BEING GODLY THROUGH THE WORD IN THE MIDST OF A COMPROMISING WORLD (2 Peter 1:5-7)

WHAT DISTINGUISHES A CHRISTIAN FROM A NON-CHRISTIAN? IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO BE GODLY IN A TIME WHERE ALL VIRTUES SEEMS TO BE LOST OR THROWN OUT THE WINDOW? HOW DO WE AS A PEOPLE OF GOD STAND OUT IN THE MIDST OF A DEPRAVED WORLD?

CONTEXT 1. SALVATION Christians are to strive diligently because they are already saved by faith in Christ (see verse 1).

2. SANCTIFICATION AND DISCIPLESHIP (see verse 5a) 3. SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S POWER AND PROVISION. (see verse 3)

4. STRIVING FOR GODLINESS (see verses 4-7) 5. SCRIPTURALLY GROUNDED AND ESTABLISHED (see verses 5-7 and compare to Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22)

UNDERSTANDING THE SOVEREIGN WORK OF GOD IN SALVATION WILL ENABLE US TO RELY UPON THE SUFFICIENCY AND THE POWER OF GOD AND TO STRIVE TO LIVE BIBLICALLY IN GODLINESS AS CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDST OF A WORLD OF COMPROMISES.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF A GROWING CHRISTIAN: 1. FAITH – v.5a Faith is a gift from God through Christ, the foundation upon which the Christian builds his life.

Faith begins as saving faith (Ephesians 2:8) and then as the faith without which it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6); whatever does not originate through faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Our faith is based upon the revealed word of God (2 Peter 1:4; Romans 10:8, 17).

We are to walk and live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7; Romans 1:17). Our faith is tested, proven, and strengthened by the trials and adversity God allows to come into our life (1 Peter 1:6-7). Faith is not only the basis for belief but also the basis for our behavior (see Hebrews 11).

Our Lord Jesus Himself is the object and the source of our faith as well as the model for our faith (Galatians 2:20).

2. MORAL EXCELLENCE – v.5b (NASB) “virtue”—KJV, ESB “goodness”—NIV, HCSB “Noble character”—Weymouth “real goodness of life”—Phillips

Compare to the NT use: Philippians 4:8 1 Peter 2:9 2 Peter 1:3 Compare to the OT use: Isaiah 42:8 Isaiah 42:12 Isaiah 43:21

Excellence is an expression poetically paralleled with the glory of God. God’s glory is His virtue, His excellencies, for which He is worthy of praise.

The “moral excellence” we are to “add” to our faith is the excellence of God’s nature, which He makes available to us in Christ. We are to acknowledge it as good, as desirable, as worthy of praise, and as that which we wish to emulate in our own lives (Ephesians 5:1-2).

TO EMBRACE THE EXCELLENCIES OF GOD IS TO STRIVE AFTER THEM AND THEN TO EXPRESS THEM IN OUR LIVES TO THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF GOD.

3. KNOWLEDGE – v. 5c See 2 Corinthians 4:6 This is a doctrinal knowledge, a knowledge revealed in Scripture with clear biblical support and also an experiential knowledge of God.

Hebrews 5:12-14 Colossians 1:9-12 This “knowledge” must also be understood as contrasting and contradicting the false knowledge of the false teachers who would undermine both the truth and the faith of the saints. 2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-19; 2 Peter 3:14-18

4. SELF-CONTROL – v.6a, means literally “to take a grip of oneself.” 1 Peter 1:14 Ephesians 2:1-3 Romans 6:15-18; see Romans 8:12-13

Living a godly life requires us to master the flesh and make it our servant, rather than our master. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Romans 7:14-21

ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE CAN WE OVERRULE FLESHLY LUSTS, AND BECAUSE OF HIS PROVISIONS, WE MUST DILIGENTLY STRIVE TO DO SO.

The prompting of the flesh must be brought under control, and we are to heed the prompting of the Spirit of God, as He speaks through the Word of God (Romans 8:1-8; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; 3:16-17; 4:6).

5. PERSEVERANCE – v.6b “Faith” brings us into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. “Moral excellence” seeks the character of God as the standard and goal for our own character. “Knowledge” describes the kind of pursuit we have for God and His Word.

“Self-control” enables us to curb our physical passions and to make our bodies servants of the will of God. “Perseverance”—enables us to persist in our growth in godly character, even when we suffer for doing so.

1 Peter 2:21-25 Colossians 1:24-27 Hebrews 12:1-3

6. GODLINESS – v.6c Godliness refers to practical religion, or, perhaps we should say, practiced religion. Godliness is the religion we practice in our day-to-day walk.

Godliness is “… the attitude of reverence which seeks to please God in all things. It desires a right relation with both God and men. Godliness brings the sanctifying presence of God into all the experiences of life” (D. Edmond Hiebert, Second Peter and Jude (Greenville, South Carolina: Unusual Publications, 1989), p. 54).

7. BROTHERLY KINDNESS - v.7a It is a love based in part on what we share in common with the One we love. There is a certain element of reciprocity involved, for ideally we should be a blessing to our brother in Christ, and he should be a blessing to us.

1 Peter 1:22 Ephesians 2:11-16 While God has removed the barrier between fellow-believers, this is something we must strive to practice and to preserve.

8. LOVE – v. 7b This refers to “agape love,” which might be called the highest love. It is also the capstone of all the virtues the Christian should pursue.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 1 John 4:19 1 Corinthians 13:13 Matthew 5:43-48 John 13:34-35

CONCLUSION 1. We must acknowledge God’s sovereignty, power and provisions in our salvation. 2. Since God has provided the means for life and godliness, we are to strive to manifest godly character in our lives.

3. We have been saved not only to enjoy God’s blessings but also to bring glory to God through a life of godliness. 4. We are to seek to be led by the Spirit of God and genuinely bear fruit through our diligent study and application of the Word of God.

5. Christian maturity does not happen automatically, we must strive for it being dependent on the power and provision of God.