Living the Christian Life (2 Peter 1:5-11)

It is common to say that holiness is the need of the hour, that the church would be more salty if it was more holy, that a decline in holiness is a major issue for the church to deal with. Such statements raise the obvious question: ‘what is holiness?’ That question is not confined to today. It has frequently been a focus throughout church history. The issue of holiness was a concern of Peter as well, as we can see from references to holiness in his first letter. And here, in his second letter, he deals with the need of it again.

The challenge (vv. 5-7)

Peter begins his challenge to live in certain ways by referring to a reason that he had mentioned, which I take to be what he had said in verse 3 about God by his power giving to his people all that they need for living a godly life. The possession of that provision has to be realised by faith because it is only discerned when it is practised.

Peter is not describing a spiritual ladder here with a set of steps up to a higher plane as if we are trying to attain to a higher spiritual level. Rather he is describing something like a healthy fruit which has each aspect of its contents everywhere all the time, so when a person tastes he should taste all its features. What he has in mind here is normal Christian living for all disciples and not just for a select few.

Why does Peter list the items in this order? I suspect he is indicating what protects the feature of grace he has in mind. For example, what protects faith? He says it is virtue. What protects virtue? It is knowledge. But all the features are inter-connected, so we need all of them all of the time in order to make progress in sanctification.

If we lose steadfastness, for example, what happens? It affects back the way and forward. So, going back the way, without steadfastness, I cannot be self-controlled because steadfastness is how self-control shows itself. And if I am not self-controlled, I cannot have the right knowledge, because if I did have the knowledge, I would be self-controlled. It is the same going forward: if I don’t have steadfastness, I cannot be godly, or have brotherly love, or love. We need all these graces

If love is absent, which of the previous features in the list will I have? None of them because faith (the first) works by love (the last). If love is present, which of the previous features will I have? All of them, because I cannot have love without them. We can go through the list at our leisure and think about them because we are told to make every effort to have them.

Sometimes, we hear someone say, ‘I love God but I have difficulty loving another Christian.’ What does Peter’s list say about that statement? First, it tells us that the person is not godly, because if he was godly, he would possess brotherly affection. Second, the list tells us that he does not love God either because the consequence of brotherly affection is love. And this fits with what the apostle John says in 1 John 4:20: ‘If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.’

The outcome

What will happen to a person who has those features in his life? Peter tells us that ‘if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ We can see from this statement that Peter expected spiritual growth in those areas to keep on developing, increasing. It would be unusual if they are absent, an indication that something had gone far wrong in their sanctification.

So what is the outcome? The outcome is an ongoing development of a relationship with Jesus. That certainly sounds challenging, does it not? The validity of my Christian life is not how well I know others, but how well I know Jesus It reminds us of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:8-11 concerning his goal in life: ‘Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.’ It also fits with Peter’s closing words in this letter: ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Pet. 3:18).

As we look at how Peter describes the outcome, certain ideas are obvious. One is the possibility of knowing Jesus. Second is the probability of knowing Jesus, that it is what happens in a Christian love. Third, knowing Jesus is the paramount of Christian living, that we can go no higher. Fourth, knowing Jesus is the point of all Christian duties, it is to where they all lead.

What does a person who knows Jesus do? The answer can be given by considering what happens in all relationships in which people come to know each other. There will be conversation between them, companionship with them, contemplation of them, consideration of their preferences. We hear Jesus in his Word and we speak back to him by faith; we walk with him through life as we speak to him; we think about him as he is described in his Word; we take note of what offends him. One very sad picture of a church is that given of Laodicea in Revelation 3. The problem with them was that they had no interest in Jesus. He was outside the door, and he had to knock loudly to get the attention of those inside. And we don’t know if they heard him, they were so pre-occupied with themselves.  

Spurgeon gave his testimony about this in a sermon: ‘Blessed are the men that improve upon acquaintance! Jesus Christ is one of those blessed ones – the more you know of Him, the more you love Him. Sweet Jesus! When I first saw You, I loved You! When first Your wounded hands and bleeding side were uncovered to me, then I loved You. Ah, but that love is nothing compared with what I have now. And oh, when I shall see You as You are – when my soul becomes changed into love – the love I have now shall seem to have been nothing but a spark compared with that vehement flame of love which I shall have to You then! Know more of Christ. Read more of Him. Think more of Him. Ask about Him more because you will be sure to grow in the grace of love in proportion as you know more of Christ!’

The Consequences

Peter mentions one negative and two positive consequences. The negative consequence is that a person who lacks this spiritual growth has bad eyesight and a bad memory (v. 9). In other words, he cannot see ahead, and he cannot see behind. Concerning the future, he only looks at the immediate, living for the now.  Concerning the past, he has forgotten the great price that was paid for his redemption by Jesus when he died on the cross.

If the person has the qualities, things are very different with him. He can look as far back as God’s election and see very clearly that away back then, in the distant days of a past eternity, God wrote his name in the Book of Life. What is the proof of election? The determination to live such a quality of life that will result in ongoing friendship with Jesus.

He can also look ahead to the wonderful experience he will have when he enters the eternal kingdom of Jesus. What does Peter have in mind by this expression? I don’t think he is referring to heaven at death and here are a couple of reasons. First, the ‘you’ in verse 11 is plural, so it could indicate a shared entrance into this kingdom, that they are given access to it as a group composed of a vast number at the same time.

Second, when will the eternal kingdom of Jesus begin? As far as the current kingdom of Jesus is concerned, they already are in it. It also the case that the current kingdom, in which he reigns over all people, will come to an end at the Day of Judgement, as Jesus indicates in his parables recorded in Matthew 13. After that, his people will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from before the foundation of the world. So I suspect Peter has in mind by the eternal kingdom the new heavens and new earth that he will mention in 2 Peter 3. We will enter the kingdom as its rulers, under the authority of Jesus the eternal King.

Two lessons

In this life, as we get older, our vision and memory fades. In the Christian life, that should not happen. Rather we should have very long memories concerning God’s decrees and very good vision in looking back and looking ahead in connection to the work of the Saviour.

The key to a successful Christian life is increasing in our knowledge of Jesus. This knowledge is not so much information about Jesus, but obtained through contact with Jesus through the means of grace.