Growing In Faith

2Peter 1:1-10

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ, Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue, through which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also in this very thing, bringing in all diligence, filling out your faith with virtue, and with virtue, knowledge; and with knowledge self-control, and with self-control, patience, and with patience, godliness, and with godliness, brotherly kindness, and with brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are in you and abound, they make you to be neither idle nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he in whom these things are not present is blind and cannot see afar off and has forgotten that he was purged from his sins in the past. Therefore, brothers, rather be diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall.

 The first thing I see here is the sufficiency of Christ. Through Him we have received ALL things pertaining to life and godliness. In Matthew 6, Jesus promises that if we seek the kingdom and the righteousness of God first, we will have all of our earthly needs met. In the indwelling Spirit we find all we need to guide us into a godly lifestyle. We find the strength to reject sin and turn to Christ.

The next thing that catches my eye is the word escape. Peter speaks of the corruption of the world from which we have escaped. In my mind's eye, I can see as the world and the things of this world decay and fall apart and yet those who have accepted Christ have escaped this decay and are unaffected by it. Our foundation of Christ and His finished work on the cross do not change nor decay. It is firm and eternal whereas the things of this world, including lust and all that stems from it, are temporal and short lived.

Since we have escaped this corruption, Peter encourages believers to add to this basic faith. Indeed it is what we are called to do, follow Christ. Peter has a list, of which I believe we are not to focus on one thing, but, in surrendering to Christ's leadership, allow Him to add to our faith the thing that is most needed. He doesn't leave us as babes in Christ, we are to grow, change, and develop a Christlike attitude and life.

Finally, as we grow, Peter says that we will not be unfruitful for Christ. Christ shines out through our lives to the world around us, hoping to reach and save more from this corruption.

A Great Truth

Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where do You go?" Jesus answered him, "Where I go you cannot now follow Me, but you shall follow Me afterward." Peter said to Him, "Lord, why cannot I follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake." Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Truly, truly, I say to you, The cock shall not crow until you have denied Me three times. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You go, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 13:36-14:6)

This is one of the most used portions of Scripture. It is used for several reasons, usually though as a thought of comfort. It reminds us of our final end as Christians: to be with the Lord. It is used at funerals and other difficult times in life.

However, what I saw, once I removed the barrier of man-made chapter divisions, was a tender moment between the Lord and Peter. Peter, the Bible's resident redneck, boldly exclaims that he is ready to lay down his life for Jesus. I assume that Peter thought his willingness to do so would draw praise from Jesus. What Peter got instead was a rebuke. Consider the One to whom Peter is speaking, and what Peter has seen Him do. Here is a man that Peter has seen do many miracles. Peter saw Him transfigured before his eyes. Peter has seen Him walk on water and even raise the dead. This Man turns to Peter and says, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Truly, truly, I say to you, The cock shall not crow until you have denied Me three times." I can imagine the stunned look on Peter's face. His utter dejection and disappointment that His Lord would say that to him, and that Jesus was right, always right. In this moment of defeat and dejection, I also see the Savior going over to Him, putting His arm across Peter's shoulders, and looking into his face and saying, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me." I see Jesus turning to face all of the other disciples as well and addressing them with the rest of His narrative and His declaration that no one comes to the Father but through Him. In this passage, I see a great truth. We have a Savior who is not dismissive of our times of defeat and dejection, but one who wants to turn those moments into moments of truth, clarity, and victory with His loving patience and kindness.