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  One would hope that it is the goal of the Christian to be an effective and productive member of God’s family.

If that is your goal, then cultivating and continuing in these seven divinely inspired and enabled character traits: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love are going to be visible in your life. To experientially know Jesus Christ is to participate in his divine nature and then manifest the characteristics listed.  This knowledge, then, is not mere intellectual understanding, as we said but full, experiential knowledge of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Peter then gives a warning:  “But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”  We need to examine ourselves.  We need to seek out a brother or sister we can trust to be truthful to us and ask if these virtues characterize our lives.

If someone were to describe you to someone who had never met you, would they use these descriptions?  If not, maybe you are fooling yourself.  Maybe you suffer from myopia, maybe your eyes are closed and you have forgotten what Christ has done for you, you have forgotten that through the precious blood of Christ you have been cleansed from the filth of your past sins.  Anyone who remembers that cleansing stays motivated to respond in obedience.
Verses 10-11:  “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, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”   Peter is not talking here about living a perfect life or earning your salvation by works.  He is saying that your works authenticate your claim of saving faith.  You authenticate, make sure, your calling and election, your salvation, by living in obedience and exhibiting godly character.

A person who lives like that will not fall and will be welcomed into heaven!  Every once in a while, I will tell you about a verse that I think is so important that everyone should commit it to memory.  Here is another one for you: Psalm 37:23-24  “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”   Powerful promise, isn’t it?  James said in James 3:2: “We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”   Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:20 “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”  These verses aren’t justification for sin, just stating simple truth.  Peter is talking about spiritual growth, living an obedient life, not becoming perfect.   I’ll close with this “spiritual growth checklist” I came across.

Seven rules that promote good health in babies can be adapted and applied to a Christian’s spiritual growth:
1.    Daily Food:  Take in the “pure milk of the word” through study and meditation.
2.    Fresh Air:  Pray often or you will faint. Prayer is the oxygen of the soul.
3.    Regular Exercise:  Put into practice what you learn in God’s Word.
4.    Adequate Rest:  Rely on God at all times in simple faith.
5.    Clean Surroundings:  Avoid evil company and whatever will weaken you spiritually.
6.    Loving Care:  Be part of a church where you will benefit from biblical teaching and Christian fellowship.
7.    Periodic Checkups:  Regularly examine your spiritual health.

In His Grip,