Finishing Strong

 

2 Peter 1:5-11

Many Christians do not finish strong and often the Christian life is compared to running in a race, so why is there not a plan that will guarantee success?  Peter is close to the end of his race as he penned this letter, and he wants you and I to understand that the Christian life can be lived to the max by all who are in Christ, His divine powers give us the ability to do all things that pertain to life and godliness.  But how do we simulate these divine powers in our daily life?  Many have begun the race with the best of intentions only to find that they have gotten into the wrong lane, and that they were not prepared for the grade as it becomes steeper and steeper with the many challenges, and many just drop out.  They are often referred to as the non-churched, but many more are sitting in the pews or stands just watching most Sundays, but they have no desire to train, in fact they drop out and only dream of what could have been.

That’s where we find the American Church in 2011, but Peter’s letter gives a detailed training course on how to run in the race where we finish strong.  If you have been on the side lines, or just a pew sitter totally out of shape, Peter’s training course given to him by God who knows all about your bad experiences, about your disappointments, and the wound and open lesion you carry in your heart and soul, will give you the ability to not only run in the Christian race but to have the mighty host of heaven standing, cheering you on to the finish line.  And it is laid out for us in 2 Peter 1:5-11!

First part of the training is to make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and before going forward, you must grit your teeth and say in your heart, I’m going to follow this plan and trust the one who designed the training course.  So the game plan is to stop listening to the voice that tells me I deserve, or that I’m just a loser, and begin to look to the needs of others and ask God to keep me morally clean, to put Scripture in my mind that will protect me from being sidelined in this great race.  Peter shared that along with adding to our faith virtue we must also bring knowledge into the race, and note: that being honorable and decent will not keep you in this race.

So how does one add this knowledge that not only keeps you in the race but also prepares                                           for the long distances between the water stops?  The Proverbs give the key to the training we need in the knowledge department; “making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”  (Proverbs 2:2-5)  Peter goes on to state that after you received knowledge you need to work on adding self-control and without self-control the Christian will be no different than the athlete that tries to compete according to rules of their choosing.  It’s called cheating and without self-control the Christian will let their flesh and not the spirit control the out come.  Learning self-control can be the hardest part of training, because it requires controlling the tongue and the mind, and setting a course built on the knowledge of God.

The Christian finds that his training requires that he keep adding to his training and so they must add steadfastness to the self-control, and that steadfastness is what Paul was sharing with Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:15, “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” 

At this point some have broken training and it’s so important to add the last two items to running the Christian race, they are a must in your training, they are godliness and brotherly affection with love.  Paul explained to Titus how the grace of God gives the racer this training: “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-control, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2:12)  Remember this training is to supplement your faith and it will keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In fact Peter states, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”  (2 Peter 1:10) In fact it will be said by our Lord, well done my good and faithful servant, you ran a clean race.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice