2St.Peter 1:1-11

Nov. 22, 2021

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

11For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The grocery list, the to-do list, the gift list; how else can we keep track of all the things we’re to get done in a day, or a week? Work, family, civic duties, church duties – it’s no wonder we’re so tired all the time. Yet the most important list is enumerated right here in St. Peter’s letter.

Starting with verse five, we have the ‘Get right with Jesus list’. Knowledge is spiritual truth. Temperance is self-control. Patience is endurance. Godliness is God-likeness. Brotherly kindness is brotherly love. Charity is volitional love (the use of one’s own will; in this case, to love thy neighbor even when it’s difficult). (KJ study Bible for the definitions)

This list is not one that we get done today or tomorrow – it’s a life long journey to achievement. We need church every Sunday, we need all the Bible study we can get, whether it’s our own private study but more importantly the Bible study our priests offer every week. We need to give a quick check to what’s about to come out of our mouths – is it temperate or are we about to give someone a piece of our minds they may not need right now? Brotherly kindness is what we practice at work, in the grocery store, on line any of the places we get on line for, like at the gas station or the ATM machine – if the line’s not moving fast enough for us (because you know we’re very busy and have all those other lists to check off), we’re to be patient, understanding that not all people move or think as quickly as we do. Charity is working to find it in our hearts to forgive those that get on our last nerve or who have interfered with us in some way. Charity is keeping in mind that we are all broken people; yes, we, not just ‘them’. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Verse 10 helps us to understand why we need to be working on this list – hourly, daily, weekly … you get the idea. Verse ten ends with “…for if you do these things, ye shall never fall.” We’re a fallen people because of original sin – you know, Adam and Eve; we really don’t want to ‘fall’ because we never worked on St. Peter’s list. Remember the cheat sheets you used to use to study for exams – reminders of those items you were apt to forget when the exam paper was in front of you. That’s what car visors are for! Put a sticky note up there – Knowledge, temperance, patience, Godliness, brotherly kindness, charity. Couldn’t hurt, right?

Advertisement