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II Peter 1:5-11
Verse 5-7, And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue; and to virtue knowledge; {6} And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; {7} And to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
I. Our part. Verse 1-4 primarily gives those things God does for us. These
verses gives a list of those things we ought to do for ourselves (by the grace
of God, of course).
II. Beside this.
A. In addition to living by the promises of God.
B. I am afraid the evidence shows that most people who say they are saved
do not know what it means to live by the promises of God, therefore, they
cannot know what it is to add the things listed to their lives.
C. May God help us to understand and obey His Word, for it is for our
benefit.
III. Giving all diligence.
A. The word diligence means to try.
B. This does not mean we are trying to be saved, or stay saved.
C. It means we must try to bring our bodies into submission to the
commands of God.
IV. Add the following list.
A. Note that we "add" to our faith, and God
"multiplies". This shows that God has much more power than us. He
is able to increase us in ways we simply can't imagine. We can only increase
our statue in small ways.
B. There are seven things to add.
1. Adding these seven things will not make us perfect, for we will
never be perfect in this body.
2. Adding these seven things will make us complete, for seven is the
Bible number for completeness.
V. The list.
A. Faith.
1. We start out with faith, which is not what we add.
2. We receive faith at salvation.
3. It is a gift of God, not something we "struggle up" from
the depths of our souls.
B. Virtue.
1. This word means purity, or cleanness.
2. The word virtue in Matt. 5:30 means power.
3. The very first thing we ought to diligently try to do is clean up
our lives and not live the way we did when we were lost.
4. II Peter 1:3 - God has called us to glory and virtue.
C. Knowledge.
1. Ignorance is never a Christian virtue.
2. God's children should seek to know God's ways, for this will keep
them from sinning.
3. II Samuel 6 - David tried to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem, but
was ignorant of the proper procedure. His plan failed, but after much
study, he determined the proper procedure. This time he successfully
brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem.
4. II Peter 3:17,18 - If we grow in the knowledge of God, we set in
motion a system in our lives that ensures that we won't fail.
D. Temperance.
1. This word does not mean "not to drink alcoholic
beverages".
2. It means to have self control or to control our impulses.
3. Gal. 5:23 - Temperance is a fruit of the spirit.
4. I Cor. 9:25 - "And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things..."
E. Patience.
1. Patience is a greater virtue than self control for patience is a
continuing quality, not a temporary measure.
2. Romans 5:3 - Tribulation worketh patience.
3. James 1:3 - The trying of our faith worketh patience.
4. Hebrews 10:36 - We need patience after we have done the will of God
in order to receive the promise.
5. Hebrews 12:1 - Let us run with patience the race that is set before
us.
F. Godliness.
1. This means to add those things to our personality that make us to be
like Christ.
2. I Tim. 2:2 - We must pray that we will be able to live quiet and
peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty.
3. I Tim. 4:7,8 - True godliness will enable us to completely enjoy our
present life and our future life in eternity with God.
4. I Tim. 6:6 - "Godliness with contentment is great gain."
5. II Peter 3:11 - We ought to live godly because we know that this
earth will soon be destroyed.
G. Brotherly kindness.
1. The sixth thing we are to add to our lives is to show the first five
to our brothers in Christ.
2. This does not mean that we are bragging about ourselves, but it
means we are not ashamed of letting others see Christ in us.
3. Col. 3:12,13 - Here are some things we ought to do to one another.
4. Eph. 4:32 - "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you."
5. Matt. 5:43-48 - We are to love our enemies, for Christ loved His
enemies.
6. Luke 6:35 - Christ commanded us to love our enemies that we might be
the children of the Highest.
H. Charity.
1. This is the seventh of the things we ought to add to ourselves.
2. Some might think love (charity) would be the first and all these
other things would come from love.
3. The truth is that a young saved person cannot love with that self
sacrificing love a mature Christian can love with.
4. Col. 3:14 - The greatest thing we can add to our lives is charity,
which is the bond of completeness.
5. III John 6 - The love we have for God will be revealed in our lives.
Others will see this love and be encouraged to follow Christian virtues.
Verse 8,9 - For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. {9} But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see
afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
I. Promises or Blindness.
A. II Peter 1:8,9 gives us two options:
1. Learn the promises of God, live by them, and take on the nature of
Christ.
2. Don't learn the promises of God, become blind and forget that you
were ever saved.
B. We would like to believe we are in category # 1, but are we really?
1. See my notes on Genesis chapter 12 to see how Abram failed to
believe the promises of God, and what it cost him.
2. We will also pay a price for not believing.
II. Verse 8 - The right life.
A. Be in you and abound.
1. They must not only be in you, but they must abound (exist in great
quantities) in you.
2. Romans 15:13 - "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the
Holy Ghost."
3. II Cor. 8:7 - Paul tells the Corinthians they must first abound in
faith, utterance, knowledge, and all diligence before they can abound in
giving material things.
B. These things make you.
1. These things take away all powers of personalities and programs.
2. They focus our attention on the true attributes of holiness.
3. These things are our assurance that we cannot be barren nor
unfruitful.
C. In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. This is the only knowledge that really counts.
2. All other knowledge will perish when this world perishes.
D. Matt. 21:18-22 - Barren nor unfruitful.
1. We need leaves - for our personal growth.
2. We need fruit - for the glory of God.
3. John 15:5 - We can bear much fruit, if we have the proper knowledge
about Christ.
III. Verse 9 - The wrong life.
A. Lacks the seven Christian virtues.
1. This is because the person has not tried to add these virtues to his
life.
2. The newborn Christian also lacks these virtues, but Christ
"overlooks" this deficiency because they haven't had time to
grow up.
B. Is blind, and cannot see afar off.
1. Matt. 15:14, They are not suitable for leadership, for when the
blind lead the blind, both fall into the ditch.
2. They can see things up close, but they can never see the overall
picture.
3. This lack leaves them without a clear direction for their lives, so
they needlessly spend their lives wandering around.
C. Forgotten he was purged from his old sins.
1. This doesn't mean they have lost their salvation.
2. Forgot doesn't mean they have forgotten the time they were saved,
but they are in a spiritual daze, and they have forgotten the joy they had
when they were saved.
3. They will never bear fruit to perfection (until they begin to add
the seven items in this scripture).
4. Every man that has cultivated fruit knows that no tree can bear very
richly the first year. The first year a tree bears, the fruit is of the
lowest quality; the second year it is a little better; the third year it
is still better; the fourth year it is better yet; and it continues to
improve every year until the tenth; and then you begin to know what is the
best thing that tree can do. Trees have to go through a maturing process
of ten years' duration before they can bear fruit of the highest flavors.
So it is with the Christian. Beecher
5. This is the reason the Bible states that a pastor must not be a
novice, I Tim. 3:6.
a. A novice may not have a root at all (Matt. 13:20,21).
b. Time will prove whether the individual has the inner ability to
add the Christian virtues or not.
Verse 10,11, Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
{11} For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I. Verse 10.
A. Wherefore the rather, brethren.
1. Don't do like those people in verse 9, but rather like the people in
verse 8.
2. He calls them brethren, for he does not doubt their salvation, and
they continued efforts to serve God.
B. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.
1. Diligence means to try to find out whether you are called and
elected.
2. This is the personal responsibility of every person who believes
they are saved.
3. Calling and election are two different things that are irreversibly
linked together.
a. Calling is to make sure the Holy Spirit has drawn us to God; that
we haven't been drawn by ourselves, friends, family, or Satan.
b. Eph. 1:4, Election is the choosing of God that He has made before
the foundation of the world.
C. For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.
1. Col. 1:9,10 - When we are filled with the knowledge of God, we will
walk worthy of His holy name, and be fruitful.
2. John 15:1-5 - When we abide with Christ like we ought to, we will
bear much fruit to the glory of God.
3. This scripture is not talking about bearing these fruits so that we
won't lose our salvation.
4. The word "fall" is referring to verse 9.
a. These people didn't lose their salvation.
b. They forgot the joy of being saved and serving God.
II. Verse 11.
A. The abundance entrance.
1. This is not an entrance into heaven.
2. If this was an entrance into heaven, it would mean salvation came
because of our works.
B. Into the everlasting kingdom of Christ.
1. Satan has a kingdom on this earth.
a. Luke 4:5-8 - Satan promises Jesus all the kingdoms of this world
if He will only fall down and worship him.
b. Rev. 16:10,11 - Satan's kingdom will be full of trouble.
c. Rev. 20:10 - Satan is finally cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
2. Christ also has a kingdom.
a. Psalms 72:8 - Christ shall reign from sea to sea. This shows
Christ will reign on this present earth.
b. Rev. 21:1 - When there is no more sea, (in the eternal age) Christ
will continue to reign in eternity.
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