Bible Text: 2 Peter 1:2-8 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: 2 Peter, How Faith Grows

Recap of 11/15/15 (2 Peter 1:2-8):

“2 Peter teaches the same audience [as 1 Peter] to oppose internal enemies with knowledge of the truth. Apostasy within the church can be much more devastating than persecution against the church. Peter warns against the moral perversions and denial of Christ’s return that false teachers propagate, then exhorts his readers to resist errors by growing in grace and knowledge. Knowledge is the prominent theme of this letter and the best antidote for heresies.” (Daily Walk Bible)

“There cannot be sound Christian living apart from sound doctrine.” (William H. Baker)

Peter’s concern in 2 Peter is complacent believers who are content not to grow in their faith, and as a result are falling prey to false teaching which is affecting their lifestyle choices. Countering the false teachers, Peter assures them that they do not lack anything necessary for developing spiritual vitality and Christ-like character. They have Christ living within them (the divine nature, vs. 4) and with the power and teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit they must develop what is already there.

They must lavishly outfit their faith with seven characteristics: goodness (virtue, moral purity); knowledge (knowledge of Jesus through the Word of God); self-control (the ability to control themselves, to cope with the people and circumstances they encounter); perseverance (the ability to not give in and to not give up, to resist the pressures of the world); godliness (showing reverence for God and for His standards); brotherly kindness (affection toward other believers, caring for others, doing good to others); and love (the desire for the highest for another person.

William Erdman summarizes this way: “Faith is the gift of God already received; to this must be added (1) moral strength which enables a man to do what he know to be right; (2) spiritual discernment; (3) self-control by which a man resists temptation; (4) endurance by which he bears up under persecution or adversity; (5) right feeling and behavior toward God, and (6) toward the brethren, and (7) toward all.”

If a believer grows in this way, he or she will be effective and productive in their spiritual lives, becoming the kind of person God desires and who reflects the character of Jesus Christ to the world.