Practicing God's Promises
2 Peter 1:1-4 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Peter begins his letter with an exhortation for God's people to enjoy and savor the 'precious and magnificent promises' that are ours from God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit. I was struck by how much the writers of Scripture revel in God's promises. They gloried in the promises recieved and presently at work in their lives. They eagerly hoped in the promises to come, "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised" (Hebrews 10:36). Consider as well that Peter sees our view and enjoyment, perhaps we may even say our practice of God's promises as a source of sanctification and a means to holiness.
I suppose there are several ways that this is true- but I'll just talk about one way that God's promises are a source and means of holiness and sanctification. Coupled with the blessing of deep and abiding joy, the promises of God as instruments of obedience and purification blessed my heart and mind yesterday.
Life in a fallen world is full of struggle. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but we live in an age that denies the patent reality of sin and falleness while desperately seeks to avoid or pass off the struggle. Life is hard, then you die. There is a great deal of truth to this sentence. And it is sheer silliness as a Christian to put on a big vapid grin and pretend the hardness of life and the fight for joy isn't necessary if you're saved (pronounced with a deep southern fried accent: say-ivduh). If anything, believers will face MORE struggle. Our fight will be more treacherous. We are strangers and aliens. "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (1 Tim 3:12). Those who are IN the world but not OF it have real and awful struggles in this life.
In my own life and in my ministry as a shepherd when I face these struggles and hardships I tend to paw and scratch feverishly about for some way to alleviate the pain and remove the struggle. In providing pastoral counsel I rack my mind for ways to minimize the struggle in a couple's marriage, or the minimize the pain of the alienation between a teenager and a father, or get the wife who lost her husband to keep her chin up. We do this through positive thinking: just watch a Joel Osteen broadcast; denial: it'll go away if you just close your eyes, ears, and mouth, or through human endeavor: I'll fix it! I work my way out! I'll make a list and attack the issues one by one! Most of the time we make a creative fusion of all three. In each case we miss out on enjoying the source for hope and joy and an instrument of holiness and growth.
Positive thinking and human endeavor, even denial in a strange way, is making much of yourself as a solution to your problems. It is exalting your mind and your words as a means of victory. It is exalting your power and your acheivements as a way to beat sin and struggle. No matter how great your words are- life is hard, then you die. No matter how hard you work- life is hard and then you die. No matter how much you deny and avoid it- life is hard, then you die.
In considering the promises of God that are ours through Christ and to be enjoyed in the world to come we make much of God and from such a perspective we minimize ourselves. As he increases, we decrease- and our problems and struggles are put into proper perspective.
Do you struggle with ongoing and ever present sin? Consider the promises of God - you have become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21); you have been given the sanctifying work of the Spirit (1 Pet 1:2); greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Fight sin with the promises of God and their reality in your heart!
This can, indeed MUST be done in every arena of our life. In every circumstance, in every problem, in every conflict, we must sink our roots deep down in the promises of God. Let his Word, His promise, and the fulfillment of them (whether present or future) be fuel for joy, for relief, for endurance in our lives.
Yesterday, as I obsessed over a complex of issues that I faced for that day- the Lord said to me, "Son! LOOK AT MY WORD!" As I looked at Peter's letter I decided to drink deep the fountain of God's promises that poured out, and not go away thirsty hoping the world, the flesh, or the devil might offer me a cup.
All those problems are not solved. I have not found complete resolution in each conflict. I did not go through the day with a pristine attitude and total victory over all my sin. But, throughout the day God's promises energized me to take hope in the goodness and greatness of God. His promises were fuel for my weak heart when it tended toward despair or depression. It propelled me to holiness when my flesh enticed me to go down its path.
God has given precious and magnificent promises! As I dwell on his goodness and greatness my problems didn't go away- they were just put in their proper place.
Peter tells us in God's Word:
"we have received faith by the rigteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"
"grace and peace are multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord"
"his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him"
"we have been called by His glory and excellence"
"he has granted us His preciaous and magnificent promises"
"by these promises we become partakers of the divine nature"
"by them we have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust"
And, further down in 1:10-11 we find this great promise: Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
So, life is hard and then you die. By the promises of God we can look this reality in the face and say, "God is good and great and his promises are precious and magnificent!" I hope that these truths from God's Word might be fuel for joy and obedience in your life today by God's grace.
Labels: bible study, Devotional