2 Peter 1 - Divine Sovereignty meets Human Responsibility
You've been given everything you need to live a godly life, so make every effort!
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2 Thessalonians 3 (ESV)
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us,
that the word of the Lord
may
speed ahead and be honored,
as happened among you,
2 and that we may be delivered
from wicked and evil men.
For not all have faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful.
He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you,
that you
are doing
and will do
the things that we command.
5 May the Lord direct your hearts
to the love of God
and to the steadfastness of Christ.
6 Now we command you, brothers,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you keep away from any brother who
is walking in idleness
and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us,
because we were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it,
but with toil and labor we worked night and day,
that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9
It was not because we do not have that right,
but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness,
not busy at work,
but busybodies.
12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ
to do their work quietly
and to earn their own living.
13 As for you, brothers,
do not grow weary in doing good.
14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter,
take note of that person,
and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.
15 Do not regard him as an enemy,
but warn him as a brother.
16 Now may the Lord of peace
himself give you peace
at all times
in every way.
The Lord be with you all.
17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
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Previous DIG DEEPER posts on 2 Peter
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2 Peter 1 Summary
The opening greetings of New Testament epistles often seem repetitive, but don't be too quick to skip over them, especially in Peter's letters. The opening to the second letter contains some awesome theology:
Your faith is of equal standing with the apostles - in other words, there's not various classes of Christians.
Notice that the righteousness upon which your faith is based comes not just from your Savior Jesus Christ, but from our God and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a striking proof of the divinity of Jesus!
God's grace & peace is multiplied to you as your knowledge of God grows. The more you learn about Him, the more grace and peace you'll have!
It's not just faith you've been given, but Christ's divine power has been granted to you! This enables you to not just be a better version of yourself, but makes you a partaker of the divine nature.
After reading about the faith, grace and power that's been given to you, it may seem like there's not much for you to do as a Christian since everything has been done on your behalf. But look at the aggressive language Peter commands you with:
Make every effort to supplement your faith (v5);
Increase godly virtues in your life so that you will be effective and fruitful (v8);
Diligently confirm your calling and election (v10)
Dig Deeper
It may seem like we're spinning our wheels at church because you keep hearing the same message over and over again. Peter hits the nail on the head in v12 as to why it seems this way. Even though you are firmly established in the truth, I need to keep reminding you of these things, writes Peter.
He's not insulting you by saying that you're carelessly forgetting the gifts God's given you, rather he's acknowledging that we live in a world that's constantly making every effort to separate you from those gifts, therefore it's necessary to be reminded of them often.
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our God and Savior Jesus Christ (v1) and the Holy Spirit (v21) - One God, who makes Himself known in three persons.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for giving you everything you need for a Godly life (v3), and ask Him to strengthen you to make every effort (v5, 10, 15)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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