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Grace Baptist Church

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  • Mailing Address: 1300 Ceitus Terrace, Cape Coral, FL 33991

 

 

Growing Godly

Apr 19, 2015

Passage: 1 Peter 1:1-15

Preacher: Jared Longshore

Category: Sunday Morning

Keywords: blessing, godliness, gospel, sanctification

Detail:

Pastor Jared Longshore looks to 2 Peter 1:1-15 to help believers understand the virtue of godliness. He challenges believers; how would they answer if asked if they were godly?

Peter taught that God powerfully provides for the godly growth of Christians in several ways. God’s first, and perhaps premier, provision is of grace (v. 2). God’s grace is not only sufficient for each need but abundant beyond the need. God provides immense power (3) which is given through the knowledge of God. As knowledge increases, trust in God increases resulting in greater availability of power. This trust originates in God’s call to individual believers. The promises of God (4) provide peace and encouragement and are coupled with God’s provision for escape from corruption (4). It is because of these provisions that believers, despite their sin, can successfully strive toward greater godliness.

Since God provides, it is incumbent on believers to avail themselves of the provision as they work towards a more godly life. Rather than lending itself to an easy life with growth almost by default, the Christian life is one of trials and struggles, joys and triumphs, which require action on the Christian’s part. Christians must make every effort (5) at growing godlier. Peter calls believers to add virtue, knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love to their lives. Christians are to actively develop these attributes. They do not merely wait for them to arrive!

There is a happy result for believers who attain to these virtues. Spiritual blessings abound. Believers, rather than being barren failures, will be fruitful and effective for their Master. Increased godliness results in increased assurance. The godlier a Christian becomes the greater their assurance of eternal blessings and life. Disobedience, on the other hand, has the opposite result.

Pastor Longshore finally encouraged believers to meditate on these spiritual blessings. Referring to Psalm 16, he uses David as an example of meditation and the good that results. Peace and assurance can belong to the Christian.

Peter laid out way to these blessings. He laid out the steps for a believer. For those who have yet to believe, who have yet placed their trust and confidence in the Savior of mankind, Peter reminds the reader that coming to the Lord Jesus Christ must be the very first step. For Christ, it was for the joy of seeing people come to Himself that led Him to the sacrifice on the Cross (Hebrews 12:2). Only after having come to the Savior can a person lay claim to the promises God, through Peter’s epistle, offers mankind.