Believers are called to diligently develop Christian character in anticipation of Christ's return, as outlined in 2 Peter 1:1-11. The sermon emphasizes that God has provided everything necessary for life and godliness through His divine nature and precious promises, enabling believers to escape corruption and grow spiritually. This growth involves actively cultivating virtues such as courage, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, which are evidence of a fruitful Christian life. Neglecting these virtues leads to spiritual blindness and unfruitfulness, while diligent pursuit ensures steadfastness and an abundant entrance into God's everlasting kingdom.
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What a joy to be able to sing of the blessed return of our Lord, which we look forward to and anticipate. May I indeed remark, we have need to be looking for him. Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Peter, Second Peter, Chapter One, where we would like to read the first eleven verses of that Second Epistle, Chapter One, where Peter writes, in regard to our responsibility before he comes. And what a necessity as he exhorts us to develop the Christian character of our beloved and blessed Lord in our lives.
First, Second Peter, chapter one, reading if I may, verses one through eleven. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord according as the divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us, exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers or sharers together of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
And in addition to this, beside this, giving all diligence and, or supplying in your faith, virtue or courage and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance or self-control and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness or affection and to brotherly kindness charity better translated is the word love for if these things being in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be Darren, meaning idle, nor untruthful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins or former sins. Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence, to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless the reading and hearing of his word. May the Holy Spirit And may we humbly but faithfully and gratefully declare the Holy Spirit is the revealer, the teacher of the precious truth of God.
May I be reminded with you what Paul wrote in First Corinthians and in chapter two, verses nine and ten. I hath not seen, here hath not heard, neither hath it entered the hardened man. the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit knoweth all things, searcheth all things, and knoweth all the depths of God. What a joy to recognize the divine teacher and revealer of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit.
Now I'm sure that many of you that have read and studied your Bible, and particularly the New Testament, and the epistles, may recognize that when you read the second epistle, whether they be written by Paul, whether written by Peter, whether by John, and even the epistle of Jude, if you please, they speak particularly of the closing days of Christianity. For may I tell you and remind you as well as mine own heart, we're not going to be here forever upon the earth in the present capacity of the saints of God in this age.
We were singing those lovely hymns more than one of them, which I enjoyed. Christ is coming back again. And you find particularly... The second epistles have been written, whether by Paul, Peter and others, apply very definitely to the responsibility of the days preceding and nearing and approximately at the coming of the Lord. And, beloved, I think we should and can believe those days are here. Paul writes in the second epistle of Timothy that in the last days, terrorist, dangerous times shall come.
And he meant spiritually. And he meant in relation to the testimony of Christianity and Christendom. And you find the same thing being written by Peter as you look at this epistle. The second chapter of the epistle, recite from the beginning to the end of that chapter how that in the last day there will be more false teachers then there will be the true teachers of the Word of God. As it was in the days of Israel, there were many false prophets. So shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. There will be many false teachers teaching wrong doctrine.
You have the same thing in the Epistle of Jude also. And one may recognize, and may I repeat it, as we near the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, But for his people particularly, those dangers increase. If I may humbly sustain it, and I state it faithfully, I believe in the conviction of my own soul. Today in Christendom, in the profession of Christianity at large, and that takes in all the profession as well as possession. There is undoubtedly more false teaching being propagated than the truth of the Word of God.
Let me also emphasize what the Lord Jesus said before he left the earth and why he was on the earth. When the Son and Man come, and I'm quoting properly the scripture, shall he find the faith upon the earth? May I go just one step further? You that have read the book of the Revelation, I'm sure that if you've given it any detailed study, you have found it in chapters two and three of the book of the Revelation. Spiritually, historically, and prophetically, the Spirit of God, through the Lord Jesus himself, speaking to the seven churches of Asia, describes the history of the Church of God upon the earth.
Let me repeat it again, not only historically, but also spiritually and prophetically. And as you read those two chapters, beginning with a letter to Ephesus, closing with a letter to Laodicea, you come to the end of the Laodicean application, and there is practically total failure. When he comes to the truth. And let me say what the Lord Jesus said. No apology for what he said. When you come to the church of Laodicea in his message, the Lord Jesus said, Behold, I stand.
I'm standing at the door. I'm not inside. But I'm outside. Knocking. If any man, individual will hear my voice. Open the door. I will come into him and suck with him and he with me. So what we can do is recognize, please let me emphasize, it's not a happy subject, but it's in the word of God. Departure from the truth. You take the second epistle of Timothy. You find in that epistle how the apostle speaks of men straying from the truth.
Then later on in the same epistle, they resist the truth. They fight against it. And then you come to the last chapter of that second epistle. They turn away their ears from the truth. Beloved. Not to be pessimistic, but to be realistic. There's a turning away from the truth. Peter recognized it too. In chapter two, as we mentioned, the complete false teaching that will appear at the end of the age, in abundance, leading men to perdition.
And then in the third chapter, you find men ridiculing, scoffing at what you and I were thinking tonight, the coming of the Lord for His people. And may I say frankly, I've heard it, I've read it again and again in these days, that men ridicule what you and I believe. As Christians, he's coming again. Now likewise, Peter, thank God for the words that we have written, before he touches upon the dangers in chapter two and chapter three, from whatever source, he gives an exhortation.
for the believer in view of such times of difficulty in the first eleven verses of our chapter one they certainly bring before us the development that we need spiritually when we face these dangers may I first of all point out with you beginning in verse one going down through verse four the beloved apostle here he tells what God has done for us, for he is writing to God's dear children. Note the words. Let me particularly begin in verse one.
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, writing to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Beloved, let me say faithfully and lovingly and gratefully, it's nice to belong to Peter's faith. Like precious faith. I remember years ago giving a man a ride to the town, inside the town or to the town in which we lived, and he asked me for a ride. And as I got in, I said to him, or he asked me, he said, what do you do?
I said, well, frankly, I try to preach the gospel. and teach the word of God. And the next thing he asked me, he said, what persuasion may ye be? I knew what he meant. What denomination do you belong to? I said, under Paul's persuasion as well as Peter's. I know whom I have believed and have persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And I add, That's the only persuasion that gets you to heaven, friend. It will. And Peter's writing to those that have received it. And he goes on to say, and how we need this in verse two, grace and peace be multiplied.
And beloved, I cannot emphasize too greatly in the need of the dangers of today. The believers need his grace and his peace in their experience. And how do they get it? Through the knowledge of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, Jesus our Lord. And nobody goes on to add. Blessed truth, according is this divine power, hath given unto us all things that pertain, that relate unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that is called us to glory and virtue. God has made full provision.
Let me repeat it again. God has made full provision for the believer to go on in his and her life and testimony for the Lord. And know what he says in verse four, whereby he are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers or sharers going along together with the divine nature, having already escaped the corruption that is in the world through us. And what a joy to know the foundation that God has given to us, his own nature.
And note the words particularly, as Peter mentions it, divine nature, partakers of the divine nature. May I re-emphasize the truth that we need to remind our hearts more about? That the moment you and I were saved, my fellow believers, we received a new nature. No, God's not patching up the old one, but He gave us a new one. His own divine nature. Let me quote the words of Paul. Galatians chapter two and verse twenty. I am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Listen, when Christ came into your heart, you had the nature of God come in. Divine nature. Do you remember Peter's words in his first epistle, chapter two, when born again, as newborn babes, babes in Christ, grow.
And he said, I desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. And even at the end of his second epistle in verse eighteen, of that last chapter he says, But grow in grace and in. the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I remember as children in Sunday school we sang together then sometimes in our choruses. Read your Bible and pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow. And here is Peter telling us in view of the dangers, the false teaching that abound the ridicule of the coming against the coming again of our Lord Jesus, saying that everything will continue as it has always been.
Thank God he never will. But Peter's encumbringers developed that divine nature. And then in what follows, beginning with verse five and going through verse seven, the beloved apostle, he mentions the development And please may I say again, it is the inward spiritual development of the believer that he takes up in these verses, five through seven. Seven steps of development in the Christian growth and the development of the divine nature.
My beloved, let me say this lovingly. You have it here. you don't get the development of the new nature through the world and from the world and by the world no no please note if I may go back again as you have it verse two again when Peter said in this in this salutation grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord and the end of verse three, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue occurrence.
Beloved, it's your spiritual education. May I repeat with emphasis, with no apology? The world doesn't give me a spiritual education. It cannot. It knows nothing about the things of God. The natural man knows not the things of God. Neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. My beloved, let me stay very firmly to your heart as well as to mine. The beloved Apostle Peter was concerned about the diligence of our spiritual development. Not your physical, nor your material, your spiritual. developing the new nature and let me give you the thought that new nature as we've already mentioned Paul said it's Christ that liveth in me and developing the life of the Lord Jesus through me and in me for his honor and glory and let me be reminded before we go further as we shall see later on there are some Christians that are not going on Peter says that and he said you can tell them even though they are saved They don't go on.
I remember one dear brother wrote an article. I think it was Dr. A. T. Schofield of England. There are two kinds of Christians in the world. Those that are out and out. And those that are cold. Some out and out. For far heartily. Seeking to serve the Lord. And know him. More and more. But there are others that don't seem to be anxious to know more about it. Let me ask you a heart and mind a question. Which one am I? But let's go on. I want you to see these things that Peter writes. Besides having the foundation. Let me repeat the foundation again.
Through the righteous privilege that God has made for us. In the person and by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we received him. We were given the new nature. And it's that new nature, the divine nature. Peter is desirous to see developed. And now he says in verse five, in addition to what you have, give all diligence. I think you may find perhaps three to five times in the epistle here, the word diligence. The word diligence. The word diligence. It requires diligence.
And may I say lovingly and earnestly to apply it to my soul as well as to yours. In these difficult times that we live in, we do need to give diligence. And as you follow, that which the apostle writes, that diligence is not particularly what we do with what we are in the development of that new life. May I give the thought? We all rejoice in the knowledge when we preach the gospel and when we believe them. What did we receive?
Everlasting life. Everlasting life. Everlasting life. Said the Lord Jesus, I am come that they might have life. That they might have it more abundantly. It's the life of God. Please, may I state again? Please, can I state it again? We have the life of God when Christ comes in. And in addition to that, now the Apostle says, giving all diligence and or supply in your faith. As you go on by faith, you begin with faith, you go on in faith and a supply in your faith, virtue.
Meaning the word could be translated Courage. Courage. And then to courage or virtue, knowledge. Let me talk about those two particular things. Virtue and knowledge. One courage, the other meaning knowledge. Courage. Let me ask you the question. How long have you been saved? Let me go back to my boyhood days when the Lord saved me. I believe I made a nuisance of myself for some folks. I couldn't help but tell them all. I got saved.
I got saved. And the more I talked about the Lord Jesus, then I found some of them didn't like him. But I think of an old hymn in one of our old hymn books. Where is the love that I had when I first knew the Lord? I tell you one thing. I remember when the Lord saved me, I could hardly keep my mouth shut. Till one dear fellow worker when I was working told me, Johnny, there's so much something like getting too much religion. Well, I looked at her. I said, I don't know much about religion.
Well, let me tell you how I feel. I'll never get too much of Christ. She didn't know what that meant. But look. supply in your faith courage and knowledge now here in the verb in the Greek verb here it's acquiring knowledge there is an intuitive knowledge you have but this is acquiring knowledge and here you have two active graces be actively courageous for the Lord and to be actively getting to know him better and study the word of God spiritual diligence, virtue or courage and knowledge.
Third, as you read on, to knowledge, temperance or self-control, and I'm sure that you would realize as I can realize it. This is development. Being thus acquiring virtue or knowledge or courage and knowledge, it leads to the necessity of temperance, meaning self-control remember the words of second first Corinthians chapter eight verse one let me quote the words of the apostle Paul wrote in that one verse knowledge possible love edifies builds up and what did he mean look I can be puffed up even by my scriptural knowledge No, no.
It needs self-control. Temperance. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit or the producing by the Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter five. Self-control. And then if you go to self-control, following that, what does that lead to? Well, we had in our study of the morning, patience, meaning endurance. Now what you find in the next two virtues, characteristics, as you have it here, self-control, impatience. They are, now the first two are very active, courage and they're going after knowledge in the Word of God.
The second two are more passive, self-control. and patience or endurance. Enduring, as we saw this morning, whenever the tribulations may involve, as we seek to go on for our Lord Jesus Christ. And reminding us of the words of James again, let patience have a perfect word. And then as we go further, it develops into godliness. All these are virtues and characteristics that are found in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ himself and should be found in us.
Oh, beloved, may I say, again repeat it, this is Christian character, Christ-like character developing into God-likeness. And thus to recognize the development of the spiritual life which is mine in Christ. The new nature. Develop it. Now let me repeat again. Lovingly. Please. Never turn to the world. To find it. You'll never find it there. You only find it in this blessed book. As the Holy Spirit leads us on. In developing in the knowledge of our Lord.
But then note to godliness. Brotherly affection. The word Philadelphia. Brotherly love. Brotherly affection. Meaning for the saints of God. And what a joy to recognize. The brotherly affection that is developed toward the people of God. The Lord Jesus said the words. Telling us. By this shall all men know that you are my brethren. If you have love. One to another. And may I say lovingly and kindly, how we need to recognize the need of developing brotherly love for the fellow believers.
Now let me be very careful and clear. I may not always be able to agree with my brother in Christ and his own particular teaching of doctrine or even his walk. But if I read my Bible right from the Epistle of John, We are taught that we should love one another. I may not love and I should not love his disobedience, but I can love him. Has the Lord Jesus loved me? Has God loved me? Let me quote the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter one, six and seven again, as we've often quoted in.
We're accepting him that beloved The Lord Jesus, in whom we have redemption. And God looks at you and me, my fellow believers, through Christ. Knowing that we're His. And sees us in Christ. And loves us in Christ. So likewise to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. There should always be. Let me give you an example. Many years ago, I recall having to disagree with a brother in Christ over his doctrine. And I'm going to be very frank.
I was sure as far as my conviction was, his doctrine he was trying to teach me was not Switzerland. And he said to me, when I told him I heartily disagree with you, and I meant it. Because I knew he wasn't according to the word of God. And then he said to me, We can be friends, can't we? And I looked at him, I said, Friend, brother, more than that, I've got to love you. But I just wanted to tell you when the rapture comes, I'll go up, I hope I go up alongside of you and tell you all the way up, I told you so. In other words, he was denying the rapture to me, and I wouldn't take it.
Neither should you, if you believe it. But I can still love you, which is surprising, but that's right. It's my brother in Christ. And then as you go on, the last thing you have, it's a brotherly kindness, charity, and it's the word agape in the Greek text, the highest form of the meaning of love, God's love. Remember this morning in our message in Romans chapter five? The love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us. And oh the joy and the highest privilege of enjoying what?
The love of God. And here the divine. In other words, this is the divine nature. You remember first John chapter four in verse eight? God is what? Love. And John develops the truth of love in that epistle of his. as it should be in the believer's heart and life. God's love. Oh, thank God. It's through him that his love can be in me developed. And this is us. Then I become like God. His nature is developed. Let me repeat it.
Here you have the steps. And you have virtue. You have knowledge. You have temperance or self-control. control and impatience and godliness and brotherly affection and then last of all the nature of God's love I think it was called as one brother wrote how true when he wrote the words love this world through me Lord this world of sinful men and may we have that love that God has even toward the unsaved but particularly towards us God's own. But the joy is this, the enjoyment of God's love in my own heart.
The greatest thing is this, the development of God's love in my own heart. In other words, with all due respect to whoever and whatever and wheresoever we may be and to whom we may be related, the love of God is the greatest. There's no love like his. And all the development of that love. Let me quote the words of an old hymn. It casts us knowledge that dear love of thine. Lord Jesus, Savior, but the thought of mine. Without thy love no more and more.
And the joy of knowing. Can you exhaust the love of God? Can you? Well, the Paul prayed in the Ephesian Epistle chapter three that you may know the love of Christ which passes what? Knowledge. Let me raise the question to your heart as well as to mine. How many of us know the Lord of God in all of its fullness? And you remember in that prayer of Paul in Ephesians chapter three, he said as he prayed that we might know that love and in its length and breadth and depth and length and height that you might be filled with what?
All the fullness of God. Dear lover, let me say lovingly and earnestly to you as well as to my own soul. God wants me to know himself more and more better and better. And when I do, I'll be, as we saw this morning, The love of God will be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. And as we see, it's the development of the Christian character. But now let's go further. In verse eight nine, here is the evidence of it. Peter writes, for if these things, and if you please note, if these things be in you and about.
Now beloved, let me emphasize again. It's not what you're doing. It's what you are. They are to be in you. In me. There is not only to be faith which I began with. There is not only to be courage. There's not only to be acquired knowledge. There's not only to be self-control. There's not only to be also godliness and brotherly affection but also the love of God. And if these things be Note, in you, in you, in you, they make you. You're not self-made.
They make you. As the apostle goes on to say, they make you that you shall neither be barren, meaning idle, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved one, the truth that us recognize The power of the development of the new nature, the divine nature that is in you and me. Beloved, may God help us indeed to follow with diligence the exhortations of this blessed Apostle Peter. But now notice there's not only the evidence when it's there, but there's the evidence when it's not there.
Verse nine. But he that lacketh these things. is blind, meaning short-sighted. He cannot see afar off and has forgotten that he was purged from his old or former sin. Oh, you say, how can I forget my sins and forgive? No, I may not forget them in my mind, but I can show by my life I'm forgetting it. I can show by my failures I've forgotten that it saved me. I belong to him. I've got a divine nature to develop.
And I believe the beloved apostle Peter is writing, are two kinds of Christians. Those that go on, that you have it in verse eight, these things are in them, they develop them, they abound in them, and they are not idle nor untruthful. My beloved, let me say this. What your life is will tell. Now you have in verse nine the opposite, the one that lacketh these things. Let me give you an illustration briefly. I don't know how many of you have ever read Pilgrim's Progress, but in that wonderful book of John Bunyan, the interpreter who represents the Holy Spirit takes the takes the traveler to eternally, to go to the city of God, takes him into the interpreter's house, meaning the Bible, and he shows him many things.
He takes him into a room where there is a man in that room raking in the dirt of that room, looking for what he can find, the treasures there. And up above him there's blessed divine hands holding out a crown of glory. a crown of reward for the man is busy looking down upon the earth. And the traveler to the city of God says the one who becomes a Christian later on by his faith. He says, I know what that means. That Christian is more interested in what's down here instead of what he's going to. That can happen. As we saw this morning, we have a hope that does not make us ashamed.
And we can enjoy that hope while we're going there. But now I want you to note in verse eleven and twelve. Verse eleven particularly. Well at the end of verse ten there is a temporary reward. For if you do these things ye shall never fall. Meaning you'll have a fast steadfastness. You'll stand fast. You'll never fall. I wonder if Peter often saw him when he wrote these words. If he often remembered that he fell one time. and denied his Lord. And you remember the occasion and the result and the sadness as well as the correction he had to go through which God and the Lord Jesus gave him.
But he said, if you do these things, you won't fall. You'll hold fast. But that's not all. There's a future reward in verse eleven. And then he quote them in another translation. for a triumphant admission will be ministered unto you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now know what Peter is saying. There's a kingdom coming. My beloved, let me put it in this phraseology before closing. Every one of us, when the rapture comes, we're going together into the father's house because we're his children.
And the fulfillment of the words of the Lord Jesus will be ours. When I come again, I will receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. But, beloved, look, there's a kingdom coming after that. And the kingdom has its reward. Remember Peter and the Apostles came to the Lord and said, Lord, we left everything to follow you. What are we going to have when you have your kingdom? My beloved, the Lord, and if you know what Peter said, it's an everlasting kingdom, not just a millennial kingdom. It's going to be a kingdom going on and on for it.
Look, but I may say this lovingly. You can never and you never will lose your salvation. but you can lose your reward that he would like to give you in that kingdom I know not what mine will be I have to wait to see and when he comes he's going to distribute the rewards and there will be eternal rewards may I say again please maybe you won't like it but when the Lord Jesus come Then he raised the question, when the kingdom is set up forever. The millennial, as well as the eternal kingdom.
Don't ask me what I'll be doing. It's up to the Lord. He's going to tell me. He's going to tell you. We may not be near each other. I'll tell you, we won't be too far away. We can sure get there quick and meet each other. But anyway, it's the thought. There's an everlasting kingdom. And Peter puts it this way. I like that translation. that you may have a triumphant admission. This is not the place of glory. This is not the place where we receive our crown. But when he comes, when Jesus comes to reward his servants, whether it be noon or night, faithful to him will he find us watching with our lamps all trimmed and bright.
Oh, can we say we are ready, brother? Ready for a soul's bride home. Who will he find you and me still watching? Waiting. Waiting when the Lord shall come. Shall we pray? Blessed Lord, we thank you. We thank that you're coming again. Please, Lord. May the words of Peter stir us up. And may grace and peace be multiplied in each one of us. To give diligence to grow in grace. And in the knowledge of our modern Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, we've got a big education. Help us to follow it through till we see thee face to face, and then we'll be likely forever, never to fail.
Dismiss us with thy blessing, and Lord, then take us home. Looking forward to the glory of the kingdom that's coming in our Savior's blessing. And Lord, we thank thee. We thank thee that you have saved us, and that for eternal glory. Receive our praise and worship. Dismiss us with thy blessing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.