I want us to turn for our text
to the last verse in the second epistle of Peter. The second
epistle of Peter chapter 3 and verse 18. But grow in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him
be glory both now and forever. Amen. in 2 Peter 3.18, but grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and
forever. Amen. The subject, I suppose,
is quite plain. The Apostle is speaking of growth
in grace. and there is a measure of confusion
in many minds with regards to precisely what is to be understood
by the idea of growth, growth in grace. There are those who
like to speak of progressive sanctification, suggesting that
by degrees the believer becomes better and better, that the old
nature increasingly grows holier, that besetting sins become weaker,
and lost by degrees will lose its power. That's what some say
is to be expected in the life of the child of God. There's
a certain progression. Things are getting better. Sins
are not so virulent as they once were. But then, we remember the
words of Scripture, such verses as those that we find in Romans
8-7, where Paul tells us what the natural mind is, the carnal
mind, is enmity against God, he said. It is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. And that's such an emphatic
statement. There's no suggestion there that
there can be an improvement in the carnal mind. It is not subject
to the Lord of God, he says, neither indeed can it be. The Lord Jesus himself, in John
chapter 3, where he speaks of the necessity of the new birth,
reminds us that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. flesh is flesh, spirit
is spirit. That's what the Lord is saying.
Now, it is true of course that when the sinner is born again,
he is then a partaker of a new nature. And here in this epistle, There in chapter 1 at verse 4,
Peter speaks of that nature as the divine nature, whereby are
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, that is the
nature of God, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust. When the sinner is born again
then he becomes a new creature, a new creation in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And John says in his first epistle,
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed
remaineth in him. And he cannot sin because he
is born of God. That new nature then cannot sin,
because it's the divine nature, it's the life of God that's coming
to the soul of the sinner. And so, it is evident that there
must in the child of God be a certain conflict, and a conflict that
will endure all the days of the believer's life here upon the
earth. the flesh lasting against the
spirit, and the spirit lasting against the flesh, says Paul,
and these two contrary one to the other, and ye cannot do the
thing that ye would." And how Paul clearly felt that, how he
brings it out so often in his epistles, particularly we think
of Romans chapter 7, where he says, the good that I would I
do not. the evil that I would not that
I do, or he feels the conflict in himself, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" And
so I want us to examine somewhat more carefully and closely then
this particular verse this evening, because the subject is an important
one, that of growth in grace. And as I said, there is confusion. There are those who do speak
of a certain progression in sanctification and growing better and better.
But let us examine what the Word of God teaches us. And the first
thing I want to do is to try to show you that growth is part
of the property of grace. Where there is grace, there certainly
will be growth and development. The necessity, the fact of growth
is something that is set before us here in God's Word. have already
said that the Christian life begins with the birth. Verily,
verily, says the Lord Jesus, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. The sinner must be born again,
he must be born from above. And as Christian life begins
with a new birth, so can we not draw some parallels between the
natural birth and that spiritual birth? When a baby is born, one
of the evidences of the reality of that life is that there is
an appetite. And so too with the person who
has experienced the new birth. Peter says in his first epistle
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that she may
grow thereby the baby is put to the mother's breast and the
mother settles the child and the child begins to grow and
develop it's quite remarkable to behold there is growth and
so too where there is that spiritual birth there is that sincere milk
of the word which will cause the believer to begin to grow. He'll grow in grace. And we see
it. in the churches that we read
of in the New Testament when Paul is writing to the church
of the Thessalonians. Remember how there in the opening
chapter of his first epistle he reminds them of how the gospel
came to them, how gospel came not unto you he says in word
only but in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. Well it came with such power
they turned from idols. It had such a an impact upon
them. They turned from all their idols. There was the evidence of life.
Now, when we come to the second epistle, there in the first chapter,
he speaks of the growth of their faith. Your faith, he says, groweth
exceedingly. There is in the scripture the
teaching of the fact that there are different degrees of faith. Sometimes we read of little faith. The Lord himself makes mention
of little faith in the Sermon on the Mount. We're not to doubt God's providences. We are to be those who are looking
to Him who will make every provision for His people. Think of the
language that we have there in Matthew 6 verse 30. Wherefore if God so clothed the
grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is cast into
the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Well, we should desire that we
might have that faith to believe that the Lord will make every
provision for us. Has He not done that thus far?
And yet so often we're doubtful, we're fearful that the provision
will not be made. And then the Lord later in Matthew
in chapter 14 when He comes to the disciples walking
on the water. Do you remember how Peter comes
out of the boat and begins to walk to the Lord, but then Peter
begins to sink, and the Lord saves him as he cries out, O
Lord, save me. And they're in the boat, and
then the Lord rebukes them for their little faith. Oh, there
is little faith. Thank God, it's not great faith
that saves us, it's real faith. And though our faith might be
little faith, the important thing is that that faith that we possess
is a real faith. The Lord even says that if you
have faith as a grain of mustard seed, You can say to the mountain,
remove hither and it will obey you. And remember in that portion
that we read how the Lord there tells the parable concerning
the mustard seed, the least of all seeds, He says. And He compares
faith sometimes to such a small quantity that it's just a grain,
a grain of mustard seed. If you have that much faith,
It's not great faith that we need. I'm not at all saying that
we should be satisfied with little faith, with small faith. There are those who do have weak
faith. Again, writing to the church
at Rome in chapter 14, Paul says him that is weak in the faith,
receive. If the faith is genuine, that's
the all-important thing. Now, Abram, of course, is set
before us in Scripture as a great example of the man of faith.
And what are we told in Romans chapter 4? How Abram was strong
in faith. Or if we're those who want to
really be the children of Abram, we should desire that God would
grant that we might be those who are strong in faith. And
in the Gospel we have that remarkable example of the Canaanite woman
who will not be denied, though the disciples want to send her
away, though the Lord seems to ignore her, he sent her to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel, but she will not be denied. And
what does the Lord say to her eventually? Oh woman, great is
thy faith, great is thy faith, all for that faith that is strong,
that faith that is great. Concerning Stephen's faith in
Acts 6, 8 we are told that Stephen was full of faith. Is that what
we desire, that we might be those who have that fullness of faith?
Again, Paul can speak of the full assurance of faith, that's
not presumption. He does not think that It's a
mark of grace if we're those who are doubting. What is a sin
which does so easily beset us? In Hebrews chapter 12 it's a
sin of unbelief. The sin of unbelief. We should
desire that we might have that fullness of faith, even that
full assurance of faith. But there are these different
degrees. There are different degrees and so we see quite clearly
that grace is that, when we think of the grace of faith in particular,
it is that that can grow and develop. It might be small, it
might be weak, but it can become stronger and fuller, and that's
what we should desire. There is this property in grace,
that grace that is genuine, that there will of necessity be some
development, some growth. And we have these various figures
that are used. We've already referred to that
of the new birth and the babe, as newborn babes, we are to be those who are desiring
the sincere milk of the word that we might grow thereby. And then thinking of babes we
also have that idea of growth and development when we think
of the language that John uses in his first epistle. Remember
how he speaks of little children, and young men, and fathers. There
can be those who are babes, but there are those who have grown
and they are now little children. Others are grown even further,
they are young men, and then there are those who are fathers.
We have it here in the first epistle of John, chapter 2, and
verses 12 and 13 and 14. He addresses these various categories. I write unto you little children. I write unto you fathers, he
says. I write unto you little children.
I have written unto you fathers. I have written unto you young
men. And so it goes on, these verses. He clearly sees people
in different stages of their spiritual development. There
are these figures that we see used. And then also there's that
parable that the Lord tells, that we read in Mark chapter
4. And there at verse 26, So is the kingdom of God, as
if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep,
and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up,
he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth
fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the
full corn in the ear." Here is the idea you see in this figure
again of growth. not newborn babes and children
and young men and fathers, but now the seed cast into the ground,
it grows, there's a blade. Then the ear appears and then
eventually the full corn in the ear. But these figures, all of
them together speak to us of that idea of development and
growth in grace. And how Necessary there, with
regards to the seed that is sown, are the seasons of the year. We can think of that well-known
sermon of Mr. Philpott's, Winter of Four Harvests,
and of course it bears the subtitle, Growth in Grace. growth in grace, that's what's
being dealt with. That well-known sermon that he
preaches from Isaiah 18 verses 5 and 6. And the interesting
thing is, the way in which he speaks of the seasons in nature,
we think in terms of spring, or winter I should say, and then
the coming of spring, and then the summer, and autumn, the time
of harvest. But Philpott makes a point there
that in grace there's a season that comes in before the full
harvest, there's another little season of winter, winter before
the harvest. What he's speaking of is the
significance, the importance of the trials and the troubles
that come which will engender growth in that grace, certainly
in the grace of faith. But how the believer experiences
different seasons in the soul? Do we not have to acknowledge
that in the way the Lord deals with us? The same writer can
say, but I from month to month complain, I feel no warmth, no
fruits I see, I look for life, but dead remain. Tis winter all
the year with me, sometimes we feel so barren in our souls,
it's like winter. And we long for the season of
summer. We long for the Lord to come
again and to refresh us. And you can think about the Song
of Solomon. That remarkable book does speak
to us of the experiences of the child of God. In the Song of
Solomon, we see the Lord Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, and we
see the church. his bride or the individual believer. And look at the language that
we have there in the second chapter. These lovely figures that we
find used by Solomon in the Song of Songs. In chapter 2 at verse
11, he says, Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone,
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds
is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
The fig tree put forth her green figs, and the vines with the
tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away." Doesn't it speak of that that the child of God
should be longing for, yearning after, that the Lord would come,
and that it might be sunshine in the soul? that there might
be that season of such communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, that
real sense of His dying love, that feeling of His favor and
His blessing resting upon us. Or there is, then in the believers'
experience, those various seasons. And what is the point and purpose
of the seasons in nature? It's that the fruit of the earth
might grow. and so too with the child of
God." There is to be growth, and the growth is to be a regular
and a proportionate growth. Again, in the language of the
Apostle, Ephesians 4.15, Paul speaks of growing up into Him
in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. We grow up into
Him, into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. But mark the words
that he uses there, in Ephesians 4.15, it is growing up to Him
in all things. And can we not think of the different
aspects of the life of the child of God? There is the place for
doctrine, there's the place for experience, there's the place
for practice. and we are to grow into him in
all of these various aspects. The head is not to swell with
some sort of great doctrinal knowledge whilst the heart is
small and cramped in experience, and the feet are so stunted. in practical living. No, there
has to be right proportion as we grow in knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, and that's what the text is speaking
of. So as our understanding of the doctrine increases, we should
desire that the Lord might bring these things into our very souls,
that he might feed our souls with his blessed son with the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and that there might be
that practical outworking that we might walk in the path of
obedience where there is grace I say of necessity there must
be growth and development and it must be that that is proportionate that the man of God may be perfect
That's the language that we have in St. Timothy 3.16. God's Word. All Scripture given by inspiration
of God, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect. That means matured. There's proper
growth. He's not some sort of strange
creature with a large head and a small heart and stunted growth
in his legs. No, there's doctrine, there's
experience, there's practice. But let us turn in the second
place to say something with regards to the parts, what I call the
parts of this growth in grace. In the Old Testament, in Isaiah,
we read of the remnant. We often read of the remnant
in Isaiah. Now it's in the opening chapter there, except the Lord
had left unto us a very small remnant. We should have been
like unto Sodom and Gomorrah. What of that remnant? Well, chapter
37 and verse 31 we read that the remnant that is escaped of
the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit
upward. And these are some of the parts
of growth in grace. Taking root downwards, bearing
fruit upward. But also I want to say something
with regards to that growth that is inward and that growth that
is outward. These are all the parts of growth
in grace. First of all, to say something
with regards to that downward growth, taking roots downward. God says in Hosea 14.5, I will
be as the Jew unto Israel and he shall grow as the lily
and cast his roots as Lebanon. When God is the Jew to Israel, what happens? Well, there's the
appearance of that lovely flower, the lily. But it's interesting
what it says there in that 14th chapter of Osea. He shall grow
as the lily, it says, and cast his roots as Lebanon. Now what does the expression
casting his roots as Lebanon mean? Well, we think of the great
cedars of Lebanon. those great trees with deep roots. And so it must be with God's
spiritual Israel. Though what is seen on the surface
isn't the great cedar, it's a beautiful lily, but it's only a small flower. Oh, but the roots, the roots
are like the great cedars of Lebanon striking down into the
very depths of the earth. And isn't that an important aspect
of growth in grace? There's a downward growth. And
what is that? It's growth in humility. It's growth in humility. And Paul is such a remarkable
example of that. He's a pattern. To them which
should hereafter believe. And how does he describe himself?
Well, 1 Timothy 1.15 It's the next verse, verse 16, that he
says is the pattern of them which thereafter believe. But the 15th
verse of that chapter is saying, look, make a list of all sinners
and place my name at the top of those sinners. He refers to
himself as the chief of sinners. He's the chief of sinners. And
then when he writes to the Ephesians, Ephesians 3, 8, He refers to
himself as the least of saints. In fact, he coins a word, and
he's tritilated in that authorized version as less than the least.
You can't get below the least, but Paul says, I'm lower than
the least, the leaster, if we might coin a word. Make a list
of the saints," says the apostle Paul, and I'm right there at
the bottom of that list. I'm the leaster, less than the
least, of all saints, and the chief of all sinners. And these
are not just words. This is something that the apostle
was taught in his soul's experience. The Lord dealt with him, that
thorn in the flesh that he speaks of in 2nd Corinthians chapter
12, and what does the Lord teach him there? Well, he says, though
I be nothing. Or he feels himself to be nothing,
and he wants to be nothing. The Christ might be all in all
to him. That is downward growth, humility. Humility. Not imagining, you see, that
we're getting better, growing better, and more holy. Not that
at all. But quite the opposite. We don't
only see it in Paul, we see it in other of the saints that we
read of in Holy Scripture. What does Job say at the end
of his book? I abhor myself. He was abhorrent
in his own sight. I abhor myself. and he repents
in dust and in ashes and Daniel in chapter 10 where he is favoured
with that remarkable vision of God he says my comeliness was
turned in me into corruption oh he felt what he was all his
comeliness, all that was good about him all his righteousnesses
you see, what are our righteousnesses? our filthy rags my comeliness
was turned in me into corruption." There is that downward growth
where there is real grace, a growth in humility. By nature, of course, we're so
proud. That's part and parcel of the Fall, is it not, as we
read it there in Genesis chapter 3. Ye shall be as gods. says
the serpent to the woman. But the believer, you see, sees
he's no God, he can do nothing for himself. They who find would serve the
best are conscious most of wrong within, says the hymn writer.
Or if we would serve God best of all, we're so conscious that
there's much, so very much wrong with us. But as there is that
downward development, that downward growth, so there is an upward
growth. If ye then be risen with Christ, says Paul, seek those
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand
of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on
the earth. How the believer must look to
heaven. How the believer's affections are there and the believer's
heart will fly there. the believer will live or want
to live that life of faith that is expressed in prayers, crying
to his God, calling upon the name of his God. Paul says to
the Philippians, our conversation is in heaven, literally our citizenship. The believer is not of this world,
the believer is one who is of another world. We're not to be
conformed to this world, we're to be transformed. by the renewing
of our minds, understanding what the will of the Lord is. That's
the believer's calling. Or there's that upward growth,
that upward look, those prayers that must be made
unto God that He would come and He would help us. There's downward
growth in humility, There's upward growth in faith and in many prayers
and supplications to God. And then there's also that inward
growth. That inward growth. Grow up into
Him in all things. And that's what we have in the
text. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. In a sense, that second clause
defines what growth in grace is. It's growing in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you know, I think
it's expressed quite wonderfully, really, in our article of faith,
article 20. It's not a growth, says the article,
growth in grace, it's not a growth in conscious goodness, but in
felt necessity of the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Not a growth in conscious goodness,
no such thing as that progressive sanctification, but rather a
growth in felt necessity. We need to know more of Christ.
The more we know of Him, if our knowledge of Him is a saving
knowledge the more we will want to know of Him and the more we'll
feel that we must know Him as our Lord and as our Saviour. There's that hymn of Harriet
Auber, I know it's not in the book, it's a hymn on the Holy
Spirit, but it has that lovely verse, every virtue we possess,
and every victory won, and every thought of holiness is His alone. That's how we are to grow inwardly,
feeling more and more dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We
have to look to Him for everything. He is our sanctification. Of
Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. Sanctification,
amongst other things. we receive all from the Lord
Jesus. The language of the hymn by Toplady,
900 And 39, he says, Jesus, immutably
the same, thou true and living vine, around thy all-supporting
stem, my feeble arms I twine, I can do nothing without thee. My strength is wholly thine,
withered and barren should I be, if severed from the vine. All the importance, you see.
the importance of being those branches, living branches in
the vine. So as there is that inward growth,
so there must also be the outward growth. Isn't that what the Lord
is speaking of in that 15th chapter of John? Verse 4 he says, Abide in me
and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches,
he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing."
And the Lord says, "...by their fruits." "...by their fruits
ye shall know them." This is that outward growth. Again, the
language of the prophet Hosea, there in chapter 14, he says,
from me is thy fruit found. If we would be fruitful, if we
would be fruitful as Christians, we must be those who have that
true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's all to the honor
and the glory of his name. As we see at the end of the text,
to Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Well, the Lord grant that we
might be those who are favoured to know something of that growth
in grace that Peter speaks of here in the text tonight. The
Lord bless His Word. Now let us, before we come to
the Lord in prayer, We sing the hymn 1089, the tune
is Westminster 865. Soul under sin was Paul's complaint,
he felt its galling loads, though he by calling was a saint, and
rightly taught of God. Sinless perfection we deny, the
chief of Satan's wiles, do thou my soul to Calvary fly, as after
sin defiles. The hymn 1089,