The Holy Driven Christ-Follower
2 Peter 1:3-11
2 Peter 1:3–11 (NLT): 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- Within this passage we have three positive things described
- Possessing Jesus’ divine nature (v. 4)
- Do what God is leading you to do (v. 5)
- This will help you grow mature in the faith (v. 8)
- If you are not driven to do those three things
- They are blind and shortsighted (shortsighted is a reference to selfishness)
- They will lack the ability to truly forgive.
- They will forget their salvation.
- All of these are described by Peter in verse 9
James has a very similar idea:
James 1:23–24 (NLT): 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
What does Jesus say about this?
Luke 9:57–62 (NLT): 57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”
The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus makes it abundantly clear that following Him means you must leave your past behind. What could be some of those things?
- The things you’ve done to people that have caused them pain. (Manipulation, abuse, exploitation, gossip, and slander)
- The things that have been painfully done to you. (Grief, hurt, dysfunction, gossip, and slander)
- The things that the world taught you to believe. (What does the world say you deserve?)
- The things you possess. (Do you have things or do things have you?)
- If you miss, more, the things you are leaving behind for the sake of following Jesus, truly, you have not submitted everything to God. You do not trust Jesus and His way is better than what you already enjoy!)
Proverbs 14:14 (NKJV): 14The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.