IF YOU DO THESE THINGS

 IF YOU DO THESE THINGS, YE SHALL NEVER FALL

Read 2 Peter 1:3-10

{1:3} According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

{1:4} Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

{1:5} And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

{1:6} And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

{1:7} And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

{1:8} 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.

{1:9} But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

{1:10} Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

 

That part of the Scripture stood out to me in verse 10 – IF you do THESE THINGS, you shall never fall. 

How many want to know how to never fall?  I sure do! In order to ensure that: we need to not only KNOW how to never fall, we need to also strive and work to apply ‘these things’ to our life. Not just being hearers of the Word, but doers also. (James 1:23)

What are ‘these things’? 

Verse 8 says IF THESE THINGS be IN you, AND ABOUND, they will make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

‘These things’ need to be IN each of us AND ABOUNDING (be present in large numbers or in great quantity; flourishing; thriving; overflowing)

Peter listed them in a letter he sent to several Churches, and so, we are going to study more in-depth as to what he was teaching us. (Important note: these letters were written to those who are already saved and have followed his instructions in Acts 2:38-39)

{1:3} According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…

‘These things’ that we are going to study pertain (meaning: related, applicable) to life and godliness.  God’s Word and the Preacher through the preached Word teach us how to live holy and godly in this present sinful world.  

Peter instructed to give all diligence to these 8 things.  The definition of diligence means to give all steady, earnest, careful and persistent work or effort to.

 

FAITH

The first thing Peter mentions in verse 5 is our faith.  That is the foundation upon which we build all the other attributes mentioned.

Faith is your moral conviction of religious truth.  It is holding tightly to a strong belief that can not be swayed.

The Bible instructs to ‘Buy the Truth and sell it not!’ (Proverbs 3:23)

Learn what the Bible really says about subjects and matters.   

Paul instructs in Colossians 2:6-8

(6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:
(7) ROOTED (get your roots and foundation grounded in Christ and what His Word truly says so that when storms and trials come, you have a strong foundation that can not and will not be shaken or moved)

(7) And BUILT UP in Him (Once your foundation and roots are strong and deep, then you can build upon it.  Your house, your beliefs, your life will continue to stand strong for Christ and in Christ no matter what comes your way.  Those who fall away, did not have a strong foundation in Biblical Truth.)

(7) AND STABLISHED in the Faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (there’s that word ‘abounding’ again.  Paul was teaching to let the Faith that you’ve been taught to ABOUND, thrive, flourish, overflow in you)

(8) Because there will come to you those who will try to taint and pervert and subvert the truths of the Gospel through philosophy (meaning: love of wisdom but not necessarily unto more godliness.  They try to appear wise and use philosophical phrases to impress and sway a belief with their intellect.).

(8) They’ll try to pervert and subvert your faith through vain deceit (meaning: excessively prideful yet a misrepresentation of truth.  Beware those who teach with pride or arrogance…that is opposite of God’s character.)

(8) And after the tradition of men (There are those who will more quickly follow and listen to what a family member or even a supposed religious teacher says if what they are hearing is appealing to the flesh – even if they can be shown Scripture that teaches and instructs opposite of what that person has said is ok),

(8) after the rudiments (basic principles) of the world, and not after Christ.  (there will come false doctrines and false teachings that are not based on Christ nor the Word of God but are based on the world’s views and way of thinking.)

Peter warned in the very first verse of 2 Peter 2 to beware of false prophets and false teachers who will come in among you and bring in damnable heresies (meaning they will bring ruin or loss spiritually by their false doctrines that are not biblically supported).  He said their ways are pernicious, meaning their teachings and ways will have a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way. They speak evil against the way of Truth.

Get rooted and built up in God’s Holy Word so you will be able to discern what is Truth and what is err.

 

VIRTUE

After you are rooted and grounded, add to the foundation of faith virtue;

Virtue means behavior showing high moral standards.

The definition of standard is: a level of quality or attainment. Something established by authority as a rule for the measure of quality.

Successful companies have standards of behavior that they expect their employees to abide by. They also have standards of conduct in which they have to abide by concerning treatment of employees.

Food industry have standards to ensure the safety of prepared food. Their standards are rules and regulations that all businesses involved with serving and handling food must follow, or else risk being fined or shut down.

Companies will even have dress code standards in which their employees are expected to comply.  Such as these rules found while searching the internet: everyone is expected to be well-groomed and wear clean clothes, free of holes, tears or other signs of wear.

Dress codes are used to communicate to employees what the organization considers appropriate work attire. 

Many businesses have such rules and restrictions as to what is acceptable and what is not….nurses, doctors, McDonald’s, and even schools have dress codes. And yet people will stiffen, fight against, and call a church legalistic if they try to teach modesty as taught in God’s Word???

The world’s moral standards or lack thereof should not be what defines how we live, dress, and act.  Our moral standards are to be in tandem (alongside of, together with) the Bible.  We need to develop moral standards that are higher than the world’s because God’s ways are not man’s ways.  He is holy and we are commanded to be holy as well.

 

KNOWLEDGE

Then to our virtue (our high moral standards) we add knowledge.

Knowledge is the facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; it is the practical understanding of a subject.

Many students will continue on to college or a trade school to gain more knowledge about the career they wish to pursue.

When you or I want to gain more knowledge about God’s Word and His ways, we must become students of the Word – read, re-read, and study it over and over to learn God’s Word and get it in our hearts.  And seek God’s wisdom and guidance through prayer.  I used to pray diligently as a child for God to teach me HIS ways and help me understand His Word.

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus as a disciple and absorb all that He had to say. Martha was busy doing FOR Jesus, but Mary was quietly learning FROM Jesus.  We need to be like Martha to an extent, but we need to be a lot more Mary, basking in God’s presence.  That’s where our spiritual strength and understanding comes from. 

We also learn by the preached Word and Bible studies.  God gives the Pastors, preachers, and teachers wisdom to expound/to explain His Word to the listeners.

Romans 10:14 asks, “How shall they hear without a preacher?”

Ecclesiastes 12:9, “…because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge…”

God said in Jeremiah 3:15, “I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

The popular and growing belief in society today is that they don’t need a pastor.  That is contrary to God’s Word.  Those who are knowledgeable in the Word of God understand that.

TEMPERANCE and PATIENCE

So we know have our foundation of FAITH.  We’ve built Virtue (a high moral standard) upon our Faith.  And we strive to gain knowledge of God and His Word as we walk this Christian walk. 

Next, we add to our knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;

I’m going to mention these two together because as I give the definitions, you will see how these two (temperance and patience) go somewhat hand in hand.

Temperance is moderation in action, thought or feeling. It is showing restraint.  In simpler terms: it is self-control.

Patience means the ability to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. It is the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

I’ll be honest and admit that is tough to do at times!

Both of these (temperance and patience, aka longsuffering) are a fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:23)

Temperance (self-control) is needed in many areas of our life….for some it may be concerning food; for others it is needed to overcome addictions such as alcohol, nicotine, or drugs…and even caffeine; and there will be others who need to learn self-control to manage and overcome outbursts of anger. 

Anger is a work of the flesh – opposite of the fruit of the spirit. It is opposite of the character of God. Anger usually arises in someone when things are not going their way. Or they are trying to bully someone (an employee or company) to do things their way.  They let frustration and irritation build in them, feeding it with negative thoughts until they explode on someone instead of taking time to pray and ask God to give them peace in their heart and mind.

Patience is needed when you’re driving in Jackson. :-S  Patience is needed when you’re the one being cussed or yelled at.  Patience is needed when you are being provoked unjustly and without cause (whether it’s on the job or elsewhere).  Patience is needed when someone’s purposeful words shoot like daggers into your heart and try to poison your mind with bitterness.

I know the Bible says tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3), but it also says that patience brings experience and hope.  

If we have patience, we most likely also have self-control (temperance) as well.  If we have learned self-control (temperance), we will also most likely have patience in dealing with people and situations.

We need to work to develop both temperance (self-control) and patience.

GODLINESS

and to patience add godliness;

Godliness means ‘the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness.’

We should practice and strive to be conformed to the laws and wishes of God. We need to learn to be more like Jesus in every way.

People will claim to be Christian yet they live and act in ways that Jesus would not live or act. 

That old saying may seem cliché but it is still a very good question to ask…

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

Would Jesus say that?  Would Jesus act like that?  Would Jesus do that?  Or find it acceptable to do? Would Jesus dress like that? Or find it acceptable to wear?  His Word answers those questions.

We need to develop godliness.

 

BROTHERLY KINDNESS and CHARITY

The last two of the ‘these things’ that Peter instructed us to add to life: brotherly kindness and charity.

Both of these refer to having love for others.

Brotherly love does not always come naturally due to the sin nature. We find that evidenced when Cain killed Abel. And Jacob wrestled and fought with Esau from the womb through adulthood.

But when we have the Spirit of God dwelling and working in us, He helps us to love everybody.

We find many Scriptures within the Bible instructing us to ‘love one another’.

1 John 1:10 – he that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1 John 3:10 – in this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

1 John 3:14-15 - he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

If you don’t love others, whose child are you according to these 3 verses?

1 John 3:23 – love one another, as He gave us commandment.

1 John 4:7-8 – Let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:20-21 – If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.

Jesus said it strongly in John 13:35 – BY THIS shall all men KNOW that ye are MY DISCIPLES, IF ye have LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER.

People will know we are a disciple of Jesus is we love one another.

There are many many more Scriptures I could list, but loving others can be summed up in these final passages of Scripture:

Matthew 22:37-40 – Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Romans 13:10 – Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

 

Sometimes tests come along to reveal to us where we may need some work.

If we never want to fall, we need to give all diligence to add these things to our life.  And not just have them in our life, but they need to be abounding in us….

If these 8 things are in us AND abound, we will never fall!  That’s a promise in God’s Word.