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Living on
the Promises of God
2 Peter
1:1-11
Jim Davis
“You’re acquainted with house sitters. Not
wanting to leave your house vacant, you ask someone to stay in your home
until you return. Let me describe two nightmares.
“The first house sitter redecorates your
house, changing white paint to pink, Berber carpet to shag. His
justification? ‘The house didn’t express me. I needed a house that
communicated who I am.’
“Your response? ‘It’s not yours! My residence
doesn’t exist to reflect you! I asked you to take care of the house, not
take over the house!’
“You might choose him, however, over nightmare
number two. She didn’t redecorate; she neglected. Never washed a dish,
made a bed, or took out the trash. ‘My time here was temporary. I knew
you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course you’d mind!
“Both these sitters made the same mistake:
They acted as if they owned the dwelling. How could they?” (Max Lucado,
Temple Talk, Honoring God with Your Body, Discipleship Journal. Issue
141 May/June 2004, pg 52.)
But how could we do the same thing with our
lives? When it comes to our lives, the Bible declares our lives are not
ours. Paul says, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV). Paul is
saying your life is not your own. You belong to God. You have been
bought with a price.
In our minds we may somehow separate our
physical life from our spiritual lives. This world says use your
body to indulge your passions. Jesus teaches us to give control of our
bodies to the Spirit of God to use our bodies to honor God. Use your
whole body as a tool to glory of God.
Standing on God’s
Promises
We must make absolutely sure that we are
standing on God’s promises rather than our contrived desires. We
may become anxious and jump the gun when it comes to God’s promises as
we seek to turn the Bible into a magic book to fulfill our selfish
desires. Many turn phrases like “whatever you ask in my name, you shall
receive” into a magical wand to wave over their own selfish contrived
plans they seek to make into the promises of God.
A sign in front of the church down the
road read, “Don’t change God’s message, His message must change you.”
It is one thing to know what is taught and quite another to stand on
what is taught. Peter writes his epistle to persuade his readers to
stand on what the apostles and prophets taught.
2 Peter
1:16-21
16 We did not
follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the
voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom
I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice
that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 And we have the word of the prophets made
more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light
shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God
as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. NIV
Faith is not devised by the cunning of
men, but a through a knowledge of God’s promises. Peter reminds
us, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty.” I think of the magicians who performed
the same feats as Moses as their staffs turned into snakes (Exodus
7:10-13), but Moses snake swallowed the magicians snakes. God’s power
brought Egypt to her knees. The world witnessed his power. Simon the
sorcerer was considered to be some great divine Great Power, but when he
heard what Philip preached he became a believer (Acts 8:9-13). Paul
looked straight at Elymas the sorcerer and called him a child of the
devil and God caused Elymas to go blind (Acts 13:8-11). Those who
believed the gospel in the first century did not believe it was some
cleverly devised tale. They saw the power of God and they staked their
lives on the promises of the Almighty.
It is difficult for some to bring
themselves to simply stand on God’s promises. I read a story of
a liberal preacher giving a dissertation to a bunch of theologians. He
was asked to teach on the apostle Paul’s teaching on justification by
faith. He made a superb effort to teach what Paul taught. Afterwards a
fellow preacher came up to him and congratulated him. However, he went
on to say, “I didn’t know you believed what you taught today.” The
speaker replied, “I don’t believe it, but I wasn’t asked to teach what I
believe on justification by faith, I was asked to teach on Paul’s
teaching about justification by faith.”
How can we stand on God’s promises when
we don’t believe in his promises? It is through faith in God’s
promises that we escape the corruption of the world caused by evil
desires.
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine
power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
The knowledge of God reveals his
promises. It is through these promises we discover life as God meant it
to be. It is through these promises that we participate in God’s
nature. It is through his promises we escape from sin.
Our Competency Comes
from God
We can only live lives of incompetence without
God. None of us is
capable to accomplish the impossible. Yet, God is asking us to do the
impossible. The disciples became so frustrated with seeking to do the
impossible they asked on one occasion, “’Who then can be saved?’ Jesus
looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all
things are possible’” (Matthew 19:25-26).
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that
we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our
competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a
new covenant- — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life. NIV
It is hard to admit that we don’t measure up
and that we will never measure up.
It is
discouraging, but it is true. We need to accept it. This concept is the
one thing that brings us to trust in God’s competence. This is what
Jesus told the rich young ruler when he told him to go and sell
everything he had and follow him. He went away sad because he was
seeking to live a competent life without God. It was on this occasion
the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?”
It is impossible
for me to salvage my own life.
I must depend upon
God’s power working in my circumstances making it possible to stand on
his strength alone.
This is what it
means to stand on the promises of God.
Claiming God’s promises through prayer
is the only means to living competent lives. We simply take back
to God his promises of what he said he would do. We do not try to twist
his arm and persuade him to do something he’s not inclined to do. We
don’t say, “Well, you probably don’t want to do this for me, but I would
like to ask you anyway.” No, God has said he will do it. It brings joy
to the Father’s heart when his children come to him and say, “Please
fulfill this promise in my experience today.”
1 Corinthians
10:13
13 No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can
stand up under it. NIV
You can’t figure your own way out, you
must look to God to provide the way of escape. Paul tells us God
has provided a way of escape from temptation. We are all tempted, and
when temptation comes we should ask, “Father, show now the way of escape
in this particular situation.”
2 Peter 1:1-3
1:1 Simon
Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who
through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have
received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Grace and
peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord.
3 His divine
power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
We must stand on God’s promises to
experience his salvation. Listen to the last thing Mark records
that Jesus said before his ascension to heaven.
There is no way we can experience God’s
salvation without standing upon his promises. Whenever we are
tempted to doubt this, we must go back to God’s word and ask, “What does
God say?” Someone may retort by saying well we are saved by faith and
not by works. James retorts by saying, “Of what good is faith without
works (James 1:14-26). The Bible goes to great extremes to teach that we
are not saved by our works; but it also goes to even greater extremes to
teach us that our works are the result of a saving faith.
Ephesians
2:8-9
8 For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV
Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand
that no matter how hard they worked they were still saved by their faith
and not by their works. Salvation is through God’s power. When
we begin to depend on our works we displace the power of God. Only God’s
power can salvage our lives. Works without dependency on God’s promises
through faith leads to incompetence.
First John verse nine is the Christian’s
bar of soap: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” If
you’re a Christian, there will never be a time in your life when 1 John
1:9 isn’t true for you, and available when you need it. But you must
make the effort to claim it for yourself. The Holy Spirit wants us to
confess the sins he points out to us. When we are sensitive and
responsive—confessing, and making restitution if necessary—then God
cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The slate is clean, and our
channel of communication with the Father is wide open and perfect. Our
intimacy with him grows. (Skip Gray, “Standing On The Promises Of God”
Discipleship Journal.)
Incidentally, the difference between the
conviction of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of Satan is threefold.
When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, the conviction is specific,
gentle, and hopeful. But the accusation of Satan is vague, harsh, and
discouraging. If you’re struggling with guilt recognizing this
difference can help you determine whether it is the Holy Spirit’s work
or the devil’s. (Skip Gray, “Standing On The Promises Of God”
Discipleship Journal.)
Building Lives on God’s
Promises
Some feel no need to go beyond their
initial response to Christ and forever remain babes in Christ.
They fail to build on God’s promises. Some forever want to hear only the
basic principles of Christ, but we must go beyond foundational
principals if we are to build upon the foundational principles.
Hebrews 6:1-6
6:1 Therefore
let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to
maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that
lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the
laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And God permitting, we will do so.
4 It is
impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the
heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the
goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they
fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they
are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to
public disgrace. NIV
The Greek concept of knowledge was that
it was a gathering of informational truth to be stored in the mind.
This is how most study the Bible today. We gather the truth for storage
in the cerebral cortex. The Hebrews concept of knowledge was much
different. They saw knowledge as a relational experience. It is no
accident that the Bible was written to describe the interaction of Bible
characters and God. Moses writes that Adam “knew” his wife (Genesis
4:1). Adam knowing his wife was relational. To know her was to interact
with her in a personal intimate way.
Salvation comes through knowledge of
Christ, but it ends with knowing Christ. Peter penned his letter
with the Greek language, but he had a Hebrew mind-set. He wrote, His
divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness (2 Peter 1:3). However, it is God’s power that works through
our knowledge of Christ that saves us.
We come to know God through doing his
will. Peter speaks of adding to our faith.
1Peter 1:5-11
5 For this
very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if
you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you
from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and
blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore,
my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election
sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
To have a productive faith we must add
these things to our lives. When we seek to add these things to
our lives we will begin to experience the work of God in our lives. We
will begin to see God at work in us. We will experience God
accomplishing the impossible with us. But keep in mind it will be God’s
power doing it.
This is a lifetime process. The
better we get to know him as we see him make and keep his promises, the
greater confidence we will have in his trustworthiness as the years go
by. A beautiful marriage is a work of art built on the promises made at
the altar. As we work to keep and enhance those promises the better we
know one another in the marriage relationship. It takes a lifetime to
make a beautiful marriage, and so does a beautiful Christian life.
God’s promises provide the fundamental
foundation for our lives, but we must be about the business of building
our lives upon his promises. This is what it is to know God.
Marriages are built upon the vows made at the wedding; it is a life long
process. When we start to take those vows lightly the relationship is
diminished. To embrace the vows so to build a relationship upon them
takes work.
A true knowledge of God is built upon faith,
but the end result is not knowledge—it is a living vibrant relationship
with God as we experience his powerful presence in our life.
Peter speaks often about living holy
godly lives throughout his epistles. The practice of godliness
is an exercise or discipline that forces us to focus on God. It is a
Godward attitude. Godliness is more than Christian character. It is
character that springs from a devotion to God. Many live as good as
Christians live, but their lives are not devoted to God. Their lives may
be devoted to a higher calling, a moral belief it is a better way to
live, but they are not devoted to God.
It is possible to build a Christian
behavioral pattern for our lives without a foundation of devotion to
God. It is no better for the Christian who seeks to live a godly
life with trusting in God’s promises. Too often Christians make an
initial response to Christ but they fail to build a life on the
foundation Christ provides. The church in Corinth had accepted Christ,
but they were seeking to build a life without a devotion Christ.
1 Corinthians
3:10-15
10 By the
grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and
someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he
builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already
laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will
be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will
be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's
work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but
only as one escaping through the flames. NIV
Bible Study
Questions
-
How do many separate the spiritual life
from the physical life? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
-
How are some ways we might change God’s
message rather than allowing it to change us?
-
How do we participate in God’s divine
nature? What will I discover when I begin to live upon God’s
promises?
-
How do our lives become incompetent
without God? How do you feel when someone tells you that you don’t
measure up? What do you do about it?
-
What is the only means to live a competent
life?
-
How does God work with those actively
seeking to do his will? How is escaping the corruption of this world
connected to living upon God’s promises?
-
Why do many have difficult standing upon
God’s promise to save them when they are baptized into Christ?
-
When we are saved by grace what value is
works?
-
What is the difference in the conviction
of the Holy Spirit and the condemnation of Satan?
-
Why do some never go beyond the initial
steps to salvation?
-
What was the difference in the Greeks
approach to knowledge and the Hebrews approach to knowledge?
-
What happens when the Christian begins to
add the Christian graces to his faith? (2 Peter 1:5-11)
