Rev. Rob Jones
November 17, 2024

Jeremiah 9:23-26
Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom; do not let the mighty boast in their might; do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; 24 but let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.
25 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will attend to all those who are circumcised only in the foreskin: 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all those with shaved temples who live in the desert. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.

2 Peter 3:3-18
First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” 5 They deliberately ignore this fact that by the word of God, heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, 6 through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 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 destroyed with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. 
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed 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 destroyed 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.
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.

The second letter of Peter is thought to be a final testimony of his faith sent to the Christian church shortly before his martyrdom sometime around 60-65 A.D. In this letter, Peter defends the apostolic faith set forth by Christ and the first 12 Apostles. Opponents were trying to separate the Church from the more embarrassing attributes of the Church’s teachings. One of which is the thought of a final judgment. Peter faces the double-edged problem of Christianity becoming independent of Jewish oversight and moving from apostolic teaching to post-apostolic teachings. (Baucham, 1989)

Peter tells the reader to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Growth is unique to the Christian religion because, at the time of its founding, everyone was a convert. The Church simply hadn’t been around long enough to have babies born into it, at least not enough. So, new converts were considered children in the faith. This metaphor fits nicely with the idea of rebirth through baptism. Christians had to be made; the church was the instrument that raised these newborns into servant leaders, giving them a strict moral code, especially compared to the pagan religions that surrounded them in the Roman Empire. 

Peter is speaking about Christian character, but not character as something we manufacture by willpower alone. Growth, spiritually speaking, is the Spirit’s work of sanctification in those who are already united to Christ. A Christian character imitates the life and ministry of Christ because Christ has first claimed us, forgiven us, and begun to conform us to Himself. The 19^th-century Scottish Presbyterian minister John Ker compared character to a house. Both are built on a foundation, and like a house, your character is only as strong as the foundation beneath it. Yet Ker also writes that, like a house, one may build upward and make the most of the ground we have. He ultimately concludes that “the capacity of growth is that which, more than anything else, distinguishes one mind from another.” God gives each of us the capacity for growth by His grace, and we seek His will because His grace has awakened that desire in us. We see something of this when Paul goes to Thessalonica. Acts 17 tells us, “As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.” His capacity to reason with them was not merely natural ability; it was grace-shaped knowledge of Christ, even though he was not one of the twelve original apostles.

Our growth as Christians is not just that of an infant to an adult; it is also something that is built up from the foundation, like a house, which is our life from birth. Today, we have a chance to give our children and grandchildren a firm foundation on which to build their faith and character as Christians. However, in Peter’s time, one must build up from a foundation constructed of Jewish or pagan materials. Therefore, Peter instructs his readers to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Peter is not saying to “grow into” these things; he is saying to be in Christ, and you will grow in both grace and knowledge. We must be in Christ, doing the will of God, worshiping, fellowship, praying, and serving those less fortunate. 

If new Christians are infants, they must be built up and grown. Growth is crucial to anyone who is a Christian. Accepting Christ as your savior is only the beginning. From that point on, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. How we build our metaphorical house is fundamental. If we only get our material second-hand, let’s say, from your preacher on Sunday or the ever-present “like if you love Jesus” meme on social media, or even worse, the TV ministry whose goal is to get you to send them $20, then your house, even if it is on a good foundation, will not last. We must be in Christ.

 Jeremiah told Israel, “Let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight.” With Peter and the other eleven Apostles, this is not an issue because they knew Jesus as a man and as the resurrected Christ. If they boasted about being in Christ, it was because of firsthand knowledge. 

So, what was the church to do once the original 12 were gone? Well, Peter gives us a glimpse into the post-apostolic Church. He says, “Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him [Jesus] at peace, without spot or blemish, [be in good character]and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So, also, our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him [again, a first-hand account, but only of the risen Christ, not the human before the crucifixion], 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.” We can gather that Paul’s letters were being read in the church as scripture as early as this writing. 

Just as the church grew in numbers and accepted all witnesses to Christ, it was able to withstand the naysayers and false teachers that Peter and even Paul, in his letters, warned the church about. If we want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, how do we accomplish this goal? If we want to build a sturdy house that can withstand many floors being added, what do we use? All the witnesses are gone; all the men who walked with Jesus, all the disciples and apostles, have long since died. How do we achieve good, healthy growth? How do we build our house? 

This is where the command to grow must return us to the gospel. Peter does not tell the church to grow so that Christ will receive them; he tells the beloved to grow because Christ has already given Himself for them. The same Savior who warned of judgment also bore judgment. The same Lord who calls us to holiness also gives His Spirit to make us holy. Our growth, then, is not a ladder we climb to reach Jesus. It is the fruit of belonging to Jesus.

We use the Bible as our best witness. We study and read it with the same desire we would read a love letter in high school, looking over every word to find meaning. We imitate what we learn, becoming servant leaders who care for the poor, widowed, and orphaned. We fellowship with one another like the early church did. We give our tithes, seeking righteousness rather than riches. We do these things at home. We do them with each other. We come together in confession and prayer and worship, and we always keep the faith of Christ Jesus at the forefront of our minds. And we heed the warnings of the prophets, of Paul, and of Peter. We have been forewarned many times, and as Peter denotes in his letter, Judgment Day may not have come yet; however, it is still coming. 

Jeremiah warned Israel about the uncircumcised heart. These were not merely people of low moral character; they were people who bore an outward religious sign while remaining inwardly resistant to God’s covenant mercy. The problem was not simply that they failed to behave well, but that their hearts had not been turned toward the Lord who delights in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Peter echoes Jeremiah’s concern in his warning against scoffers and false teachers, and I am sad to report that the warning is still relevant today. So, in the vein of Jeremiah, Peter, and so many church leaders throughout history, I ask: How firm is your foundation in Christ? Have you examined it lately? How sturdy are the theological materials used in building your spiritual house? Can you continue to build upward? Are you in Christ and, therefore, growing in grace and knowledge? It is my prayer that you are.

Growth as a Christian is essential. Without it, we become apathetic and cynical and risk becoming the scoffers Peter warned the early church about. The Church will feel the effects if too many lose the zeal they had at the beginning of their Christian journey. If we look at Church attendance numbers across the nation, it may have already begun. This is not the first time it has happened, and yet the Church is still here. When John Ker wrote about “Christian character,” the world was experiencing what was known as the Third Great Awakening. This time, which was marred by such things as the Civil War and other social injustices, caused a revival in churches far and wide to begin to look at what they could do to help. There was a “social gospel” approach that applied Christian values to societal problems. Organizations such as the YMCA were founded (1884) and played a major role in revivals in the rapidly growing urban areas of the North. God makes a way for His Church to grow when servant leaders stand and begin to work. The question we must ask ourselves is this. Are we growing in grace and knowledge by being in Christ, and can we be the servant leaders that our world needs now? Our world desperately needs a revival of the Spirit, and it needs to hear the good news of Christ as the Bible, our best witness, tells it. If called upon, will you be ready to be the servant leader God created you to be?