THE PATH TO MATURITY AND GLORY 2 Peter 3:14-18
Pastor Dennis Bone
11-18-18
It could be said that there are three kinds of people in the church: Squatters who come to church but never move forward spiritually; campers who move around a lot, and at times seem to be making spiritual progress but just want to be comfortable; and climbers who are always pressing ahead spiritually, and are moving upward toward the goal of maturity for which Christ has called us all to strive for as Christians. What kind of person are you? In 2 Peter 3 Peter asks the question, “What kind of people ought you to be?” Peter’s answer is, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the Lord’s coming.” We are not to be squatting or camping, but climbing our way towards spiritual maturity by striving to live holy and godly lives as God’s people and as Christ’s church in this world.
Peter concludes this letter by giving us a spiritual road map to follow on this pilgrimage of the Christian life. Like those pilgrims we have been reading about in Bunyan’s book – Pilgrims Progress – we are to be making progress as we travel the path to the celestial city. Thus we need to be encouraged and exhorted, as well as warned and instructed, in order to stay on the path; even when it is difficult, even when we get tempted, even when we get tired and discouraged, because of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus has saved us, Jesus has called us; Jesus is leading us and Jesus is waiting for us at the end of the journey, thus through His Word He gives us our marching orders so that we can be effective and successful in this journey.
So let’s first hear what Peter tells us to do in verses 14 – 18: So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to these things, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which some ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of wicked men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever! Amen.
In these verses Peter concludes by instructing us to do eight things on this spiritual path to maturity and glory as Christians. The passage begins with Peter saying that we are to be “looking forward” – vs. 14 – “Therefore, friends, since you are looking forward to these things.” Thus the first thing we are to do is be Focused. Be focused on Christ and the things He has done, is doing and will do in the future. We are looking forward to a person, not a time. We are to be focused on Jesus. He is the person we are looking forward to when it comes to these things to come. Peter has told us throughout his letters that it’s God’s promises to us in Christ which have trailblazed this path of the Christian life that we are now on. Jesus has gone before us as our Savior and He is the one who has put us on this path.
This is why we read in Hebrews 12: “Let us run the race with endurance, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Be focused on Him as you look forward to what is ahead. Look to Him so that you don’t get diverted from the track or the path on the way. We look to Him because He has also shown us how to live on the path – holy and godly – looking to Him as our model and our example.
As Paul says in Titus chapter 2: “We should live righteous and godly in this present age, looking forward to the blessed hope of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” So first, we must be focused; and second Peter says, “make every effort” or be Diligent. In other words, we are to be working hard to be like Jesus in the way we live. Peter uses the same word here as he did in chapter 1 when he wrote, “Be diligent to make your calling and election sure.” We have a responsibility to work out our salvation through sanctification, especially since the path is not easy. There will be times of trials and suffering, thus Peter tells us that we must diligently pursue peace in all of our relationships along the path. At the end of verse 14 we read: “Make every effort to be at peace with Him,” thus as we live in peace with Christ, we can work at being at peace with ourselves and with others.
Only Jesus was spotless and blameless, thus Peter’s call for us as Christians to live holy and godly lives must come from Him. As Paul says, “He is our peace” – it’s Jesus who enables us and empowers us to live in peace, thus we must be diligent about it. Third, Peter writes at the beginning of verse 15: “Consider the longsuffering of Christ,” so that we will be Patient. What is Christ’s longsuffering? It’s His patience that brings salvation. Not only did Christ patiently endure suffering for our sake, but His continued patience with us as sinners led to our repentance. As Peter said back in verse 9, “The Lord is longsuffering towards us.” So now, he is calling us to reflect upon this as those who have come to repentance and have received salvation; and as a result to be patient in our Christian lives.
Salvation is past, present and future, thus we need endurance on the path of the Christian life.
It’s this patient perseverance or endurance, which comes from our salvation, that keeps us focused and diligent as we live out our salvation in world where many people doesn’t value patience, but want everything “now” and often question the Lord, and/or turn away from the path when the Christian life becomes hard or challenging.
Fourth, Peter tells us to “remember our brother Paul’s writings.” In his epistles or writings, Paul has told us about these same things. He too has told you to live holy and godly lives by considering the longsuffering of the Lord and by following His Word. Peter’s point is to be Wise. You will be wise when you listen to the words of Paul, whose writings are the Scripture, just like Peter’s writings. At the end of verse 15, and then verse 16 we read this: “Paul wrote according to the wisdom God gave him . . . speaking in his letters of these same matters.” Some of these things are hard to understand, thus ignorant and unstable people distort the truth, even as they do other Scriptures. Not only is Peter confirming that Paul’s letters are Scripture, and on par with the Old Testament Scriptures, but this wisdom that God gave him is given to us so we too can be wise.
As Paul said to Timothy, “You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” The Scriptures make you wise; and he goes on to say that all Scripture is inspired by God and is given to instruct us, correct us, encourage us, so that we will be wise. The principle we learn from Peter is that truth is often hard to understand and apply, thus trust God’s Word on the path of the Christian life. God’s Word is designed to make you wise for salvation and in salvation. We may not understand every doctrine or truth in the Scripture, but we can trust that it is true because it’s God’s Word.
So be wise, by not turning away from it, but instead continue to learn from it in order to apply its truth in your life. Peter reminds us in this passage that it’s not just his words, or even Paul’s words that guide us in our pilgrimage as Christians, but it’s God’s Word. Through the Scriptures God calls us to be focused; to be diligent; to be patient and to be wise. For as Peter tells us in verse 16, there will be people around us who will attack God’s truth and seek to convince us to believe falsehoods or deny Scripture; and if possible lead us to walk along another path – the path of destruction.
So we see a fifth point: Be aware of “ignorant and unstable people.” This is a reference back to the false teachers, whose goal is not “holy and godly lives,” but deception and self-gain, thus we must be Discerning. Discernment is a fruit of wisdom; it gives us the ability make good decisions or judgment. We need to be aware and on guard for those in the church, but also in the world around us who seek to persuade us to conform to unbiblical world views and lifestyles. Thus you must guard your heart and mind with the Scripture as you walk in the path of the Christian life. Ignorant and unstable people are foolish people because they lack wisdom by distorting or denying the Scripture; they twist the truth to fit their own views and beliefs.
As Christians we must be discerning so that we see can see this, call it out when we can, and avoid being influenced by it. Peter believes that this is so important and dangerous to the church that he spent much of this letter warning us about it; and as the letter ends he continues to put emphasis on this in verse 17: “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of wicked men and fall from your secure position.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter again says that this is something we already know, but nevertheless is can impact us and even cause us to stumble and fall. So we see here a sixth point: Avoid being led astray by “the errors of the wicked.” Not only do we need to be aware that this is happening and be discerning about, but we have to also be Growing. We need to be proactive as Christians, not reactive. We must guard our hearts and minds with the Scripture, thus defend ourselves against falsehood and wickedness, but also we must be growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We must be moving forward in our faith; maturing in our spiritual lives so that we will be more effective in the battle of the Christian life.
In his first letter Peter said that we must be vigilant against our adversaries; and Paul calls us to not only stand firm but to also put on the armor of God to fight the good fight; so as to not stumble or fall on the path to glory. Thus the principle Peter is again reminding us of, and which Paul reinforces throughout his letters is this: Stand steadfast in what you know – remember that truths about Christ and His gospel, stand firm and do not deviate from what you know is true – and then continue to learn more about Christ and His truths on this path of the Christian life. We can’t become lazy in the Christian life; we must not stop growing in our faith and progressing in our sanctification. For if we do, we are susceptible to errors; we prone to give into temptations; and we can become less effective as a witness for Christ.
I read a story about Pablo Casals, considered by many as the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old someone asked him, “Why do you continue to practice 6 hours a day?” His answer was, “I think I am making progress.”
It sounds humble but it makes a great spiritual point: It’s only as we continue to practice our Christian faith that we will make progress and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. As Christians we want to get better in our lives, not because of our job or profession, nor because we want to have status or recognition, but primarily because we want to glorify God. Thus Peter makes a seventh point: “To God be the glory.” The ultimate reason to live holy and godly lives is to glorify God, thus we must be Worshipping. Everything we are doing in our lives as Christians should be an act of worship. This is our motive as Christians to be focused, diligent, patient, wise, discerning and growing in our lives.
This is the conclusion or benediction that Peter wants us to walk away from after reading or studying his letter: “To God be the glory.” We are on the path to glory; the end result of spiritual maturity is glorification. It’s when we see God’s glory in its fullness and become like Christ. It’s the ultimate goal of the Christian life, thus as Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 10: “Whatever you do in word and deed, do all to the glory of God.” This is the path of the Christian life. Worship is not just what we do in church or in a service or in singing songs; it’s what we do in life. This is why Paul says in Romans 12 that we are to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him, for this is our reasonable worship. This is the right and appropriate response for those of us who have been redeemed by Christ and brought into the family of God. Thus this great statement and closing blessing to Peter’s letter: “To God be the glory.”
I want to conclude this message with on final point of emphasis: “Grow in grace.” This is a reminder to be Thankful.
As Christians we should be thankful for the amazing grace of God that has allowed us to grow in grace. Apart from God’s grace in Christ there is no Christian life and this is no way to live holy and godly lives. Peter reminds us of this from the beginning to the end of his letter; as does the whole of Scripture. Thus we learn and we leave this study be remembering and hopefully continuing to repeat this biblical principle: Grace is the foundation to our spiritual lives; grace is what develops our Christian lives; and grace is what completes our Christian lives.
Grace leads the way to live holy and godly lives as God’s people and as Christ’s church on our pilgrim’s progress to maturity and glory.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
11-18-18
It could be said that there are three kinds of people in the church: Squatters who come to church but never move forward spiritually; campers who move around a lot, and at times seem to be making spiritual progress but just want to be comfortable; and climbers who are always pressing ahead spiritually, and are moving upward toward the goal of maturity for which Christ has called us all to strive for as Christians. What kind of person are you? In 2 Peter 3 Peter asks the question, “What kind of people ought you to be?” Peter’s answer is, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the Lord’s coming.” We are not to be squatting or camping, but climbing our way towards spiritual maturity by striving to live holy and godly lives as God’s people and as Christ’s church in this world.
Peter concludes this letter by giving us a spiritual road map to follow on this pilgrimage of the Christian life. Like those pilgrims we have been reading about in Bunyan’s book – Pilgrims Progress – we are to be making progress as we travel the path to the celestial city. Thus we need to be encouraged and exhorted, as well as warned and instructed, in order to stay on the path; even when it is difficult, even when we get tempted, even when we get tired and discouraged, because of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus has saved us, Jesus has called us; Jesus is leading us and Jesus is waiting for us at the end of the journey, thus through His Word He gives us our marching orders so that we can be effective and successful in this journey.
So let’s first hear what Peter tells us to do in verses 14 – 18: So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to these things, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which some ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of wicked men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever! Amen.
In these verses Peter concludes by instructing us to do eight things on this spiritual path to maturity and glory as Christians. The passage begins with Peter saying that we are to be “looking forward” – vs. 14 – “Therefore, friends, since you are looking forward to these things.” Thus the first thing we are to do is be Focused. Be focused on Christ and the things He has done, is doing and will do in the future. We are looking forward to a person, not a time. We are to be focused on Jesus. He is the person we are looking forward to when it comes to these things to come. Peter has told us throughout his letters that it’s God’s promises to us in Christ which have trailblazed this path of the Christian life that we are now on. Jesus has gone before us as our Savior and He is the one who has put us on this path.
This is why we read in Hebrews 12: “Let us run the race with endurance, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Be focused on Him as you look forward to what is ahead. Look to Him so that you don’t get diverted from the track or the path on the way. We look to Him because He has also shown us how to live on the path – holy and godly – looking to Him as our model and our example.
As Paul says in Titus chapter 2: “We should live righteous and godly in this present age, looking forward to the blessed hope of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” So first, we must be focused; and second Peter says, “make every effort” or be Diligent. In other words, we are to be working hard to be like Jesus in the way we live. Peter uses the same word here as he did in chapter 1 when he wrote, “Be diligent to make your calling and election sure.” We have a responsibility to work out our salvation through sanctification, especially since the path is not easy. There will be times of trials and suffering, thus Peter tells us that we must diligently pursue peace in all of our relationships along the path. At the end of verse 14 we read: “Make every effort to be at peace with Him,” thus as we live in peace with Christ, we can work at being at peace with ourselves and with others.
Only Jesus was spotless and blameless, thus Peter’s call for us as Christians to live holy and godly lives must come from Him. As Paul says, “He is our peace” – it’s Jesus who enables us and empowers us to live in peace, thus we must be diligent about it. Third, Peter writes at the beginning of verse 15: “Consider the longsuffering of Christ,” so that we will be Patient. What is Christ’s longsuffering? It’s His patience that brings salvation. Not only did Christ patiently endure suffering for our sake, but His continued patience with us as sinners led to our repentance. As Peter said back in verse 9, “The Lord is longsuffering towards us.” So now, he is calling us to reflect upon this as those who have come to repentance and have received salvation; and as a result to be patient in our Christian lives.
Salvation is past, present and future, thus we need endurance on the path of the Christian life.
It’s this patient perseverance or endurance, which comes from our salvation, that keeps us focused and diligent as we live out our salvation in world where many people doesn’t value patience, but want everything “now” and often question the Lord, and/or turn away from the path when the Christian life becomes hard or challenging.
Fourth, Peter tells us to “remember our brother Paul’s writings.” In his epistles or writings, Paul has told us about these same things. He too has told you to live holy and godly lives by considering the longsuffering of the Lord and by following His Word. Peter’s point is to be Wise. You will be wise when you listen to the words of Paul, whose writings are the Scripture, just like Peter’s writings. At the end of verse 15, and then verse 16 we read this: “Paul wrote according to the wisdom God gave him . . . speaking in his letters of these same matters.” Some of these things are hard to understand, thus ignorant and unstable people distort the truth, even as they do other Scriptures. Not only is Peter confirming that Paul’s letters are Scripture, and on par with the Old Testament Scriptures, but this wisdom that God gave him is given to us so we too can be wise.
As Paul said to Timothy, “You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” The Scriptures make you wise; and he goes on to say that all Scripture is inspired by God and is given to instruct us, correct us, encourage us, so that we will be wise. The principle we learn from Peter is that truth is often hard to understand and apply, thus trust God’s Word on the path of the Christian life. God’s Word is designed to make you wise for salvation and in salvation. We may not understand every doctrine or truth in the Scripture, but we can trust that it is true because it’s God’s Word.
So be wise, by not turning away from it, but instead continue to learn from it in order to apply its truth in your life. Peter reminds us in this passage that it’s not just his words, or even Paul’s words that guide us in our pilgrimage as Christians, but it’s God’s Word. Through the Scriptures God calls us to be focused; to be diligent; to be patient and to be wise. For as Peter tells us in verse 16, there will be people around us who will attack God’s truth and seek to convince us to believe falsehoods or deny Scripture; and if possible lead us to walk along another path – the path of destruction.
So we see a fifth point: Be aware of “ignorant and unstable people.” This is a reference back to the false teachers, whose goal is not “holy and godly lives,” but deception and self-gain, thus we must be Discerning. Discernment is a fruit of wisdom; it gives us the ability make good decisions or judgment. We need to be aware and on guard for those in the church, but also in the world around us who seek to persuade us to conform to unbiblical world views and lifestyles. Thus you must guard your heart and mind with the Scripture as you walk in the path of the Christian life. Ignorant and unstable people are foolish people because they lack wisdom by distorting or denying the Scripture; they twist the truth to fit their own views and beliefs.
As Christians we must be discerning so that we see can see this, call it out when we can, and avoid being influenced by it. Peter believes that this is so important and dangerous to the church that he spent much of this letter warning us about it; and as the letter ends he continues to put emphasis on this in verse 17: “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of wicked men and fall from your secure position.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter again says that this is something we already know, but nevertheless is can impact us and even cause us to stumble and fall. So we see here a sixth point: Avoid being led astray by “the errors of the wicked.” Not only do we need to be aware that this is happening and be discerning about, but we have to also be Growing. We need to be proactive as Christians, not reactive. We must guard our hearts and minds with the Scripture, thus defend ourselves against falsehood and wickedness, but also we must be growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We must be moving forward in our faith; maturing in our spiritual lives so that we will be more effective in the battle of the Christian life.
In his first letter Peter said that we must be vigilant against our adversaries; and Paul calls us to not only stand firm but to also put on the armor of God to fight the good fight; so as to not stumble or fall on the path to glory. Thus the principle Peter is again reminding us of, and which Paul reinforces throughout his letters is this: Stand steadfast in what you know – remember that truths about Christ and His gospel, stand firm and do not deviate from what you know is true – and then continue to learn more about Christ and His truths on this path of the Christian life. We can’t become lazy in the Christian life; we must not stop growing in our faith and progressing in our sanctification. For if we do, we are susceptible to errors; we prone to give into temptations; and we can become less effective as a witness for Christ.
I read a story about Pablo Casals, considered by many as the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old someone asked him, “Why do you continue to practice 6 hours a day?” His answer was, “I think I am making progress.”
It sounds humble but it makes a great spiritual point: It’s only as we continue to practice our Christian faith that we will make progress and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. As Christians we want to get better in our lives, not because of our job or profession, nor because we want to have status or recognition, but primarily because we want to glorify God. Thus Peter makes a seventh point: “To God be the glory.” The ultimate reason to live holy and godly lives is to glorify God, thus we must be Worshipping. Everything we are doing in our lives as Christians should be an act of worship. This is our motive as Christians to be focused, diligent, patient, wise, discerning and growing in our lives.
This is the conclusion or benediction that Peter wants us to walk away from after reading or studying his letter: “To God be the glory.” We are on the path to glory; the end result of spiritual maturity is glorification. It’s when we see God’s glory in its fullness and become like Christ. It’s the ultimate goal of the Christian life, thus as Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 10: “Whatever you do in word and deed, do all to the glory of God.” This is the path of the Christian life. Worship is not just what we do in church or in a service or in singing songs; it’s what we do in life. This is why Paul says in Romans 12 that we are to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him, for this is our reasonable worship. This is the right and appropriate response for those of us who have been redeemed by Christ and brought into the family of God. Thus this great statement and closing blessing to Peter’s letter: “To God be the glory.”
I want to conclude this message with on final point of emphasis: “Grow in grace.” This is a reminder to be Thankful.
As Christians we should be thankful for the amazing grace of God that has allowed us to grow in grace. Apart from God’s grace in Christ there is no Christian life and this is no way to live holy and godly lives. Peter reminds us of this from the beginning to the end of his letter; as does the whole of Scripture. Thus we learn and we leave this study be remembering and hopefully continuing to repeat this biblical principle: Grace is the foundation to our spiritual lives; grace is what develops our Christian lives; and grace is what completes our Christian lives.
Grace leads the way to live holy and godly lives as God’s people and as Christ’s church on our pilgrim’s progress to maturity and glory.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
