In 2 Peter chapter 1, we're going to read verses
3 through 11. Seeing that His divine power has
granted to us everything pertaining to life and
godliness through the true knowledge of Him who
called us by His own glory and excellence. and
magnificent promises, so that by them you may
become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by
lusts. Now, for this reason, for this very reason
also, applying all diligence in your faith, supply
moral excellence, and in your moral excellence,
knowledge, and in your knowledge, Self -control.
And in your self -control, perseverance. And
in your perseverance, godliness. And in your
godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly
kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours
and are increasing, they render you neither useless
nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities
is blind or short -sighted, having forgotten
his purification from his former sins. Therefore,
brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain
about his calling and choosing you. For as long
as you practice these things, you will never
stumble. For in this way, The entrance into the
eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, will be abundantly supplied to you. Let's
go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before
you this Lord's Day. Father, we thank you that
we can come and worship you. We can come in fellowship
with like -minded believers. Father, as we approach
your word, as we come to your holy word, We ask
for your help. Father, we ask that you would
give us your spirit, that your spirit would illuminate
our hearts and our minds and enable us to receive
these grand realities by faith and to apply them
in our lives and to live unto your glory. Father,
we ask that you would bless the preaching of
your word. Lord, we ask that you would accompany
the ministry of your word. by your Spirit, that
you would accomplish your purposes and your plans
in the life of your people. And, Father, that
you would use your Word to convert lost men to
know Christ, to give them faith and repentance,
Lord. Father, we ask these things in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. You may be seated.
We've seen in 2 Peter, so far, And considering
the first couple verses that God has given faith
to his people to receive the blessings of salvation,
we've seen that the Lord, that Peter himself,
seeks for the growth of his recipients, the Christians
he's writing to. He longs for them to grow in
peace and grace. That they would grow in the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? Today we're
going to consider verse 3. Seeing that his divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining
to life and godliness. Through the true knowledge
of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.
It's important for us to understand the purpose.
for which Peter is writing. We've already commented
on this briefly, but Peter is writing to address
false teaching in the church. And the reason
he's writing to address false teaching in the
church is because this false teaching from these
false teachers, these ungodly and these wicked
men, is leading people to live in ungodly, unrighteous,
unholy ways. He's writing to address that issue.
Their wrong thinking about the gospel, their
wrong teaching, their wrong doctrine is leading
to ungodly behavior. And so Peter writes to the
church to address this issue. He's writing to
impress it upon their hearts and their minds
to stir up their conscience and their minds to
the importance of godliness in their lives. Holiness
in their lives as those who are on the road of
eternal life. Those who will enter into God's
eternal kingdom. As we see in verse 11. Surely
questions were arising in the church, and Peter
was having to address certain questions. Well,
has God given us everything that we need with
regards to godliness? Has God really supplied
us with everything that we need to live a holy
life? I mean, what about this sin? What about
this immorality? What about these things I struggle
with? Has God really given me everything that
there is so that I can come out of that, so that
I can live a holy life? Has God given me everything
pertaining to eternal life and to living unto
Christ in this fallen, sinful world, this present
evil age? Is it really possible to live godly?
in an ungodly age? Is it really possible to live
holy lives in an unholy and a wicked world? Is
it really possible to stand firm in the truth
as the whole world is eroding by error and false
teaching? Peter writes to them because he wants
to clarify the fact that, yes, it is possible,
and actually we must, as believers, live holy
and godly lives unto the glory of God in the
midst of ungodliness, in the midst of unrighteousness,
in the midst. of this present evil age. He wants
them to be confident about this. He wants them
to have certainty regarding the reality and the
necessity and the urgency of godliness in their
own lives as they are progressing towards God's
eternal kingdom. So Peter, today, in verse 3,
tells them what God has provided. The provisions
that God has given to those with faith for the
purpose of godliness and eternal life. We also
see in verse 4 that God has given believers magnificent
promises so that by them you may become partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption.
that is in the world by lust. Today we're going
to consider the provisions God has made for life
and godliness. Next week, Lord willing, we will
consider the promises that God has made for life
and godliness, for conformity to the blessed
and holy character of God. So consider today,
first, God's provisions for life and godliness.
Notice that Peter says in verse 3, seeing that
his divine power has granted to us everything
pertaining to life and godliness. This term life
is referring to eternal life. It's the most natural
way to understand this, especially in light of
verse 11, where Peter says, For in this way,
the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be abundantly
supplied to you. Especially with Peter's emphasis
on the new heavens and the new earth in chapter
3, the great promise of Christ's coming. And
the new heavens and the new earth, wherein righteousness,
And the believer's participation in that eternal
future kingdom that is to come. We should assume
that Peter means spiritual life as well. But
I believe he's preeminently aiming at eternal
life. But then he says godliness as well. We
hear this term. In the scriptures. Not super
prevalently. But we hear it quite often. We hear
it in Titus. We hear it in 1 and 2 Peter. We
hear it in. 1 and 2 Timothy. We hear it in other
places. In the text of scripture. We hear about
ungodliness. We hear about holiness. And unholiness.
We hear about righteousness. And unrighteousness.
But Peter here is talking in particular about
godliness that goes hand in hand with eternal
life. Meaning, those who have eternal life will
have godliness in some degree. If a person possesses
eternal life, if a person is regenerate and born
again, they've been given faith, if a person
is destined for that eternal kingdom and the
new heavens and the new earth, then that person
will live a godly life in some way, some shape,
and some form to some degree in their life. Now,
God does not give that fully and completely.
There's nobody who's wholly and completely godly
and perfect. But God does give godliness alongside
of and with eternal life. So what is it? Godliness
is that sweet, blessed, vital, inward religion
of the heart that affects every part of a person's
life. Focus on God in their life. It's a life
of devotion. A life of reverence. It's a life
of conscious awareness and understanding that
God is holy. That God has saved me. And that
this God is the God who I live unto as a father
and I want to please Him. I want to honor him.
I don't want to sin against God who sent his
son to die for me. I don't want to displease
the one who has saved me by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's a life of reverence and
worship before a holy and a sovereign God. I
do think that when Peter is talking about godliness,
that he's emphasizing the positive characteristics
of the Christian life and Christian virtue. So
when we talk about holiness, typically that would
have with it connotations of not doing certain
things. Crucifying the flesh, not transgressing
the law, not breaking God's commandments. But
godliness is more positive in nature, meaning,
It's the positive action of brotherly love. It's
the positive action of living a godly life and
putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and acting out
and living up and being these virtues that the
New Testament commands us and commends to us
over and over and over. I think that's why Peter...
speaks of these things in verses 5 through 7.
In your faith, supply moral excellence. And in
your moral excellence, knowledge, self -control,
perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness,
love. They're positive realities that believers
do. It's putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, not
so much the putting off of sin. However, we can't
ever really separate those two, can we? If a
person's living a godly life, they're going to
be living a holy life. If we're going to live
a godly life, then we must live in holiness as
well. If we want to be like Christ, then we must
hate sin. We must crucify sin. We must die to
self. But we can't just fight sin. We have to
positively become like the Lord Jesus Christ
and his perfect, holy character. So Peter gives
these two things to us as a pair. Eternal life
and godliness. They go hand in hand. They're
always locked by the arms. They're never... Now
why do we need to emphasize that? Why does Peter
need to emphasize that it's life and godliness?
Because, brothers and sisters, there is great
danger in separating out godliness from eternal
life. That is very, very dangerous. To say that
a person can be... regenerate and born again,
to say that a person can know Jesus Christ by
faith and repentance, to say that a person can
be in possession of these eternal, these wonderful
blessings and realities that Christ has won for
them on the cross, to say that a person can know
Jesus Christ truly and yet have no form of godliness
in their life is the worst kind of heresy. If
you have eternal life, you will possess godliness
in your life. If you have eternal life, you will
be growing in grace, you will be growing in godliness,
you will be growing in holiness in your life.
People want to tear the two apart. Now why do
they want to do that? Because we have those people
that we dearly, Because there are so many people
who profess to be in possession of eternal life,
but their life is not consistent with godliness
or holiness. So what do we do? We tear the two
apart. We cannot do that, brothers and sisters.
This is why our doctrine, Our understanding,
our theology must be informed by the word of
God and not by sentiment and emotion. If a person
is in possession of eternal life, then brothers
and sisters, God will also give that person and
work into them godliness and growth in godliness
in their life. Why do we need to hear this? Why
do you need to hear this, brothers and sisters?
Because our hearts are so easily deceived. Our
hearts are so easily fooled. Well, I made a decision
years ago. I went forward and I had an experience
in church. I got baptized. I went to church.
I was a good church member. It's just not for
me anymore. It's not my thing. But, you know,
I go out into the woods. I'm with God in the
woods. And I go and I walk around the lake. I
go to the park. I'm with God in the park. That's
my form of worship. I read my Bible at home sometimes.
I'm telling you, I love God. But listen to me,
brothers and sisters. If you know Jesus Christ
by faith and repentance, if you are truly in
possession of eternal life, you will have growing
godliness and conformity to the person of Jesus
Christ. Don't let your heart be deceived. You
can't separate the two. You can't rip them apart.
You can't tear them to pieces. They come as a
pair. They always do and they always will. Now,
this blessed pair or this couplet that we've
been given by God are the provisions that God
has made to those who are his people. And notice
that it's comprehensive in nature. He's fully
given us these provisions. The text says everything
pertaining to life and godliness. Not some of
it. Not part of it. Not most of it. Not a piece
of it. Not a side of it. But everything pertaining
to life and godliness. That means that the realities
themselves. Godliness. the reality of godliness,
eternal life itself, is from God, it's provided
by Him, and it's given by Him, but everything
that supports it, strengthens it, encourages
it, brings it about, everything that nurtures
it, everything pertaining to life and godliness.
We think, About the reality that God has given
us his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God. And
all the work and all the influence. And all the
power of the Spirit of God dwelling within the
believer. Dwelling within those who are his people.
The Spirit's work is to make us holy. And godly.
To bring us into conformity with Christ himself.
To make us. into His image, to renew us daily,
inwardly, by the Spirit. He's given us the Spirit
and all His work, all His power, and all His
effective energy in the life of the believer.
He's given us faith to believe and trust these
blessed and these glorious realities, to receive
these promises, to receive Christ's work. That
Christ might sanctify us in and by and through
our faith. That we might grow in grace by that
faith. He's given us repentance and godly sorrow
that leads to salvation. Brothers and sisters,
he's not neglected anything. He's given everything
for the purpose of godliness. Why? Ask yourself,
why does God give us everything pertaining to
life and godliness? What's so significant about
it? What's so important about the reality of
eternal life and godliness? He's given us it
all. We think about the reality that he's given
us all of Christ by faith. All the blessings.
All the privileges, brothers and sisters. We
have the righteousness of Christ. We have the
armor of God. We have the helmet of salvation.
We have the breastplate of righteousness, the
belt of truth. We have the gospel to shot our
feet. We have the sword of the Spirit. He's given
us everything that we might grow in godliness
and grace. Why? What's the significance of it?
Why does God give His divine power? to providing
life and godliness to undeserving sinners? Why
does God give his sovereign power to work in
the life and the soul of those people who don't
deserve it? Of those people who ought not to
receive it, but they do because God is gracious.
Why does God work to provide godliness and holiness
in the life of his people? with the same power
that brought the world into existence. Have you
considered the divine power at work to provide
godliness in your life, growth and transformation,
maturity, sanctification? Have you considered
the work that's at work in you to change you?
Brothers and sisters, it's the same divine power
by which God spoke the world into existence.
It's the same divine power that opened the floodgates
and sent forth the rains. It's the same divine
power that sustains all things, that maintains
the world, the cosmos, the whole universe and
everything that is in it. It's the same power.
that split the Red Sea, that His people might
walk across on dry ground. It's the same power
that provided for His people in the wilderness.
It's the same power that brought the walls of
Jericho down. Brothers and sisters, it's the
same power that will renew the world, that will
bring about the new heavens and the new earth.
That power. Is what is at work in the life of
the believer. To make them more like the Lord
Jesus Christ. But we also have to understand.
That that's the power it takes. To transform
us. Because of the wickedness of sin. Nothing
short of the power of God. can change you, brothers
and sisters. Nothing short of that world -creating,
sovereign, divine, supernatural power can bring
you out of darkness and into light. Nothing short
of His divine, sovereign, supernatural power
can make you to be a new creature and make you
to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Your own
efforts will fail every single time. The arm
of the flesh will fall flat. But divine power
will succeed every time it goes forth. His power
is what provides these blessed provisions in
our life. We can turn to Isaiah chapter 40. And
read verses 27 through 31. Why do you say, O
Jacob, and assert, O Israel, my way is hidden
from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes
the notice of my God? Do you not know? Have you
not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the
creator of the ends of the earth. does not become
weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable
or unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary.
To him who lacks might, he increases power. Though
youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young
men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the
Lord will gain new strength. They will mount
up with wings like eagles. They will run and
not get tired. They will walk and not become
weary. Isaiah is not talking about physical strength,
brothers and sisters. He's talking about the
fact that the people have grown hopeless and
they're in despair and they need spiritual sustenance,
spiritual strength to preserve them through.
Is God, who is holy and sovereign, whose power
is inscrutable and unsearchable, is He not able
to strengthen our weary souls? Is He not able
to lift up you who are downcast, to sustain you
through the most difficult and the darkest times
of your life? Oh, brothers and sisters, our great,
our sovereign, our divine God can, in fact, grow
us in godliness. Our great God. can in fact preserve
us and cause us to take part in that eternal
kingdom one day. He will provide for us by that
power. And he is more than able, brothers and
sisters, to help us in our times of weakness.
It's inexhaustible power. He's not held back
by the degree and the difficulty of the sin,
is he? There's not a certain trial or temptation
that really thwarts that sovereign power, is
there? Brothers and sisters, he made the world.
Can he not preserve us in our lives? Can he not
preserve our souls no matter the situation? Can
he not? bolster the graces that He has given
to us by Christ? Can He not bring us out of the
depths of the pit and sin and bring us unto righteousness
again in our lives? Can He not strengthen and
grant true repentance that leads to salvation
for believers? He is sovereign. He is good. He
is faithful. And that sovereign power is the
power that provides life. and godliness for his
people. So we see these provisions. But consider
how we come into possession of these provisions.
Or we could say it this way. How God makes us
to participate in these provisions of eternal
life and godliness. We look at the second half
of the verse, and we read this. through the true
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory
and excellence. These provisions are the result,
godliness in life, life in godliness. They're
the result, brothers and sisters, of God calling
us to know the Lord Jesus Christ effectually.
They come as a result of God illuminating our
minds and our hearts to see who Christ really,
truly is. Giving us eyes to see and ears to hear.
Inducing us to faith by the blessed Holy Spirit
in our lives. It's the moment that God brings
us out of death. Into life. Out of darkness and
into life. And he brings us into union with Christ.
Now this necessarily includes the ministry of
the word. That gives us knowledge of Christ.
Knowledge of the gospel. Knowledge of who God
is. It necessarily includes that. But this is
working. This is speaking of something deeper.
Something. That brings us to God. This is speaking
of something that's effective. Something that's
transformative. Something that changes us. It's
speaking of the effectual call. The reality that
God does in fact call us and he gives us ears
to hear the gospel. Eyes to see Christ. To understand
the glory of God in the face of Christ as 2 Corinthians
4 .6 puts it. It's when God changes us and implants
new life into us. He gives us faith and he gives
us repentance. We are transformed by his divine
call. And as a result of that, he gives us eternal
life and godliness. So there are several implications
to that. That means that godliness proceeds forth,
comes as a consequence of God's work in our life.
His gracious and effectual call. Godliness finds
its inception in the call of God by the Spirit
of God. So we don't seek God, we don't seek out
holiness. We don't seek out conformity to his
law. We don't seek out conformity to the Lord
Jesus Christ. We don't long and hunger and thirst
for righteousness until, brothers and sisters,
God himself has done a work in us to change us
and call us to himself. It's only following that
work that we can grow in grace. So there's nobody
who's growing in grace. There's nobody who knows
godliness who doesn't know grace. If you have
never experienced the grace of God in your life,
if God has never called you outwardly through
the preaching of the gospel and inwardly through
the work of the Spirit, and he's given you ears
to hear, he's given you eyes to see, and faith
to receive Christ, if you've never beheld Christ
in all His glory, then you are not growing in
grace. You cannot grow in godliness. You will
not seek out God. We do not pursue Him until
He first calls us and pursues us. He must work
in us before we go to work seeking to be holy
and godly in our lives. His work is necessary
for that. But Peter also does something here
by connecting godliness and eternal life to the
divine call. What does he do here by connecting
that, brothers and sisters? He connects godliness
to the grander scheme of salvation as a whole.
Godliness and holiness. These two blessed realities
and provisions are an essential part of God's
saving of sinners. They will be in the life of
those saved sinners across the board. If God
calls you, then you will grow in holiness. You
will come to love the Lord Jesus. You will hunger
and thirst after righteousness. You will hunger
and thirst for the things of God. You will have
a desire to please him and to live unto him.
This gives us great comfort and certainty regarding
our salvation, our sanctification, and our growth
and grace in this life. But it also demonstrates,
brothers and sisters, why? God calls us. Or why
God makes these provisions in our life. We have
to understand why he does these things. Why does
God want us to be like Christ? Why does God work
in us? Why does God give his divine power to
work in our souls, to change us and transform
us, to renew us, to transform us from glory to
glory? Why does he do that, brothers and sisters?
He does it so that we will be prepared for the
glory that is to come. And he does it so that
we will be like him. What do we read in the next
several verses? We read in verses 4 through 5.
For by these he has granted to us. His precious
and magnificent promises. And listen to this.
So that by them you may become partakers of the
divine nature. Having escaped the corruption
of the world. It's not talking about the reality
that believers take on divinity. It's not talking
about the reality that believers become gods.
Or do we take part in God's nature in some way
like that? It's talking about that believers
who are called by the ministry of the Word and
by the Spirit of God, believers who are given
godliness and eternal life, those believers are
going to be brought into moral conformity to
the character of our great and mighty God. The
image of God is going to be renewed so that we
rightly reflect the character of God in this
world and we are prepared to live unto God in
glory in that coming kingdom. So there's a connection
between godliness and eternal life and assurance
of that eternal life. It's not that God just
wants good, moral people. Walking around on the
earth doing good things. God made us in his image,
brothers and sisters. He made us to reflect his
character in this world unto men to multiply
and increase his glory in the world. That his
character, his goodness, his mercy, his compassion,
his patience, his long -suffering would be known
by more and more people. It would be seen. It
would be reveled in. It would be enjoyed. But
because of sin, that image has been busted. It's
been broken. It's not been destroyed or shattered
or gone away. But men, by sin, misrepresent or
falsely and erroneously reflect the image and
character of God in this world. So what happens
to believers when they're called and the Spirit
of God dwells within them? They begin to rightly
reflect the character of God in this world again.
They begin to be conformed to His very character
again. As a result of his divine work. This work
which will be perfected in glory when Christ
returns. So we take part in these things. We're
made partakers of these things. By the divine
call of God. Now I want us to consider a few
applications of these for our lives. The fact.
of these realities ought to cause us to pause
for a few moments. These are realities that God
has in fact provided. God has given everything
pertaining to life and godliness for every believer
for all time. So if you know Jesus Christ by
faith and repentance, there's no resource, there's
no divine power that's not been given to you
for the purpose of godliness in your life. God
will bring this work to completion and perfection
by his grace. He will continue this work and
usher us into his eternal kingdom. But knowing
these things, what ought they to do to us now?
How ought they to affect us today? How ought
they ought to affect your life and your living
in this world, in your world, in your life, in
your sphere of influence, in your family, in
your relationships? Knowing the reality that
God has provided these things, we can clearly
see His will for our lives. His will is that
we be godly people. That we seek out and we pursue
the things of God. That we reflect His character
and His goodness in this world. That we live
unto Christ in accordance with the precepts and
the law of Christ. Fulfilling the law of God.
Walking in the Spirit. This is demonstrated and
seen so clearly in this text. And the reality
that God gives is divine power for this purpose.
So what can we say about the death of Christ?
The crucifixion, brothers and sisters. And it's
relation to your godliness in your life. How
do we see the importance of godliness? In the
reality that Jesus Christ had to die on a cross
that you might actually become holy and blameless
before him. Not just in standing through justification,
but brothers and sisters, in reality, in your
hearts, in your minds, in your souls, in practice.
God does actually make us to be righteous and
holy people. There's a stigma about holiness
and righteousness and godliness in the life of
God's people at many, many times. God wants us
to honor Him and live as those who please Him.
And we see this clearly in the text. Brothers
and sisters, how important is this to you? How
important is it to you that you obey the commands
of God when he says, applying all diligence in
your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, so on and so on. It's important
to the God who saved you that you be these things.
The reason Peter is writing this is because it's
important. As those who are brought, who are
bought by the blood of Christ, how important
is it to you that you live and honor Christ and
that you know him? Do you think about it? Are
you affected by the Scriptures in this way? Does
it stir you? Does it convict you? Does it challenge
you? Is there some sort of confrontation in your
soul? Brothers and sisters, it's important to
the Lord. How important is it to you? How important
is it to me? What did God do to bring about Eternal
life and godliness for his people. He gave Christ.
What did he do to redeem his people, brothers
and sisters? He gave his son. What are we willing
to give for godliness in our lives? What are
we willing to give up in our lives that we might
not live with sin? What are you willing to do?
What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you
willing to cut off? What are you willing to rid
yourself of for the purpose of holiness and godliness
and righteousness in your life? He gave everything
in Christ on the cross. Brothers and sisters,
this ought to be a top priority for the people
of God. To honor Him. To live unto Him. To please
our great sovereign God. Knowing this reality,
that God has provided these things, we can understand
that we are able to pursue godliness. Why does
God command us over and over? Why does he give
this exhortation in verse 5? Why does Peter command
us in chapter 3? Over and over. Because we're
able, as those who have been effectually called,
as those with new hearts, renewed minds, renewed
wills, as those indwelt by the Spirit of God,
as those with new life implanted in them, we
have the capacity as new creatures in Christ
to seek after God. Unbelievers do not have that
capacity, but believers do. You do if you know
Christ by faith. We all as believers can in fact
pursue these things. And we must pursue these
things to be obedient. Paul in Ephesians several
times when he's writing, he says, stop. He tells
his recipients, stop. Stop being deceitful. Why
does Paul tell them to stop? Because they have
the ability to stop. As those who have been transformed
by Christ in hearing the gospel, brothers and
sisters, sin is now the remnant in us. It's alien.
It's foreign. We've been made new creatures in
Christ. We are no longer the old man. The old
man's dead. The old man's crucified. We are new
creatures in Christ. That's who we are. That
means that ungodliness, unholiness, and unrighteousness
are now inconsistent with our very identities
as believers, new creatures in Christ. That means
that ungodliness, unholiness, wickedness, filthy
speech, all kinds of things the Bible talks about
are unfit, inconsistent with your identity in
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not who we are. They're
inconsistent with who Christ has called us and
Christ has made us to be. So my challenge for
you here today, if you're living in certain ways
that are displeasing to the Lord, if you are
living in an unrighteous manner, if you are living
in open rebellion to God, if you are living in
an antithetical life to the law of God, if you
are transgressing His law openly, plainly, and
clearly, then consider whether or not Christ
has called you by His grace. If you're a Christian
and you're truly a believer, then you will know
that those actions and those behaviors are in
fact inconsistent with who you are. And they
will bother your conscience. They will bother
you. Because it's not who you are. You're a new
creation in Christ. Do away with those realities.
The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness.
Put on Christ and these blessed qualities and
these blessed virtues that Peter commands. But
knowing these things also helps us understand
and recognize, brothers and sisters, that if
there's a deficiency, that if there's deformities,
And if there's lack in our godliness, in our
lives living under Christ and honoring Him, what
is the source of that deficiency, that deformity,
and that lack in our godliness? Knowing that
Christ has given us everything pertaining to
life and godliness. The lack is us. The deficiency
comes from us. The deformity is contributed by
our remaining sin. We cannot cast that on the
Lord and His sovereignty. The sin in our life
is our sin. The consequences for the sin in our
life are our consequences. We cannot attribute
that to the Lord. He has given us everything
pertaining to life and godliness. But every success,
And every hill that's climbed on this road to
eternal life, brothers and sisters, every time
we have victory and success over sin or besetting
sin, every time we see change and transformation
in our life, every inch and ounce of growth and
grace, where must we attribute that? To God Himself.
We must give Him praise and honor for all the
glorious realities of godliness in our lives.
We must humble ourselves and recognize that they're
not of us. They're from that which He has provided.