Grow Up! St. Peter’s Last Counsel

2 Peter 3:17-18
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, August 25, 2019
Copyright © 2019, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus ministered to him and strengthened his faith. Peter grew strong in the faith. He loved Jesus more than his life. As Jesus prophesied, Peter grew up in his faith and suffered martyrdom by crucifixion in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many people believe in Jesus to get wealthy, healthy, and famous. Such people fail to understand the cost of discipleship as Jesus taught in Matthew 16:24: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”

To grow in faith, it is necessary for one to be born again. If a so-called Christian is not born again, he cannot see or enter the kingdom of God, the sphere of the rule of God, and eternal life. Such a person is dead and lives in sin. Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit. A spiritually dead person can only sin. He can do nothing to please God.

Unregenerate people are enemies of God, under the wrath of God, children of the devil, and they have depraved minds, as we read in Romans 1:28: “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”

Regenerate people grow up into godly men and women, and they know the word of God. Through the lens of God’s word, they defeat the lie of the devil. True believers are the light of the world. They know truth as well as the lie of the devil.

Problem of Spiritual Termites

Peter begins, “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men” (v. 17). Spiritual termites are fake Christians in the church. They are ignorant of the gospel and they are unstable because their faith does not rest upon the Rock, Jesus Christ. They do not trust Christ, love Christ, or obey Christ.

Therefore, fake Christians lack foundation and they fall in due time as Jesus said: “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not [do them] is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt. 7:26–27).

St. Peter describes false, fake Christians in 2 Peter 2 and elsewhere. Consider their characteristics:

  1. They are false teachers (2 Pet. 2; 3:3, 16; 3:3-8)
  2. They are heretics
  3. They deny Christ
  4. They are hellbound
  5. They are greedy for money
  6. They are exploiters
  7. They are lawless
  8. They hate the Bible
  9. They are ungodly
  10. They are lust-driven
  11. They are arrogant
  12. They slander God and his people
  13. They despise God’s authority and the authority of his delegated authorities.
  14. They seduce the unstable
  15. They are ignorant of truth
  16. They reject the gospel
  17. They are slaves of depravity
  18. They are dogs that love vomit
  19. They are pigs that love mud
  20. They hate holiness
  21. They reject Christ’s second coming to judge
  22. They twist the truth of the Scriptures.
  23. To them, good is evil
  24. To them, evil is good (i.e., abortion, infanticide)
  25. They do untold harm
  26. They forget God’s judgment in history
  27. They laugh at eternal hell
  28. They live to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season
  29. They are destined to destruction
  30. They are slaves of depravity
  31. They are spiritual termites
  32. They leave the true church (1 John 2:19) in due time
  33. Or, as is done in this church and others, they are excommunicated.
  34. Their philosophy is “Eat, drink, and sin, for tomorrow we die.”
  35. Philippians 3:19 tells us
    1. Their destiny is destruction
    2. Their god is their stomach
    3. Their glory is in their shame
  36. They are branches without any fruit
  37. They are fake Christians
  38. They represent the first three soils in the parable of the four soils.

Paul writes in Galatians 1:8–9, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

Most churches preach a different gospel. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11, “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. . . . For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor. 11:4, 13–15).

Every true visible church has false Christians representing the first three soils of the parable of the four soils. They also represent the fruitless branches of John 15, where we read in verse 2, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” And in verse 6 we read, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

The first three soils do not produce any fruit. They are like the fruitless branch. Do you know what their problem is? They are unregenerate and therefore lack obedience to Christ the Lord. Such people are hellbound. Such branches are:

  1. Cut off by God
  2. Thrown away
  3. Withered
  4. Picked up
  5. Thrown into the fire
  6. And burned forever
  7. Why? They do not remain in Christ, who said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” They are unregenerate, unrepentant, unbelieving, and disobedient.

But true believers are beloved of God and God’s people. They are beloved of God from eternity past in God’s beloved Son, for whose salvation the Son became incarnate, obeyed his Father perfectly, suffered, died, and was raised from the dead. God’s elect are effectually called, justified, adopted, and being sanctified to be glorified.

Spiritual termites cannot deceive God’s elect. So we read:

  • 1 John 3:9: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
  • 1 John 2:6: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” He is our standard of conduct.
  • 1 John 3:3: “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as [Jesus Christ] is pure.”
  • 1 John 4:21: “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
  • Philippians 3:20–21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Solution 1: Guard Yourselves

How do we deal with spiritual termites in God’s holy church? The first solution Peter gives is in verse 17: “Guard yourselves from being deceived by errorists” (author’s translation). It is God’s command to his church: “Guard yourselves.” It is a present imperative. It is our responsibility all of life.

Forewarned is forearmed. We must know the truth of the Bible so that we may detect the lies of the devil and oppose them. Peter assures us of the reality of errorists in the visible church. He writes, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you [in God’s true church]. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2 Pet. 2:1).

True believers know God’s truth and they oppose errorists by the truth of the Scripture and by the Holy Spirit. A true Christian is filled with the word of God and the Holy Spirit. Such people put on the whole armor of God and resist the devil. And when we do this, the devil shall flee from us. James says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, obeyed the word, and the devil left him. Jesus, by his life and death, defeated the devil and set his elect free from the dominion of the devil, as we read in Hebrews 2:14–15: “Since the children have flesh and blood, [Jesus Christ] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” The devil will flee from us when we resist him, when we live by the obedience of faith.

In this church, we practice discipline. We excommunicate the rebellious, false believers, spiritual termites. Consider the following:

  • 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
  • 1 Timothy 6:20–21: “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care [that is, the gospel]. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.”
  • Mark 13:5, 9, 33: “Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. . . . You must be on your guard. . . . Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” We must daily be alert.
  • 2 Timothy 1:14: “Guard the good deposit [the word of God] that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” We believe in the Holy Spirit. The redemption accomplished by Christ is applied by the Holy Spirit to every elect, beginning with regeneration.
  • Matthew 24:24: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” It is not possible. God will help us to persevere to the end.
  • Acts 20:28–31a: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!”
  • Deuteronomy 32:10: “In a desert land he found him [the elect], in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.” God cares for us as the apple of his own eye. We shall persevere to the end.

But the elect will persevere to the end. Their foundation is Christ the Rock:

  • Isaiah 28:16: “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.’” Eternal security truly understood.
  • 2 Timothy 2:19: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows [meaning “loves”] those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’”
  • 1 Peter 2:4–5: “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Solution 2: Grow in Grace and Knowledge

The second solution Peter gives to the problem of spiritual termites in God’s church is in verse 18: “Grow up in grace and knowledge.” Again, this is a present imperative, meaning it is our ongoing responsibility. God is commanding us: Grow up!

A regenerate baby must grow up by feeding on the milk of the word of God. (PGM) Peter writes, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet. 1:23). He also says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet. 2:2–3).

A growing Christian must also feed on the living bread of the word. Jesus himself said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). And the Hebrews writer tells us, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14).

The church that Christ builds has certain marks. This church has four marks:

  1. The first and most important mark is preaching of God’s holy word truthfully with authority by pious and learned pastors. In Acts 2:42 we read of the early disciples, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” And in Acts 6:4 the apostles, including Peter, said, “[We] will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
  2. The second mark is observance of two sacraments: baptism and holy communion. In this church, we celebrate holy communion weekly.
  3. The third mark is the exercise of discipline. As in the family, so in God’s church. Excommunication is part of discipline.
  4. The fourth mark, which we practice here, is fellowship. Jesus told us to love one another. In 1 John 3:16–18 we read, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

The primary mark of the church is to preach the word so that people may hear and obey it. Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and [does them] is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt. 7:24–25).

We read about Jesus, “Although he was [Son], he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:8–9).

If there is no preaching the true gospel, such a church is a church of Satan. It is called synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). Most churches do not preach the gospel. Only where the word is preached do the people of God, the elect, grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible alone speaks of Jesus Christ, Old Testament and New Testament (Rom. 10:14-17; 2 Cor. 2:15-17).

Jesus himself grew in wisdom and grew in grace, as he learned Scripture. So we read, “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). And long before Christ came, Isaiah described how the Holy Spirit would be manifested in him (Isa. 11:1–3a). First, he says, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Then he says, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him:

  1. “the Spirit of wisdom”
  2. “the Spirit . . . of understanding”
  3. “the Spirit . . . of counsel”
  4. “the Spirit of power”
  5. “the Spirit of knowledge”
  6. “the Spirit . . . of the fear of the Lord”
  7. “and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” The fear of God keeps us from sinning and the fear of God keeps us obedient.

Peter says, “Grow in grace and knowledge.” Grace is God’s ability, God’s power. God is telling us to grow in grace. So we read:

  • “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. . . . For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:5, 8). Grace is the gift of God and faith is the gift of God. Salvation is entirely his gift.
  • Jesus said, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. . . . Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:4b, 5). Paul said, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). “What God demands, he provides by his Holy Spirit.” Who said that? John Calvin.
  • “But [God] gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

We need to grow in grace and knowledge of God. Without the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, we cannot have grace and peace in abundance. We cannot have eternal life. Peter writes, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 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. . . . For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:2–3, 8). We grow in grace as we grow in our knowledge of God and Jesus.

The Hebrews writer tells us, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We need mercy, we need grace, and he gives it to us, when we ask for it. And Paul writes, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7). He gives you grace and mercy. He gives you the Holy Spirit.

Who is this Jesus, that we must know him? Let me tell you:

  1. He is the eternal Word who is God (John 1:1)
  2. He is given the title Lord, which is equal to Yahweh in the Old Testament (Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 9:6–7; John 8:38)
  3. He forgives sins. Only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:5, 7)
  4. He is worshipped. The apostles worshiped him (Matt. 14:33; 28: 17). Only God is worshiped
  5. He is the eternal Son of God (Matt. 4:3; 14:33)
  6. He is the Creator (Heb. 1:2; John 1:3)
  7. He is the Savior (Matt. 1:21; 2 Cor. 5:21)
  8. He is sinless (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18)
  9. He is man (John 1:14; virgin-born man: Luke 2:12)
  10. He is King (Isaiah 9:6-7)
  11. He is Christ, the Anointed One—Prophet, Priest, and King
  12. He is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11)
  13. He is Judge (John 5:23, 27–27; Matt. 25:31ff)
  14. He is the seven “I AMs” we read in John’s gospel. He said:
    1. “I am the living bread” (John 6:35)
    2. “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
    3. “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7)
    4. “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11)
    5. “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)
    6. “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6)
    7. “I am the vine” (John 15:5). And in John 8:58 we also read, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Jesus Christ is the eternal I AM.

When we grow in grace and knowledge, we will bear fruit of obedience. We bear the fruit of obedience by the Holy Ghost power as branches vitally united to Christ the vine. We bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. Apart from Christ, one can bear no fruit for the glory of God the Father. But Paul writes, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). He also says, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12–13). The elect are regenerate who produce thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold (Mark 4:20).

Fake believers do not obey God. They are unregenerate. They are thornbushes, not good soil. They are not vitally united to Christ. Paul says, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 6:3–4). We can live a new life when we are vitally united with Christ in his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Who raised Jesus from the dead? The Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11), who dwells in us and enables us to do the will of God.

Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10). And in Hebrews 5:8–9 we read, “Although he was Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Without obedience, people are fake Christians, unregenerate. They can only sin all the time.

Those who do not obey our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are unregenerate and so unfruitful. They are antinomians. But true believers will do the following:

  1. They worship God regularly
  2. They hear and do God’s word
  3. They fellowship with the saints
  4. They are edified and edify others
  5. They read the word daily
  6. They delight in the word
  7. They pray daily
  8. They help the saints sacrificially
  9. They share the gospel with others
  10. They engage in self-examination
  11. They receive holy communion weekly
  12. They give generously for the cause of the gospel
  13. They read writings of godly saints
  14. They meditate on the Scripture
  15. They train their children in the word
  16. They believe in household salvation
  17. They practice the kingdom of God, that is, the rule of God, in the home
  18. They honor and obey pastors
  19. They grow up in the grace and knowledge of the Lord
  20. They are rich in good works
  21. They make their calling and election sure
  22. They persevere to the end

Praise/Doxology

Finally, Apostle Peter gives Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior the highest praise found in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is God the Son. He is Creator and Redeemer. He is perfect God/man. He forgives our sins. He is one divine person in two natures. He is the Prophet, the Priest, and the King. He is the risen One, risen from the dead. He is seated at God’s right hand. He is coming again as Judge and Savior. He is given all authority. To him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So Peter says of Christ, “To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (v. 18).

Let us do all things for God’s glory, for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isa. 9:6–7). To him be all glory!