Add to Your Faith

I expected to return to the Gospel of John this week, but as you can see that's not where we're going. Instead, we're going to take a look at a couple of things in one of Peter's letters. You may have noticed that there have been a few particular themes that have been showing up in my teaching these days. I need to say that I did not plan for that to happen. I do not figure out what I'm going to be teaching months in advance. After choosing a book of the Bible to work through, my planning is pretty much week by week. So, any theme that shows up is not by my design. One of these themes has been the idea of choosing. I have tried to impress upon you the importance of making wise choices. Let me explain why this theme of choosing wisely is important. It seems clear that our culture is in the process of becoming increasingly antagonistic to any public expression of being a disciple of Jesus. As one headline I read put it, 'We fought the culture wars, and we lost.' Associated with this increasing antagonism will be an increasing darkness in our culture. That is obvious. If you extinguish the light all you will have left is darkness. Evil will be more outspoken and will hold sway more easily. Life for faithful Christians is going to become more difficult. This seems clear to me. The question that pops into my head at this point is whether we are ready for that. And by ready I mean prepared to take a stand against that evil. That will be not only unpopular but also costly. It will be costly to you and especially to your children. And please understand. When I talk about taking a stand I'm not talking about attending some rally or writing your senator or anything like that. I'm talking about gently but firmly responding to a popular opinion your neighbor just repeated to you by saying, 'You know, because I'm a Christian I really don't think that's a good idea.' I'm talking about respectfully telling your boss that, because of Jesus, you cannot, in good conscience, do what he just told you to do. Joining some political group or signing a petition is relatively easy. Disagreeing, face‑to‑face, as a disciple with someone who clearly is not is much more difficult. Being ready for that kind of stand against evil is the fruit of a series of wise choices. And that, of course, is itself the fruit of learning whom to fear. So, in the hope of helping you to be ready for the hard choices that will soon enough confront you, if they haven't already, and in obedience to the direction of the Spirit, I want to speak to you from 2 Peter 1.  Our text is 2 Peter 1.3-11.

Peter writes his letter as a pastor. He wants to see these saints flourish. He wants to see them do well when it comes to following Jesus. And so, he writes to them about their faith. And this is where he starts. He tells them to add to their faith, to supplement it. Do you see what that means? Faith alone is not enough. If it were, Peter wouldn't have written what he did. Faith alone is not enough. Now, obviously, that just sounds wrong. 'Wait a minute! What about those Reformation solas. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. What are you talking about? Faith alone is enough!' There is often a little disconnect between professional theologians who use language rather carefully and who have some very specific questions in mind, and the everyday layman who isn't quite as careful with words and isn't quite as aware of those questions. And so, it's just seems obvious to many that all that is required is faith. 'I believe in Jesus. That's all I need. End of story.' And thinking that, Peter would say, is just wrong. It's not enough. So, yes, in the sense that good Protestant theologians mean it, with their very specific questions in mind, we are saved through faith alone. But in the way that Peter means it, faith alone is not enough. So, someone who is not making every effort to add to his or her faith is disobeying the Word of God delivered through Peter. That's the first lesson.

Now, Peter gives a list of things that he expects to be added to faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Quite a list. Understand that the list is not exhaustive. These are just some examples of what Peter has in mind. Other Scripture will provide more qualities to add to the list. I'm not going to work through all of the items on Peter's list. Actually, I'm just going to consider two. I suspect that these two will give you enough to work on.

Here's the first, virtue. Now, that is not a church word. But it isn't a common, everyday word either. So, I'm going to translate it into something at least a bit more familiar: excellence. I didn't choose that word out of the blue. The word translated 'virtue' in verse five is translated 'excellence' in verse three. So, Peter wants you to make every effort to add excellence to your faith. What does that mean? The pursuit of excellence is not merely the avoidance of failure. Excellence and failure are not true opposites. Actually, the opposite of pursuing what is excellent is settling for the mediocre. Commonly, the person who does not excel is not someone who has failed. He's just so-so. He gets a passing grade, and is content with that. And you have seen more than enough of that sort of thing in some of the people you've met on the job as well as elsewhere. Sadly, it's also in the Church. There are plenty of church folk who tell themselves that they are doing well enough at being disciples of Jesus. And they think that because they are sure that they aren't failing. And that's true. They are, instead, simply mediocre at being disciples. There is no great and public sin in their lives. They are not heretics. They do the appropriate Christian-y sorts of things. And they are content with doing enough to pass the test. They settle. Peter says that that has to go. One reason that that sort of attitude has to go is that folk who settle, who are content with mediocre, are not ready to take a stand in the face of evil. They will always find some excuse to compromise. Taking a stand would cost more than what they are willing to pay. But Peter says, 'Add excellence to your faith.'

Now, because we live in this culture, what I just said about pursuing excellence can easily be misunderstood. Lots of people will hear it as a call to develop what amounts to a driven personality. 'What Jesus wants are people who will push and push and push until they excel at being His disciples.' Really? Is that what you see in the Scriptures, a bunch of driven people? Is that what Peter was like? As you read through the Gospels, do you get the sense that Jesus was a driven person? Actually, understanding what I'm saying in this way misses the point completely. For one thing, driven people are pushed by fear, and it's not the fear of God. And, on top of that, grace is an alien notion to such people. Being driven is all about the fear of man and the belief that you need to achieve the goal all by yourself, by pushing and then pushing some more. Where's the Gospel in that? The pursuit of excellence in the life of a disciple has nothing to do with being driven. That's all about method, method rooted in wicked unbelief. Excellence in following Jesus is not about the method. It's first and foremost about the goal. The mediocre settle. The goal is to be good enough. But the goal of the faithful disciple is excellence in following Jesus. He wants to be the best disciple that he can be, in light of his gifts and his situation. And that is what distinguishes him. Now, how does that disciple arrive at that goal? Being driven will not do it. That, in fact, will be counterproductive. He gets there by grace. So, when Peter tells these saints to add excellence to their faith he's telling them to be sure that they are aiming at the right target. Being mediocre isn't the target. Aim at excellence in being a disciple. Don't settle. Choose wisely.

So, if excellence is the goal and grace is the way you get there, what are you to be doing? Being driven is excluded. What's included is desire. What you need is to want to hit that target and not some other mediocre one. And it is that desire that fuels your prayers. 'Lord, I want to be a faithful disciple. I don't want to settle for mediocre. I want to pursue excellence in this. But there is no way I can make that happen. Help me. Give me the ability to follow Jesus well.' Now, how might the Father answer that kind of prayer? He might just zap you with more ability. But I think that more commonly He puts you in a place of decision. 'Choose.' And your choice reveals your heart. It reveals what you really desire. As you learn how to choose wisely - and it is a learning process - then the Father gives you more ability and that often shows as more desire. And that also will show in your prayers. When you get it wrong, just remember that repentance and faith will get you back on the right track. Now, how can someone who desires excellence and pursues it in this way, according to grace, ever become a driven person?

The target is excellence. Peter exhorts you to aim for that and not something less. Don't settle. Choose wisely.

Now, for the second word. Our translation has it as 'godliness'. That strikes me as a little too abstract and maybe a little cold. So, I'm going to translate that with the word 'piety'. I like that word because of what is associated with it, at least in my mind. So, what's this piety? It is the warm and affectionate response of love to the God who has proven His own love and patience and tender care for you. Piety is not about knowledge, though it is built on knowledge and impossible without it. Rather, piety is about relationship. It's about the relationship that a child of God has with his or her heavenly Father. And that explains why there are often problems when it comes to piety. The quality of your relationship with your Father in heaven is deeply affected by the quality of your relationship with your father at home. And it's just a fact that way too many these days have not had a quality relationship with their father at home. In fact, there is an increasing number of people who have had awful fathers and awful relationships with them. And that is incredibly sad. There have been others who have had really good relationships with their dads. And thanks be to God for that. But for the rest, it's not that their relationships with their dads failed. They were quite adequate - which is a polite way of saying they were mediocre. And so, it is no wonder that so many have a mediocre relationship with their heavenly Father. They don’t expect more because they've never experienced more. It is no wonder that there are obstacles to developing a deep and warm piety.

But a less than excellent relationship with an earthly father can be overcome so that one can have a very excellent relationship with his heavenly Father. The basis of this relationship is knowledge. Who is this God? What has He done for you? What has He promised? The answer to those questions is, of course, all about Jesus. But having the knowledge is not the same as having the relationship. Piety is about how one responds to that knowledge. Piety is the warm and affectionate response of love to the God who has proven His own love and patience and tender care for you. And what is so helpful is that growing in this response, this piety, is not something left up to you to do. No, rather, this is something that the Spirit will give you. Again, it's all about grace. And again, what you need to do is simply to desire it, to want to respond to the Father's love with your own. And, again, that desire will fuel your prayers. 'Father, I am seeing more of Your love for me. I'm beginning to get it. Thank You for showing it to me. I want to respond to Your love. I want to love You more. Help me to do that so that my love for You would be as obvious as Your love for me.' Pray that and see what happens. Watch what the Spirit will do. The details will be different for each of you, but what will be the same for all is a growing piety, the warm and affectionate response of love to the Father.

Now, a question. Why is this important? Or let me say that differently using some of Peter's language. Why should you 'make every effort to supplement your faith'? Answering the question well is important because adding to your faith will take effort. It's right to ask why you should invest that effort. Arriving at a good answer to that question will make the difference when you want to give up, when taking a stand seems too hard. A good answer will tell you why you should keep at it. So, why is all of this important? Peter tells us. Listen to some verses near the end of our text.

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.

We could have an interesting conversation about what Peter is getting at when he applies the words 'nearsighted', 'blind' and 'having forgotten' to Christians. Those are words that challenge simplistic thinking about what some refer to as 'eternal security'. Whatever Peter is getting at here, it's not good. I think that, for now, it's enough to say that the failure to develop these qualities of excellence and piety will result in something really bad.

Let's, instead, focus on the first of those two verses. The disciple who takes Peter's exhortation to heart will not be 'ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Your efforts at adding to your faith will show. They will lead to a fruitful life. Here's a verse from John's Gospel that helps to fill that out.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Being fruitful points away from you. It points to the Father. It glorifies Him. It makes Him look good. And that is the point of not just being a disciple but of being a creature. We exist to make the Father look as good as He really is. That would be the reason for our existence even if there never were any sin. The redemption of Jesus is simply intended to get us back on track so that we can do what we were created to do. So, this is why you need to make every effort: developing excellence as disciples and a heart-felt piety will make it possible for you to fulfill your calling as a creature. And if you think about it, the key to being ready to take a stand is being committed to making the Father look as good as He really is.

Now, I'm thinking that's a good enough reason to work at wise choices, prayer and listening to the Spirit. Refusal to pursue these qualities reveals a heart that is cold toward God. We might even say that such a person 'is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.'

There is, however, yet another reason why this is important. And Peter gives it to us at the conclusion of our text.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Part of the good fruit of working at the qualities of excellence and piety and all the others is that doing so will result in assurance. Doing this will 'confirm your calling and election'. Working at adding these qualities to your faith will make it clear to you that the Spirit really has given you new life in Jesus, that you have been born again. And so, there is, again, a place for self-interest. It is always in second place, but it's there nonetheless.

So, it's time again for some choosing. What do you need to choose to do? You need to desire Jesus and what He is all about. You need to want to aim at excellence and to gain piety. Pray for the grace to desire and to follow up that desire, and then listen to the Spirit as He guides you to the goal.