Peter wrote a letter in 2 Peter to them that have obtained “like precious faith with us.” “Like precious” is the Greek word “isotimos” which is defined as “of equal value or honor.” In other words, the believers that he addressed were Christians like you and me. Their faith had equal value to Peter’s faith. We, like Peter, have been given “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” through knowing Him. Having the knowledge of God gives us the ability to recognize that we have been given “exceeding great and precious promises, that by these [we] are partakers of the divine nature.” There is a clear difference in having the knowledge of God versus having knowledge. The knowledge of God brings into focus the common faith that we have with the apostles. Having knowledge, however, can be carnal and faithless.
Phony Faith
Before knowing Christ, I thought I was a Christian. I believed in God and considered myself a good person. While I did not attend church, many today do and have the same surface knowledge of Christ that I had. Per James 2:19, they believe as the devils believe, except the devils tremble at their belief of a thrice Holy God. Many have a surface knowledge and have not experienced the faith of Peter. They have not partaken of the divine nature and have not been given all things that pertain unto life and godliness. If you ask them if they love Jesus, they emphatically respond with a resounding “yes.” But their heart is far from Him.
Many in the American church have a powerless profession of faith. Their belief is not bona fide and their faith declaration is filled with fraud and deceit. They go to a church building to be seen of men and they perform good deeds to deceive others into believing they have genuine faith. They have forgotten (or are ignorant) that the “Lord searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts.” [I Chron 28:9] You cannot pretend to serve the Lord. You cannot fake faithfulness, hoax holiness, or replicate righteousness. He knows where your eyes wander, and your thoughts lie before the Lord as an open field. Attempting to hide from God is as useless as Adam and Eve attempting to hide their nakedness from the Lord in the garden of Eden.
Carnal Faith
I know of professed “Christians” that, while living in open sin, acknowledge that they know they are in sin but continue in sin. They adhere to the damnable doctrine of “once-saved-always-saved,” which is nothing more than a perversion of the grace of God. [https://pastorvlad.org/alwayssaved/] Their mouths are filled with bitterness and cursing. Their eyes are filled with lust. They make every excuse to indulge in carnality, leading with alcohol and ending with fleshly entertainment. As it says at the end of Romans 1, they take pleasure in them that commit abominable sins (paraphrased).
What becomes of these carnal “Christians?” Are they ok? Will they inherit eternal life? Are they justified before the Lord? Per I Cor 6:9, they are not ok – they will not inherit eternal life – they are not justified before the Lord. They are deceived and heading for eternal damnation. 2 Peter 2 tells us in verses 4–6 that God did not spare the angels that sinned, casting them down to hell, and “spared not the old world, but saved Noah… bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” and reduced Sodom and Gomorrha to ashes making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. That is correct – the unjust sinner has a reservation of eternal punishment on the day of judgement. They may say to him, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” [Matt 7:22-23]
Supplement Your Faith
2 Peter 1:5-10 teaches that in additional to having the knowledge of God, we need to give diligence to supplement our faith. Add to our faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, kindness, and love. He said that “if these things be in you, and abound, they will make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This type of understanding supports the apprehension you have of Christ. But he that doesn’t have this type of supportive knowledge is “blind and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” He then said to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.” Did you see that? YOU make your salvation firm, stable, and steadfast. This is an act of your will. If you do not give diligence and focus to comprehending the fullness of the Lord, you will fall.
Fullness of Faith
Friend – now is not the time to flirt with worldliness, support sinfulness, or parade hypocrisy. Rather, now is the time to press into the Lord. Seek His face – seek his presence. Seek to know Him intimately, becoming a partaker of His divine power. Endeavor to add value to this heavenly relationship, bringing yourself to Him as a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” I John 2:15-17
