Everything You Need is Included!
(Some Assembly Required)
2 Peter 1:3 – 11
When some guys need a specialized tool or a four-way hinge, they
can simply go to the garage, look through a couple of drawers, and
come up with exactly what they need—I am not that guy
-I am the guy who, last Christmas, used a
purchase my first crescent wrench
-I am the guy who
goes to
-I am the guy who
goes to
bother asking me if I need any help...they already know
So that means I am the guy whose face lights up when I purchase
something that has “weekend project” written all over it and the box
says, “Everything you need is included”
-that means it’s going to have the three-way thing-a-ma-jigs and
those freaky Korean five-sided hexbolts that I’ll need
--that means I won’t have a late-night, last-minute run to
drill bit I need to complete the project before Thanksgiving
Yeah, it’s funny how the box highlights the words “everything” and
“included” but shrinks the words “some assembly required” to a size
only a physicist can see with an electron microscope
-and when you open the box at home you realize the concept of
“weekend project” actually means “summer-long-project-that-
you-may-get-to-enjoy-one-weekend-before-winter-sets-in”
We all know enough to expect such frustrations and complications
from putting together a gas grill, mountain bike, or swing set
-but for some reason, we’re shocked to discover our personal
spiritual growth can’t be obtained at a retreat, camp or revival
--and that’s when it hit us: spiritual maturity is not a weekend
project
--doing something difficult takes time, patience, and effort
---a paint-by-number kit will never match a Monet
---you can’t run a marathon just by watching the Olympics
---nothing you cook in a microwave will taste like grandma’s
In a way this morning we are finishing last week’s message
-remember, our salvation was at a point in time in the past with
continuing effects (justification: we have been saved); at the same
time it is an ongoing process (sanctification: we are being saved)
that will one day be completed (glorification: we will be saved)
--today we will again focus on that middle stage...sanctification...
and how God transforms us into a person who is more and
more like Christ
Read 2 Peter 1:1 – 11
As you can tell, there is a lot of big-time theology wrapped up in those
eleven verses—more than we can cover before lunch
-so rather than declare a church-wide fast, we’re going spend our
time on the two critical phrases
--these two phrases, found in vv. 3 and 5, highlight the very
foundation of our spiritual transformation and growth
---they also describe the tension, almost the paradox,
between what God does and what we’re supposed to do
The first one is, by far, the most significant
-v. 3a à His divine power has given us everything we
need for life
and godliness
Think about that for a moment
-this is God’s power we’re talking about—God’s...the same God who
--spoke the universe into existence
--parted the
--had the strength to allow His Son to die...and then to raise Him
-that same God, that same power has given us everything we need!
--you may remember something similar from last week—in the
original language the word for has given is in a form that means
He has already given this power to us in the past and the
effects of that continue still today
---that’s a big deal—God has already given us everything we
need for life and godliness from here to eternity
----it’s not something we might receive at some point in
the future if we’re good enough—no! it’s already a
done deal...you’ve got it...I’ve got it...end of discussion
You may have seen the Tom Hanks movie, Castaway
-in it, he plays a manager for Federal Express who survives a plane
crash, but is stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific
--he has virtually nothing to help him survive, but most important
is an unopened FedEx package...as a loyal employee, his
mission to deliver that package gives him the motivation to live
--years later he is rescued and the film ends with him delivering
the package to a remote ranch in the middle of nowhere in
west
-during Super Bowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed
the closing scene...looking like the haggard Hanks character, a
man walks to the door of a suburban home, package in hand
--when the lady comes to the door, he explains how he survived
five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he
kept this package in order to deliver it to her
---she simply says, “Thank you,” and begins to close the door
--but his curiosity gets the best of him and he blurts out, “If I may
ask, what was in the package?”
---she opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “Oh,
nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global
positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some
seeds.”
Everything we need for life and godliness...He has already given us!
How? v. 3 goes on
to explain à through
our knowledge of Him
-knowledge, here, refers to an intimate and informed relationship
--it’s not strictly “book” knowledge, some cold, impersonal,
theoretical information about God
---but neither is it merely some touchy-feely, emotional mush
that makes us say things like “I’m in love with Jesus”
-it’s a healthy balance of the two...of head and heart
--sometimes we’ll hear preachers say, “I want to know God; I don’t
just want to know about Him.”
-but I’m saying this morning that we shouldn’t choose between those
two options...instead I’m convinced the Bible teaches us that we
need both of them
--true, we don’t want to be like the people God condemns in
Isaiah 29:13...people who honor Him with their lips, but whose
hearts are far from Him
--but neither do we want to chase after emotional experiences
that are total void of any sort of foundation in the truth
---Romans 10:2 à ...they
are zealous for God, but their zeal
is not based on knowledge.
---without a solid knowledge about God, we wouldn’t be able
to differentiate between the god of Islam, the god of
Jehovah’s Witnesses, the god of the LDS, and the one
true God who is revealed in Scripture
----that may seem rather harsh, but it is necessary for us
to mature in our knowledge about God
----2 Peter 3:18a à Grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
And that verse should give us a clue as to what’s coming next
-true, we have already been given everything we need, but we have
been given some responsibility, as well
The second phrase—this one is found in v. 5—is also critical, and it is
often misunderstood
-don’t forget: Peter is addressing Christians—these people have
already been justified—they’re saved, heaven-bound, and all that
--but the Christian life is not meant to be lived on cruise control
-we have everything we need, but there’s some assembly required
--the phrase,
as you’ve probably already figured out, is:
make
every effort
Now, before you have a grace vs. works conniption fit...relax
-Peter isn’t saying that salvation is earned...neither is he saying that
we keep our salvation by doing good works
--what he’s expressing is the second truth that’s in tension with,
or is an apparent paradox with, the first
Just like in the spoof of Castaway, you can have everything you
need, but if you don’t use it, everything you need won’t get you off
the island of spiritual immaturity, so to speak (and to do a horrible
job of mixing and mismatching metaphors!)
-or to return to my unhandyman-ness, I can have all the tools of the
use them and then actually do use them, they can’t help me
--regardless of the cost, those tools are essentially worthless
That’s exactly what Peter is saying so emphatically!
-v. 5 begins For this very reason...in other words, look what God
has done for you
already...don’t let His very great and
precious
promises (v. 4) go to waste!
--instead, make every effort...or be diligent to do those things that
result in your spiritual growth
---and then vv. 5 – 7 go on to illustrate what genuine spiritual
maturity will look like
----it’s similar to the Fruit of the Spirit that we studied last
Sunday in Galatians 5
---neither of these lists are complete, and contrary to what it
seems, this list in 2 Peter 1 isn’t describing a step by step
process in which you have to have mastered “godliness”
before you can work on developing “brotherly kindness”
----no, what Peter is doing is using a ancient literary form
called sorites...you see it several times in the New
Testament, but that technique doesn’t necessarily
form a rigid, cause-and-effect link from one word to
the next...there’s no specific order...it’s simply a list
The key thing for us to grasp is that our spiritual development is no
trivial matter—God takes it seriously, and so should we
-listen to the tone of these commands found elsewhere in the NT
--1 Tim 4:7b – 8 à ...Train
yourself to be godly.
For physical
training is of some value, but
godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
---there’s nothing wrong with being a fine physical specimen,
but make your priority that which is also eternal
-Paul continues athletic imagery in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 [Read]
--good runners don’t wander aimlessly around the track and just
see what will happen, just like good boxers don’t step into the
ring and start flailing wildly...both require discipline
---every serious athlete knows the value of paying attention
to the things that might seem unimportant
----diet—what you eat as well as what you don’t eat
----good hydration—drinking plenty of quality fluids
----a well-rounded plan that incorporates the basics
-----a marathoner must work with weights to ensure
a solid core and strong arms
-----a boxer must do road work to increase stamina
ESPN.com describes the first day of basketball practice at UCLA
back when the legendary John Wooden was still coaching
-veteran players knew what was about to happen, but freshmen
and transfers had no idea what to expect from their new coach
--would he yell and establish himself as the king of the court?
--would he speak to them tenderly as a grandfather?
--would he stand silently as they ran themselves unconcious?
--would he lay out a complex strategy displaying his genius?
-nope
--Hall of Fame coach John Wooden taught them how to put on a
pair of socks
---oh, and he didn’t just do this at the start of each season,
but he did it before every practice and every game
-over the years, he’d discovered that players didn’t properly
smooth out the wrinkles in the socks around their heels and toes
--if uncorrected, of course, this could cause debilitating blisters
-yes, some of the players thought it was rather silly, but if they
were wise enough to engage the discipline they never had a
blister affect their play
So it is reasonable, then, for a Christian who desires to make every
effort to grow to focus on the simple things
-worship...prayer...service...Bible study...fellowship
--understand that these and other spiritual disciplines are not
magic maturity pills...in fact, they themselves don’t change us
---what they do, instead, in the words of Richard Foster, is to
allow us to place ourselves before God so
that He can
transform us.
----never, ever forget that!
-----spiritual transformation is not the result of our
efforts, of our determination or will...it is not the
result of our practice of ancient biblical
disciplines like fasting...spiritual transformation
is always, always, always the work of the Holy
Spirit in us
Our choice is between 2 options that will produce 2 consequences
-we can be effective and productive (v. 8)...or
-nearsighted, blind, forgetting we’ve already been forgiven (v. 9)
--God’s already done His part...what are you doing??