Sermon Tone Analysis

2 Peter 1:3-9

Evidence of Christian Faith

 

/His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires./

/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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, 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 if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins/.

| L |

ack of spiritual growth is sure evidence of spiritual death.

Surveying the lifestyles of professed believers in this late day, one might be tempted to draw the conclusion that the normal spiritual situation is to be stillborn into the Kingdom of God.

Even a casual reading of the Word of God, however, will soon convince readers differently.

Faith is only a beginning.

Having been born into the Family of God, believers are expected to grow in the Faith.

The whole of Christian life stretches before the child of God when once that one has believed and been born into God’s Family.

Peter, writing his second letter, was concerned that believers might possibly become idle and unfruitful in Christian life.

Therefore, he succinctly laid out the course of growth which a believer should anticipate.

Any believer can chart the progress he or she is making towards being conformed to the likeness of God’s Son by comparing their own life to the progression Peter presents early in his second letter.

Join me in examination of these vital truths which Peter has presented and in consideration of applications we can make in our own lives.

*The Progress of Faith* (/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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love/) – Peter calls for progressive, active Christianity.

Some have referred to this progression as the ladder of faith.

This is an excellent description, for faith is the first step – but it is only a first step.

The qualities witnessed in Christian life are progressively added in a dependent fashion until they culminate in love, the greatest evidence of Christian character ever given.

Before we actually look at these seven characteristics, and there are but seven spiritual qualities presented, consider some foundational truths necessary for full appreciation of these qualities.

This is not the only example of lists of virtues or spiritual qualities expected in the life of a believer.

There are at least four other lists in our New Testament.

*Galatians 5:22 *and* 23* teach us that /the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control/.

In *2**nd** Corinthians 6:4-10*, Paul enumerates a list of desirable spiritual qualities.

Likewise, in *1**st** Timothy 6:11* the Apostle points to /righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness/ as qualities which should be found in the life of a man of God.  *Romans 5:3**-5 *also gives a list similar to Peter’s.

Only one spiritual quality is named in all of the aforementioned lists – /love/, whereas /faith/ and /hope/ are found in three of the lists.

Consequently, these foundational qualities of love, faith and hope are listed as commendable qualities resident among the Thessalonian believers in *1**st** Thessalonians 1:3* and in *2nd Thessalonians 1:3* and *4*.

Of course, you will recall that faith, hope and love are the pre-eminent Christian graces Paul lists at the conclusion of the love chapter (*1 Corinthians 13*).

We begin the Christian life with faith and hopefully we conclude with love, the highest ideal of Christian character.

While not the most exciting study, especially for a sermon, the sentence structure of the verses presenting these spiritual characteristics is important to our understanding.

Peter warns believers against becoming /inactive (idle) and unfruitful/ (literal meaning of verse 8), and it would therefore be appropriate for us to draw the conclusion that Peter views these qualities as fruits of the Spirit, much as those which Paul has listed in *Galatians 5:22,23*.

Furthermore, each characteristic in this list is connected with the same preposition – ejn, indicating that each may be traced ultimately to faith.

Each time, as he adds the next spiritual quality, Peter repeats the former fruit for emphasis.

In Peter’s list, each quality is preceded by the definite article, indicating that the specific item he lists is in view and not something else.

In other words, these characteristics of Christian maturity are expected in the life of a mature believer and no substitution is allowed.

Permit me to make a side journey to note a point of considerable importance.

Later, in the second chapter of this book, Peter will identify false teachers.

Peter may have in mind identifying these false teachers by their attempts to substitute other virtues for these which he lists.

The way in which they attempt to live the Faith reveals that they are actors.

For /goodness/, they supply *disgrace*; for /knowledge/, *blindness*; for /self-control/, *license*; for /perseverance in good/, *perseverance in evil*; for /godliness/, *ungodliness*; for /brotherly love/, *aloofness*; for /genuine love/, *its utter absence*.

It is in the realm of acquisition of these characteristics of maturity that we are called to co-operate with God.

Having been saved, we are responsible to progress in our Christian life.

Christian faith is not passive, as some suppose; it is active and dynamic.

Each of us is expected to progress in acquiring Christian virtues, displaying in ever greater measure the characteristics listed here.

In fact, it is our responsibility to so mature.

Those who do not see these qualities progressively displayed, or who discover that they are no longer being expressed, must consider the reason for their lack of growth and weigh the consequences of the lack of these qualities.

We are to demonstrate zeal and determination in pursuing spiritual progress.

We are to bring into this relationship alongside what God has done every ounce of determination we can muster.

Some cynics have accurately described the Christian Faith as an initial spasm followed by a chronic inertia.

The only way in which we may avoid this danger is to be always adding to our faith.

When Peter states that we are to add to our faith the qualities listed in the text, he employed a fascinating word – ejpicorhghvsate.

The word is a vivid metaphore drawn from the Athenian drama festivals.

A rich individual, called the corhvgo", joining together with the poet and the state in putting on the plays, paid the expense of the chorus.

Though this could be expensive business, corhvgi vied with one another in their generosity to equip and train the choruses.

In time the word came to mean /generous and costly co-operation/.

The purpose behind the word Peter chose is that the Christian must engage in the same sort of generous co-operation with God in the production of a Christian life which is a credit to Him.

Faith is not a quality we add to our life; it is the gift of God.

Each believer already possesses faith, so Peter speaks of your/ faith/.

Human effort must follow upon the work of God, but the human effort is subordinate.

Strictly speaking, faith is not a quality we are responsible to generate or in which we are to co-operate with God in acquiring.

Faith is the gift of God [cf.

*Ephesians 2:8,9*].

Either we possess faith, or we do not possess it.

Even the quality of our faith appears to be given by God [cf.

*1 Corinthians 12:9*].

We are not responsible to create faith in our lives; we are responsible to keep our focus on Christ, the object of our faith.

Building on the faith we have received, we are to add in progressive and dependent fashion the seven spiritual qualities listed in our text.

The first step toward spiritual maturity is the incorporation of /goodness/ to our lives.

We have met with this word in a previous study.

It is the word Peter used in *verse 3* when he was focusing attention on the means by which Christ called us to Himself.

There, he stated, /His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through out knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness/.

During that study we saw that  ajreth'~/, the Greek word translated /goodness/, presented the concept of /moral excellence/.

In non-Christian literature, ajreth'~/ means excellence, and was used to denote the proper fulfilment of anything.

The excellence of a knife is to cut … of a horse is to run.

What, then, is the excellence of a man?

The Christian must work out the salvation which God works in him [cf.

*Philippians 2:12*].

Life must reflect something of the attractive character of Christ, for He was the man par excellence.

True human excellence, then, is the manliness which reflects Christlikeness.

That Christlikeness is acquired only through personal and continuous encounter with Christ the Lord through faith.

Since in this instance Peter is employing the word in a specific sense, it probably has the meaning of /moral courage/ or /moral energy/ in the exercise of faith.

Christianity is not merely a matter of personal faith and practical goodness; intellect plays an important role in spiritual maturity.

The /knowledge/ Peter expects believers to demonstrate as they mature is that gained in the practical exercise of goodness, which, in turn, leads to a fuller knowledge of Christ [cf.

*verse 8*].

The false teachers Peter whom is soon to address in chapter two employed /knowledge/ as a favourite term, but that did not stop Peter from using the term for righteous purposes.

Peter was confident that the God who had revealed Himself in Jesus was the God of truth.

Knowledge, therefore, could never harm the Christian.

Peter would have nothing to do with a faith which would shrink from investigation lest the resultant knowledge should prove destructive.

Trust has nothing to do with obscurantism.

The cure for false knowledge is not less knowledge, but more knowledge.

The knowledge Peter here presents distinguishes the believer’s conduct from his former life of spiritual ignorance [cf.

*1 Peter 1:14*].

/Self-control/ is the third quality seen in the maturing Christian.

Self-control is the fruit of true knowledge.

Where moral courage, guided by knowledge disciplines desire and makes it the servant instead of the master of life, self-control may be said to supplement faith.

True knowledge leads to self-control.

Certainly, self-control is to be exercised in food and drink, but also in every aspect of life.