Make Every Effort -The Reason

One of the earliest objections that I can remember to Christianity:

I was still at school. And a friend of mine said, “I don’t think I could ever be good enough.”   

Maybe you feel that way. You don’t see yourself as living this holy life, “I’m having so much fun” there are certain things that I enjoy, and I know, I’ll have to give them up. Even the consequences of Hell aren’t enough to persuade you.

maybe you are a Christian and you feel that way. Maybe you’ve got certain struggles. Specific sins that you struggle with. You’ve tried to achieve some sort of victory over them. And there have been good days and bad days. But you keep falling back to bad habits or struggling to overcome these things.  

One of the big reasons why many Christians fall away, is moral reasons. It has to do with not wanting to live the Christian life. Not wanting to live life God’s way.

I think all of us agree that none of us can be perfect. But as Christians, we should be growing in holiness.

Sadly for many, living this Christian life seems overwhelming. either causing them not to want to come to faith if they’re not Christians, and causing many who at some point consider themselves to be Christians to abandon their faith.

So we are in Part 2 of 3 week series in 2 Peter 1 vs 1-11. And the section that we’re going to be looking at today is very helpful on this issue of why we should make every effort.

At the root of making every effort:  You have the gospel, you have what God has done for us. And you can see that as you look at the first 2 verses as Peter introduces the letter. You have Jesus Christ, of whom Peter is a servant. You have the righteousness of our God and saviour Jesus Christ, through which we have received a precious faith. A faith that is precious to all who have received it, whether you’re the apostle Peter, or anyone who has come to faith. The faith that the apostles have isn’t more special or more precious than the one that you have. If you’re a Christian, don’t let anybody undermine your faith or make you think that they’re a better Christian than you. “You have a faith as precious as ours” says the Apostle Peter. and then he says: “Grace and Peace be yours in abundance, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

Peter wants us to take note at this point of the importance of knowledge. And this knowledge of God is an emphasis throughout the letter. And not just head knowledge, but knowing God. Knowing Him personally, relational knowledge. So that was the root.

The Reason

last time we also started looking at the reason vs 3 – 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. ie. everything we need. We’ve been equipped. If this were a meal we had to cook up, we’ve been given all the ingredients. You may think you’re not equipped to handle what life is going to throw at you. You may think that this is too difficult. You may think that this is beyond your capabilities, but take heart because in verse 3: 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.

So we started looking at the reason last time. and we see that in verse 3: 3 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.

in other words, we’ve been given what we need in order to make every effort. And please note that there is an emphasis on knowledge again.

Then look at vs 4: 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. 

In other words – through His glory and goodness, God has made promises to us, which he has made known to us.

What promises are those? You wouldn’t be wrong if you went with the Sunday School answer. “When in doubt, the answer is Jesus.” Because Jesus is God’s promise to us. the gospel is God’s promise to us. Through God’s glory and through God’s goodness, He has given us his very great and precious promises.

If you go from Genesis through to Revelation you’ll see that the storyline of the Bible is all about God’s promise. It’s all about God’s promise to restore a broken world. To rescue this world from sin. It’s God’s promise to rescue His people from sin. To save them from what it is that separates them from him. Remember when we looked at the book of Joshua. We saw the Israelites entering the land. That was a fulfilment of the promise. But if you’re familiar with the story of Israel, you’ll know that didn’t last too long. It wasn’t long before they were exiled. Only to realize that what they saw as fulfilment, was pointing to something much greater. The great and precious promises of God, were fulfilled in Jesus. Is there a greater and more precious promise? That thing that separates you from God. That thing called sin. That a promise was made to rescue you from that. That a promise was made to save you from that. And we should stand amazed when we see the fulfilment of it. Where God’s own Son comes into the world, takes on the punishment for you and me, so that we could know God. The great and precious promises.

Matthias Media book about the story of the Bible is called “Full of Promise”.

And Peter tells us here that He has given us these promises so that we may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. There’s a purpose in the promises that God has given us.  

That we may participate in the divine nature. Let’s not misunderstand this to say that we will be God. That’s not what this is saying.

But what he is saying is that we share in God’s characteristics or qualities. We can share in the nature of God, having escaped the corruption of the world. What is it that makes us escape the corruption of the world? Jesus. The gospel. The great and precious promises. The righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  The divine power of God through the knowledge of Him. That’s what you have as a Christian. You shouldn’t be getting caught up in the corruption of the world, because you’ve escaped it. Because you’ve been rescued from it. That’s what the gospel does. That’s what the gospel equips you for.

In chapter 2 Peter makes another comment about escaping the corruption of the world. and he refers to it as happening through knowing Jesus.   

But here in verse 3 and 4, you see that You are equipped for godliness. You’ve been given what you need to live a godly life. Don’t fall for the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. that’s what verses 3 and 4 are telling us.

Living as a Christian is hard, but don’t forget that you have been equipped with everything you need in order to do it.

To those of you who are Christians, and are struggling with this idea. Maybe issues that you are struggling with, if you fall for that temptation, you fall into the trap of addiction that leads you to sin. when you fall, repent, get up again, and remember that God is gracious. Don’t use that as an excuse to carry on sinning, but use that as a reason, to make every effort to live for Him.

Godliness / Godly living, isn’t perfection. But it means fighting to stay on the straight and narrow. Eg. Dieting. My friend saying he still feels hungry, but his endurance gets better, his ability to fight.

To those who aren’t Christians, because you think it’s going to be difficult. Take assurance from this passage, that God gives you what you need for godly living.  

Can I re-emphasize the fact that we can’t do it without Jesus. Being a Christian isn’t just about living a good life. It’s about the fact that you now live under the rule of King Jesus. The one who equips you. The one who pays for your sin. Baptism service asks: “Those who bring your children to be baptized, and those being baptized, do you declare your allegiance to Christ and rejection of all that is evil: the devil and all his works, the empty display and false values of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh.” But look at the answer: “I ask you to answer on behalf of this child. Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as your LORD AND SAVIOUR?” Not – are you trusting in your abilities? Are you relying on yourself to live a good life? do you think you’re capable of doing this? NO! “Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Saviour? That there is the bottom line. Because it’s through him. Through His power. Through your knowledge of him. That you have everything you need to live a godly life.

Therefore let’s make every effort to fight. To be godly, and we’ll look more at that next week.

Questions for Home Groups

Read 2 Peter 1 vs 1-11. Pay Special attention to vs 3-4.

• In what ways is vs 3-4 an encouragement to Christians who are struggling to live the Christian life?
• what are the great and precious promises that are being referred to in verse 4?
• What does it mean to participate in the divine nature of God?
• What have we escaped according to verse 4?

How would you answer someone who said to you that as long as you’re saved, it doesn’t matter how you live?