Peter: No Excuses - 2 Peter 1:1-9

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His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. Through these he has given us his precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add... 2 Peter 1: 3-5  (BSB) 

There are two phrases that bookend Peter’s words here: “He has given us everything we need...” and “For this reason, make every effort to add...” 

When Peter uses the word we translate “add,” he doesn’t intend us to be adding another coat of paint on top of something old. He doesn’t intend us to be adding a blanket to cover something else.  

The idea behind that ‘adding’ is ‘to feed.’ To feed something, causing it to grow. 

God has given us everything we need, so make every effort to add to your faith... 

Peter is speaking to people of faith, and he is a man of faith. His journey started with his faith in God, in the promises of the prophets, with the fact that his people were waiting for the Messiah. Not just wishing, but waiting, because he was coming. They knew that they would recognize Messiah when he came.  

Peter's story kicks off (for our purposes) with the moment when Andrew, his brother, comes running: “We have found him! We have found the Messiah!” The moment when Peter’s faith is made real.  

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• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your faith with virtue. 

“Virtue” (or “goodness”) doesn’t mean just staying out of trouble. It doesn’t mean avoiding demerit points by driving the speed limit. The concept is one of the fulfillment of purpose. The acting out of purpose. One of my commentaries put it this way: “The virtue of a knife is its cutting. The virtue of a horse is its running.” 

The “virtue” of Peter's faith was not just sitting around going, “Oh yes, I believe in Messiah, yay.” The virtue of Peter's faith was following Jesus. Going where he was told. Going on to teach, to preach, to guide, to protect, and to provide.  

Peter fed his faith with purpose-fulfilling action.  

• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your virtue with knowledge (or enlightenment—the insight we gain from the Spirit within our own selves, and from other believers).  

There was a time, early in the life of the Church, when Peter and the other apostles were in Jerusalem. They were keeping a low profile because they were legitimately hurting, and they were legitimately afraid. Then one day, wherever they were, there was a knock on the door. The voice outside said, “Hey guys, it's Barnabas. Listen, I know how this is going to sound, but hear me out. There's this guy out here who wants to meet you. His name is Saul of Tarsus.”  

Saul of Tarsus was the guy they were afraid of. Now he's outside the door, and he wants to meet them. Like, Barnabas, seriously? You showed him where we live?  

But the apostles listened. They listened to Barnabas. They listened to Saul. They listened to the voice of the Spirit. In bringing Saul into the fold, the Church began to step into its purpose in a new way.  

Peter fed his virtue with knowledge.  

• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your knowledge with self-control.  

I think there must have been days in Peter's ministry when he was tearing his hair out.  

He had walked with Jesus, like literally walked with Him. Shared meals with Him. Seen Him die. Seen Him buried. Seen Him resurrected and come back to find His friends. Peter had seen Holy Spirit arrive with fire, filling and empowering daughters and sons to be prophets. He had seen the uncurable healed. He had seen the dead raised. And there must have been days in the Jerusalem church when he just wanted to take people by the shoulders and go, “Are you kidding me? All of that happened! All that amazing stuff! And you... you're arguing about who gets the first sandwich? Seriously?” 

There must have been days when he had to dig deep and find the voice of the Spirit, saying ‘Peter, love them. Be gentle. Be kind. Just as you have received.’ 

Peter fed his knowledge with self-control.  

• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your self-control with perseverance.  

Perseverance is just patience on-the-march. One step at a time, keeping on the path that you need to be on.  

Peter knew that Messiah had come, but the world was still fighting back. There were still battles out there. There was still stuff to be done out in the world. But for decades, Holy Spirit assigned Peter to the home front, serving in Jerusalem while Paul was out there travelling the world and having adventures. Preaching to strange new worlds and new civilizations, boldly going where the good news of Jesus had not gone before. And here was Peter. In Jerusalem, serving one day at a time.  

While everybody was talking about Paul, Peter was holding down the fort, quietly and faithfully doing what the Spirit gave him to do. 

He fed his self-control with perseverance.  

• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your perseverance with God-likeness.  

The first time we meet Peter, he’s fishing. The last time we see him fishing, he ended up having breakfast with Jesus on the beach. Jesus was there, after His resurrection, to give the church their marching orders.  

They sat together by the fire, having a conversation that was just between the two of them, Jesus challenged Peter. He said, ‘I have a job for you to do, and this is where it starts.’  

When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know I love you.” John 21:15

Jesus told him, “If you love me, feed them.”  

Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know I love you.” John 21:16 

Jesus told him, “If you love me, feed them.” 

Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” “Lord, you know all things,” he replied. “You know I love you.”  John 21:17 

Jesus said, “If you love me, feed them.” 

Peter arrived on that beach that morning, a fisherman. He arrived on that beach that morning, walking wounded. 

He walked away, a shepherd. He walked away with steel in his spine, and with Jesus’ command in his heart. With a Jesus-eye-view of the people who were going to be coming into his life. 

Peter fed his perseverance with God-likeness. 

• He has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your God-likeness with family affection.  

Have you ever heard the expression that somebody is “so heavenly-minded, they're no earthly good?” Well, the Holy Spirit says, ‘Be both.’ Be heavenly-minded. Be earthly good.  

Since you have purified your souls, through obedience to the truth, have a genuine love for your family. Love one another deeply from a pure heart. 1 Peter 1:22 

Our spiritual health is connected to our family health, to seeing each other as brothers and sisters and family, and seeing each other as Jesus sees us: as sheep who get confused and lost and need to be fed, as brothers and sisters who can lift us up and carry us through the hard times.  

Be both. Be heavenly-minded. Be earthly good.  

Peter fed his God-likeness with family affection.  

• Finally, Peter says, he has given us everything we need, so make every effort to feed your family affection with love.  

When Jesus talks about love—when the New Testament writers talk about love—most of the time they are not talking about something that we feel. They're not talking about the people who we like the best.  

They're talking about agape love, which is an unconditional love for the people—all of the people—that God brings into our lives. Friends, family, enemies.  

The Bible’s writers tell us that the greatest virtue is love. That the greatest commandment is love. That God Himself is love. This is not warm fuzzies. This is not, ‘I like you, so I'm going to be nice to you.’  

He has given us everything we need; He has given us Himself.  

He has given us everything we need; He has given us His Spirit.  

The Holy Spirit, through Peter's words and experience, challenges us to love... everyone. 

He leaves us with no excuses. No wiggle room.  

He has given us everything we need, so make every effort. We are not going to get it right all the time. We are not going to get everything perfect. We are still going to encounter resistance from other people, from family members who don't get it, from our culture, from what the bible calls powers and principalities—those Spiritual forces who try to stand against us.  

But Peter says, this is my challenge to you: make every effort.  

Take hold of what you've been given.  

What have we been given?  

Peter sets that out for us as well.  

We have been given a right relationship with God. We have been given faith. We have been given grace and peace. We have been given the knowledge of Jesus. We have been given precious and magnificent promises. We have been given forgiveness of past sins. We have been given freedom from the corruption of evil desires.  

And we have been given a firm place to stand on the foundation of his love.  

So make every effort to feed your faith. 

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