Called and equipped for godliness

Either out that one, out that two. We should have your Bibles open to Peter and chapter one. To Peter and chapter one. Some people are called to represent their country. It might be to represent it as some kind of ambassador in the political sphere or perhaps in the sphere of sport. Imagine receiving a phone call from the England football manager asking you if you're willing to join the squad. That would be exciting, wouldn't it? For some of us, probably not for all of us. I realise that not everybody likes football, but to many that would be a tremendous privilege or calling. Some people are called to represent their school or university, perhaps in a quiz or in a musical contest or some sort of sporting event. I can remember when I was at middle school being asked to represent the school in a cross-country race. Unfortunately, I didn't represent the school particularly well. I came 40-something, somewhat towards the back, but it was a privilege to be asked. Some people are called upon to serve God in a particular way. I'll never forget the phone call that I received from a member and deacon here at the church. His name was Keith Mill, and the request was that I consider coming to the church here as pastor. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing, and I consider that to be a great privilege, a tremendous privilege, though it filled me with some fear and trepidation, as you might imagine. God is in the business of calling people. If you're not a Christian here this morning, then God, in the person of Jesus Christ, calls you to come to him and to trust him as your saviour and to follow him as your Lord. But if you are a Christian, then it's really important for you to realise that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, has called you to something important. This morning we're going to focus our attention on verses 3 and 4 of 2 Peter chapter 1. And here we see firstly what it is that Jesus Christ has called us to, and secondly what we have been given so that we might live out this calling. Jesus never calls anyone to anything without providing them with what they need to fulfil that calling. Well, what is it that Jesus Christ has called us to? As we look at these verses, let's remind ourselves that Peter is writing to believers. He's writing to Christians. He's writing to those who have received a faith, that is those who have received a salvation. He's writing to a people who have been forgiven and clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's writing to a people who have received a faith, a salvation, that is as precious as the apostles of Jesus. These believers he is writing to might not have the authority and the role and the gifting of the apostles of Jesus, but their faith, their salvation, just as precious. They had received a righteousness that put them on an equal footing, an equal standing before God. So Peter is writing to Christians. And what was it that these Christians had been called to? Well, the answer the NIV gives is a life of godliness. Look at verse 3. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Now I am mindful that some in English translations read his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, two different things. But let's keep to the NIV rendering and focus on being called by God. godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Now I am mindful that some in English translations read, his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Two different things. But let's keep to the NIV rendering and focus on being called by God, by Christ to godliness. You will see in verse 4 that Peter puts it slightly differently. He tells us that we have been called to participate in the divine nature. Verse 4, through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Now we need to be really careful that we do not misunderstand what Peter is saying here. He is not saying that we have been called in some way to merge into God and thus in some way become God, which is something that Eastern religions teach. God has always been distinct from his creation and will always be distinct from his creation. We do not become God. Neither is he saying that we have been called to become like God, to become like Jesus in every conceivable way. We have not been called to become all-powerful or all-knowing or present everywhere. These attributes of omniscience and omnipotence and omnipresence belong to God and to God alone, and they always will. Theologians call these attributes God's incommunicable attributes. What Peter here in these verses is saying is that we have been called to become like God in terms of his moral perfection. You will remember at the beginning of the year how we looked at some verses in Philippians and chapter 3, and in those verses we saw how the Apostle Paul was striving after godliness, Christ-likeness, that he was seeking to be perfect because he knew that God had called him to it. Listen to what Paul writes in Philippians and chapter 3, I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. As he writes these words, he's come to the end of his life. He anticipates that he may soon be put to death, he's not entirely sure what's going to happen to him, but he's still pressing on to Christ-likeness, to godliness. Christian friends, God, Jesus Christ has called us to a godly life. But it might be that we're sitting here this morning saying, well, that's all very well, that's a wonderful thing, but how on earth do I live up to such a calling? Well, that is an incredibly high calling, and it is a high calling, isn't it? So secondly, I want us to know from these verses that we have been given everything that we need to live a godly life. Look at verse 3, his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. Through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Verse 4 puts it this way, and I'm going to emphasise one word as I read it. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may, you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desire. We have everything we need through our knowledge of him, and I take this to mean that we have received everything that we need now that we have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ who called us by his own glory and grace. We have everything that we need now that we have placed our trust in Jesus Christ and have become united. We have everything we need through our knowledge of him. And I take this to mean that we have received everything that we need now that we have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, who called us by his own glory and grace. We have everything that we need now that we have placed our trust in Jesus Christ and have become united to him. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. What does this mean? What have we been given by his divine power? Firstly, a new nature. A new nature. 2 Corinthians 5:17, a well-known verse. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. Or as some translations put it, a new creation. Christian friends, there was a time when we were in a very bad condition. We weren't just in a sick condition, we were in a far worse condition than that. We were spiritually dead. Paul speaks about this in Ephesians and chapter 2. And because we were spiritually dead, we were not interested in living for God and for his son Jesus Christ. The only thing we were interested in was living for ourselves and fulfilling the cravings of our sinful nature. We were in this terrible, miserable condition. But God caused us to be born again. He made us alive together with Christ. We became new creatures in Christ Jesus and the result was that we found ourselves alive to God and possessing new desires and aspirations for God. We found ourselves beginning to love God and wanting to do the will of God. It was as if the law of God had been written on our hearts. I think the Apostle Paul is a great example to illustrate the point. There he was, walking along the road that led to Damascus, intent on rounding up Christians so that he might put them in prison. He hated Christians with a passion. He hated Christ. But Jesus, the risen Lord Jesus, appeared to him on the Damascus road and he was born again. He became a new creature in Christ Jesus and his life was never the same again. His desires went from hating Christ to loving Christ and wanting to be like Christ and to serve Christ. Please forgive me, but I'm going to use myself as another illustration. I went to church every Sunday without fail when I was growing up, but to me for many years the services were incredibly boring. And they would not have stopped being boring unless they stopped the preaching and the Bible reading and the saying of prayers and all the hymn singing and got rid of the peers and turned the auditorium into a five-a-side football pit. That's the only way that they could have made church exciting for me, which of course they were not going to do. You see, I loved football. I wanted to play football more than anything else in the world. But at the age of 18, I was born again through the living and abiding word of God. And suddenly I became interested in living for God and his son Jesus. Right. It's quite remarkable, really, when I think about it. What a wonderful experience that was, such a significant turning point or transformation in my life. I started reading book commentaries. And before that I'd hardly even read a book. I think I only read one book when I was at school. The only things I read during the week before I became a Christian was things like the Nutty Comic and the Beano Comic. This is the first thing. By God's divine power, we have been given a new nature, new desires, new aspirations. That is the work of God, the powerful work of God. Without it, we would never desire to be godly. Secondly, we have been given the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit... We have been given a new nature, new desires, new aspirations. That is the work of God, the powerful work of God. Without it, we would never desire to be godly. Secondly, we have been given the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, one who is truly God, comes to dwell within them. And you know, whenever I think about the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in the life of the believer, I think it's probably a good idea to just stop and think about that. To marvel at the wonder of it. God has come to dwell in me. I, together with all of God's people, have become a temple in which God is pleased to dwell by his Spirit. God no longer dwells in an earthly temple made with stones and wood. Instead, he dwells within his people. That's remarkable, isn't it? Stop and think about it. And of course, this means power for living. And you will be given power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Think about it. The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells within you to help you to live godly. No wonder Paul wanted to know the power of Christ's resurrection in his life, so that he might live a godly life. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. But I want to talk about something else this morning that Peter speaks about, which is the great and precious promises of God. Look at verse 4. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. What promises of God is Peter talking about? He doesn't say, does he? I wish he had said. That might have helped me out a little bit this morning. But might I suggest to you that one great and precious promise that God has given, that Peter may well have had in mind, is Philippians chapter 1 and verse 6, which reads like this. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I think this verse is a tremendous encouragement for us to press on toward godliness. This verse tells us that God has begun a mighty work in the life of believers. We've already talked about this, we don't need to go over it again. He's raised us spiritually from the dead. He's given us new desires and aspirations for godly living. But having begun a work, this verse tells us, it's a promise, that God will carry it on. One of the saddest things about me is that I have a tendency to start things and not carry on and finish. I would dread to think that any of you opened the garage door to the manse and looked inside. I said to my wife a little while ago, I'm going to tidy up the garage. I did a little bit of work in there, but still doesn't look very good. But when God begins a work in the life of the believer to make them godly, he carries it on. And I'm confident this morning that if you are a true believer, if you are a true Christian, then you will to some degree have grown in godliness, in likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ. You are not yet perfect, none of us are. We won't be this side of eternity, but we are most certainly not the people that we were before we became Christians. God is at work within us. Listen to what Paul writes in Philippians 2 and verse 13. Sorry, for it is God who works in you. This is part of the song, wasn't it, that we just sang a few moments ago. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. God has begun a work within us. He's carrying on that work within us. He's working in us to will and to do. And one day he will. For it is God who works in you. This is part of the song, wasn't it, that we just sang a few moments ago? For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. God has begun a work within us. He's carrying on that work within us. He's working in us to will and to do. And one day he will complete the job. In 2 Peter, we read much about the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And on that day when he returns with all his angels, we who know and love him will be changed in the twinkling of an eye so that we become like him. Listen to what the Apostle John writes, 1 John chapter 3 and verse 2. Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that exciting? One day we shall be like him, morally pure. And you know, we need to hold on to promises such as he. As Christians, we no longer belong to this world. We've been translated from the kingdom of darkness into God's kingdom of light. We're now citizens of heaven. And in this sense, we have already escaped the corruption of this world. But we know, don't we, what it is each day of our lives because we're still living in this world to be pulled down into the mire, as it were, of its rupture. Don't we feel the pull of the world every day? Remember when I was at work, you know, the boys who I used to get on quite well with were always trying to sort of pull me down, to drop my standards, to entice me to do this or that or the other. You know, we have this wonderful hope, don't we? And we need to hold on to this as we press on towards life and godliness in the strength that God supplies. Yes, God is at work in us. We thank God for that. And as I said the other week, we have a part to play when it comes to our sanctification. We have a duty to press on. We're not just supposed to sit back and let God do all the work. No, we're called to action. We're called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is at work in us to will and to do. Look at what Peter goes on to say in this chapter, verse 5 and following. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control perseverance, and to perseverance godliness, and to godliness mutual affection, and to mutual affection love. But that's all I must say about these verses, because I've asked Andrew to preach on them next Sunday morning. And if I say anything more about them, I'll be stealing his thunder. But friends, God has promised to make us godly. So let's get on board. Let's tune our hearts to his. Let's seek to grow in godliness until the day when we become like Jesus. Take time to be holy. Speak oft with thy Lord. Abide in him always and feed on his word. Make friends of God's children. Help those who are weak. Forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek. Take time to be holy. The world rushes on. Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be. By friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see. Take time to be holy. Let him be thy guide and run not before him whatever betide. In joy or in sorrow still follow the Lord. And looking to Jesus still trust in his word. Take time to be holy. Be calm in thy soul. Each thought and each motive beneath his control. Thus led by his spirit to fountains of love thou soon shall be fitted for service above. Christian friends, his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory. Calm in thy soul, each thought and each motive beneath. His control, thus led by his Spirit to fountains of love, thou soon shall be fitted for service above. Christian friends, his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. Let's pray together. Our gracious and loving God, we thank you for the great work that you have done in our lives as believers. We were dead, spiritually dead. You made us alive together with Christ. We are now a people who are alive to God, with new desires and aspirations for God. We thank you for that. Had it not been for your gracious intervention in our lives, we would still be in that terrible condition, following the ruler of this world and seeking to satisfy the cravings of our own sinful desire. Thank you that you've put your Holy Spirit within us, and how we pray that we might be a people who live in the fullness of the Spirit, that we might be a people who, by your strength, live lives that are godly and pleasing in your sight. Give us the strength, O God, that we need so that we might resist temptation and walk in the ways that you have set before us. We thank you for the wonderful promise that one day we shall be like Jesus. Lord, you are at work within our lives so that we might become increasingly conformed to his likeness. Help us to get on board. May our hearts be in tune with your heart. May we, like the Apostle Paul, press on in order to become the people that you would have us be. Perhaps it's good, O Lord, to remind ourselves that we're not saved by our works, we're not saved by trying to be godly. Accepted by you because of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that's been imputed to us. But Lord, having saved us, your plan, your purpose is to conform us to the likeness of your Son. May that be our concern as it is your concern. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand, shall we, and sing together, Yet not I, but through Christ in me.

Called and equipped for godliness

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