Pursue A Life Of Godliness

Oftentimes, people don't like to be told to pursue

holiness and godliness in their lives. Now, there's

various reasons for this. People don't necessarily

enjoy being exhorted unto holiness of life. People

don't always enjoy being exhorted to godliness

and the pursuit of godliness and godly traits

and godly characteristics in their life. And

there are several reasons for this. I believe

that some of the reasons are people think genuinely

that for someone to tell them to pursue and seek

out holiness and godliness, that is legalistic.

And moralistic. Don't tell me that I should seek

holiness in my life. God's going to do that in

my life. God's going to bring that about in my

life. Some people, I think, genuinely believe

that it's dogmatic and arrogant for one sinner

to tell another sinner that they should be holy.

That they should be godly in their life. I think

that there's other reasons that people don't

like this. I think people have personal insecurities

with their own struggles, their own difficulties,

their own hardships, and their own soul. And

because of those, they don't like being told

that. Because of that expectation. Or because

of that standard of Christian living that they're

being urged onto. Maybe besetting sins. Or struggles

that people cannot or are unwilling to give up

or to let go of. And if I can't let go of this,

if I can't overcome this in my own life, then

how in the world could anybody else overcome

this and have freedom from sin in such a way?

Can anybody really truly walk in holiness and

godliness in their life? Oftentimes I think that

messy grace in antinomian theology really has

crept into the church more than we like to admit.

We're all sinners. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner.

And it's okay to be sinners. I'm imperfect, you're

imperfect, and this is the perfect place for

us to come together. And it's okay to be imperfect.

It's okay to not be okay. There's no standard.

There's no expectation. For godliness and holiness,

God is not a God that is given a holy and a righteous

law that reflects His own character and His own

goodness and that which He loves and that which

He... A lot of times, I believe people don't

like being told to pursue holiness and godliness

because of emotionally driven hermeneutics. Emotionally

driven ideas about what is right and what is

wrong in their life, in the church, and what

is expected of them in their life. For instance,

I believe people rationalize away godliness and

holiness because they say, well, when Paul tells,

when Peter tells his readers, now for this very

reason also, applying all diligence in your faith,

supply, moral excellence, and so on and so on

and so on. And then he even says, for if these

qualities are yours and are increasing, meaning

they have to be yours if you're a believer. And

they have to be increasing if you're a believer.

When Paul says that, he's talking to those first

century Christians. He's talking to those really

spiritual people. When Peter says that, he's

not talking about me. He doesn't understand my

life. He doesn't understand what's expected of

me in my life. He doesn't understand the commitments

in my life, what's required of me in my life.

He doesn't understand what I'm going through

and what I have to do in my life to just survive.

But brothers and sisters, this applies to every

single Christian, every single where, and every

single time. We are the same. As Peter's readers,

brothers and sisters, We are people saved by

grace. We are sinners saved by grace. And that

means that this exhortation and this admonition,

this command on the life of the believer, is

applicable to every single believer that's present

in this room. There's going to be difficulties

and hardships along the way, along the path of

godliness. But brothers and sisters, because

of all these reasons, I think that's all the

more cause to teach and instruct on these things.

Because of all these reasons, that's all the

more cause to teach on the pursuit of godliness

and holiness. Because we need it all that much

more. Because we don't like it. Because we don't

want to hear it. But we need to hear it. I need

to hear and I need to be encouraged. I need to

be exhorted to pursue Christlikeness in my life.

And you, brothers and sisters, need to be exhorted

unto Christlikeness in your life as those who

are recipients of the blessed grace of God. So

Peter encourages us to pursue a godly life in

verses 5 through 11. Consider first with me the

basis for pursuing a godly life. This is important

that we get this right, isn't it? On what basis

can a person say, pursue holiness? Pursue Christ.

What is the basis? The text says now, for this

very reason also. Peter's referring to what's

come before. He's referring to what he's been

speaking of. He's referring to what we've been

examining the last several weeks. He's referring

to the provisions of God for life and godliness.

Do you remember in verse 3, he says, seeing that

his divine power has granted to us everything

pertaining to life and godliness. Brothers and

sisters, God has given us graciously everything

for life and godliness. That's the basis. God's

work, God's provision, God's grace in the life

of the believer. What he provides and what he

gives and what he supplies and how he sustains

for the Christian, for those with faith. It's

the provisions of God. But it's not just the

provisions of God that are the basis of the pursuit

of a godly life. It's the promises of God. What

do we see? We read in verse 4, For by these he

has granted to us his precious and magnificent

promises, so that by them you may become partakers

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption

that is in the world by lusts. It's not just

the provision of God for life and godliness,

and that he's granted and he's given everything

that we need. But it's the fact of the promises

of the gospel and their application in the life

of God's people. It's the reality, brothers and

sisters, that God truly, genuinely intervenes

in the life of a sinner, and then He gives them

eyes to see, and He gives them ears to hear.

He calls them by the gospel and by His Spirit.

And that when He does that, brothers and sisters,

He gives us a new heart, a new nature. He drastically

changes us and He drastically transforms us so

that our minds and our hearts and our longings

are all renewed. They're all changed. They're

all adjusted. They're reoriented towards God.

And we have this desire, this longing for holiness

and godliness in our life. We see... That in

these promises, God provides us with certain

realities so that we can pursue holiness. So

that we can pursue godliness. He gives us ability

to pursue it. By giving us a new nature and a

new heart. Now, that does not mean... That it's

just us? Because as God's grace calls us, brothers

and sisters, we must never forget that God's

grace sustains us and preserves us even in our

pursuit of godliness and holiness. It's still

of grace. The very reason that we are new creatures

in Christ, the very reason that when God calls

us and we believe on Christ God -given faith,

that's a whole -souled movement. That's something

we do. God doesn't believe for us. We believe.

But why can we believe? And how do we believe?

Because He has given us a new heart, and His

strength by His Spirit causes us to believe.

It's His energy. It's His power. It's His influence

by the divine Spirit of God. My flesh... Has

no power. And no ability. And no desire. To seek

after a holy God. Do you know why? Because my

flesh is antithetical to holiness. When I'm referring

to it with reference to sin. A remnant of sin

will not ever. Or indwelling sin. In a person

will never seek out a holy God. Will never seek

out to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. But when

the work of God, the grace of God intervenes

in a person's life and changes them and transforms

them like we saw in Ephesians chapter 4. Like

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

we see in Romans chapter 6 where we're dead to

Romans 6 · chapter mention

sin. The old man is crucified, the old man is

dead, and we're alive unto God. And we can now

reckon sin as dead to us? That's all because

of God's grace, God's work in our life. So very

clearly, we see that it's grace that is the foundation

for any pursuit of godliness. in our lives. It's

God's work in us that is the basis for any work

in our lives. We have to remember that Peter's

talking to, he's writing to who, brothers and

sisters? Those who have received a faith of the

same kind. Peter's not speaking to unbelievers

and saying, be godly. He's not writing to unbelievers

and saying, seek out holiness in Christ's likeness.

No, he's writing to those with faith. He's writing

to those who are believers, those who are indwelt

by the Spirit of God, and those who have experienced

the grace of God at work in their life. He's

writing to them. There's nothing dogmatic. There's

nothing legalistic. There's nothing moralistic.

about a Christian, a believer, indwelt by the

Holy Spirit being told to pursue holiness and

godliness. In reality, brothers and sisters,

we have to pursue those things. We must pursue

those things. So, if one is to pursue godliness,

what must precede it? Grace. Grace must precede

godliness, right? But brothers and sisters, listen.

What must follow grace? The pursuit of godliness.

If grace comes in, godliness must be sought.

If grace comes in, then brothers and sisters,

godliness will be pursued. It's not as though

God saves us and his work in us is ineffective,

right? It's not as though God transforms us and

then deserts us and leaves us to ourselves and

all of a sudden it's all about the flesh and

finishing with the flesh. No, brothers and sisters,

the gospel is effective and powerful not just

to convert us and regenerate us, but the gospel

is effective. to transform us throughout the

entirety of our lives in sanctification. To continue

to renew us and transform us from glory to glory.

This is an indiscriminate command and exhortation

that Peter's giving to believers, isn't it? He's

not saying if you're really, really spiritual,

apply all diligence. and add these to your faith.

He's not saying, if you're in the first century,

then apply these to your faith. He's saying,

believer, you with faith, you who have the Spirit

of God, you who know Christ, you who love the

Lord Jesus Christ, you who have been born again,

you who have faith and repentance, pursue and

seek out these things. Grace is the basis for

pursuing a godly life, brothers and sisters.

But we also have to consider what believers are

called to pursue. When we say pursue a godly

life, what exactly are we speaking of? What does

the text tell us that we ought to be pursuing,

that we ought to be supplying, and we ought to

be diligently seeking to bring about and make

a close and intimate part of our life? Well,

we see in verses 5 through 7, this list, we could

say, of Christian virtues and characteristics.

He says, now for this very reason also, applying

all diligence. In your faith, supply moral excellence.

In your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your

knowledge, self -control. And in your self -control,

perseverance. And in your perseverance, godliness.

And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And

in brotherly kindness, love. That is what Peter

is exhorting his readers to seek out. To pursue.

These traits that he lists. Now, when we consider

these traits, Peter gives seven of them. He says

in your faith, personal trust of Christ. He says

moral excellence. Most likely he's speaking about

moral virtue, moral goodness, integrity, and

consistency, honesty, and purity in one's life

in a well -rounded capacity across the board

in how we see things and how we act and how we

talk and how we speak. Knowledge. He's speaking

of the will of God and discerning the will of

God. Not so much just the accumulation of knowledge.

Self -control. The ability to restrain ourselves.

The ability to restrain ourselves when the flesh

rears its head and seeks to lash out. Self -control

or temperance. Perseverance. This trait. where

we press on, we continue on, we continue moving

forward in spite of difficulties, we don't give

up, we don't throw our hands to the side and

say, I'm done. We press on. He says godliness,

connecting it to what he said previously, a devout

religious piety that's inwardly driven by the

heart that seeks to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

brotherly kindness, talking about a familial

Christian love. Now there's one that's relevant

for us, isn't it, brothers and sisters? We're

sitting next to brothers and sisters. We're sitting

next to family. And Peter's exhorting us to love

one another like brothers and sisters. Do you

brothers and sisters know why I say brothers

and sisters fairly often? In our conversation

or from the pulpit? Because it's a term of endearment.

It means I don't talk to everybody like this.

It means I see you differently than I see the

world. It means I know that Christ has died for

you and he's died for me because you've made

a profession of faith. Therefore, I recognize

you as a brother or a sister. in Christ. That

changes how we relate to one another. That changes

how we look at one another. Peter's saying, pursue

that out. He's saying that that is what we ought

to be seeking in our lives. And then he culminates

the list with love. Unselfish, self -denying,

sacrificial love. That love which puts others

first. Now this is the last one, but we also

know this is often one of the most difficult

of them. It's the determination to do good to

our fellow man. Regardless of what it costs us.

Regardless of how difficult it is. We will do

good to our fellow man. Now, I think there's

a few things it's important we recognize about

this list that Peter has given us. I think we

need to recognize that there's no significant

order or progression in them. Other than the

fact that it starts with faith and ends with

love. Other than that, I think they're just connected

and linked together. But it is significant. that

every single quality listed is in accompaniment

to faith. That means that these other qualities

are the product, are the fruit, the result of

faith. That means that when I seek out moral

excellence, it has to be in That means that when

I persevere, it needs to be in faith. That's

what distinguishes it and separates it from carnality,

from carnal effort and carnal exertion. The fact

and the reality that these, in a sense, are all

an accompaniment and the fruit of faith, and

they all work toward love. All of these things

serve the purpose of loving our fellow man and

the church of the living God in particular. These

are universal and necessary qualities according

to 2 Peter verse 8. For if these qualities are

yours and are increasing, they render you neither

useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge

of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians will...

have these qualities. Those with faith will enjoy

these blessed graces in their life. And these

things must spring from grace. The reason being,

these are not things that we work up, we create,

or we bring about on our own. These are part

of all those things pertaining to life and godliness

that God has given to the believer. He's already

given us the seed, we could say, in faith of

brotherly love. Of moral excellence. So it's

not like we're producing this. We're exerting

these things. We're working with the grace of

God that's inside of us to bring them out and

to manifest them and make them more evident in

our lives. They're from God. They're not from

the flesh. This is part of being made partakers

of the divine nature. These are distinctly Christian

virtues. He's not talking about worldly morality.

Peter's talking about godliness and holiness

in the life of a believer. This means, and this

shows us, brothers and sisters, what God wants

his people to seek after. This shows us what

God wants us to pursue in our lives, doesn't

it? And what do they have to do with? Who we

are? And how we live. Why? Because of the grace

of God. God is telling us, Peter is telling us,

that there is a particular manner of life that

believers in Jesus Christ are to be looking to

be like. That they are to be seeking out and

pursuing in their lives. It's this life characterized

by these realities. These traits and these characteristics.

It shows us what God values in the life of his

people. God values and God wants his people to

seek out moral excellence, perseverance, knowledge,

brotherly love, and that self -sacrificial, self

-denying love, that agape love. He wants us to

be people who are characterized by self -control

and all these traits. It's important for us to

understand, brothers and sisters, God's primary

concern for your life and for my life, as those

who have been recipients of the grace of God,

is not what you do in life. Meaning, you're a

bus driver. You're a pastor, a preacher. You're

a school teacher. You're a real estate agent.

You're a dentist. You're a tech worker, a farmer.

It doesn't matter. Listen, that's not God's primary

concern in your life. His primary concern is

not your wealth, your finance, your place, your

affluence, or your position in life. Do you know

what God is preeminently concerned about in your

life? Do you know what God is preeminently concerned

about with your soul? With your life that He

has given you? Godliness. Holiness in your life.

Who you are and how you live unto His glory.

That's His concern. For his people who have been

given his grace. He wants them to live in such

a way that they adorn their faith with these

blessed realities. In a sense, he wants his people

to beautify the gospel of Jesus Christ with their

very lives. To show off. What the gospel has

done to them to show off what the gospel is doing

to them. That means, brothers and sisters, we

say something about the gospel in our self -control

or our absence of self -control. That means that

you say something in your life about God and

the gospel and your love or your absence of love.

And your brotherly love or the absence and neglect

of brotherly love. And your perseverance or your

despair. You say something about the gospel of

Jesus Christ and its power and its effect in

your very souls. What is your life saying about

the gospel? What is your pursuit of godliness

and holiness in your life? How does your treatment

of your brothers and sisters, how does that talk

about the gospel? What does it say about what

Christ has done on the cross? And the power of

the Spirit of God at work in you. We're always

saying something. Everybody's always saying something.

And the way they talk, and the way they dress,

and the way they look, and how they act, and

how they treat others, and what they do. Everybody's

always saying something. They're either beautifying

the gospel of Jesus Christ, or they're saying

something else about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our lives should be living reflections of the

efficacious power of the gospel at work in our

very souls. Our lives should be living testimonies

to the work of Christ and his grace and his mercy

and the transforming power of that grace and

that mercy in our lives. That's what Peter wants

us to do. He wants us to pursue a life that glorifies

God by reflecting the blessed gospel in our lives.

That's what we need to seek out, brothers and

sisters. For morality's sake. But because we

want to honor our Lord. If you're a believer,

I know you want to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know you have the desire and the longing to

please your Heavenly Father. This is how we do

it. We seek out and we pursue these realities.

And brothers and sisters, this is a life of joy.

This is the life of contentment. This is the

life of satisfaction and fulfillment. This is

the life of peace. You know, a lot of times,

the Puritans get really, really bad reps. Now,

there was a small minority of Puritans that should

get a bad rep. Very small. The mass of the Puritans.

Yes, they pursued godliness. And they pursued

holiness. But listen, brothers and sisters, they

were very, very happy people. They were very,

very joyful people. They loved the Lord Jesus

Christ. They desired to please Him and honor

Him. They experienced a deep joy in their souls

that we may know nothing about at times. Why?

Because they were so consecrated to the very

purpose of being godly and holy. If we want to

experience true joy in our lives, if you want

contentment and peace in your life, if you want

to know what it means to be happy in your soul

and not miserable all the time, then you need

to seek out the Lord Jesus Christ and to imitate

Him and to be like Him. and to find satisfaction

and peace and hope and confidence in him by faith.

This is very different from what the world tells

us to go after, isn't it? What does the world

tell us to do? What does the world tell us to

seek out? This is especially relevant for young

people. What does the world and the culture say

to go after in your life? What you value. What's

important to you. What makes you feel good? What

guarantees your success in life? What gives you

the most affluence and influence in life? Where

are you going to have the most impact on society

and culture? What's going to give you the best

position and best place? What's going to satisfy

your... wants the most. That's not what Peter

tells us to go after. Peter says to go after

that which God values. Peter says seek out and

pursue that which is dear to the very heart of

the Lord Jesus Christ. Holiness and godliness.

Those are the things that Christians ought to

pursue and seek out with all their very being.

Those things that God tells us to go after. Now

consider how we are to pursue godliness. This

one is fairly simple from the text. How do we

go after these things? The text says in verse

5, now for this very reason also, applying all

diligence and your faith supply. I'm sorry. In

your faith, supply moral excellence. Believers

must apply all diligence in their pursuit of

a godly life. We know what we are to seek. We

know what God wants us to go after, don't we,

brothers and sisters? Knowing that, understanding

who God wants us to be, how ought we to then

live? How ought we to prioritize our life, our

energy, our time, our days? We have to live in

such a way that we're wise and not unwise. Peter

is very clear. He says that we have to make every

effort. What does he mean by this? Every single

one of us clearly understands what this means.

Every single one of us knows what it means to

apply all diligence. And do you know how I know

every single person already understands this?

Because the people I know in this room are very

hard workers. And if they say to their child,

or to an employee, or to a staff member, Or to

somebody they're supervising or overseeing, somebody

they're in charge of, and they say, now, apply

all diligence in this task. Apply all diligence

in this function, in this capacity, in this duty,

in this role. What do you mean by that? Do you

mean it's okay? Let it fall to the wayside. Neglect

it. And then take up the opportunity when you

get a chance and whenever you feel like it. No.

I certainly don't mean that whenever I tell my

child that. Does it mean, brothers and sisters,

give it a half -hearted effort and then stop?

No. Brothers and sisters, it means make every

effort and take every opportunity to reach that

goal which is included in the command. Do everything

within your power to see that this comes about.

Give it everything you've got. Because that's

what I want. Because that's what's good for you.

Because that's what I long for your life. Brothers

and sisters, we have a Heavenly Father who loves

us and cares more for us than we can ever fathom.

And He longs for us to know what it's like to

be holy and godly in our life. And He says, apply

all diligence in this matter. Take every opportunity.

Make every effort. That means give all the time

that you have and all the time that you can.

Empty yourself. Give yourself to this purpose

in your life. I want you to do this. That's what

we ought to hear in this calling and this exhortation.

It's a command, a call, an exhortation, an admonition

of love, brothers and sisters. Our Father in

heaven loves us dearly, and He knows that we

need to be holy and godly in our life so that

we enjoy contentment and peace and love, and

we know Him more than we do now. We have to give

it everything we've got. This includes activity

and the will. We can't apply all diligence. without

exercising some resolve in our minds, in our

wills. I think Peter's telling us, when it comes

to matters of your faith, be strong -willed.

I think he's telling us, be a go -getter when

it comes to growing in grace. Give yourself to

this purpose. Do everything that you possibly

can. To achieve this goal. To seek it out. And

to go after it. But he also says. That the way

that we pursue this. Is that believers must supply.

Or they must add. These qualities to their faith.

This is why he says in verse 5. Supplying all

diligence. Now this word. assumes the presence

of these qualities already. And he's calling

us to exercise and practice these things. It

was used in Greek literature for various different

purposes, but the primary use was for a patron

or a benefactor that loved music and orchestra.

That they would come alongside that orchestra

and that team and they would provide funding

or donations or they would furnish instruments

so that the orchestra could be well -rounded

and make the most beautiful music that it could

potentially make. Peter's saying supply diligence

and effort. Supply these qualities in such a

way that you show off the gospel in your life.

And the beauty of the gospel in your life. That

we show off the work of the Lord. Now, the reality

is, brothers and sisters, that we go after, we

seek after, we pursue, and we give diligence

to those things which matter most in our lives.

We apply all diligence to those things which

matter most to us. We apply all diligence to

those things our heart's affections are set on

the most. We make time for those things which

matter most. We open up our schedule. We control.

We persevere in those things. We do everything

necessary to accomplish those goals in our lives

because they matter to us, because they're meaningful

to us. Brothers and sisters, we are called to

give all diligence and all activity and all exertion,

everything in our power and our control, to lay

hold. of Christ more in our lives. Everything.

That is to be our priority and our values. We

are to go after that which God loves the most.

We are to go after those things which He's telling

us to go after. And that means that we may have

to neglect or lay aside some of the things we

like so much. If we want to lay hold of Christ

more and more in our lives and to be closer and

closer to Him in union by faith and have the

Spirit of God working more in us than brothers

and sisters, let other things that are of lesser

value fall to the wayside that you might lay

hold of Christ more and more in your life. Let

go of those things in the pursuit. of holiness

and godliness in your lives to honor the Lord

Jesus Christ. There are certain things in our

lives that are going to have no eternal impact

on our very souls. There are certain things in

our lives that we will never take with us when

we die. Listen, brothers and sisters. There are

eternal things which have eternal impacts on

our souls and on those around us. Give yourselves

to those realities. Those things which will perpetually

remain because they are of God. What other things

fall to the wayside? What matters most to you?

What's most important to your soul? Now, in our

pursuits of those things that mean so much to

us in our lives, we use every method and every

means to obtain them, don't we? Lawful methods

and lawful means. God forbid no one in here would

use unlawful methods to obtain that which they

want in life. But if we want... To pursue godliness

in our life. If we want to grow in grace and

knowledge, and to know the Lord Jesus Christ,

you know how we do that, brothers and sisters?

We take advantage of the means that God has given

to us to bring those things about. The Word of

God. We have to be people that live in the Word.

We have to be people that love the Word, that

read the Word and study the Word and look to

the Word for leadership and guidance in our lives.

We have to make our decisions and make our determinations

in life based on the Word. But brothers and sisters,

God has also given us prayer. We must lay hold

of prayer and go to the Lord in prayer and seek

Him out in prayer and use the means. But brothers

and sisters, He's also given us the local church.

The people of God where we've covenanted together

to walk together as one people in unity and love.

He's given us the ordinances. These are the means

by which we grow in godliness and holiness in

our lives. I want to end. by reading something.

This is the Canons of Dort. It's such a good

section on what we're speaking of. It says this,

For grace is conferred by means of admonition,

such as the one we're reading about in 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:5–11

1, verses 5 -11, an admonition. For grace is

conferred by means of admonitions, and the more

readily we perform our duty. the more clearly

this favor of God working in us usually manifests

itself. And the more directly His work is advanced.

To Him alone all the glory, both for the means

and for the saving fruit in efficacy, is forever

due. Amen. Do you know what it's saying there,

brothers and sisters? It's saying that the more

we give ourselves to pursuing godliness and holiness,

the more the grace of God powerfully works in

our souls. The more we seek to be like Christ,

the more His grace works in our very hearts.

Be a people that don't feel as though we have

to dogmatically pursue holiness and godliness.

Brothers and sisters, be a people that recognize

God wants us to be holy and godly and to know

Christ more because he loves us dearly. He cares

for us dearly. And he knows what is best for

our souls.