2 Peter 1:2–4
(NKJV)
2 Grace and peace
be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His
divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have
been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these
you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust.
The Apostle John reminds us in his first epistle that Jesus
appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. And what are the
works of the devil? The works of the devil are obvious: lies, deceit, murder,
lust, hatred, covetousness. Jesus took on human flesh to deliver us from such
things. He gave his life that we might be forgiven for having done such things
and rose again from the dead that He might empower us to live in newness of
life – that we might have power to practice virtue in our lives and overcome the
degrading vices of the Evil One.
It is this message which Peter announces in the beginning of
his second epistle. First, Peter reminds us from whence God has rescued us. We
used to be slaves of sin, slaves of Satan, and slaves of our own passions. But
God in Christ delivered us. We have
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
So why did God rescue us? Peter reminds us that God rescued
us that we might be partakers of the
divine nature. In other words, God graciously redeemed us that we might
come to reflect His character increasingly in our lives. He called us, Peter
notes, by glory and virtue. He came
to make us glorious – to free us from shameful attitudes and actions – and to
make us virtuous – to free us from vicious, sinful attitudes and actions.
So how does God accomplish this? Peter gives us the answer: His divine power has given to us all things
that pertain to life and godliness. The Risen Christ has poured out His
Spirit upon the Church and His Spirit teaches us and instructs us in
righteousness and holiness and self-control. The Spirit poured out upon us is
the Spirit of holiness – come to make us increasingly holy. So did you catch
Peter’s words? His divine power has given
to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Today we read of
Enoch, a sinful man who walked faithfully with God, who pleased God such that
God delivered him from death. Holiness is possible.
So what excuses have you made this week for your sinful
attitudes and actions? You yelled at your spouse; you were harsh with your
children; you looked at pornography; you nagged your husband; you were lazy at
work; you lied to a friend; you were afraid to speak of Christ; you neglected
to pray; you became bitter toward your spouse; you engaged in self-pity. “But
it’s okay,” you said to yourself, “I can’t really help it. If they hadn’t done
that to me…” But Peter says to you, His
divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
There is no excuse for behaving sinfully.
Reminded that we often make excuses for our sin rather than
seek the face of God and ask Him for power to be glorious and virtuous, let us
kneel and seek His forgiveness in Christ.
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