I preached a few weeks ago on 2 Peter 1:1-11, and I often put up my sermons, afterwards. In this case it is harder to do exactly as I managed to give myself enough time to write my sermon out, then to take notes on it, and then to write out enough prompts to enable me to deliver the key material, but without needing a full script, which I can tend to rely on too much.
But I think it is a really important passage in a very important letter whose message we need more than ever today. The text of 2 Peter 1:1-11 offers a description of all we need, guidance on how to live for God and the certainty of welcome into Jesus’ presence. It is a rich feast set before us by one of Jesus’ closest earthly friends, one of those who spent most time with Jesus in his earthly ministry.
[Footnote: I decided not to go into anything about authorship of 2 Peter. This wasn’t part of a series on 2 Peter – if it had been I might have said something. Most scholars would dispute that Peter wrote 2 Peter – mostly on the grounds that the Greek is obscure, and not how a Galilean fisherman would write, and that lots of material in chapter 2 seems to be borrowed from Jude, and that the early church was slow to accept this letter in the canon. I’d argue that its more than likely Peter wrote his letter with the help of others, so maybe the actual vocabulary reflects that of those he worked with, and that there is no reason he couldn’t have used some of Jude’s material (or vice versa), and that in any case that material is used differently in 2 Peter. Also Peter makes quite a lot in the second half of chapter 1 of being an eyewitness so it seems really unlikely that we are meant to see this as a letter by someone else. I don’t think any of the arguments mean we shouldn’t read this letter as Scripture, by an eyewitness of the events – but I also didn’t think that the most beneficial use of 25 minutes on a Sunday morning is rehearsing the arguments when there is so much else in the passage to think through. On the other hand I’m always more than happy though to deal with people’s questions on that separately – indeed I think people desperately need the space to ask questions about this sort of thing and other challenges to faith. So, back to the sermon.]
Peter writes as he faces execution, likely under Nero. He’s writing from Rome, from prison. And he writes to a church under pressure. Pressure from externals – the Empire, and its demands for total loyalty to Caesar. Pressure internally – from teachers bringing in ideas from Greek philosophy, leading to them scoffing at the idea of Christ’s second coming, and patterns of life from the lifestyles of those around – arguing that Christians didn’t need to take personal holiness quite so seriously. We can read how Peter responds to these in chapter 2.
[Second footnote: obviously that’s oversimplifying the false teachers somewhat – but I think from the letter that it is a reasonable summary.]
In the light of these pressures on the church Peter’s message is clear. The church needs to be ready for Jesus’ return (ch 3), to hold steady in the faith they have been taught (ch 2) and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus already given to them (ch 1).
[Third footnote: I heard a sermon once on the end of 2 Peter which had the headings: Ready, Steady, Grow – clearly it stuck with me. I think it works though as a good summary of the letter as a whole.]
Peter unpacks how that growth works in the first chapter. Look with me at 1 Peter 1:1-2
[Fourth footnote. I think “look with me” and similar phrases are important – what matters is not what I think but what the text says – people need to see that preachers are making the text clear – and if we aren’t, they are free to ignore us.]
Peter is writing to Christians, to those who are trusting in Jesus, and he reminds them that the faith that they have is of the same value as that of the apostles. They are not second class Christians. Neither are we. If today we are trusting in Jesus we have the same standing with God that the apostles did. And as those who trust in Jesus we have grace and peace in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus.
In this first section of his letter Peter explains how this grace and peace become ours. He tells us three things we need to know:
God’s power gives us everything we need for life and godliness. (v3-4)
We have to make every effort to build our characters on this faith (v5-7)
If we do we will have fruitfulness, stability and the certainty of eternity (v8-11)
At this point I also reassured people that my first point was a bit longer than the other two.
First of all: God’s power gives us everything we need for life and godliness. (v3-4)
These verses here are so rich that we need to let each phrase sink in and add its contribution to their meaning.
His divine power – the power that created the universe and raised Jesus from the dead
Has given us – it is a gift, and we do not earn it
Everything we need – this gift is lavish and generous, giving us all the resources we need
For life and godliness – for pleasing him.
But it is easy to wonder about this. Easy to say to Peter:
Really?
Have you seen my diary this week – does it look I have been given the time I need for all this?
Have you seen my bank balance – does it really look like I have the resources?
And as for my energy – do I really have all it takes?
And yet Peter does not write out of comfort. He is in prison in Rome under Nero. He doesn’t write to comfort. Some in the church are well off, it is true, but many are not. Some are even slaves. And all are under pressure. This is not provision for our comfort, but for our needs, and our needs in serving Jesus. And it is not written to us each as individuals. It is written to us – to the community of believers – we together have all we need, and so we need to work out ways we can share the time, money and energy we have been given with those who have less.
And this divine provision comes through our knowledge of the one who calls us. This knowing is not simply knowing a set of facts about Jesus, it is a personal knowledge. It is the same sort of knowledge that we have of a family member, or a close friend. We can know Jesus, the one who calls us.
That phrase “the one who calls us” highlights that our belonging to Jesus does not come from ourselves. We do not belong to Jesus because we thought it was a good idea. We receive this gift of faith, this divine power, because Jesus calls us. Elsewhere in the NT John writes, we love because he first loved us.
And this calling comes through Jesus’ own glory and goodness. Not only is this provision for us not our idea, but additionally it is not earned by us, or merited by anything in us. It comes by God’s decision, and out of God’s sheer glory and goodness.
God’s glory can be seen as everything that makes God to be God. He is the creator, he has power to do whatever he wants, he knows everything, he is with us in whatever way he chooses to be with us. His goodness reassures us that each of those things is used in a good way. God never sins. God never makes a mistake. God is always sharing his goodness with us. God is the glorious creator, but he is also the God who delights to share that glory with us.
It is through that glory and goodness that God gives his great and precious promises. We are all hearing a lot of promises when we switch on the news right now [I preached this on the Saturday before the election] – and we’ll see in the coming weeks and months and years how much merit those promises have. They might fail because our leaders do not have the power to follow through on the promise, or because our leaders do not want to follow through.
God’s promises will never fail. God has all the power he needs to keep every promise he has ever made. God is good, and so he will never choose to break a promise. His promises are made to enable us to be sharers in his divine nature. To become like Jesus – the serpent tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and said they would become like God. The way of the serpent was to encourage us to declare independence from God, to choose right and wrong for ourselves. The way of Jesus is to become like him by trusting in God’s promise and by submitting to what he says about right and wrong.
By doing this we can escape the corruption of the world, which is obvious in the news, but which comes through our evil desires – or perhaps, just through our misdirected desires for what is good that have become more important than God. Comfort, security, wealth, popularity, respect… Each of those can be overwhelming. We cannot do this on our own. We need a rescuer. We need the life of God planted in us to save us.
All this comes to us in Jesus. And it changes us. Which bring us to the next part of this passage:
We need to make every effort to build our characters on our faith: 5-7
Make every effort. We need to hear this clearly. You see God’s grace does not mean we sit back and do nothing. Grace is not the opposite of effort. God’s grace gives us all we need – but God’s grace requires us to make a response in the work of making our characters more like Jesus.
We are required to add to our faith, or even by means of our faith [NB, I just mentioned this in passing, but I like this idea that we develop these characteristics from the other characteristics – Michael Green in his IVP Tyndale commentary mentions the idea that rather than “add to our faith” it is “by means of our faith”] these different characteristics that Peter lists here. This is the response of the heart to God’s power at work in our lives. Making every effort does not mean we do it by our own power and strength.
I saw an illustration of what I am trying to say when walking in the Lake’s recently, along a mountain ridge. Turning a corner I saw around 20 or so para-gliders in the air. I also saw one on the ground on the side of the hill. If he had tried to flap his arms he would never have become airborne. We cannot fly on our own. He had a parachute. He had controls for it. What he needed to do was arrange the parachute and controls in the way that would catch the wind. And then he soared. If he had done nothing the parachute would have billowed, but he would not have flown. All the power for the flight came from the air. But he needed to make every effort to catch the wind. And so it is with us in the life of faith.
And so we are to add goodness or excellence – this is the same word used to describe God in v3-4. We are to be seek to do what is best and right in each and every situation.
To do that we need to know what is right and wrong, and how to do that. And in the rest of 2 Peter 1 Peter makes clear that the way we know that is through the apostolic witness to Jesus – which is our New Testament, and the Scriptures of the Jews – our Old Testament. We have our Bibles. We have unparalleled access to them – multiple translations, and multiple ways to read or listen to them. So we need to make sure we are reading them.
And then we will need self control to help us use that knowledge in the right way. Self control is hard. I was driving along the bypass the other day, through the roadworks where the previous 60 limit is now a 30. It feels so slow. It requires constant attention to your speed, and to making sure that you are not getting carried away. I don’t know where the area of self control is most pressing for you. Is it when you are behind the wheel? Is it to do with gossip? Is it alcohol? Whatever it is, we need to focus to make sure that we are making every effort to be self controlled.
To do that we will need perseverance. We will need to be patient. We will need to endure. Apparently it takes 30 days for a habit to form. But we need to be willing to keep at it. Because some of this is just plain hard work. Some of it hurts. Obedience is costly – and each of us will know that in different areas, and some perhaps especially in some particular part of our lives.
So we need to be godly. We need godliness. We need to acknowledge God’s rule, and show his goodness in our lives. This character needs to be consciously dependent on God and his power, not simply good for its own sake.
As we do that we must show brotherly kindness – the type of love we have for family and friends naturally, and then love – the sort of love that looks outward to those who we do not naturally love.
But I wonder why Peter doesn’t just say “to faith, add love” – isn’t love all we really need? We hear plenty of voices inside and outside the church telling us just that. But I think what Peter is saying is that love is the culmination of all this character work. Love needs these characteristics to be in place for us to truly love.
You see a lot of the time it is obvious how to be loving. It’s like the mountain walk I did the other week. Where I could see the whole route, and barely needed a map. But sometimes it is not obvious how to love well. Sometimes it is like those days in the mountains when the cloud comes down and we don’t know if that path leads safely off the mountain, or straight to crags and a steep drop. We need a compass and a map. The rest of these aspects of our character: knowledge, self control, perseverance, and the rest all act as compass and map for our love – pointing us in the right direction, and showing us what loving Jesus’ way really looks like.
Which leads us to the final point.
If we do these things the result will be that we have fruitfulness, stability and certainty of eternity – 8-11
This is the motive for our action. That we not be unfruitful or ineffective in our knowledge of Jesus. We need to make sure that the knowledge of Jesus is not simply in our heads. If we don’t make every effort, then, Peter says, we are shortsighted and blind – perhaps we have even chosen not to see [again, a suggestion from Michael Green in Tyndale IVP commentary] – we have moved from the bath back to the mud. In 2 Peter 2:20-22 Peter spells out the horror of this. He speaks not just of wallowing in mud after being cleansed from the dirt of sin, but of a dog returning to its vomit. And that is supposed to be a horrible picture. Sin is disgusting. To be cleansed from sin is absolutely vital.
If we are trusting in Jesus today, then we have been cleansed from our sin and we need to live in line with that cleansing. We are to be eager to make our calling and our election sure. We’ve heard what it means to be called. Peter adds another word. Election. Election is all about choice. On Thursday we make our choice. Perhaps reluctantly we vote for who will lead us.
In the Bible we don’t get the vote. God is the King (and whoever wins earthly elections, we need to remember that God is still King). In the Bible God makes the choice. And election in the Bible is all about God’s choice of you in his Son. God has chosen you. If today you trust in Jesus you can know that God has chosen you and set his love on you.
We can’t make that reality any more sure than it is. But we can experience that reality in our hearts more and more each day. Peter’s point here is that to have that knowledge, that assurance we need to seek this kind of a life. To be eager to make our calling sure by making every effort to develop the character that pleases God. If we do that then we will not finally fall and we will be sure of a rich welcome into Jesus’ eternal kingdom.
One day we will all see Jesus face to face. Seeing him face to face and hearing him welcome us in with those words: “well done, good and faithful servant”. That will be worth all the pain that endurance causes us now. That will be worth all the effort now. To see his face. To hear his “well done.” That is worth more than anything anyone else can offer.
It isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about getting it right all the time. We will stumble. But as those who trust the promise we know the one who picks us up and gives us the power to keep going. We can have the assurance that John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace had. Remember his story – he started life as a slave trader, before becoming a Christian and then encouraging others in their lives of faith – including those fighting the slave trade. He wrote these words to a friend:
I was ashamed when I began to seek Him;
I am more ashamed now;
and I expect to be most of all ashamed when He shall appear to destroy my last enemy. But, oh! I may rejoice in him, to think that He will not be ashamed of me.
Those who trust in Jesus can live with this knowledge, and it transforms our outlook on everything. We have all we need. We know what we need to do. And we know the welcome that awaits.
So, as Peter finishes this letter: grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Joshua's Tree Rooted 