“Be Diligent to Pursue Christ-likeness”
2 Peter 1:5
INTRODUCTION What is the Meaning of 2 Peter 1.5 Part 1 Moral Excellence
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Who do people today want to be like? [me: be like Mike]
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What qualities in that person do they like? [wealth, fame, skill, ]
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How has their lifestyle changed because they want to be like them? [I had Mike posters up, I even sought to wear my socks like he wore his socks; do the dunks he did on my lowered rim; as a lost boy, I was somewhat diligent to pursue-being like Mike. ]
And since God has done a work in my heart, he has by His grace, set me on a path to pursuing Christ-likeness, which I need to grow in.
POINT: Like you, I need to be be diligent to pursue Christ-likeness.
READ 2 Peter 1:1-15
Last time vv3-4…Because you have everything you need to live a godly life …
POINT: Be diligent to pursue Christ-likeness. Just the first part of v. 5…
2 Peter 1:5 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence
3 pts: diligent, to pursue, Christlikeness/excellence
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Be diligent
EXP: Diligence, occurs in v.5,10,15
ASK: Diligence What role does human effort play in the Christian life? [tight rope]
EXP the ASK:
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Salvation is God working in us; and we exercise the divine gift of faith.
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Growing in Christ, sanctification, is God working in us and we exercising faith also.
Growth is God’s work, our work. So it’s not let go and let God but it’s also not perfectionism or simply human effort. We are to be diligent. This passage focuses on diligence. Other passages focus on God’s work like Phil. 1:6.
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Philippians 1:6 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
So, we don’t produce growth in Christ ourselves; but we are to be diligent and work hard at it.
ASK Kids, What have you worked hard at to get it done? School? Cried over school? A project you wanted to do that wouldn’t work right? You were working hard.
If you’re trusting Christ this morning, you also need to work hard at becoming more like Jesus by reading His word and praying, being with His people, be corrected and encourage others, spread His truth to others.
APP: POINT: Be diligent to pursue Christ-likeness. As we go through these verses in coming weeks, ask yourself, “Where do I need to grow?” Be diligent to work on … pursuing Christ-likeness.
TRANS: What are we to be diligent about?
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Be diligent to pursue (Supply)
2 Peter 1:5 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence
ASK: The same word ‘supply’ in verse 5 is same word ‘supply’ in v.11… Get the point?
…if you supply these qualities in your life, an abundant entrance into the kingdom will be supplied to you!
EXP and ILL: The word “supply” in is a rich word. In the first century, and it was used of wealthy theater attendees. We are like wealthy attenders of a theater. But in the first century, these wealthy people were called upon to supply all that was necessary for the theater. Whether it was food, housing, costumes, payment, and even the props and the set. This wealthy individual did not do the acting himself, but he supplied and made it possible for all the other actors to do the work.
So he supplied what the actors needed in order to perform effectively. This is what Peter is teaching here. We are like wealthy attenders of a theater. We are to supply or “set the stage” sort of speak for God to do his work of producing Christ-likeness in us.[1]
We add to the set Bible meditation, prayer, fellowship, and diligence. And God does the actual work of producing Christlikeness in us.
ASK: Supply. It’s also similar to a garden. Who has a garden this year? What did you do to get it ready? How do you garden? Does your might and power grow the vegetables? No! But you have to cultivate it. You have to get the conditions right for the growing to happen.
We’ve had a garden in the past. Not the best! Something was up with soil. We’ve been supplying goat manure, straw, etc. to get it to produce the right fruit.
In the same way, we’re to work up the soil of our hearts and cultivate it through repentance, and Bible meditation, prayer, and fellowship with other believers so that God can grow the fruit in the soil of our hearts.
If we let the soil of our hearts retain the weeds of covetousness and bitterness and anger or if we aren’t diligent, the fruit of Christlikeness will be very limited in us.
Be diligent to supply … or you could think of it as be diligent to cultivate your hearts for God to produce Christlikeness in you.
TRANS: Now, what are we cultivating our hearts for? What are we pursuing?
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Moral Excellence
2 Peter 1:5 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence
EXP: Moral excellence. Occurs in v.3 and 2x in v5. Those 3 times are most of occurrences. 5 times. Phil. 4:8;
Philippians 4:8 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Without getting into it much, let me just say that if you study the way “excellence” was used in Greek outside the Bible it means this: the fulfillment of a purpose.[2] We use it this way too.
ASK Kids:
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What is an excellent horse? If it…what?
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A sword? Paxton and I played swords yesterday.
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Hockey player? [what if he could juggle, would that matter? Would it matter his name? Background? ]
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Employee?
Clearly a word that describes fulfilling a purpose.
ASK: Why would Peter start his list of desirable qualities with one that talks about fulfilling your purpose?
->ANS: [None of the rest of the qualities will be used for the right purpose until we perceive our purpose and dedicate our lives to that purpose. Which is…actually, first, …]
ASK: What is not our purpose on the earth?
1. wealth
2. success
3. intelligence
4. fame, admiration from others
ASK: What is ultimate purpose for the believer?
Likeness to Christ. And that’s what’s in the 2 Peter 1:5-7! Fulfill your purpose! Be diligent to fulfill your calling in Christ!
We are on earth for one reason and we must commit ourselves to it! Single minded committed to Christ. The part of that that we’re focused on today is….
POINT: Be diligent to pursue Christ-likeness.
Jim Berg said… “There will be no significant maturing in the Christian experience until you come to the realization that because of Christ’s work on the cross for you, you belong entirely to God to be used entirely for His purposes.” Do you realize that?
POINT: So commit to Christ! Be diligent to prepare the soil of your life for commitment to His purposes for you!
Commitment to Christ!
Ro. 12:1-2 – b/c of what Christ has done
Romans 12:1–2 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
James 4:8–9 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourself and repent of spiritual lukewarmness that leads to covetousness, quarreling, and instead search diligently for the truth as for hidden treasure and cry out to Him and thirst for His nearness and grace.
The church broadly speaking today is not filled with excellence. The church isn’t consumed with fulfilling its purpose of being like the Lord Jesus. That same temptation is with us too. It comes out in our complaining against each other or our failure to be committed to each other.
CONCLUSION What is the Meaning of 2 Peter 1.5 Part 1 Moral Excellence
I’ve personally needed this this past week; I’ve felt like I need to raise my commitment to Christ; I’ve felt like I’ve slouched spiritually this past week. I need to be diligent to pursue Christlikeness
Two choices: either you can become committed to Christ and enjoy v. 8 a useful and fruitful life in the sight of God, increasing v.10 in your sense of assurance of salvation ministered to you by the Holy Spirit, and v.11 ensuring yourself of an abundance entrance into the kingdom of God!
If not, you’ll have v.9 on your spiritual resume,
2 Peter 1:9 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
APP: I would encourage you to make each quality here a matter of prayer during the coming week. I wonder if someone here is so inclined to look up each reference to the word and plead with the Lord to give it. God will give us grace to do this.
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Berg Essential Virtues. ↑
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https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095423468 “The goodness or virtue of a person. In the thought of Plato and Aristotle virtue is connected with performing a function (ergon), just as an eye is good if it performs its proper function of vision. This is its telos or purpose (see also teleology). Aretē is therefore identified with what enables a person to live well or successfully…” ↑