Growing in Grace
2 Peter(NRSV) 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 13 But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Final Exhortation and Doxology
14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 18 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. Amen.
This week our Pastor finished a two part series entitled “Growth Spurts.” He referenced the passages in Luke regarding Jesus’ growth, reminding us that Jesus gave up His divinity in exchange for our humanity. Thus, Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature as humans do. Just as we grow physically, emotionally and intellectually, it is imperative that we grow spiritually.
Around 40 years ago I attended a lay revival. I will admit I did not expect much from this revival. Instead of a big name evangelist, the revival was led by a lay person. My big revelation came when we were asked to graph our spiritual life over the past five years. I was never so shocked to see my graph revealed my spiritual life had flatlined. How could that be? I taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, attended church each time the church was open, which back then included Wednesday night and Sunday night. Yet, the evidence lay before me. No growth.
That night I began to pray with my whole heart that God would change my heart and my life to give me such a hunger and thirst after Him and His word that I could only be satisfied when I was in constant fellowship with Him. Four months later, after many hours of prayer, I was alone in my house and the Holy Spirit fell upon me. I fell immediately to my knees and bowed before a holy God, weeping and praising Him for all He was worth. It was a supernatural experience that I have never forgotten.
From time to time I am reminded of that morning 40 years ago and of the many hours of prayer that preceded that event. And I am so thankful to have since been able to study John Wesley’s understanding of Grace and and learn how we, as Christ followers, are able to grow spiritually.
Wesley explained the Grace of God as unmerited favor and showed the progression of such Grace from the time we are infants to the moment we become aware of His saving power, to the way we grow into fullness of life with our Savior. Wesley called the first step of Grace “preventing” Grace. We refer to it today as prevenient Grace and in essence it is the Grace that prepares us to understand our sin nature and to understand and receive salvation.
The second step of Grace is justification of our sins. After we have acknowledged our sins we repent and turn away from our sins. Finally we begin the process of sanctifying Grace which is, in essence, growing in Grace. Sanctification does not mean we are made perfect, but I believe it is a process of perfecting us in love. I will admit this step is where my frustration with myself is most evident. How can I be so impatient and at times so quick to complain if I am filled with God’s Grace?
The answer is that I am growing, and will continue to grow in His grace, until the day I die. Peter encouraged us to “strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation” and Paul assured us in 2 Corin 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.”
So I encourage each of you to continue on the pathway called holiness, allowing God’s word and your time spent communing with God to mold you and perfect you in His love as you grow in God’s amazing Grace.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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Seeking Holiness 