“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – Vs 18

Keep on growing. Continue to increase. Make every effort to mature. That’s the essence of what Peter says as he ends his letter. He has warned his readers about false teachers and their destructive heresies, about mockers who cast doubt on the Word of God, and about the need for believers to keep their eyes and hope focused on the return of the Lord. But he closes his letter with a charge, an admonition. That his readers will respond to all of this by continuing to grow or increase in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Grow in Grace

What does this mean? How do you “grow in grace?” First of all, we have to get our minds around the concept of grace. In the New Testament it refers to the free, unmerited favor of God; to the favor or kindness given to those who can never deserve it or earn it by anything they do or refrain from doing. As Chuck Swindoll aptly puts it, “Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.”

Grace is a gift. So how do we grow in it? I think what Peter is really saying is that we are to grow within the context of grace, remembering that even our spiritual growth is up to God and not us. We can no more make ourselves grow spiritually than we can save ourselves by our own effort. Both are made possible by grace. Sure, we can study the Bible and memorize Scripture. We can pray, meditate, fast, and practice all of the spiritual disciplines. We can serve God and share the Gospel with the lost. But if we do it thinking that we are somehow gaining favor with God or earning merits that put us in a better light with Him, we have failed to understand the grace of God. And the truth is, many of us as believers fail to grow in the context of grace. It is not the environment in which we spiritually mature. Think of it this way. It is like a plant that finds itself in an environment that is perfectly suited for growth – ample sunshine, gentle rain, fertile soil. The plant does not do anything to improve its environment, it simply grows in the midst of it. It takes full advantage of it. It grows because the context is perfectly suited for growth. So as believers, we need to constantly remind ourselves of the context within which we have been place. The context of grace. We must remind ourselves that God has placed us in His garden of grace, where self-effort, human achievement, hard work, and self-righteousness play no role and add no benefit. In fact, remember what Peter said at the beginning of his letter:

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” – Vs 3

So we should grow, increase, mature – because His grace makes it possible. In fact, within His grace, growth is natural, normal and effortless. It is when we step outside of His grace, that it becomes painful and labored, leaving us stunted, immature, and fruitless.

Grow in the Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

In the garden of God’s grace, we are to increase in our knowledge of Jesus. As verse 3 states, it is through our knowledge or recognition of Jesus Christ as our Savior that we gain everything we need for life and godliness. And that doesn’t change after salvation. It is still all through Him. We need to remember the context in which we live: Grace. And we need to remember the source of all we need: Christ. Our goal is to seek to know Him better and better. Not to know about Him, but to know Him, personally and intimately. To increase in our relationship with Him. As we increase in our knowledge of and intimacy with Jesus, we take on His characteristics. We begin to live like He lived, love like He loved, and serve like He served. And the qualities listed in chapter one, verses 5-7 begin to appear in our lives.

The tendency for us as Christians is to look at our immediate surroundings and question how we can possibly grow in a place like this, surrounded by sin. But what we fail to remember is that we are IN grace. We have been firmly planted in the fertile soil of God’s garden of grace. We are being nourished by His grace, watered by the gentle favor of His grace, and warmed by the sunshine of His grace. So we can grow and increase in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, the One who made God’s grace possible in the first place.

Father, may I remember each and every day that I am planted firmly in the garden of Your grace. My growth is no more up to me than was my salvation. Help me remember that. I still need to study, meditate, grow, share and serve, but I also need to remember that any growth that takes place in my life is due to the undeserved favor of God. Not because I somehow earned it. So even on my worst day, I can grow. Even when I am tired, I can grow. Because the sunshine of Your grace always shines on me. Thank You!  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

“These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm.” – Vs 17

In this chapter, Peter warns the people to beware of false teachers showing up in their midst. In the Greek, Peter’s language carries the idea that they will sneak in unawares. These individuals would look and sound good, but they would really be teaching “destructive heresies.” This isn’t talking about off-the-wall doctrinal falsehood. It simply means they’ll have viewpoints and opinions that, in the end, will destroy the body of Christ from within. They’ll start out subtle, but it will end up with them denying the very One who died for them – Jesus Christ. Sounds pretty serious. But listen to what Peter says:

“And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.” – Vs 2

Many will follow them – mimicking their lifestyles, willingly accepting their brand of truth over “the way of truth” – God’s revealed plan for salvation through Jesus Christ alone. They’ll come teaching “false words” and motivated by greed. Think your average, over-the-top, prosperity-preaching, TV evangelist. Except the people Peter is talking about were a lot less obvious about it. They were going to show up looking like one of the saints, but sharing viewpoints and opinions that were grace-less and truthless.

Look at how Peter describes them. “These are springs without water and mists driven by the storm” (Vs 17). I love the way the New Living Translation puts it:

These people are as useless as dried–up springs of water or as clouds blown away by the wind––promising much and delivering nothing.

It reminds me of the description of false teachers found in the book of Jude:

These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted. – Jude 1:12

Hidden reefs in your love feast (Vs 12)
–    They are treacherous and can shipwreck your faith
–    They were part of the fellowship
–    Sharing in intimacy
–    They were shepherds feeding themselves

Clouds without water (Vs 12)
–    They appear promising, but only disappoint
–    They fail to provide
–    They obscure the light
–    They fail to meet needs

Carried along by winds (Vs 12)
–    Blown by every wind of doctrine
–    No substance or stability

Autumn trees without fruit (Vs 12)
–    No spiritual fruit in their lives
–    Their words supply no life-giving refreshment
–    They fail to fulfill their purpose

Doubly dead, uprooted (Vs 12)
–    Absolutely dead and worthy of destruction

Wild waves of the sea (Vs 13)
–    Undisciplined and out of control
–    Destructive
–    Active, but non-productive
–    Revealing only their own shame

Wandering stars
–    You can’t chart a course by them
–    Unreliable
–    Their destiny is hopeless and dark

These kinds of people are to be avoided like the plague, but Peter warns that they are coming to a church near you soon! They may already be there. In fact, they’re all around us. Speaking half-truths, offering tempting words that sound good, but lead to destruction. If fact, there’s a prominent TV preacher who is filling the minds of millions of people with his “opinion” of the truth. See if you can spot the heresy.

• When one is born again by faith in Jesus, he is given a new spirit man that wasn’t there before — a spirit man that is divine in nature and God-like
• Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, ‘If it be thy will’
• No Christian should ever be sick
• We Christians possess ‘power in our mouths’ to heal or kill just as witches possess it
• Job tapped into the negative side of the faith force by a negative confession
• Christ ‘became one with the nature of Satan’ and was ‘born again’ in hell
• Christ would have sinned without the Holy Spirit and would have remained in the grave ‘if the Holy Ghost had changed His mind about raising Him from the dead’
• We are ‘little gods’ and even part of God with all the power of God
• We are ‘little messiahs,’ everything that Jesus ever was.”

Do you see it? False words. Destructive heresies. Arrogant. Enticing. Promising. But totally wrong. And potentially destructive. So Peter warns his readers and he warns us to beware. But what’s the best way to spot falsehood? Know the truth. Study it. Meditate on it. Apply it. Test it. Make the truth of God so real in your life that you can spot falsehood a mile away. Jesus put it this way:

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine. and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” – John 8:31-32

Father, make me a student of Your truth. Help me continue in, to hold to, to obey the teachings of Your Son. That I might know the truth and have the freedom that only it can deliver. Never let me be enslaved to the false teaching that is so prevalent today. It sounds so right, but is so wrong. Because it is not of You. It’s my desire to be a student of Your truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence…” – Vs 5

“…the entrance into the eternal kingdom or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” – Vs 11

His role/Our role

It seems that most of us as believers are always struggling with the part we play in this mysterious journey called sanctification. If we are in Christ, we basically understand that our salvation was God’s thing. He did it all through Jesus Christ. We played no part in it. We couldn’t earn our salvation or add anything to it to deserve it. It was a gift from God. But there’s something strange that happens after Christ redeems us. We somehow think it’s up to us alone to reform us. He bought us our ticket into heaven, now we have to make sure we are worthy to get on the train when it departs the station. So we begin earning our stripes. We go out of our way to make ourselves more holy. We seek after righteousness. We pursue moral excellence. We run the race to win. And we wear ourselves out in the process. Not that any of those things are wrong, in and of themselves. In fact, they are all biblical.

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honour. – Proverbs 21:21

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. – 1 Timothy 6:11

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. – Hebrews 12:1

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. – Romans 12:11

I could go on and on. Even in this chapter of 2 Peter, we are told to supply, add to, or “furnish besides” a whole list of qualities to our faith. But have you ever wondered why we can work so hard at improving ourselves spiritually and still seem to lack any real fruit, experience any significant joy, feel any closer to God than when we began? I think Peter gives us some insights. He tells us that God has “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (Vs 3). The New Living Translation puts it this way:

As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life.

Peter goes on and says that “He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (Vs 4). God has given us His Son and His Holy Spirit to save us and to sanctify or transform us. And they are both ours by an act of faith. We don’t do anything to receive either one, except believe. And it is because we have received these promises of God that we should then begin to add to our faith the qualities listed in verses 5-7. But we don’t manufacture them. We don’t will them into existence. They are already ours at salvation. We have them available to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. They reside within us. Peter says, “For if these qualities are yours…” (Vs 8). The New English Translation puts it this way: “For if these things are really yours…” In other words, Peter is saying, if you are a Christian, then these qualities are yours and they should be increasing. They are the byproduct of a vibrant relationship with Christ.

To lack these qualities is a sign that something is wrong. Peter says, “But concerning the one who lacks such things – he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins” (Vs 9). No amount of pursuing, striving after, seeking, or attempting to manufacture this list in my life is going to work if I have become blind to the fact that I have been purified from my former sins. In other words, I have lost sight of the fact that it is because I have been saved and redeemed that I am able to experience these godly characteristics in my life. God has purified me and He will perfect me. He wants to mature me into the nature He has already given me. Lacking these qualities is a sign that I lack faith. I fail to trust God that He can accomplish His work in me. That’s why Peter warns us to “be all the more diligent to make certain of His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble” (Vs 10). If these things are lacking in our lives, Peter seems to say that we may need to go back and examine whether we were ever saved in the first place. Because someone who is in Christ will naturally “practice these things.” They are the natural outflow of a relationship with Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

It’s interesting that Peter goes on to say that God not only supplies everything I need for salvation and sanctification, He supplies my ultimate entrance into heaven (Vs 11). He uses the same word that he used in verse 5 – epichoregeo. God supplies it all. He gives us everything we need for life and godliness. But how easy it is to forget that and assume that it is somehow up to us. So we work. We strive. We serve. We pursue. And we wear ourselves in the process. Because we fail to understand that our holiness is up to Him, not us. It is a gift of His grace. Which is why Peter starts his letter by saying, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (Vs 2).

Father, keep me focused on You. Forgive me for often thinking that it is all up to me when it comes to my holiness. I work so hard to please You, serve You, and to grow in godliness. But I just find myself worn out. But You offer Your grace and peace. You grant me everything I need for life and godliness. Help me to understand that truth and live it out in my daily life.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org