By Pastor Greg
As some of you know, we helped our daughter and son-in-law move into a new house last weekend. Looking back on that day it seems I provided more brain than brawn. It was apparent that I could not keep up with the younger men present. It wasn’t always like that. I used to be the one working long and hard. But because I have not been diligent, I am not in the same shape I was 10 years ago (and yes I know round is a shape). I was shocked at how quickly a growl turned into a groan.
All joking aside, a person must stay active in order to keep muscle from turning flabby and soft. It takes focus and a lot of discipline, especially as you grow older. Well, the same is true in our spiritual lives. A person must work diligently and stay focused in order to keep their faith from turning flat.
As Citizens of the Kingdom, a Christian is in this world but not part of this world. This is actually the Lord’s Prayer; that those He has been given would not fall away (see John 17:12). And Jesus understood the difficulty in being part of His Kingdom while still living in this world. This is why He is presently our advocate (1 John 2:1). He prays on our behalf, even when we sin.
This duality; this “in the world but not part of the world” reality in which we live, is what makes being a Christian so difficult at times. With corruption all around us (and at times within us), a Christian must be ever diligent; always watchful lest they fall away from the faith.
I think the Apostle Peter understood this all too well. I think this is what he experienced the morning he heard the rooster crow. Its sound became a wakeup call to Peter that his faith had gone flat; that when he needed his faith to be strong, he instead found it weak and flabby. Perhaps this explains why Peter continued to remind the early Christians to be diligent; to work hard at strengthening their faith and growing in maturity. Peter understood that for faith to endure until the end, a Christian must constantly be at work.
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 (2 Peter 1:3-11).
The call of Jesus in a person’s life is for that person to leave one kingdom behind and join Him in His Heavenly Kingdom. And as I said a few weeks ago, we wait for the day when we will finally come home. But in the mean time we live in this world as citizens of another; as Citizens of Heaven. Knowing this, God has provided what we need to live a godly life while in this world. Peter points out that God has provided His glory, His divine power, and His promises so you and I can escape this corrupt earthly kingdom and one day be joined with Christ in His Heavenly Kingdom. Because of Jesus, a believer has a new home. Yet even though God has provided these things, a believer must exercise that faith. That faith must be strengthened. And according to Peter we must add certain things to our faith so that we might endure. We are on a journey home, but it's going to take more than child-like faith to keep us from falling away until we get there.
Peter gives us seven Christian virtues we must add to our faith so we might remain steadfast until the end. As Christians, we begin with faith. But to that faith we must add Moral Excellence, Knowledge, Self-Control, Patient Endurance, Godliness, Brotherly Affection, and Love for Everyone. And he doesn’t deceive us into believing that these traits will develop by themselves. Nor does he lead us to believe that this growth will be easy. Becoming a Christian who demonstrates these traits will take a lot of work. But work we must; for if we do not, if we try to live out our Christian life on faith alone, we run the risk of falling away. It is the short-sighted and blind Christian who thinks faith is enough to see them through to the end. If a Christian remains an “infant in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1), they remain weak and vulnerable to the corrupt world all around them.
Have you ever wondered why a person seems to drift away from God? Have you ever wondered why your own participation in the church seems to rise and fall? Do you sometimes find yourself lured back into the world, acting just like the people of this world? Perhaps its because you have not added to your faith. Perhaps its because you have not strengthened yourself for the work. I tell you the truth; it takes a lot of effort to keep yourself from falling because we live in this world as citizens of another. And the temptations assail us every day; the temptations to turn our backs to God and instead start acting just like our coworkers or classmates. This is why it takes much diligence and work to endure in this world as a Christian.
Sooner or later your going to realize that there is a big difference in knowing the path and walking the path. And those unprepared for the journey might start out strong, but will probably find themselves weakened and ill-equipped for the long journey ahead. If the pilgrim is to make progress, he will need to add to his faith for the long journey ahead.
Do not be deceived. Just because you said certain words one day in the past does not mean you have what it takes to remain faithful until the end. The writer of Hebrews warns that it is possible to turn away from the faith; to give up this Christian journey and turn your back to God (Hebrews 6:4-6). To keep this from happening, the believer must grow and mature. And so I say to you, work hard to add what you need in your life as a Christian to keep from falling away; to keep from becoming weary in your journey to the Kingdom of God. Do everything you can and all that you must to remain steadfast until the day you stand before the Lord, who will throw His arms open wide and say, "welcome home!"
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