31 Aug How do we grow spiritually

2 PETER 1:3–11:

1.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 
2. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
3.  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 
4.  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 
5.  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 
6.  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.
7.  But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 
8.  Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,
9.  and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Every branch of the Christian church teaches that when you put your faith in Jesus Christ you receive the Holy Spirit. The teaching that is given here is one of the most important passages in the Bible to teach us about spiritual growth.

Ultimately, living the Christian life is not actually a matter of willpower and self-effort. Because of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have the potential for radical and organic growth, character change. This verses says you should be adding to your faith goodness, to goodness knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance.

It’s talking about moving from selfishness to unselfishness, from enslavement to freedom and self-control, from foolishness to wisdom. It’s talking about change, inward character change, spiritual growth. 

According to this passage, spiritual growth is 1. possible, 2. gradual, 3. essential, 4. practical, and 5. ultimately wonderful. 

1. Spiritual growth is possible. 

2 PETER 1:3-4:

[3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 

[4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

I heard somebody over my lifetime say, “People don’t really change.” 

But verses 3–4 radically contradict that. Verse 4 says … He’s speaking to Christians who have believed the promises of the gospel. It says through them we participate in the divine nature. 

We get the Holy Spirit, yes, but this is helpful to put it like this. We participate in the divine nature. 

When you are conceived, the DNA of your ancestors is implanted into you. The genetic material of your ancestors is implanted into you. When you’re born and you live your life, that DNA essentially plays itself out in the rest of your life, making you what you are. 

When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not just a nebulous force that is with you. He is the third person of the Trinity. That’s God come into you. That’s God’s DNA in you and me!

When you believe in Jesus Christ, the very DNA of God is implanted in you and the rest of your life is an outworking of that DNA, which makes you the person you will become, and that’s the reason Peter can say this most convicting and yet most hopeful verse, verse 3

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life …”

Peter is saying, 

“Don’t tell me you don’t have what you need to live, if you are a Christian who believes and has received the Holy Spirit. You are a participator in the divine nature. You already have everything you need to live exactly as you know you should. Don’t tell me you don’t have that.” 

When you grow up, it’s doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems, wounded and heartbroken, but,

“The hopeful aspect is there is no wound so deep in your life that it can’t be healed. There is no brokenness so great that you can’t be repaired. There is no habit so binding that you can’t be freed from it”

2. Spiritual growth is gradual. 

When you hear you have everything you need to live as you ought, that doesn’t mean right away. It says it’s not enough just to believe. You have to add to your faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly love, and love. 

Then it says, “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure.” It doesn’t say that all these things come at once. You grow. They’re gradual.

All growth is gradual. Look at every single metaphor the Bible uses. 

When you become a Christian, though you may be physically an adult, you are a baby. It says spiritually, like newborn babes, drink in the spiritual milk so that you can spiritually grow up into your salvation.

How fast does a baby grow? 

1 PETER 2:2:

[2] Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation

Have you ever seen the big oak trees that come up? It come from a little seed a corn buried in the soil and It takes decades and decades, but when they come up they just roll anything over that was on top of them, even pieces of sidewalk. 

That’s the reason Jesus can use illustrations like, 

“If you have faith the grain of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.” 

The reason we do not see more radical change in Christians’ lives, especially modern Christian lives, is nobody gives it the time. Nobody does a long obedience in the same direction. Nobody sees the astounding possibilities of change over a long period of time. We want it now. We want it dramatically. But spiritual growth is gradual.

3. Spiritual growth is essential. 

2 PETER 1:10-11:

[10] Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 

[11] For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If we read it quickly, we’re likely to get the wrong impression from it, but we’ll look at it a little more carefully.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

What’s election? 

Christians are not choice people. Choice people are the best, the people who merit God’s favor. Chosen people are not choice people. Chosen people are just chosen, people who just receive God’s grace. 

When Peter says, “I want you to grow to confirm that you’re saved by grace,”

Here’s what this means,

You are saved because you have faith in what Jesus has done, not in what you have done. Not a bit of faith and a bit of works, good works and good deeds. No, you’re saved by faith alone.

But they always put it like this,

While You’re saved by faith alone, not works, but you’re not saved by faith that remains alone. It will result in a changed life. 

You have a lot of desires in you. I have a lot of desires in me. I have selfishness. I have pride. So do you. There’s hardness of heart. But in the end, there will be a desire to delight the one who did that all of those other desires cannot overwhelm. In the end, you will want to change. You will desire to change, and you will.

Peter is saying, “You’re saved by grace. You’re called. You’re chosen. It’s all by grace.” 

Don’t assure yourself that you’ve believed and you’re saved by faith alone if year after year after year you never change, because anyone who has really grasped the grace of God will have a desire to please the one who did that and that all of the other problems and desires in our hearts will not be able to extinguish or overwhelm. It will out. It will surface. It will have its way.

That’s the reason I say growth in grace is not only possible and gradual but it’s essential. It has to be there.

4. Spiritual growth is practical. 

That is to say, there are things you can do. I’ve already used the metaphor of an acorn. An acorn has this enormous power. Do you realize that out of one acorn not only can come an enormous oak tree but then other acorns? Somebody once said one acorn could cover the world with wood. It has that kind of power in that acorn, but it has to be fertilized. It has to find the right spot to release the power.

What do we have to do practically in order to grow in grace?

2 PETER 1:5-7:

[5] For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 

[6] and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 

[7] and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

First of all, it does take our intentional deliberate effort. It won’t happen automatically. 

It says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add [this and this and this].” Basically, make every effort to grow. 

That’s not “Let go and let God.” That is “Make every effort.” It’s diligence. It will not happen automatically. It takes intentionality.

Secondly, this word add … Make every effort to add this to this to this. 

Peter has deliberately chosen a Greek word that means to invest. In fact, this is a word that was used in ancient Greek language to describe people who backed artistic and especially theater productions. If you want to write a play and put on a theatrical production, you need patrons. You need people who will invest, who will financially back the production.

In those days it was the same as it is today. That’s the word Peter deliberately uses, which is really interesting. That tells you a lot. 

An investor is not just a contributor, not just somebody who gives at the office a little bit here and a little bit there. An investor risks. An investor puts up a lot of capital. Therefore, one of the things we’re being told here is you need to make your own personal growth in grace a major priority, but it also means there’s a price.

Investors pay a price. They take a risk. They think the return is worth it (and it certainly is), but they pay a price.

I’d like you to see there are at least three prices.

First, you have to pay the price of time with God (the way of conversing). 

Secondly, you have to pay the price of vulnerability to other people (the way of exchange). 

Thirdly, you have to pay the price of submission to God’s will (the way of acceptance and suffering).

I think these are the three things you have to do to release the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a magic bullet; it’s a magic acorn. It’s not a quick fix; it’s a deep fix. But if you do these three things, it can change anything.

A. The price of time with God (the way of conversing). 

2 PETRUS 1:3:

[3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

Verse 3 says our knowledge of him. 

2 Peter 1:8:

[8] For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

verse 8 it talks about not being ineffective in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

When the Bible talks about knowing God or knowing Christ, it’s not talking about just information dump. It’s not just talking about cognition.

It’s not simply saying you’re going to know about God or you’re going to know about Jesus or you’re going to get more Bible knowledge, or something like that. No, no. What it’s talking about is knowing. That’s relational. 

This is a simple fact. 

“You have no real relationship with someone unless you’re spending time with them. Actually, usually time alone with them”

Therefore, the first price you have to pay (and it is really expensive) is you have to win the daily battle to spend time alone with God every day or you don’t have a relationship. You don’t know him.

You don’t know God unless you’re paying the price for time alone with him to interact. 

When you read the Bible, you’re hearing from HIM, HE is speaking to you.

When you’re hearing HIM in HIS Word (preaching, teaching), HE’s speaking to you. 

When you adore and confess and examine yourself and thank God and petition and lay your needs in front of HIM, that’s prayer. When you’re praying, You’re speaking to HIM.

That’s the way of conversing, and you have to pay the price. You have to win the battle of time every day or else … sorry … your acorn is just going to stay an acorn.

B. The price of being vulnerable to people (the way of exchange). 

This phrase mutual affection that comes up twice here is actually the Greek word philadelphia, which means brotherly love.

“Philadelphia means sibling friendship”

Philos is the Greek word for friendship. It’s not erotic love, which is romance. It’s not agape love, which is serving other people. Philosmeans friendship. It means having a lot of things in common. 

What if you have a sibling who is your best friend in the world too? Do you realize how powerful that is? 

That is what we’re being told should be your relationship with your spiritual friends, your brothers and sisters in Christ.

You have to have some people in your life that you can be open

HEBREW 3:13:

[13] But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Every one of us, our biggest sins hide themselves from us. We’re deceived by our own sin. Do you have people in your life who have the right to daily, regularly come because you’ve given them a hunting license, because you’ve given them a warrant (and they’ve given you a warrant) to come and tell you what’s wrong with you?

Do you have people like that? Do you have people deputized, or are you the kind of person nobody would dare do that to? Then your acorn is going to stay an acorn. You can just kiss spiritual growth goodbye. That’s not sibling friendship. That’s not the way of exchange. Speaking the truth in love, bearing one another’s burdens, counseling one another, confessing sins to one another, building each other up. All those “one another” passages.

Now the reason I said you have to pay the price of being vulnerable is that if you enter into these relationships, the kind of relationships you have to have if you’re going to grow in grace, at certain points you are going to get hurt. You will get hurt. People will abuse the right you gave them. It will be hurtful and you’ll weep. That’s just the price you pay. 

If you pull yourself in and make yourself so private that your heart can’t be broken in these relationships, then your heart becomes unbreakable and hard.

C. The price of submission to God’s will (the way of acceptance and suffering). 

The third discipline for spiritual growth is what I just called the way of acceptance. You have to pay the price of submission to God’s will. 

Under duress, under suffering, you accept God’s will and say, “Thy will be done.” 

Perseverance is a huge part of growth in grace. 

Let me give you a definition of perseverance.

Perseverance is when you suffer, if you stay put, if you bear up, if you stand your ground, if you do all of the things God was requiring of you and that you were doing before you started suffering, if you stay put in suffering, it’s going to turn you into something great.

For example, Job. Before all Job’s suffering, he was a praying man. He regularly sacrificed and prayed. Then in came all the suffering. What kind of suffering? All of his children died, all of his money was wiped away, and terrible diseases came upon him. You think you have trouble. So there’s Job. As soon as all this happens, we spend chapter after chapter listening to Job do many things.

First of all, he screams and yells and tears his clothes and falls on the ground and curses the day he was born. He’s complaining and griping and questioning God. At one point he says, “I wish you could appear in front of me, because I have some questions for you.” He’s after God. You go, “Wow.” You’re reading all this amazing stuff he says to God. He’s really angry, really upset, going over and charging God with being unfair.

You get to the end of the book and God vindicates Job and says, “You were faithful to me, Job,” and you say, “Did I miss something?” No, you didn’t. Or maybe you did, because here’s the point. Before Job’s suffering he was praying, and after Job’s suffering he was praying. All that biting the rug and screaming and charging God with incompetence and cursing the day he was born was in prayer. He didn’t stop praying. He processed all that in prayer.

Here’s the point. 

Before your suffering, are you studying the Bible every day? Are you going to church? Are you obeying the Ten Commandments? Okay, after your suffering, keep that up and you will be amazed. 

Here’s what we do. 

When suffering comes, we get into tremendous self-pity. Bad things are happening, so we don’t feel like going to church. We don’t feel like obeying.

What I’m talking about is if you are suffering, persevere. What does that mean? Just do what you were doing before. If you were reading the Bible, read the Bible. If you were praying, pray. If you were going to church, go to church. If you were obeying the Ten Commandments, obey.

If you stay put, that pressure will turn your little coal heart into a diamond. Coal turns into a diamond under pressure. In that fire, your ore will become beautiful gold. Almost never do we really grow in grace unless these three things are happening. Pay the price. Invest. It’s worth it. 

Pay the price of what? Conversing with God, time alone with God. Pay the price of vulnerability and intimate fellowship, sibling friendship, spiritual friendship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lastly, pay the price of saying under tremendous stress and suffering, “Thy will be done” and just standing pat, staying put, not retreating, holding your ground. 

Do you know what the capstone of all this is? “Add to faith goodness, to goodness knowledge, to knowledge self-control.” We could go through, and every one of those is interesting, but it climaxes in love. Why does it climax in love? Because that’s freedom.

Love is the ability to put your own happiness in someone else’s happiness. 

Before you become a person of love, all that matters is everyone serves your happiness. You have your goals. You have things you want. Other people need to serve your happiness. Guess what? They never will. You spend all of your time being sorry for yourself, being unhappy, self-absorbed, looking at yourself, feeling like things aren’t fair.

A person of love is someone who puts your happiness in other people’s happiness, meaning you’re only happy if they’re happy. You’re only happy when they’re delighted, when they’re thriving, when they’re flourishing. Honestly, that is freedom. That only comes if you grow in grace through these practices.

5. Spiritual growth is wonderful. 

It tells us here the key to it all is to be filled with awe and wonder and to have your heart melted because you’re remembering something. You’re always remembering and not forgetting something. What is it? 

This is verse 9. Whoever does not have these things … In other words, if you’re not growing, here’s why. You’ve forgotten how you were cleansed from your past sins. How were you cleansed from your past sins? The blood of Jesus.

What this means is simple. 

You have to constantly remember the fact that you have been saved by grace through the costly blood of Jesus Christ. That, ultimately, is the content, the substance, the heart of what you’re talking to God about, what you’re talking to other people about, and how you’re able to stay put under suffering. 

Why would you stay put under suffering? Why would you trust God under suffering?

You’re just going to say, “Well, I need to stand put. I need to trust God under suffering, because then I’ll grow in grace.” That’s all abstraction. “Because God is holy, I need to trust him.” Yeah, that’s true, but that’s an abstraction too. 

Look at Jesus Christ cleansing you from your sins by dying on the cross. Look at what he’s bearing for you. Remember that. Don’t forget it. If you remember that, you’ll be able to bear up for him. You say, “If he’s bearing all that suffering for me, infinitely more, I can bear this suffering for him.” That’s the key.

In Israel there were people who were non-Jews. They were either refugees or immigrants. They were aliens in a foreign country, and God says, “Even though they’re not Jews, you be good to them, because you were aliens and strangers and immigrants in Egypt, and I brought you out.”

What do you think you were? You were alienated, but Jesus saved you. Jesus brought you out.

As soon as I remembered that, it just melted me. Why? Because I was thinking, “Wait a minute. I’ve been saved. I was an alien. God brought meout. God was kind to me.” The reason I was grumpy was I had forgotten. What helped me grow at that moment was I remembered. 

“Whoever does not grow in these ways is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

Here’s the ultimate way you’ll be able to remember and not forget that Jesus died for you. When Jesus was up on the cross and said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” do you know what he was actually saying? He was actually saying, “My God, my God, why have you forgotten me?”

That doesn’t mean God can forget anything, but he turned away from Jesus Christ. Jesus was forgotten. Why? Because Jesus gets what we deserved. We spend all of our time forgetting God. We owe him everything. He created us. He redeemed us. We should be thinking about him all the time. We should never forget him, but we do forget him.

What would be the just deserts for people who have forgotten God? We should be forgotten. Instead, Jesus Christ gets what we deserved. He was forgotten so that God can say, “I will never forget you.” 

ISAIAH 49:14-16:

[14] But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”

[15] “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 

[16] Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Look at the palms of Jesus’ hands. Nail prints. Because Jesus Christ was forgotten, God will never forget you. If you remember that, it’ll turn you into something great.