For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins (2 Peter 1:5-9).
You are a forgiven person. You have been cleansed of all your sins. Don't forget this truth. It is the key that unlocks the door to spiritual growth in grace and in your knowledge of Jesus Christ.
If you are not growing, it is because you have forgotten what Christ accomplished for you at the cross, and as Peter wrote in his second letter, you have become nearsighted and blind. Specifically, you have forgotten that you have been cleansed from your sins.
When Peter was penning these words, I wonder if he thought about that last supper when Jesus raised the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
We don't know for sure, but it is clear that Jesus' words found a home in Peter's heart. He was not going to forget what the Lord had done through his death, burial and resurrection, and he wanted to make sure that his readers would never forget as well.
Here is the reason. God wants you to grow. He wants your faith to mature and find its full expression through love one toward another - faith expressing itself through love. This is the only thing that counts as Paul wrote in Galatians 5:6. And this growth starts with remembering - remembering that Christ died for your sins according to the Scriptures.
Forget this truth, and now your eyes are on your sins. You can't see anything else. That's what it means to be nearsighted. And then that old "fear of punishment" rears its ugly head. Keep that in play long and it will blind you to Jesus. The result is that you become ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Jesus.
It is no wonder the writer of Hebrews gives this encouragement: "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:1, 2).
Let God's forgiveness take root in your heart. Stand firm in the fact that God remembers your sins no more. When you do, you'll be able to participate in the divine nature and say with confidence that you have been given everything you need for life and godliness.
In Him,
Bob Christopher