Sermon Tone Analysis

2 Peter 1:1-11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2004

Solid Spiritual Growth Is A Slow Process

 

Lettuces, radishes, and such garden crops are soon out of the ground and ready for the table -- a month almost suffices to perfect them.

But an oak requires long centuries to come to the fullness of its growth.

Those graces which are most precious and durable will take us longest to produce.

Those good things which spring up hastily may have some transient worth about them, but we cannot look for permanence and value in them.

There is no need to deplore the slowness of our spiritual growth, if that which comes of it is of a solid character.

Peter’s main theme in his first epistle is /the grace of God/.

His emphasis in the second epistle is on the /knowledge of God/.

Peter uses the word */know /*or*/ knowledge/* 13 times in this short letter and five times in tonight's passage.

The kind of knowledge that Peter emphasized is not head knowledge but experiential knowledge.

Peter wants them to know and to grow in their faith.

This is the type of knowledge that Jesus prayed we might obtain *John 17:3:* /And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

/Peter teaches  three things about the knowledge of Christ.

*/Acquire Faith, Add To Faith & Approved Faith.

/*

 

/Firstly,   /Acquire Faith

/ /

/a.

Our Faith Is In a Person - Jesus Christ/

/ /

*2 Peter 1:1-2: */Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:/ /Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,/

/ /

/How can we acquire saving faith?/

By believing in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Peter refers to Christ as the Savior five times in this letter.

And with good reason.

We can't save ourselves from sin, we need a Savior.

When the Philippian Jailor asked Paul how to be saved he said this in *Acts 16:31:* /Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved./

*/ /*

Life Savers

/ /

Perhaps you like surfing at the beach like I do.

I enjoy riding the waves to the shore.

Our family always swims at patrolled surfing beaches.

This is because help is available should someone get into trouble.

Life savers are on hand to help those that get caught by a rip or get a cramp or something else.

The Life Guards are watching all the time for swimmers in trouble.

You only need to call out for help.

They can handle the waves.

*/Jesus Christ didn't choose to save Himself on the cross but sinners.

He saved the thief who believed in Him.

He can save all who call out to Him/*.

/Jesus Christ is a real life saver because He saves for keeps./

Everyone in the human race is drowning in sin.

We all need Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gives away three spiritual commodities that can be secured from nobody else; */righteousness, grace,/* and*/ peace.

/*

*/1./ /Righteousness/ **δικαιοσύνη* –* *means* *to be */declared just /*or */right./

*Only through faith in Christ can sinners obtain a right standing with God; righteousness.

You can’t /earn/ this righteousness; it is the gift of God to believers.

*Titus 3:5 says:*/ Not by works of righteousness which we of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us./

*/ /*

*/2./ /Grace/ **χάρις* *- */Grace/ is God’s */unmerited favor, kindness, goodwill/*.

God in His mercy does not give us what we do deserve; God in His grace gives us what we don’t deserve.

Our God is the God of all grace and He channels that grace to us through Jesus Christ.

*John 1:17:* /For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ./

* *

*/3./ /Peace/ **εἰρήνη* *- *The result of this experience is /peace,/ peace /with/ God and the peace /of/ God.

Peace is more than the absence of hostility.

It speaks of God’s friendship and blessing.

In fact, God’s grace and peace are multiplied toward us as we walk with Him and trust His promises.

/ /

/b.

Our Faith Involves God's Power - The Holy Spirit/

/ /

*2 Peter 1:3:* /As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,/

/ /

Previously we were dead in trespasses and sin.

*Ephesians 2:4-5:* /But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved./

The resurrection power of Christ comes into our lives through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit enables us to live a life that is pleasing to God.

He produces a godly life in us.

Human Life Begins At Birth

 

When you are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, you are born complete.

God gives you everything you will ever need for life and godliness.

Nothing has to be added!

Just as a normal baby is born with all the equipment he needs for life and only needs to grow, so the Christian has all that is needed and only needs to grow.

God never has to call back any of His models because something is lacking or faulty.

Just as a baby has a definite genetic structure that determines how he will grow, so the believer is genetically structured to experience glory and virtue.

One day he will be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

/c.

Our Faith Involves God's Promises - God's Word/

/ /

*2 Peter 1:4: */by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust./

/ /

God has not only given us all that we need for life and godliness, but He has also given us His Word to enable us to develop this life and godliness.

These promises are /great/ because they come from a great God and they lead to a great life.

They are /precious/ because their value is beyond calculation.

*/If we lost the Word of God, there would be no way to replace it./*

/ /

*/1.

Partake Of The Divine Nature/ - *When the sinner believes on Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to impart the life and nature of God within.

A baby shares the nature of its parents, and a person born of God shares the divine nature of God.

The sinner is dead, but the Christian is alive because he shares the divine nature.

* *

*/2.

Escape The World's Corruption/ - *Because we possess this divine nature, we have completely escaped the defilement and decay in this present evil world.

If we feed the new nature the nourishment of the Word, then we will have little interest in the garbage of the world.

But if we make provision for the flesh our sinful nature will lust after the old sins and we will disobey God.

Godly living is the result of cultivating the new nature within.

/ /

Application

/ /

/How do we acquire saving faith?

/Believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

/Have you trusted in Christ?

Are you right with God? /When we trust in Christ, God gives us the power to live a virtuous life.

He also gives us great and precious promises to conform us to the image of His Son!! /Are you drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit to be transformed?

Are you claiming the promises of God's Word to strengthen your Christian life?/

/ /

/Secondly,  /Add To Faith/ /

/ /

*2 Peter 1:5-7: */But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love./

/ /

*/Where there is life, there must be growth.

The new birth is not the end but the beginning./*

God gives His children all that they need to live godly lives, but Christians must apply God’s Word to their lives.

/ /

Growth Requires Good Dietary Habits

 

One night, a mother fixed a special meal for her family: turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and apple pie for dessert.

It was everyone’s favorite meal, especially when it came at a time other than Thanksgiving.

The aroma filled the house, and as the children came in from playing they could hardly wait for dinner to begin.