In his bestselling “Purpose-Driven Life,” Rick Warren wrote, “If I asked you how you picture life, what image would come to your mind? That image is your life metaphor. It’s your description of how life works and what you expect from it. It determines your expectations, your values, your relationships, your goals, and your priorities.” My favorite life metaphor is the image of a race. That’s why one of the words I love is the word “pursuit.” And for me, we cannot pursue something if we are not passionate about it. The words “passion” and “pursuit” go hand in hand. This morning, we will see that our spiritual growth is a pursuit worth pursuing passionately. Let us pray first.
The apostle Peter wrote this second letter to deal with false teachers that crept into the church. In 2 Peter 2:1-2,[1] he warned, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.” The New International Version translated verse 2 this way, “Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Note the words “shameful ways” and “the way of truth.” Because of their questionable works, the words of God were questioned as well. So, in this apostolic letter, Peter showed that the best way to denounce the deception of the false teachers is through our devotion. Instead of debating with them, the best way to deal with their lies is through our lives.
That’s why at the end of the letter, Peter commanded all of us: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Thus, we must passionately pursue our spiritual growth. So that we will be on the same page, let us agree with how Peter defined it. When we say “spiritual growth,” what we meant is not just growing in our knowledge of the Bible but growing in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we cannot know Jesus apart from knowing the Bible. But we can know a lot about the Bible and yet fail to know the Lord in a more intimate way. When we say “spiritual growth,” what we meant is growing in the grace of our Lord Jesus. We grow not just in our experience of grace but in exemplifying grace to others. In short, we grow spiritually as we become more like Christ in our words and works. The 7 Stages of Spiritual Growth series defines spiritual growth as “the development of [our] relationship with God… [our] transformation into the image of Jesus Christ… [and] the expansion of [our] dependent walk in the Spirit.”[2]
Let us look at 2 Peter 1:1-11. Verses 1-4 tell us that God has already provided the RESOURCES for our pursuit. “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 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, 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.” That’s God’s PROVISION. He made it possible for us to grow spiritually.
Then, verses 5-7 tell us that we bear the RESPONSIBILITY for this pursuit for spiritual growth. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” That’s our PURSUIT. Though God made the resources available for us, we have to avail of it in order to grow spiritually. Though He made spiritual growth possible, we are to pursue it.
Then verses 8-11 explain to us the REASON for the pursuit. “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. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That’s our PURPOSE. This morning and the Sunday next we will focus on the why before we dwell on the how. We will look into why we must passionately pursue spiritual growth. Our focus will be on verses 8-11. The rest of the passage we will discuss next month.
In verse 10 we are commanded: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure”. The verb “diligent” has a rich background in Greek. It “suggests not only the spectator’s shout of encouragement to the Olympic runner (‘May you win the race’), but also the encouragement of a Greek mother to her son as he leaves for school (‘May you do your best’) and the words of a dying father to his eldest son (‘Take good care of all these things’).”[3] It carries the idea of exerting all effort to achieve one’s desired end. We are to do our best “to make [our] calling and election sure”. The Contemporary English Version goes like this: “…you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you.” In other words, we are to make every effort to prove that we are truly believers.
The adjective “sure” in the Greek can be translated “valid.”[4] We have to prove that we have a valid faith. According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “The Greek word for ‘sure’ was used in classical Greek to refer to a warranty deed somewhat like those people use today on houses and other pieces of property. One’s godly behavior is a warranty deed for himself that Jesus Christ has cleansed him from his past sins and therefore that he was in fact called and elected by God.”[5]
Many people nowadays claim to be believers. How do we confirm that claim? How can we be certain that the faith we profess is the faith that we really possess? We show that we are spiritually alive when we grow spiritually. One of the differences between a living thing and a non-living thing is growth. A living thing like a plant grows. A non-living thing like a rock does not grow. Putting our faith in the Lord Jesus as our Savior is the beginning and not the end of our life. The call to faith is the call to follow. Obedience is the evidence of salvation. A believer is a follower.
According to the Bible Exposition Commentary, “It is not our profession of faith that guarantees that we are saved; it is our progression in the faith that gives us that assurance. The person who claims to be a child of God but whose character and conduct give no evidence of spiritual growth is deceiving himself and heading for judgment.” So, is our lives marked with obedience?
Let us see how the words “be all the more diligent” are constructed in Greek. First, it is a command. Technically, it’s in the imperative mood. So, spiritual growth is not optional or incidental. It is IMPORTANT. In fact, it appears that when we are not growing spiritually, we are actually disobedient. So, do we make spiritual growth our top priority? We must actually make time for growth. For example, we should carve a time for reading the Bible or else it would be crowded out of our schedule eventually.
There is also a sense of necessity in the way we are commanded to be diligent. It’s in the aorist tense, which when combined with the imperative mood “calls for a specific action with a note of urgency.”[6] We cannot put off spiritual growth. It is IMMEDIATE. We must grow now. It is not something we choose to do only when it is convenient. We need to grow. So, what is keeping us from growing now?
And it must be INTENTIONAL. It’s in the active voice. It is not accidental. We don’t grow by chance. It’s like flying a plane. You cannot continue gliding. If you stop flying, you start falling. So, are we taking steps in order to grow? For example, have we signed up to join a Circle of Care or a small group?
It is INCLUSIVE. It’s plural in number. No one is exempted from growth. We must all grow. Do we really consider it our responsibility to grow? I also found that the reason why we find it hard to grow is because we try to do it on our own. Growth is not just personal but also corporate. We grow together in the context of a community.
So, growing in intimacy with Christ is important, immediate, intentional and inclusive. I pray that we will not just grow old but grow up. Brothers and sisters let us “be all the more diligent to make [our] calling and election sure”.
Let us pray…
[1]All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]A seminar by WorldTeach Ministries Philippines
[3]Dr. D.G. Kehl, “Control Yourself!”
[4]BDAG.
[5]Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:866-867
[6]New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.
