Tomorrow morning I will be preaching on the following text from Mark chapter 8:
"And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man'."
One of the hardest things about preaching is trying to fit all of your studying into a 30-40 minute sermon. In the end, I try by the mercy and grace of the Almighty, to render a faithful understanding of the text to my hearers for the glory of God. There is always stuff left out, and this week is no exception. I am not sure I will get to the “back-story” of Peter, so I wanted to blog a little about it.
I called Peter a “back-story” because I do not believe he is the focus of this narrative. I feel that too often teachers of the Word can focus on “back-stories” verses the main point of the text. While other details of the text are often interesting, and provocative, I firmly believe the inspired writers of the Bible wrote with a purpose. All the “details” of scripture point to a big picture purpose. That is what I am always trying to accomplish with my preaching. I want to convey and expound the big picture, and I believe big picture is Jesus Christ. So, Lord willing, when I preach tomorrow, I will spend my energy and focus on lifting high Jesus Christ.
Now back to Peter. One can’t help but wonder the emotions that Peter felt after eliciting such a response from Jesus. Just a few verses before, Peter rides the spiritual rollercoaster to the top with the confession that Jesus is not John the Baptist, or Elijah, or even one of the prophets, but that Jesus is the “Christ”. Now his stomach falls as he plummets down to the bottom with the rebuke of Jesus that he is like Satan. This is not the only time the gospels record Peter’s rollercoaster ride of sanctification for us. He is the one who calls out to Jesus from the boat wanting to walk on the water with Christ. Then he sinks in unbelief. He is the one who asks Jesus to wash his whole body, and then he is reminded that only his feet need to be washed. He defiantly strikes with the sword to defend Jesus in the garden, then denies the Son of Man three times before the cock crows. Wow. I thought my spiritual life was a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows!
This begs a question in my mind. How did Peter deal with such wild, sometimes violent highs and lows in his sanctification?
In my own life, and in the lives of those I have the privilege of ministering to, this is the most frequent question I deal with. Why do we struggle with sin, when we have seemed to see Jesus as the Christ the son of the most High God (i.e. Peter confessing Jesus as Christ, then being likened to Satan)? Another way of putting the question: If Jesus is Lord of my life, why do I still struggle with sin so much?
This is the old age question of most Christians. There are many things that could be said here, but I’d like to focus on Peter. I think that it is wise for us to look at the end of his life for an answer. Read the first chapter of his second epistle:
“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2) May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (3) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (4) by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (5) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, (6) and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, (7) and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (10) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (11) For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (12) Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. (13) I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, (14) since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. (15) And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (16) For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (17) For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," (18) we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (19) And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, (20) knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. (21) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
I’d like to make a couple of observations that may help us wrestle with the issue of sanctification.
1. Peter is very, very clear that our standing before God is based off of faith by the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. (verse 1) His divine power is what gives us “all things” in regards to sanctification. (verse 3)
2. Because our righteousness is in Christ and not in our works, we have been made “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (verse 5) Are you ready? Here comes the big one! THEREFORE since we are partakers of the “divine nature” (Paul calls it a new creation) we can NOW “make every effort to supplement our faith”!
3. Look at verse 8 “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These “qualities” that “supplement our faith” DO NOT add anything to our righteousness. They help us be fruitful in the “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What is this knowledge? It is the understanding of the gospel of Christ! Hosea 6, Isaiah 40, John 17, and the whole Bible screams at us to know Jesus Christ. Know that he is our righteousness! As John Piper says, when Jesus is the blazing center of our universe (everything we are and know) all the other little planets (the sins we are wrestling with) fall right into orbit.
4. Verse 10 says we are to practice these qualities. Practice them. Are you wrestling with sin? Let me ask you this question? Do you practice virtue? Do you even know what virtue is? Practice, practice, practice.
5. Peter then reminds his readers that he will soon die. He wants to make every effort to remind his readers of these qualities. How does he do that? Yep, you guessed it, the Bible. How amazing is this book we have! Peter essentially says, “in your battle with sin, read the Bible, which will cause your knowledge of Christ to increase, which will cause you to make effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and so on.
I could go on and on and on, but I won’t. I will recommend that you read II Peter this week. Read it for you weary, sin-battled soul. I’ll leave you with the last words of Peter to us.
“grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity”
"And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man'."
One of the hardest things about preaching is trying to fit all of your studying into a 30-40 minute sermon. In the end, I try by the mercy and grace of the Almighty, to render a faithful understanding of the text to my hearers for the glory of God. There is always stuff left out, and this week is no exception. I am not sure I will get to the “back-story” of Peter, so I wanted to blog a little about it.
I called Peter a “back-story” because I do not believe he is the focus of this narrative. I feel that too often teachers of the Word can focus on “back-stories” verses the main point of the text. While other details of the text are often interesting, and provocative, I firmly believe the inspired writers of the Bible wrote with a purpose. All the “details” of scripture point to a big picture purpose. That is what I am always trying to accomplish with my preaching. I want to convey and expound the big picture, and I believe big picture is Jesus Christ. So, Lord willing, when I preach tomorrow, I will spend my energy and focus on lifting high Jesus Christ.
Now back to Peter. One can’t help but wonder the emotions that Peter felt after eliciting such a response from Jesus. Just a few verses before, Peter rides the spiritual rollercoaster to the top with the confession that Jesus is not John the Baptist, or Elijah, or even one of the prophets, but that Jesus is the “Christ”. Now his stomach falls as he plummets down to the bottom with the rebuke of Jesus that he is like Satan. This is not the only time the gospels record Peter’s rollercoaster ride of sanctification for us. He is the one who calls out to Jesus from the boat wanting to walk on the water with Christ. Then he sinks in unbelief. He is the one who asks Jesus to wash his whole body, and then he is reminded that only his feet need to be washed. He defiantly strikes with the sword to defend Jesus in the garden, then denies the Son of Man three times before the cock crows. Wow. I thought my spiritual life was a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows!
This begs a question in my mind. How did Peter deal with such wild, sometimes violent highs and lows in his sanctification?
In my own life, and in the lives of those I have the privilege of ministering to, this is the most frequent question I deal with. Why do we struggle with sin, when we have seemed to see Jesus as the Christ the son of the most High God (i.e. Peter confessing Jesus as Christ, then being likened to Satan)? Another way of putting the question: If Jesus is Lord of my life, why do I still struggle with sin so much?
This is the old age question of most Christians. There are many things that could be said here, but I’d like to focus on Peter. I think that it is wise for us to look at the end of his life for an answer. Read the first chapter of his second epistle:
“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2) May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (3) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (4) by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (5) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, (6) and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, (7) and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (10) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (11) For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (12) Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. (13) I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, (14) since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. (15) And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (16) For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (17) For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," (18) we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (19) And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, (20) knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. (21) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
I’d like to make a couple of observations that may help us wrestle with the issue of sanctification.
1. Peter is very, very clear that our standing before God is based off of faith by the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. (verse 1) His divine power is what gives us “all things” in regards to sanctification. (verse 3)
2. Because our righteousness is in Christ and not in our works, we have been made “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (verse 5) Are you ready? Here comes the big one! THEREFORE since we are partakers of the “divine nature” (Paul calls it a new creation) we can NOW “make every effort to supplement our faith”!
3. Look at verse 8 “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These “qualities” that “supplement our faith” DO NOT add anything to our righteousness. They help us be fruitful in the “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What is this knowledge? It is the understanding of the gospel of Christ! Hosea 6, Isaiah 40, John 17, and the whole Bible screams at us to know Jesus Christ. Know that he is our righteousness! As John Piper says, when Jesus is the blazing center of our universe (everything we are and know) all the other little planets (the sins we are wrestling with) fall right into orbit.
4. Verse 10 says we are to practice these qualities. Practice them. Are you wrestling with sin? Let me ask you this question? Do you practice virtue? Do you even know what virtue is? Practice, practice, practice.
5. Peter then reminds his readers that he will soon die. He wants to make every effort to remind his readers of these qualities. How does he do that? Yep, you guessed it, the Bible. How amazing is this book we have! Peter essentially says, “in your battle with sin, read the Bible, which will cause your knowledge of Christ to increase, which will cause you to make effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and so on.
I could go on and on and on, but I won’t. I will recommend that you read II Peter this week. Read it for you weary, sin-battled soul. I’ll leave you with the last words of Peter to us.
“grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity”
This post is of great encouragement.
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