Grow Christian Grow
2 Peter 1:1-11

Good evening.
I would like to use for our text this evening 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 1 through 11. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:2 – “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” then in the next verse Peter says; “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” We are blessed through the Word to receive knowledge of Him who brings us grace, peace, and all things pertaining to life and godliness.

At the end of chapter 3 with Peter’s final words of encouragement to finish his letter, he challenges us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18 – “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.”

Before we get into our text today let me share with you a short story about a man who got a job as an usher at the cinema; he was walking up the isle before the film was about to start, when he came across a man lying over 4 seats in the back row, the usher went over to the man and said, “Sir, you need to sit up and only take one seat.”

The man just lay there, so the usher said, “Excuse me sir, you really need to sit up and if you don’t, I will get the manager.” The man still didn’t move. He just lay there and moaned. The usher got the manager, who said, “Excuse me sir, would you please get up and only use one seat. We need these seats for paying customers.” The man still didn’t move. The manager said, “OK, if you don’t move I am going to phone for the Police,” but the man still didn’t move.

The manager got the police and the policeman said, “Sir, what is your name”? The man replied, “Tommy,” the policeman said, “where do you come from Tommy?” The man said, “the balcony”.

I guess the point we might take from this story is, if people don’t move it’s probably because there is something wrong. Or let me put it this way, if Christians don’t move or grow there is definitely something wrong.

Have you ever wondered what it means to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Can we, as Christians, be absolutely certain that we are growing in this knowledge? Why is it so important for Peter to urge his readers and us today to grow in this knowledge?

I. Thankfully Peter is going to give us some instruction to answer those questions. The first thing he is going to tell us is that growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ involves the development of eight graces.
A. Turn your Bibles to 2 Peter 1:5-7 – and here we read; “… for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”
B. Peter admonishes us to use all diligence to add to our faith. Not some diligence but all diligence. It is not to be a half-hearted effort, but our full effort. What are we to do? Add to our faith. This is written to those, like us, who already have faith to be added to. Peter then says we are to add to our faith - virtue or moral excellence as some translations have it. Next he mentions knowledge, self-control and patience or perseverance as some translations have it. He mentions godliness, brotherly affection and love.
C. What’s he getting at? Well lets look a little farther along and see what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:8 – “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
D. Peter says we need to abound in these eight graces if we want to continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Folks, Peter is talking about something which is more than simply increasing our intellectual knowledge of Jesus Christ. He is talking about growing in a full and personal knowledge of Jesus Christ.
II. There was a newspaper article about a famous preacher a few years ago. In the article they likened him to some of the apostles. One would suppose that this would be a huge compliment for most preachers, but not for this one. He wrote to the newspaper and said, "I do not want to be like a Paul or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!"
A. You see, Peter doesn’t want us just to know about Jesus. He wants us to be like Jesus. He wants us to sound like Jesus. He wants us to speak like Jesus. He wants us to think like Jesus.
B. If you want to be like Jesus, then you need to have faith like Jesus had. Have virtue like Jesus had. Have knowledge like Jesus had. Have self-control like Jesus had. Have patience like Jesus had. Have godliness, brotherly affection and love like Jesus had. In other words, these graces will help you be like Christ.
C. I know there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of knowledge of the Bible, but their lives are not reflecting that knowledge. They can name all the books of the Bible and are able to quote book chapter and verse from each of those books. That knowledge means nothing if it isn’t reflected in your life. You see the more we grow in these graces as Christians, the more we will really know Jesus because Jesus Christ is the perfect personification of these graces.
D. We’re only a few verses into 2 Peter and by verse 8 he will have already used the word ‘knowledge’ 5 times. The word knowledge is the Greek word epignosis which means to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly, to know accurately, and to know well.
E. Peter says this knowledge can only come about when we demonstrate these eight graces in our lives. Please don’t think this is simply a case of getting up in the morning and thinking, ‘ok, I need to work on my knowledge today or I’m going to work on my faith today’. Again Peter says in 2 Peter 1:5 – “For this very reason, make every effort to add.”[para] For us to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, we need to understand that all these eight graces need to be working together.
III. Did you know that some of the most powerful singing can be heard within the churches of Christ? As you know the only instrument we use is the instrument which God has commanded us to use, which is our voices. When Acapella music is in full force, it’s very powerful and heartfelt singing.
A. I have been in small congregations like ours and the singing was very powerful because everyone did their part. There all the people were involved in the singing and singing their individual parts. The whole singing experience was taken to another level. When we sing and do our best, everyone singing with the voice they have been gifted, it’s then that it is beautiful. It’s then that it is powerful. Look again at 2 Peter 1:5-7 – and I paraphrase; “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”
B. What Peter is saying here, when he says ‘add to’, he’s saying that when each grace is working in harmony with the others this will produce the overall effect.
C. He’s saying that each grace is to blend with the others to make perfect the grace that goes before it. It is additive.
1. Let me try to illustrate, Peter says, to knowledge add self-control. What he is saying is that the grace of self-control enables us to apply properly the knowledge we have.
2. When he says to self-control add perseverance, he’s saying self-control in turn needs the quality of perseverance to be consistent day after day.
3. In other words, we can’t just work on our brotherly affection one day and then work on our love the next. Each grace must be developed in conjunction with the others. Make no mistake about it folks, this takes effort on our part.
IV. Keeping in mind what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:5, let’s look next at what he says in 2 Peter 1:10 – “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;”
A. Peter uses the word diligence here which means we need to have zeal about growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We need to earnestly to work and strive to grow.
1. Yes, we’re given the gift of the Holy Spirit at our baptism and one of His roles is to help us become more Christ-like… but growing is not going to happen on its own.
2. You have to work with the Spirit to grow. If we don’t put in any effort then we will not grow into the fully mature Christian which God wants us to be.
3. There was a woman who had been a school teacher for 25 years. When she heard about a job that would mean a promotion, she applied for the position. However, the director gave the position to someone who had only been teaching for one year. She went to the director and asked why. The director responded, "I'm sorry, but you haven't had 25 years of experience in my view; what you've had is one year's experience 25 times." During that whole time this teacher had not improved.
V. You might say that there are many Christians today who suffer from ‘Peter Pan syndrome’. Do you know what that is? It is referring to the little boy who said, “I don’t want to grow up”. There are many Christians who have been Christians for many years but they haven’t grown and they don’t seem to want to.
A. There are many Christians today, like the little boy who had his first night in a big bed, after 3 years in his child’s bed. In the middle of the night his mom and dad heard a thump and then heard him cry. When they went to see what happened, he was lying on the floor, rubbing his head. His parents said, “What happened”? The little boy said, “I guess I stayed to close to where I got in”.
B. What Peter is telling us, folks, is that unless we continue to grow, we are simply repeating the first year of our Christian lives over and over again; we’ve stayed too close to where we got in.
C. Just in case you’re wondering if all that effort is worth it, Peter goes on to give us three reasons why we should continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 1:9 it says, “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” Do we hear that? Without growth we are shortsighted, looking only at the day.
D. Many years ago when my first wife was alive she worked in a nursing home. She worked with some elderly people who had dementia. That is a horrible, horrible disease. What was interesting was that they could recall with great detail events which happened years ago, but when you asked them what they did yesterday or even the same day, they couldn’t tell you.
1. Let me ask you this, have you ever stopped to think about something, and then forgot to start again? You see we all became Christians because we knew we had a sin problem which needed to be dealt with and we came to the waters of baptism to have those sins forgiven.
2. What are we supposed to do after that? As Christians, what are we supposed to do next? We’re supposed to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ.
3. Peter is telling his readers and us this evening that unless we grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ and become more like Christ we could end up with spiritual amnesia. Peter says if you’re not growing, you’re blind. You’re short-sighted.
VI. What is a Christian’s ultimate reason for being a Christian? Is it just to go to church? Is it just to get together with other Christians who believe the same thing? Is it to ensure that we don’t lose our salvation? What is God’s purpose for you being a Christian today?
A. Paul tells us first of all in Romans 8:29 – “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Here Paul says the goal and ultimate aim for being a Christian is to become like Jesus Christ Himself.
B. Paul also tell us in Colossians 3:9-11 – “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and (where?) in all.” Paul says the reason you’re a Christian is to demonstrate in your life that you have changed and are changing daily into the likeness of Jesus Christ Himself.
C. This is exactly what Peter means when he says we need to grow in the knowledge of Christ. When we don’t grow, we forget. We forget why we were redeemed by the blood of Christ in the first place.
1. Yes, we’re Christians because we want our sins forgiven but we should be striving to present ourselves to God and become what He wants us to become, which is the likeness of His Son Jesus.
2. Not only will we end up with spiritual amnesia if we don’t grow in the knowledge of Christ, but we could end up losing our salvation if we don’t grow in that knowledge.
VII. Look at 2 Peter 1:10 – “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;”
A. We don’t want to misunderstand what Peter is saying here. He is not saying that Christians will never fail in terms of sinning. 1 John 1:8-10 tells us we will sin and do sin. The word ‘stumble’ or ‘fail’ as some translations have it means to fall into misery. Let me put it this way—to lose your salvation.
B. What Peter is saying is that if we are continuing to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, there is less chance of us falling from grace and losing our salvation. For us to do that we need to be diligent, we need to be earnestly trying to grow. When we’re growing we don’t forget, when we’re growing we won’t lose our salvation. After all that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Isn’t that where we’re trying to get to?
VIII. Remember in 1 Peter he tells us, we’re strangers travelling through a strange land until we get to our real home which is in heaven. Look now at what he tells us in 2 Peter 1:11 – “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter says grow Christian grow. Why? Because heaven awaits you.
A. Can you imagine what heaven is going to be like? A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father one time. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and says; "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be like!"
B. Folks, when we possess those eight graces, when we grow in them and develop them in our lives, we will be able to live victoriously in this life and with great joy look forward to what lies ahead.
C. Then we too just like Paul can begin to understand these words in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 – “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to (who?) to all who have loved His appearing.”

CONCLUSION:
Folks, let me encourage you keep reading your Bibles. Let me encourage you to continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let me encourage you to keep growing so that others will see Jesus in your lives.

Let me leave you with some words of a song. Amy Grant once sung a song called “Fat Baby.” I think you’ll get the point after I’ve read the words.

I know a man, maybe you know him too, you never can tell, he might even be you, He knelt at the altar and that was the end, he’s saved and that’s all that matters to him, His spiritual tummy, it can’t take too much, one day a week, he gets his spiritual lunch.

On Sunday he puts on his spiritual best, and gives his language a spiritual rest, He’s just a fat little baby, he wants his bottle and he doesn’t mean maybe, He’s sampled solid food once or twice, but he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice.

He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood, but his daily devotions are stuck in the mud, He knows the books of the Bible and John 3:16, he’s got the biggest King James you’ve ever seen!

I’ve always wondered if he’ll grow up some day, he’s mama’s boy, and he likes it that way, If you happen to see him, tell him I said, he’ll never grow, if he never gets fed, He’s just a fat baby.

I think we get the point.
Keep growing Christian, keep growing.

Taken from sermon by Mike Glover