Saturday, June 07,
2014, 7:19 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “To Be Like Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 2 Peter 1:1-11 (NIV).
Grace and Peace
Simon
Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To
those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have
received a faith as precious as ours:
Grace
and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
Lord.
Do you, like me, often or sometimes kind of skim over the introductory
remarks to these letters? When I do that, I think sometimes I miss a lot. There
is much meat right in these first few sentences. For one, this is just one of
many New Testament scriptures which declares Jesus Christ to be God. He is the second
person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is our GOD AND
Savior (and creator) Jesus Christ. Amen!
Next, or I should say prior to that declaration, we
understand from what is written here that this letter is addressed to believers
in Jesus Christ. They are described as those who, through Jesus Christ’s
righteousness, have received a faith as precious as ours. I am not sure that
everyone understands that even the faith to believe in Jesus is a gift from God,
and not of ourselves. It is a gift we must receive and appropriate (seize;
adopt) to our lives. Yet, it is only because of God’s grace to us in offering
us the gift of his great salvation, and the gift of faith, that we are able to
believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives.
Grace (favor; kindness; blessing) and peace (wholeness;
completeness; fullness) are to be ours in abundance through the knowledge of
God and of Jesus our Lord. So, what is this knowledge? It is not just book
smarts, I can tell you that. This knowledge is not just knowing about God,
either. It is an experiential knowing through having a personal relationship
with him. This type of knowledge is also not gained just from “being saved.”
This knowing of God/Jesus comes from spending time with him, sitting at his
feet, listening to him speak, and through doing what he tells us. Through our
times of getting to know our Lord, and through time spent in his word, in
prayer, and in obedience, we learn to know his will, his promises, his
blessings, and his heart. And, when we truly know him in this way, we do
experience his blessings, and completeness in him, in abundance. Oh, what
peace!
Everything We Need
His
divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he
has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world
caused by evil desires.
When we accept God’s invitation to his salvation by faith, the
Holy Spirit of God indwells us. When he comes to live within us, he also
empowers, strengthens, gives wisdom, guides, counsels, encourages, comforts and
directs us in the way of holiness. He teaches us all things about Jesus Christ,
and he gives understanding into Christ’s teachings (his word). So, God’s divine
power, which also now dwells within Christ’s followers, truly gives us
everything we need for a godly life. So, we have no cause to ever feel as
though we just can’t help but keep sinning, or to feel still trapped by sinful
habits which entangle us. Jesus Christ died to set us free. He conquered sin!
He liberated us from what once enslaved us! So, no more excuses! He has given
us everything we need to live godly lives in this world.
So, what is the catch here? What I mean is, how do we tap
into these divine resources? We have to know him experientially, personally, and
first-hand, first of all through our decisions to believe in Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior of our lives, and second of all through growing in our
knowledge and understanding of who he is through time spent with him in his
word and in obedience and surrender to his will. We won’t even know what all he
has for us if we don’t get to know him. And, we can’t live godly lives free
from the corruption in the world caused by evil desires if we don’t obey what
we know of him, but instead we go our own selfish ways and do what we want to
do, even giving way to evil desires.
I still remember the first time I understood Ephesians 4
about the put offs and the put ons, and how that was a remedy for sinful
habits. Awesome! If we just stop stealing, we are just a thief between jobs. We
have to get a job and then give to the poor. We have to become something else.
Instead of lying, we have to tell the truth. Instead of committing adultery, we
have to be faithful. Instead of gossip and slander, we have to speak kindly to
our neighbors. Coming to know Christ means we put off our former lives of
living for self and in sin, we are transformed in heart and mind away from sin
and to God, and we put on our new selves, “created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness” (See vv. 17-24; cf. Ac. 26:16-18; Tit. 2:11-14; Ro.
6-8; Gal. 2:20 & 1 Jn. 1-5). All this is the working of the Holy Spirit in
our lives as we submit ourselves to his will and we cooperate with his work.
I believe so many followers (or professors) of Christ
continue to flounder in sin because they don’t truly know God. Either they just
think they are saved, but they are not, or else they just have not been taught
or have not come to realize all they truly have in Christ, and so someone
(Satan) has convinced them they can’t help it or that it is ok because grace
covers it all. Yet, we have been called of God by his own virtue, moral
excellence, perfection, uprightness, majesty, substance and essence of all that
he is and does, and it is through these that he has given us his very great and
precious promises. He promises us eternal life. He promises us he will never
leave us or forsake us. He promises us that his divine power has given us
EVERYTHING we need for a godly life. And, He promised us that his death on the
cross paid it all so we could go free, and the list goes on and on. We are not
lacking anything in Christ in order to live godly lives free from the control
of sin. Amen!
Add to Your Faith
For
this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual
affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in
increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is
nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past
sins.
When we are instructed here to add these things to our
faith, this is not promoting works-based salvation. This is speaking of our
spiritual growth as followers of Christ. We are not born again and then it
stops there until we get to heaven one day. We continually grow up into Christ
just as a newborn baby grows into adulthood. So, this is merely encouraging us
to grow and to develop into mature followers of Christ – all in his strength,
power and wisdom within us. We must be purposeful about this. It does not just
happen. We must daily submit and surrender to our Lord, learn at his feet, and
obey what he shows us.
Confirm Your Calling
Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and
election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
Why is this important? For one, I believe it is because many
people have bought into a false gospel that got them “saved” so they could go
to heaven one day, but that gospel did not teach them that coming to Christ
means death to sin, and it means living godly lives, pleasing to God – again,
all in the power and working of his Spirit within us, and not in our own flesh.
When Jesus called Paul to preach the gospel, he was told that he was being sent
to open eyes that are (spiritually) blind, to turn them from the darkness of
sin to the light of Christ (of truth), and from the power of Satan (and the
control of sin) to God, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place
among those who are being sanctified (purified) in Christ (See Ac. 26:16-18).
This is the essence of the gospel. God has called us out of the darkness of sin
into the light of his truth, which is that he has given us everything we need
to live godly lives and to say “No” to worldly passions and desires (See Tit.
2:11-14).
To Be Like Him /
An Original Work
March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture
Crucified you are with
Jesus.
To be like Him, oh,
you’ll be,
Because He died at
Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be
free.
Oh, what joy He brings
into your life,
Giving life with Him
endlessly.
Oh, what plans He has
for your life.
Share the gospel
faithfully.
Show the people He
loves them.
Now His witness you’ll
be.
Tell the world of sin
about Jesus,
How He died for them
on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He
saves them,
Who believe on Christ,
God’s Son.
Turning now from their
idols,
New lives they have
begun.
Jesus saves from sin;
we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry
He won!
When He comes again to
take us
To be with Him
evermore,
There will be no more
crying.
Gladness will be in
store.
Heavens joys will now
overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord
evermore.
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