How To Obtain Faith: 2 Peter 1: 1,2

Pastor Roger Feenstra

We are beginning a short, eight or nine week series through the book of 2 Peter.

It is my prayer today, as we look at the first two verses of this letter, that a couple of things will happen:

 1.  That you will have a better understanding of what it means to have faith (or, to believe). In other words, what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

2.  That you will examine your life, in light of your understanding of what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ, and go from here ready to serve Jesus Christ more fully each day.

The apostle Peter, we know him well by now. We spent over 20 weeks studying his first letter, and now Peter is writing his second letter and has addressed it to 

 "Those who have obtained a faith..."

As I spent hours studying for this message there are so many unbelievable truths that are here in verses 1 and 2.  And, I could spend more time than we have this afternoon on each one of them. For example, this passage is one of the clearest passages in the Bible that states that Jesus Christ is God.  Look at verse 1:

 "By the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."    

Who is Jesus Christ?  He is God and He is our Savior.  There are so many religions that deny that crystal clear fact.  The Mormons deny this fact, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny this fact, the Muslims deny this fact, and every other religion on earth denies the fact that Jesus Christ is God and our Savior.  Their eyes have been blinded to the truth that Jesus is God and it is because of that truth that is stated here in verse 1; it is only through Jesus Christ that we become righteous, i.e., we can stand before a holy God, even though we are not holy in and of ourselves, because Jesus Christ has declared us righteous. So, that is certainly a great truth from this passage and one that we should hold onto and proclaim in our lives.

But this afternoon, I want to speak to you from my heart, not just from what I have studied, so that the Holy Spirit might do a work in your life and mine today.  And so, there is another great truth found here in these first two verses is that we have:

 "Obtained a faith..."

Faith--You've heard that word before.  It gets thrown around in conversation:  "Just have faith." "Where's your faith" - There are "faith-based" organizations, like Hope Now For Youth.  But, what is faith and how do you know if you have it?  If Peter is writing this letter to those who have obtained or acquired faith, then how do you know if this letter is addressed to you or not? 

If you say you have Faith it is the same as saying that you have trust or belief in something.  So, from a Christian perspective, faith is belief in something.  The writer of Hebrews (11:1), put it this way:

 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Let me restate that verse another way to help you better understand the idea of what it means to have faith as a Christian, or what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ:

 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, that is, eternal life, and faith is the conviction that, even though we can't see him, Jesus   Christ provides eternal life."

"The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

What is faith?  It is belief that only Jesus Christ provides salvation for you and gives you eternal life.

So if that's the case; If you are a Christian and you say that you have faith in Jesus Christ, then how did you, as Peter says in verse 1, obtain that faith?   How did you get it? 

The Greek word that Peter used and that has been translated "obtained" is a word that means "To cast lots" or as we might say it today, "the lot fell on you."  We get our word "lottery" from this word. If you win the lottery, for example, you are chosen above all the others.

Therefore, the point that Peter makes here in verse 1 is that if you have faith, or if you believe in Christ, you were chosen to believe.  He doesn't mean you were chosen at random, but simply, God chose you based on His Sovereign power and ability.  Well then, why did God choose you?  Why did you obtain faith?  Why are you a Christian?

There are two main reasons:

 1.  You were chosen by God before the foundation of the world.  Ephesians 1:3,4:

 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."

Likewise, in John 15:16, Jesus Himself says,

 

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you..."  And He continues in verse 19,

 "...I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

 2.  God wrote your name in the book of life before you were even born.  Psalm 139:13-16.

 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;   my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."  

Some of you in this room today don't like yourselves.  You were told from an early age that you weren't worth anything--maybe your parent or other family member didn't say those exact words, but you knew what they were thinking.  

Some of you learned to dislike yourselves.  You keep getting rejected--at home, on the job, by so-called friends, even by those you thought were supposed to love you.  And because of all that rejection and heartache, you don't think you are anything special.

But God does...

He determined before the creation of the world, and while you were still in your mother's womb, that you were to be chosen by Him.  The world may have rejected you--but God says, come to me, I love you. 

You have obtained faith for one reason only:  God chose you to have the faith that you now have.  And the reason for choosing you is that He loves you. The world may hate you, but He loves you. 

Turn with me to John 6:37-40.  

 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

All that the Father gives me will come to me. Do you see that in verse 37?  You obtained faith or belief because God gave you to Jesus Christ.  God did the work -- this is what is called God's grace; His undeserved favor.  God chose you, he formed you, and he gave you to Jesus Christ.  

Simply put, God in his sovereign grace predetermined that you would believe in Jesus Christ.  

So what does this mean?  It means this, The only way you can believe in Jesus is if God the Father draws you to Jesus.  That's what Jesus said, look at John 6:44:  

  "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day."

And when you believe in Jesus, you have, as Peter says, "obtained faith" and you are assured of eternal life.  Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me I will never cast out." (John 6:37).

You might say, Well then, if it is God that draws me to Jesus, I can live my life anyway I want to because if God chose me before the foundation of the world, he will get my life turned around sooner or later.

No, it doesn't work that way.  The writer of Hebrews quoting from the book of Psalms says:

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..."

Somehow, in God's sovereignty and grace, even though you have been chosen, even though he draws you, even though it was predetermined before the foundation of the world, rebellion can keep you from him.  And, because of unbelief many will not inherit eternal life in the kingdom of God, rather they will spend eternity in judgment.

So how do you obtain faith?  

1. By being chosen and drawn by God.

Jesus said (John 6:44), 

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day."

2.  By not rebelling and hardening your heart.

The writer of Hebrews (3:7,8), quoting from the book of Psalms said, 

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..."

Let me make it practical for you sitting here this morning.  Right now, this afternoon, God is drawing you to Jesus Christ.  Some of you in this room don't know Jesus Christ--You've heard of him, you've come to church before, but you've never known Jesus.  You don't follow Him, you don't talk to Him, you don't love Him--And you simply don't get it.

But let me tell you something--that's why you're here today; God has drawn you here.  By the power of the Holy Spirit he drew you here today.  You didn't make the decision to come to church this afternoon. You were drawn here by God.  He is calling you. 

The fact that you are here today is an indication that God is drawing you to himself.  

Therefore, you have the opportunity, right now, to not rebel and harden your heart toward Him, rather to believe with conviction that he forgives your sin and gives you eternal life.  And right now, you can determine to follow Jesus Christ and obey God.  

But this is difficult to grasp.  The disciples had a difficult time understanding this, but Jesus told them again "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (John 6:65).

And sadly, "Many of [Jesus'] disciples turned back and no longer walked with him" we're told in John 6:66.

Well then, if we obtain faith by being drawn by God, how does he draw us to him?

The answer is found in Romans 10:17:  

"So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." 

God's work in drawing us to himself is accomplished through his Word,   by reading and hearing the Word of God--Exactly what we are doing today.

And that's why, back in our passage in 2nd Peter, Peter asks that 

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."  

You receive God's grace through faith, by hearing God's Word and gaining knowledge from it.  By reading God's Word, praying over God's Word, studying God's Word, memorizing God's Word and sharing it with others.  That's how you receive God's grace, that's how you grow in God's grace, and that's how you impart God's grace to others.  Jesus said,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life" (John 5:24).

 You may say, I don't understand the Bible--I'm not growing in my Christian life;  Nothing's changed.  Well, you may not understand the Bible because you haven't yet believed in Jesus Christ--you don't have his Holy Spirit living within you.  

Or, maybe you are a believer in Jesus Christ: You know for a fact that you believed in him at one time, but your life is going nowhere.

Well, perhaps you are simply being disobedient, trying to live your life your own way because you don't know who you really are in Jesus Christ.  

God chose you and He draws you to Jesus Christ and when you look to Jesus and believe in Him Jesus said, "[You will] have eternal life" (John 6:40).

So what is the evidence in a persons life?  If God in His sovereign grace chose you before the foundation of the world, if he draws you to Jesus, if He gives you the Holy Spirit and all of his power (Acts 1:8), shouldn't there be some evidence?  Well, Peter showed evidence in his life and we can follow Peter's example:

Look with me at 2 Peter 1:1.  

"Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ."

Peter identifies himself as "a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ."  The translators of most English Bibles translate this word "servant" just like we read it here.   But in the Greek, the word is "Doulos" and it literally means "Slave".  Do you know what a slave is?  A slave is someone who is owned. This word "Doulos" means you are tied to, bound to, ensnared, or captured. If you are a slave you are bound to serve, you can do nothing else.  Whatever your master desires you do.  And Peter says that he is owned by Jesus Christ.  Jesus is his Master.

 Peter gives a key to knowing if you are in Christ, if you have "obtained faith"; and he gives the reason as to why you, who call yourself a Christian are not growing in your Christian walk and your life is a mess.  He says you have to become a slave of Jesus Christ.

But Peter is not fearful of being a slave to Jesus Christ.  He's not worried about being beaten by his Master.  Why?  Because Peter knows that this Master, Jesus Christ is good.  How does He know?

Because of what the Bible says about how Masters should act.  The good Master does not threaten (Ephesians 6:9), the good Master is just, the good Master is fair (Colossians 4:1), the good Master is gentle (1 Peter 2:18).

And that is the picture of Jesus Christ.  He is your Master and you are to, like Peter, consider yourself a slave to him.  Why?  Because He, in His Sovereign mercy, has chosen you -- you have obtained your faith because of His glorious grace. He has rescued you from the pit and even while you were still a sinner--He died for you (Romans 5:8).  

And each of us should fall on our faces before Him for allowing us to be worthy to be called His slave.

You have obtained your faith because God chose you and has drawn you to Jesus Christ, and His grace and peace will be multiplied in your life as you grow in the knowledge of him by hearing the word and reading the word.  And because of that, you are a slave of him.

And you may be thinking; Slave?  What in the world!  I don't want to be a slave.  Forget this -- I'm out of here!

But before you ditch me (or rather, before you ditch God), let me just give you one more thought.  Whether you know it or not, you are slave to something or somebody.

Look at your life -- forget everyone else around you.  

What are you a slave to?  

Maybe you can't get enough of sports?  You can't read enough box scores; you can't watch enough games on T.V., You cram your brain with meaningless statistics that in the course of eternity mean nothing:  Then you're a slave.

What about something as simple as a cell phone?  You have to keep it close by you every minute of the day.  If it rings, even in a worship service, you have to get up and answer it.  You can't turn it off or you might miss a call--In fact, I challenge you to turn your phone off for a day! If you can't, then you're a slave.

Maybe you can't get enough of Soap Operas or certain television programs, or video games.  If someone comes in the room and interrupts you fly off the handle and get in their face--how dare you make me miss my show.  Then you're a slave.

Maybe you can't stop thinking about sex.  You're not married (legally married); In other words, you've never made a real commitment, in obedience to God, to one person--For life; and you say, "I just can't control myself -- I get these urges and I have to have sex -- you don't understand, once you've had sex you just can't stop it!  Then you're a slave to sex.  [Get married and you can have sex everyday with God's blessing.]

Maybe you crave weed or alcohol and you have to get high or drunk. You buy your 24 pack on Friday night after work and you drink it all -- it helps you relax and getting drunk helps me get all the noise of the week out of my head.  And even though you know it's illegal you buy a bag of weed to keep close by.  Then you're a slave to drugs and alcohol.

What about power?  You think you're better than your girlfriend or your boyfriend.  You treat your spouse with contempt because you want to have the final word in everything.  You make all the decisions, you could care less what the other person thinks.  Then, you're a slave to power.

And in all this slavery that you're caught up in, your life never gets under control.  You're problems are never solved.  There's never peace in your home, or on the job:  Because you're caught and ensnared to the wrong master.

And all the while, Jesus is standing by drawing you to himself -- pleading with you to not harden your heart and to follow Him.  To become His slave.

And when you are a slave to your own desires and sins, you have a huge yoke placed around your neck.  Do you know what a yoke is?  It's a heavy wooden beam that was put around a slave's neck to pull a load -- it would weigh a slave down, cause blistering sores and bloody chafing.

But Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew  11:30).

And today, you can do that.

Perhaps you are not a believer in Jesus Christ today -- Oh, you have a head knowledge of Him. You know who He was and have heard us and others talk about Him, but you've never "Looked to Him as your Savior and your God."  Then today you can.

But many of you in this room are believers.  You know that Jesus Christ came to save you from your sins and you believe in him.  But you're not following Him, you're not His slave.  You keep trying to put on that old yoke--the one that bruised you (blistered you) and hurt you.

The apostle Paul said,

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Be a slave of Jesus Christ.

Whatever your standing, Jesus is calling you to make a decision.  And today is the day of salvation.

And for those who so desire to follow Christ I'm going to give you an opportunity to do so.  Let me tell you exactly what is going to happen right now.

In just a couple of minutes I am going to say a final prayer and you are going to be dismissed. And when you are dismissed I want to encourage you to stick around and fellowship with the others who are here today, but I want to ask you to do so in the lobby -- as you leave this room, please leave in a reverent and quiet manner.  

But the Holy Spirit is moving here today.  He is speaking right now to many of you.  He is urging you to look to Jesus, to follow Him.  And maybe you would like us to pray for you.  When we dismiss, pastor John and I will be up in front and you can line up and we will pray for you individually.  Our prayers don't reach God any faster than yours do, but we want to be an encouragement to you.  

Maybe you just want to come up and kneel, right here in the front and pray or cry out to God.  Then you can do that.

But whatever you do, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart, don't make the mistake of leaving here without doing something about it.  

And finally, for those who don't wish to pray or have someone pray for them, it doesn't mean they are any less spiritual than those who do.  It is God the Father who draws men and women to Himself--it is all a work of God so that no one can boast.

So let me pray and then come.

"Holy Spirit, I ask you to come today.  Speak to our hearts and move among us Lord.  We are weak, feeble beings and we need your power to save us.  Lord, we cry out to you this morning for your help in our messed up lives.  Thank you for choosing us and for your grace and peace. Come Holy Spirit -- For it is in Jesus name I pray.  Amen."