There are
lots of times I hear conversations about believers who talk about sin like
Jesus did nothing about it. Sin has been so elevated above the shed blood of
Jesus. Many are so confused that they are not sure of what Jesus did for us.
It is important
for us to know that understanding our identity is key to living a life well
pleasing to God. Our identity in the new covenant is rooted to perfect
obedience of Jesus and not in our good works. The Old covenant described those
under it with relation to sin but the new covenant reveals us in relation to
righteousness.
Peter
explained in 2 Peter 1:3-9
as His
divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of
Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great
and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have been
given a “divine nature”, which is the very nature of God. It is this life that
we have received that is also known as Eternal life. At the new birth we were
made to partake of a nature that is beyond sin and death. It is an
incorruptible nature and one that is birthed in righteousness.
We now have
a new position that is far above anything earthly. It is kingly position in the
heavens. Believers are no longer rooted to sin but now founded in
righteousness. Realizing this position can elevate us to new experiences in
life.
The
beautiful thing is that the things pertaining to life and godliness only come out
of us as we increase in the knowledge of who God is within us. From this
knowledge we then see the following progression in our lives: diligence,
virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and
charity. As these fruits grow in your heart, they guarantee that the believer
will never be “barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).
This
knowledge of God is revealed in the face of Jesus. He is the perfect expression
of God. The law could show us the standards of God but not show his face,
compassion and mercy. It is this knowledge that produces what Paul called the
fruit of the spirit.
Fruit grows
naturally, and needs only the God-given elements to do so. We cannot offer any
coaching or prompting to make the apple tree give apples, so no prompting or
works on our part makes the heart produce fruit. You cannot manifest godly
character from self-development. I have
seen many Christians struggle with showing forth character even with their
determination to please the Lord. The issue is this: You cannot produce godly
fruit with human effort.
The real
question is this:
Why would Peter
tell us that these things should be in our life if they must be brought out by
the Spirit? He offers to explain why many Christians do not reflect godly
traits in verse 9:
“But he that
lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that
he was purged from his old sins.”
If the
believer lacks any of the virtues listed in verses 5-7 it is not because they
are not Christians or not consecrated enough. It has nothing to do with their
works or their effort. It is simply that they are blinded as to who they are in
Christ by the law, and they have little spiritual insight into their position
in Him. As a result, they have forgotten that the blood of Christ has taken
their sins away.
When we
grasp the understanding of the eternal redemption that we have in Jesus, it
fills us with eternal security and confidence that assists to release the
divine nature in us. Living a life with a constant reminder of your sin before
you will paralyse you and make your life miserable. This takes one’s life on a
downward spiral as it entangles you into a wormhole of seeking to please a God
who is already pleased with the sacrifice of Jesus.
The truth is
that so many problems could be avoided by all of us if we would remember on a
daily basis that we are forgiven of our sins and not to be forgiven. The
knowledge of forgiveness silences the voice of condemnation in our heart and
lets us live free in the wonderful grace of God.
Our forgiveness is not rooted
to the confession of our sins and repentance. It is rooted to the one sacrifice
on the cross where God reconciled the world to himself in Jesus.
When we
recognize that we are forgiven based on His grace and not our works, the veil
will fall off our eyes and our spiritual insight will will grasp God’s purpose
for our lives. Consequently, His fruit begins to explode in every area of our
being and we walk in the “exceeding great and precious promises” (1:4).
Don’t call
yourself a sinner saved by grace. You are no longer a sinner. You are now the righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus. Remember that
your old sins are gone and walk free in these sweet promises of our Father who
calls you His own.
