2
Peter 1:5-9
(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry
Reynolds)
March 6, 2014
1.
There is an old story about a man who was in
habit of attending church only on Christmas and Easter...he had done this for
years, and one day his pastor decided to confront him about it...the pastor
went to the man and said, “You need to join the army of the Lord!”...to
the pastor’s surprise the man said, “I have been a faithful soldier in
the army of the Lord for many years.”...and the pastor said, “Well,
if that is so, how come I don’t ever see you except on Christmas and Easter.”...the
man looked around to make sure no-one was listening, then motioned for the pastor
to lean near to him...then he whispered, “I’m in the secret service!”
[Jones & Wheeler, Hometown
Humor, August House, 1991, p.101 - quoted in Sermonillustrations.com, May
28, 2002]
2. Unfortunately,
many Christians live as if they are in the Lord’s secret service...at some point
in their lives they made a faith commitment to Christ...but for some reason
they view that commitment not as the beginning point but the ending point of
their Christian commitment...they fail to grow, to mature, to proceed up the
ranks in the army of the Lord...they are like a person who enlists in the
military then doesn’t show up for basic training and never serves...
3. In
our study of 2 Peter, we have come to a passage which reminds us of the
importance of growing/maturing in our Christian lives...from 2 Peter 1:5-9 we
are going to explore a fifth characteristic of the Christian life...we have
seen so far in our study of 2 Peter 1 that the Christian life is a life of—
--equal
standing before God (v.1)
--knowledge
of God (v.2)
--strength/power
(v.3)
--promise
(v.4)
2
Peter 1:5-9 reminds us that the Christian life is a life of spiritual growth. This
passage has been described as the best known passage in 2 Peter. And from these verses we can see four basic
principles about the spiritual growth which should characterize every follower
of Jesus.
PRINCIPLE
1 - We are to grow spiritually not to win God’s favor but because we
already have God’s favor.
1. I
think many Christians get the process of spiritual growth exactly
backwards...they approach the subject as if it is something which they must do
to be accepted by or approved by God...it becomes more of a duty, a chore than
a joy or a blessing...
2. It
is significant that Peter begins this discussion of spiritual growth with the
phrase “Now for this reason...” in first part of v.5...for what
reason?... for the reason he has just stated in the previous verse...for the
reason that we, through the promises of God, are partakers of the divine
nature...for the reason that we already belong to God...that God, in His grace,
has accepted us, loved us, welcomed us into His family...
3. Peter
is saying we should desire to grow spiritually not to convince God to love and
accept us but because God loves and accepts us...that’s the way healthy
relationships always work...for example, take the parent/ child relationship...
--a
parent can relate to a child in such a way which says to the child, “I will
love and accept you if you do what I want you to do.”...in that case the
child may do what the parent wants, but it will be in a grudging, resentful
way...
--or
a parent can relate to a child in such a way which says to the child, “I
love you and accept you.”...in that case, the child is more likely to do
what the parent wants, not out of duty, but out of reciprocal love and respect
for the parent...
4. In
same way, when we come understand, God is His grace and mercy, has chosen to
love and accept us...then, out of love for Him and a heart which desires to
please Him we will grow and mature spiritually...
PRINCIPLE
2 - Spiritual growth is not automatic; it requires effort on our part.
1. Notice
the phrase “...applying all diligence...” in verse 5...some
Bibles translate that phrase “...make every effort...”...those three
words translate a single word in the Greek...the word carries the idea of
earnestness or zeal or haste...it means to be characterized by a sense of
urgency that moves a person to action...
2. Peter
wrote to in a world heavily influenced by Greek thought...the Stoic
philosophers of Peter’s day were extremely concerned about their personal moral
development...they gave it the highest priority in their lives...they worked at
it...they strived to progress in their moral development...
3. In
effect, Peter is saying here that Christians should be just as concerned and
have about them just as much a sense of urgency about growing and developing
spiritually as the pagan philosophers have about growing intellectually and
morally...
1. I
think many Christians are not growing spiritually simply because they are just
lazy...much more to growing spiritually than just “Letting go and letting
God” as the old adage says...if we fail to spend time—
--in
developing our personal prayer lives...
--in
serious study of God’s Word...
--in
spiritual fellowship with other believers...
--in
serving others...
There
is going to be no significant spiritual growth in our lives...
2. Very
few good things come to us by chance or accident...they are the result of
preparation and effort and work...and that is certainly true when it comes to
spiritual growth...we are to “...apply all diligence...” or “...to
make every effort...”
PRINCIPLE
3 - Spiritual growth is a continuing process. We never come to the end of the process in
this life.
1. Must
confess to you I find this principle somewhat frustrating...I’m a finisher...I
like to identify what needs to be done, attack the task, get it complete, and
enjoy the results...but that’s not how it works when it comes to spiritual
growth...we never complete the process...it is on-going...if we think we have
come to the end, we are actually back at the beginning...
1. The
heart of 2 Peter 1:5-9 is a listing a eight (8) characteristics which we should
be in the process of developing in our lives...it is not surprising that Peter
would include such a list in this letter...William Barclay points out that such
lists were common in the ancient world...books were rare and expensive and
could not be owned by the average person...basic instructions were often
reduced to simple lists which could be easily memorized...in several places in
the NT you will find lists of virtues to remind Christians how they are to
live...
2. One
writer refers to these characteristics as “The Royal Road”...others
refer to this list as a “spiritual ladder” or a “ladder of
virtues”...while those analogies may be helpful, they can also be
misleading...they imply this list of eight (8) characteristics is something you
begin, work through step by step like rungs on a ladder, and then you are
finished with it...
3. Think
it is more accurate to view this list like a never ending spiral
staircase...the staircase has eight (8) steps which are repeated over and over,
going higher and higher...we move from faith to moral
excellence to knowledge to self-control to perseverance
to godliness to brotherly kindness to love...
4. It
is significant that the process begins with “faith” and ends with
“love”...as one person put it, “Faith is the foundation and
love is the culmination ... every grace in between springs out of faith and is
intended to be expressed in love.” [Brian’s Lines, Sept/Oct, 1997, p16]
5. And
while there is much to be learned from each of the words Peter includes on this
list, the main thing want you to see is the process being described here...once
we have made all eight (8) steps, we do it again....and again...and again...and
for as long as we live in this world...spiritual growth is a continuing
process...
PRINCIPLE
4 - As we grow spiritually, we become more useful to God
1. In
verses 8 & 9 Peter contrasts two types of Christians...verse 8 describes a
Christian who is growing/maturing...verse 9 describes a Christian who is not
growing/maturing...
--one
is productive and the other is unproductive...
--one
is useless and the other is useful...
--one
is fruitless and the other is fruitful...
--one
is spiritually blind and the other has spiritual vision...
2. The
words translated “useless” and “unfruitful” in v. 8
are very graphic...
--”useless”
carries the idea of idle or slothful...literally the word means out of
work...it’s a picture of a person who has no purpose, no direction for
life...the person is out of work in the sense that he/she has no desire to
contribute anything to anyone in any setting...
--”unfruitful”
means barren and unproductive...
3. Notice
that Peter says that growing Christians are NOT useless and NOT
unfruitful...in other words, those who are growing spiritually are useful to and productive for God...
4. Point
is spiritual growth is not an end in itself...it is a means to an end... a
means to make us more useful to God in this world...the way to measure our
spiritual growth is not by how pious we can look or how spiritual we can
feel...the way to measure spiritual growth is by how effective we are in doing
what God calls us to do...
CONCLUSION
1.
James Moffatt, the Scottish biblical
scholar/theologian once made an insightful, cryptic comment about the Christian
life...he said that “...the Christian life must not be an initial spasm
followed by a chronic inertia.” [Quoted by William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter,
p.354]
2. Unfortunately
those words, “an initial spasm followed by a chronic inertia.” accurately
describe the lives of many Christians today... that is not the
life to which God calls us...instead, the life to which God calls us is a life
of spiritual growth...and understanding the principles Peter sets forth in this
passage will help us in that life...
#1 We are to grow spiritually, not to win God’s
favor but because we have God’s favor
#2 Spiritual growth requires effort on our part
#3 Spiritual growth is a life-long process
#4 As we grow spiritually we become more useful
to God
