See The Good
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
~ 2 Peter 1:3-7, NIV
See the Good
(2 Pet. 1:3-7)
Intro:
A. There is not a single word or a short phrase that can describe God in his fullness. We get phrases like, “God is love,” “God is Light,” “God is just.” But you can’t describe God in only one small phrase. God encompasses so much more that a single concept in the human mind. But one of the phrases that I don’t often jump to, but holds a deep truth is, “God is good.”
B. In our reading, Peter says that we have everything we need for life and godliness according to the knowledge of him who called us “by his own glory and goodness.” It is that last word “goodness” that Peter just used to describe God that he tells us we need to add to our faith (add to your faith, goodness/virtue). Have you thought about God as the essence of what is excellent, good, or virtuous?
C. This morning, I want to encourage us to see the good. Peter calls upon us to add to our faith, goodness. Paul calls upon us to think upon that which is good/admirable/excellent. They are all the same word in the original language. But how do I bring goodness into my character, my being? I’m glad you asked…
I. Look At God
A. There is no better place to start than with the essence of God. God is good. God’s goodness is why he called us to leave a life of sin and live in a grace of Jesus.
B. The goodness of God wanted what was best for you and me before we wanted a relationship with Him. Why does a parent love deeply a newborn baby? It’s not because of what that baby can do for the parent, they just love that infant because they want that baby to grow up and become the best that it can be. As a good parent we nurture our children. As a good parent we seek to give them every opportunity in their spiritual walk, their education, and the development of their character.
C. It’s your goodness. Jesus spoke about this type of love. Listen to Luke 11:11-13. Jesus knows that good parent will not do anything to intentionally harm their child. But God is even greater than a good parent. God never makes a mistake in his parenting. God wants to give you good gifts because he is a good father. It’s his character to be good.
D. Peter and Paul want goodness to be a part of who you are, just like it’s a part of who God is. For Paul, that starts by thinking on that which good or excellent. It gets the focus off of you and thinks about what the good thing to do.
II. Think About That Which Is Praiseworthy
A. The last word that Paul uses in his list is connected to the idea of thinking on that which is good or excellent. He finishes the list by saying, “If there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.”
B. We sometimes sing the song, “Worthy Art Thou.” It begins with “Worthy of praise is Christ our Redeemer, worthy of glory, honor and pow’r! Worthy of all our souls adoration, worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!”
C. For Paul, there is nothing more worthy of praise that the Godhead. Paul, when he writes his letters, sometimes finds himself simply writing about how great God is. In Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus, he would write (READ Eph. 3:20-21). When Paul says to Timothy that Jesus came to save sinners of whom he was the greatest, he finishes that thought by saying (READ 1 Tim. 1:17). When Paul concludes his letter to churches in Rome closes by writing (READ Rom. 16:25-27).
D. Here’s my point. Paul didn’t focus on his own sin or the failures of others. Paul thought about the goodness of God in sending Jesus to save us from eternal punishment. Paul thought about what was good. Instead of beating himself up, he praise God for recreating him into a new creation.
E. Do I fail? Yes. Do I sin? Yes. But does that define me? No. Why? Jesus came because of my sin to help me walk worthy of my calling by a good God.
III. A Call To Action
A. As we close out this series of things we need to think on, we find that thinking is not our only calling. We are called to put these things into action. (READ Phil. 4:9)
B. I said it last week, “What you do starts with what you think.” When we fill our minds with the things of this world, our passion will be for the things of this world. When we fill our minds with the things of God, our passion will become the things of God.
C. How do you see yourself? What defines your character? We are often conditioned to think about ourselves negatively; to see our faults more than our virtues. But that’s not what this teaching from Paul is about. He calls upon to put the positive attributes of life into our thinking.
D. There was a time when I really disliked me. I saw my secret self as sinful and evil. I wanted to die because I didn’t really believe I was good enough to live. I prayed for some disease that would bring my life to end that God would forgive me just before I died so that I might get to go to heaven. Let me tell you, that’s a miserable way to live.
E. The more I connected my life to God, the more I found that grace was a gift that had been given that I didn’t accept. I started to believe in the grace of Jesus and that grace called me to change. I saw my life becoming more in line with the will of God because I was excited that he really loved and forgave me. I wanted him to be proud of me and what I found is I was proud of me.
F. Paul says to put into action all these wonderful things that we have been thinking about and that Paul had been teaching about, because when we do, “the God of peace will be with you.” That’s what I really wanted. I didn’t want to die, I wanted to be at peace and sin was keeping me from what I desired most.
Conclusion:
A. I pray the God of peace is with you. If we can help you in putting these things into practice, then come as we stand and sing.
Because of Jesus,
Jeffrey Dillinger, minister