God Cherishes You

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God Cherishes You Blog

Encouraging Spiritual Growth in the Face of Resistance

We have already studied the apostle Peter’s first epistle, (see Standing Steadfast in the Face of Your Trials and The Apostle Peter’s Love Applications).

            Now we will delve into his second and last epistle, known as the book of 2 Peter.

            In the mid 60s A.D., there was a fire in Rome, and the emperor Nero blamed it on the Christians. In retaliation, Nero launched a murderous campaign against them…

            Peter wrote his letter to his same audience as in 1 Peter, that is, to the Christian Jews of the Diaspora, spread across modern-day Turkey. He begins with an introduction of solidarity:

I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 2 Pt. 1:1, 2. NLT

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises.

These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Pt. 1:3, 4. NLT

            We see then that Peter is encouraging us to pursue our spiritual growth because God and His Son has prepared us to successfully do so.

            Then, he tells us how to help ourselves to enhance the use of those gifts:

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and with brotherly affection with love for everyone. 2 Pt. 5 – 7. NLT

Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pt. 1:10, 11. NLT

            The apostle is telling us to run our race for Jesus until we take our last breath, or until He returns – whichever comes first. Jesus will be waving the checkered flag, congratulating you, saying “Well done good and faithful servant.” (Mt. 25:21)

            Peter stresses that they do not forget what he has Holy Spirit-inspired in them because his time is short:

For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life… 2 Pt. 1:14 NLT (see Jn. 21:18)

            Next, the apostle stresses the veracity of what he says, because he was with Christ Himself:

For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father.

The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Pt 1:16 – 18. NLT (see Mt. 17:4 – 6.)

            The result?

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture every came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Pt. 1:19 – 21. NLT

            We see then that all biblical authors were Holy Spirit-inspired, so that they could both receive and reveal the pure unadulterated word of God.

            Now, Peter shifts his focus to false teachers who want to destroy the church. This battle will be fought right up until Christ returns:

…there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.

Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of the truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. 2 Pt. 2:1 – 3. NLT

For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. 2 Pt. 2:4 NLT

            However, their wicked end does not befall God’s children:

…the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the final day of judgment. 2 Pt. 2:9 NLT

            Our job is to remain firm in the true hope of Christ’s return:

…in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” 2 Pt. 3:3, 4. NLT

But you must not forget this one thing…: A Day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise…No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Pt. 3:8, 9. NLT

            Jehovah has a plan, and He promises that it will all come to pass. It will be fulfilled when He decides that it is the exact moment for time to end, and not one millisecond before. He has set the time interval to be ideal for everyone to have a chance to grab ahold of their salvation – out of His great love for humankind.

            God is a promise-keeper. He will send His Son for us. How will that look?

…the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day…On that day he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.

But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 2 Cor. 3:10 – 13. NLT

            When Christ returns, He is going to help His Father a create a major re-do of the universe, which, for God’s children, will be a wonderful, marvelous beginning in a love-saturated eternity…

            Goodnight and God bless.

Uprooting the Barriers to the Gospel

Last time, we examined the apostle Paul’s first ‘pastoral’ epistle, (i.e., how to pastor a church), to his disciple and spiritual co-worker, Timothy, in the book of 1 Timothy, (see Building New Warriors for Christ).

            We will now look at Paul’s second pastoral letter, known as the book of Titus.

            The letter was written in approximately 63 – 66 A.D., about the same time as 1 Timothy; and it shares many similar teachings, e.g., instructing Titus how to lead in church and how to deal with false teachers.

We have met Titus before, in Paul’s previous epistles: where he accompanies Paul and Barnabas to the Jerusalem Council, (Gal. 2:1), as a convert of Paul’s. He was Greek. Paul held Titus up to the council in his bid to show them that Gentiles could be saved as well.

            Titus appears as well during Paul’s third missionary journey, where Titus delivered the apostle’s letter to the Corinthian church (2 Cor 7:6 – 8, & 15; 8:16, 17.) and 8:23, where Paul introduces him:

If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works for me to help you.

            During Paul’s missionary journeys after he was freed from his Roman house arrest, he established a church on the island of Crete. When finished, with this task, he charged Titus with shepherding the church, while he continues with his missionary travels.

            Crete presented a huge challenge because the inhabitants were renowned for their moral decadence. It was time to uproot their barriers to the Gospel.

            Paul begins with a greeting to Titus:

I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God – who does not lie – promised them before the world began.

And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone.

I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. Titus 1:1 – 4. NLT

            Then the apostle gives Titus his marching orders – beginning with appointing elders (overseers) for the church, and telling him how to make sure that they make the grade:

I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint leaders in each town as I have instructed you.

An elder must live a blameless life…A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life…he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.

He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. Titus 1:5 – 9. NLT

            Paul is stressing the importance of loving and teaching the pure Gospel and to be prepared to correct others who may have erred in their understanding of it.

            The apostle then turns to the problems of false teachers:

For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist upon circumcision for salvation. They must be silenced because they are turning away whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they only do it for money. Titus 1:10, 11. NLT

So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth. Titus 1:13, 14. NLT

            As Paul continues, he addressed the nature of righteous teaching to encourage righteous living:

…promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.

…teach the older women to live in a way that honors God…must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely…

…encourage the young men to live wisely. Titus 2:1 – 4. NLT

            Paul addresses Titus’ own behavior to present himself to lead by example:

And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Titus 2:7, 8. NLT

            Next, the apostle drills down on why we should be so motivated to follow these behaviors, to reap the benefits of the Gospel promises:

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. Titus 2:11 – 14. NLT

            Now Paul shows us how to practice those godly behaviors out in the world:

Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. Titus 3:1,2. NLT

            Why? Because we need to be living examples that motivate others to inquire about our godly behavior and what inspires us to behave that way. And it’s all about our salvation:

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and a new life through Jesus Christ Our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. Titus 3:4 – 7. NLT

            Are we loved or what?

            Goodnight and God bless

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