A Life Worth Living
2 Peter 1:3,4

I would like to ask some important questions:

·      Are you living a godly life, and what does a godly life “look like”?

·      Do you believe you are pleasing God by your words, attitudes, and actions?

·      Are you becoming more like Christ or less?

·      Are you hungry for spiritual things, or complacent?

·      Do you feel like you’re trying to live the Christian life without Christ or His Holy Spirit?

·      Do you show forth the nature of God’s love and forgiveness in your life and home?

·      Are you fleeing the corrosive practices of this world, or accepting, and engaging in the worldly practices that war against your soul?

·      Are sinful habits entrenched in your life that you feel that you cannot overcome?

·      Do you enjoy God, praying, reading, His Word and coming to church?  Or is God an inconvenience and a hassle?

·      Do you know in practical terms, how to live a godly life in this corrupt age?

2 Peter focuses us in on how to live out the very nature of God in a very messed up, upside down age.

Peter eloquently writes that our Savior, God, and Lord Jesus Christ “hath given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 

Here is God’s divine bestowal, or gift, given freely and abundantly according to His infinite wisdom.

“All things!”  This is a full provision from God’s divine storehouse of sufficiency, to defeat any wicked habit and resist any false teaching.  This gift is comprehensive!  This gift is from God, Jesus Christ, and it is all we need for eternal life and abundant life now.

Romans 8:32; He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

We have all we need for godliness now!  Godliness speaks of having the power of Jesus Christ lived and loved through us, abiding in Him, obeying Him, and pleasing Him.  (“Godliness” is also used in 2 Peter 1:6,7; 3:11).

Life: Jesus Christ is God who offers eternal life forever and abundant life now!

Godliness: Jesus Christ deserves full surrender and absolute obedience!

As we live this life of godliness, there are two specific results that flow out of us.  Peter describes a life of godliness as:

1.)    Participating with God’s divine nature.

That is, we become a sharer, or a fellowshipper, with God’s divine nature.  We receive this new nature at salvation, also called the new birth!  We fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

As believers in Jesus, we are personal sharers in God’s holy, merciful, patient, loving nature.  What a miracle to share His divine nature, living in us!  We have a life that is in continual fellowship with God’s nature, our spirit touching God’s Spirit, feeling Him, and experiencing Him.

THIS IS A LIFE WORTH LIVING!

2.)    Escaping from the world’s corruption.

Here is a second result of a godly life: there is an effective and miraculous escape from the world’s corrupting forces. 

Now we cannot do this on our own and we will not do it on our own.  This world system is humanly like Alcatraz, that inescapable prison in the San Francisco bay!  But God can break us out of this world system of lust and pride that is alienated from Him and in rebellion to Him!

Even the people of this world are haunted and hounded by the corruption that is all around us.  The brevity of life is part of this world’s corruption, and the philosopher’s of the world wonder what could be the point of this very brief and often lonely existence.  Is it possession and pleasure, good times, rock and roll and sex?

Is the fleshly life the life worth living?  No, it cannot be.  That is a life of bondage and slavery.  People commit suicide when they become so sick and tired of pleasure, drugs, drunkenness, and immorality.

How can one live a life that worth anything when there is the “bondage of corruption.”  No matter how much money you have, both Bill Gates and Donald Trump will both die and leave everything behind.  No matter how beautiful or strong you are, Miss America and Mr. Universe will both die in weakness and corrupt in a grave and go back to the dust.  No one can escape the corruption in this world!

So, how does a godly life happen?  How do we actually experience the life of godliness evidenced by our participating and sharing with God’s divine nature and by escaping the world’s corruptive powers?

There are four clear principles we must grasp if we are to have this life worth living!

1.    Through His Divine Power

This is the power of Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, the Lord and King!  Peter makes clear that Jesus Christ is God, for Jesus is the One who has “divine power.”

Power belongeth unto God!  And it is my His divine power that we live godly in this present world. 

Galatians 1:4 says that “our Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

There is no power in our flesh.  We are weak and will always be weak, and only when we realize our utter weakness and inability to live godly, will we rest and trust completely in His power!

The divine power of HIS NAME!  For it is by his name that we are saved.  Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Romans 10:13; Acts 4:13).

The divine power of HIS WORD!  For His name is the WORD of God, and Jesus Christ is the WORD who is become flesh.  God had something to say, and He sent His Son.  God has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.

There is great power in His Word!  Psalm 29.

The divine power of HIS SPIRIT!  Oh, hallelujah for the Spirit of Christ who indwells us and gives us power, and the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

The divine power of HIS GOSPEL!  The power of the Gospel to forgive sin and make new creatures in Christ, to declare sinners righteous in the sight of a holy God so that we have the authority or power to become the children of God. 

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!  (1 John 3:1)

And let me tell you a secret.  Every night as I pillow my head, for some reason, that is the Scripture I say to myself, and every night, I go to sleep like a baby!

As we experience the power of God, we experience the fellowship of the Spirit, constantly abiding with us, we walk and talk with Him, and this is how we have a life that is worth living!

2.    Through His Personal Knowledge

This word “knowledge” is at the heart of living life with meaning.  It speaks of a personal, intimate, full knowledge of Jesus Christ, HIM!

It is not just knowledge ABOUT Christ, but it is KNOWING HIM AS Savior, Friend, and Lord.  We have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

John 17:3; And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

Peter also uses this word to establish the knowledge that really matters.  There were false prophets who “KNEW” wrongly.  Perhaps hey were sincere, but they were sincerely wrong.  This was first century “GNOSTICISM,” elite intellectuals who thought they were “in the know” and according to them, anyone who disagreed with them was sadly misinformed and ignorant.  A chief tenet of Gnosticism was that Jesus Christ was someone far less than God. 

Knowledge!  Our culture places a great emphasis on knowledge, on learning, and on education.  On one level the knowledge of this world is astounding, in medicine, in technology, in law.  Yet the people of this world often are ignorant in the most important ONE to know in a personal way.  Paul’s prediction of the last time is true, men today are “ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

Jeremiah puts it so well:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom (in all of his learning), neither let the mighty man glory in his might (his physical or earthly powers), let not the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23,24)

Oh, this is for our fathers today!  In all of your learning, make sure you come to know Jesus Christ, personally, in truth, as your friend!

And you will have a life worth living!

This kind of life is not ultimately found in becoming a world class doctor, or a world famous lawyer, or the world’s wealthiest real estate guru.  You can become the greatest researcher or marketer, attain to the top and have it all and still say, “SO WHAT, WHO REALLY CARES?”

But when you come to know Jesus and have His peace and joy and love, you will be fulfilled in your soul, and have a life worth living!

3.    Through His Glorious Call

Jesus Christ calls us to glory and virtue, because He is a God of glory and virtue, or moral excellence.  Jesus Christ called Peter, and said, “come and follow me,” and Peter beheld his glory and saw that the moral excellence of this One who called was perfectly righteous.  He was good because He was God!  His glorious nature and His holy divine character attracts men to Himself. 

HERE Again, we see Jesus equal to God and doing the work of God, calling us to Himself to follow Him.

1 Peter 2:9; That ye should show forth the praises (virtues) of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

That is, He has called us out of this corrupting world of sin into the light of His holiness.

1 Peter 1:15;16: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; ¹⁶Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

I am saying that the call of salvation comes from God, and in 2 Peter, it is Jesus Christ who calls us.

Matthew 9:13, Jesus said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus personally called the disciples and said, “follow me!”  This call separated them from the world to be WITH HIM, and this call gave them a life worth living!

Make your calling and election sure and you will have a high purpose for life, and live a life worth living every day.

4.    Through His Precious Promises

The precious promises tell of our precious Saviour (1 Peter 2:6,7).

Precious means valuable, of great worth!  God’s Word is more precious than any gem or diamond, for it is eternal.

These precious promises are given once and for all, permanently (given = perfect tense).  They will never be lost or destroyed, for God has given them and they will be preserved. 

These promises are exceeding great, they are the greatest!  This is a strong superlative, they are the greatest promises of which you can conceive. 

A man may promise his girl, “I will marry you.”  A father may promise his child a gift, or a trip.  Think of a promise someone can make to you: to give you something, to take you somewhere, or to do something for you. 

But no matter what promise you can conceive, you cannot match the exceeding great and precious promise of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The word promise also appears 2 Peter 3:13 (and 2 Peter 3:9), so I believe Peter is pointing to this special promise of Christ’s second coming and the result of it:

“According to His promise, (we) look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Yes, we await a final, perfect consummation of our salvation, complete deliverance from this corrupt, perishing world for a world that never will perish!  There will be no sin, sorrow, or suffering.  We will see His face!

And for all eternity, we will have a life worth living, in a new heaven and new earth where dwelleth righteousness! 

Life for Christ is the life worth living now!