Perseverance and godliness

Passage: 2 Peter 1: 1-15

Text: Vv. 5-6 ‘For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness’

Some helpful definitions:

**Add to your faith: or, WBC: ... “by your faith to produce virtue” ... The meaning of the clause must be: “by means of your faith supply virtue”. NIBC: ‘A more literal translation of vv. 5–7 would run: “In (en) your faith richly provide goodness’.

**Make every effort: NIBC: ‘be lavish in the time and effort … put into developing … Christian [life] ...

**Perseverance and godliness: EBC: Perseverance is the ability to continue in the faith and resist the pressures of the world system (cf. Lk 8:15; Ro 5:3; Heb 12:2). ‘Godliness’ is piety or devotion to the person of God. BST: Godliness is ‘a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of life’.

Focus: Stories are legion and legendary of the loyalty of dogs to their masters; i.e., Red Dog’s loyalty to Hamersley Iron bus driver John Grant is a recent one – an example of devotion to the person.

Perseverance and godliness:

1.     Persevere in faith – {in order to trust in the Person} Heb 10: 35-36: ‘So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised’; 12: 1-2: ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’

a.       Example: Faithfulness to marriage vow, so sincerely and passionately made at the beginning, in light of later realities like ‘married to job’, ‘to ministry’, ‘to car’ or ‘to computer’.

b.       Devotion to the person of God means ongoing confidence and trust in him.

2.     Persevere in prayer – {in order to commune with the Person} Eph 6: 18 {KJV}: ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints’ (Col 4: 2: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful’; 1 Thess 5: 17: ‘pray continually’; Luke 18: 1-8).

a.       Example: Perseverance in marriage communication, especially in times of preoccupation, conflict, actual offence and misunderstanding.

b.       Devotion to the person of God means ongoing communication and communion with him.

3.     Persevere in praise – {in order to honour the Person} – Heb 13: 15: ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess [give thanks to] his name.’ Eph 5: 19-20: ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,   ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Col 3: 17: ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ 1 Thess 5: 16-18: ‘Be joyful always;   ¹⁷pray continually;   ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’

a.       Example: Faithfulness in thankfulness and praise of husband/wife, especially when, through familiarity, irritations set in.

b.      Devotion to the person of God means ongoing praise and honour of him.

                                                   i.      The message of Psalm 50 especially vv. 14-15, 23: ‘“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High, ¹⁵and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me”  “… ²³He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”’

Pondering the Psalms

Psalm 23

‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. {2} He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, {3} he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. {4} even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. {5} You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. {6} Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.’

This psalm is about friendship with God and the journey of life.

·         The LORD: Yahweh was the covenant God whose special name, LORD, was given to Israel as a token of his commitment to them as their God. His revealed nature was love, goodness, mercy, faithfulness and forgiveness (Exodus 3 and 34). This LORD was David’s Shepherd, pastor, friend, and companion.

·         Since this LORD was David’s shepherd, he would/could never be in want, that is, he would find all he needed for meaningful existence.

·         David wrote the psalm for the people of God so that they could make it their own because it rightly applied to them. We are God’s people through Jesus, so the psalm also applies to you and to me.

·         Since the LORD Jesus (I am the Good Shepherd) is my (your) Shepherd, I (you) will have everything required for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

·         The term ‘he makes me’ speaks of our shepherd leading us, even gently coercing us, to lie down. This means he urges us to cease from our activity, our work, our striving, our restlessness, our anxiety, our struggling, and etc., so that we may take the time to enjoy the rich pastures and still tranquil waters of his presence and company.

·         The term ‘he makes me’ also indicates a continual process. He constantly draws us away to rest in his presence.

·         To lie down speaks of trust, rest and surrender or submission. We hand over the reigns of control to the Shepherd of our souls.

·         He (not we, nor anything we could do) provided these rich pastures (note the number of uses of the word ‘he’); he wants us to enjoy them. Rather, he wants us to enjoy him. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever”, says the catechism.

·         It is in the quietness and cessation from activity, when we take time to be with Jesus, that we are restored. The word ‘soul’ here refers to the whole person and could be translated, ‘he restores me’.

·         Out of the union and fellowship we enjoy with Jesus, and the resultant restoration, he keeps us on the right path. The pathway of life on which we walk is the right one, the one God has planned for us. This assurance comes from our fellowship, friendship, and companionship with Jesus.

·         For his name’s sake we often read to mean, ‘he does it for himself’, i.e., to maintain his honour, but that doesn't portray the full picture. The fuller understanding is that the Lord keeps us on the right path of life according to his dependable and reliable nature, which is loving, good, merciful, faithful and etc.

·         Even when that right pathway leads to ‘death valley’ we are still assured that it is the right pathway because the reality, tangibility, awareness, perception of his presence assures us (his rod and staff).

·         But there’s more: Our shepherd, pastor, companion, friend is also a host who provides rich feasts along the way. These feasts are lavish to the point of our cup brimming over.

·         The feasts, which are regularly enjoyed, are in the presence of enemies. Two ideas exist here: one, that there are enemies which threaten our existence that are always present. Second, that in spite of the bitterness (enemies) of the past, injuries which though past are still present, the Shepherd still lavishes upon us the banquet of his presence.

·         There’s even more yet because the Shepherd also pursues us with his love and goodness so that we are not only led to richness, we are pursued by richness. We are surrounded on every hand by the lavish provision of God through our Lord Jesus.

·         Finally, all the days of our lives we will know and enjoy the presence of the Lord, remaining with him forever.