Simon 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: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1 1-2 ESV 

     There is nothing new under the sun concerning the deception and craftiness of Satan. He deceives and leads astray anyone who will follow him away from the truth/truths of God. Peter was about to be martyred for his faith and teaching. Peter teaches and challenges Christians to live strong in the faith that they have been called to in Christ Jesus. Christians are called to a higher standard of living in order to be a witness of the salvation we have in Christ. (Read 2 Peter 1:3-8) Living well in Christ will also have the benefit of reminding you of who you are in Him. (vs 12-15) There are some things we always remember
as Christians…..

YOU ARE A SERVANT:
     Servants are just that …. servants. Servants of Jesus Christ will not exult themselves; they simply serve, for that is their calling. Peter was about to be martyred for his faith; and with a servant mentality, as recorded according to tradition, he was crucified upside down, for he said he wasn’t worthy to be crucified as his Lord. I wonder what type of affect this might have had on those who were crucifying him? You are about to die a hideous death, but as a servant of the most high God you did not want to be recognized as equal with the God/Savior you served, but even in death wanted to serve Him as Lord. To learn how to be a servant in this way, study the ultimate servant…. Jesus. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 ESV  Imagine how this might change the world we live in if people followed Jesus’s example.

IT IS GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS:
     Jesus is the Savior of the world, for He was the perfect Lamb of God. Once Jesus died on the cross for our sins no other sacrifice for sin was needed. The perfect lamb of God covered the consequence of all sins. We are not redeemed by our righteousness but by the blood of the Lamb of God. To recognize the righteousness of God is to recognize your need of forgiveness and your lack of Godly righteousness. And being found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Philippians 3: 9 ESV

WE MUST GROW:
     How are we to grow?…. In truth. Chapters 2 and 3 of 2 Peter debunk false teachings concerning faith. This has and always is Satan’s strategy; to fill one with hopelessness and lies concerning all that God has promised through Christ Jesus. Distorting truth in order to fill one with doubt is one of Satan’s greatest pleasures. If you are not growing spiritually in the word, you are in danger of believing the lies of Satan. We are to fill and saturate ourselves with the word of God standing on His truths. Peter closes his letter with this challenge….But 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. 2 Peter 3:18 ESV

     Take the challenge of Peter this week. Don’t believe the lies of Satan no matter how they are presented to you. Truth- that is absolute true- is all that will matter when you stand before God one day. Absolute truth is Jesus, God’s only Son, made flesh, and dwelling among us. Jesus died for our sins, then raising from the grave defeated death caused by sin. Grow in the knowledge of His grace and mercy, never believing anything less. Serve Him as God, Lord, and Savior.

Because of His Grace Pastor ~ David