BEING GODLY
THROUGH THE WORD
IN THE MIDST OF A
COMPROMISING WORLD
(2 Peter 1:5-7)
WHAT DISTINGUISHES A CHRISTIAN
FROM A NON-CHRISTIAN?
IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO BE GODLY IN A
TIME WHERE ALL VIRTUES SEEMS TO BE
LOST OR THROWN OUT THE WINDOW?
HOW DO WE AS A PEOPLE OF GOD
STAND OUT IN THE MIDST OF A
DEPRAVED WORLD?
CONTEXT
1. SALVATION
Christians are to strive diligently
because they are already saved by faith
in Christ (see verse 1).
2. SANCTIFICATION AND DISCIPLESHIP
(see verse 5a)
3. SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S POWER
AND PROVISION.
(see verse 3)
4. STRIVING FOR GODLINESS
(see verses 4-7)
5. SCRIPTURALLY GROUNDED
AND ESTABLISHED
(see verses 5-7 and compare to
Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Timothy
6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22)
UNDERSTANDING THE SOVEREIGN
WORK OF GOD IN SALVATION WILL
ENABLE US TO RELY UPON THE
SUFFICIENCY AND THE POWER OF
GOD AND TO STRIVE TO LIVE
BIBLICALLY IN GODLINESS AS
CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDST OF A
WORLD OF COMPROMISES.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF
A GROWING CHRISTIAN:
1. FAITH – v.5a
Faith is a gift from God through Christ,
the foundation upon which the
Christian builds his life.
• Faith begins as saving faith
(Ephesians 2:8) and then as the
faith without which it is
impossible to please God
(Hebrews 11:6); whatever does
not originate through faith is sin
(Romans 14:23).
• Our faith is based upon the
revealed word of God (2 Peter 1:4;
Romans 10:8, 17).
• We are to walk and live by faith (2
Corinthians 5:7; Romans 1:17).
• Our faith is tested, proven, and
strengthened by the trials and
adversity God allows to come into
our life (1 Peter 1:6-7).
• Faith is not only the basis for belief
but also the basis for our behavior
(see Hebrews 11).
Our Lord Jesus Himself is the
object and the source of our
faith as well as the model for
our faith
(Galatians 2:20).
2. MORAL EXCELLENCE – v.5b (NASB)
“virtue”—KJV, ESB
“goodness”—NIV, HCSB
“Noble character”—Weymouth
“real goodness of life”—Phillips
Compare to the NT use:
• Philippians 4:8
• 1 Peter 2:9
• 2 Peter 1:3
Compare to the OT use:
• Isaiah 42:8
• Isaiah 42:12
• Isaiah 43:21
Excellence is an expression
poetically paralleled with the
glory of God.
God’s glory is His virtue, His
excellencies, for which He is
worthy of praise.
The “moral excellence” we are to
“add” to our faith is the excellence of
God’s nature, which He makes
available to us in Christ.
We are to acknowledge it as good, as
desirable, as worthy of praise, and as
that which we wish to emulate in our
own lives (Ephesians 5:1-2).
TO EMBRACE THE EXCELLENCIES
OF GOD IS TO STRIVE AFTER
THEM AND THEN TO EXPRESS
THEM IN OUR LIVES TO THE
GLORY AND PRAISE OF GOD.
3. KNOWLEDGE – v. 5c
• See 2 Corinthians 4:6
This is a doctrinal knowledge, a
knowledge revealed in Scripture with
clear biblical support and also an
experiential knowledge of God.
Hebrews 5:12-14
Colossians 1:9-12
This “knowledge” must also be
understood as contrasting and
contradicting the false knowledge of the
false teachers who would undermine
both the truth and the faith of the
saints. 2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-19;
2 Peter 3:14-18
4. SELF-CONTROL – v.6a, means
literally “to take a grip of oneself.”
1 Peter 1:14
Ephesians 2:1-3
Romans 6:15-18; see Romans 8:12-13
Living a godly life requires us to
master the flesh and make it our
servant, rather than our master.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Romans 7:14-21
ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE CAN
WE OVERRULE FLESHLY LUSTS,
AND BECAUSE OF HIS
PROVISIONS,
WE MUST DILIGENTLY STRIVE
TO DO SO.
The prompting of the flesh must be
brought under control, and we are to
heed the prompting of the Spirit of
God, as He speaks through the Word
of God (Romans 8:1-8; 1 Corinthians
2:1-16; 3:16-17; 4:6).
5. PERSEVERANCE – v.6b
• “Faith” brings us into relationship
with God through Jesus Christ.
• “Moral excellence” seeks the
character of God as the standard
and goal for our own character.
• “Knowledge” describes the kind of
pursuit we have for God and His
Word.
• “Self-control” enables us to curb
our physical passions and to make
our bodies servants of the will of
God.
• “Perseverance”—enables us to
persist in our growth in godly
character, even when we suffer for
doing so.
1 Peter 2:21-25
Colossians 1:24-27
Hebrews 12:1-3
6. GODLINESS – v.6c
Godliness refers to practical religion,
or, perhaps we should say, practiced
religion.
Godliness is the religion we practice
in our day-to-day walk.
Godliness is “… the attitude of
reverence which seeks to please God
in all things. It desires a right relation
with both God and men. Godliness
brings the sanctifying presence of
God into all the experiences of life”
(D. Edmond Hiebert, Second Peter
and Jude (Greenville, South Carolina:
Unusual Publications, 1989), p. 54).
7. BROTHERLY KINDNESS - v.7a
It is a love based in part on what we
share in common with the One we love.
There is a certain element of reciprocity
involved, for ideally we should be a
blessing to our brother in Christ, and he
should be a blessing to us.
1 Peter 1:22
Ephesians 2:11-16
While God has removed the barrier
between fellow-believers, this is
something we must strive to practice
and to preserve.
8. LOVE – v. 7b
This refers to “agape love,” which
might be called the highest love.
It is also the capstone of all the
virtues the Christian should pursue.
1 Thessalonians 3:12
1 John 4:19
1 Corinthians 13:13
Matthew 5:43-48
John 13:34-35
CONCLUSION
1. We must acknowledge God’s
sovereignty, power and provisions in
our salvation.
2. Since God has provided the means
for life and godliness, we are to strive
to manifest godly character in our
lives.
3. We have been saved not only to
enjoy God’s blessings but also to
bring glory to God through a life of
godliness.
4. We are to seek to be led by the
Spirit of God and genuinely bear
fruit through our diligent study and
application of the Word of God.
5. Christian maturity does not
happen automatically, we must strive
for it being dependent on the power
and provision of God.