Title: Moving forward / 2 Peter 1:5-11
Contents
Moving forward / 2 Peter 1:5-11
Seongbuk Church / Lee Seok Kwon Moksi
Of all things on earth, living things move, change, and develop. If there is no "movement" and "change" then it is clearly dead. The faith of the believer and the living faith must be constantly changed and developed. Today's text says, "Therefore, be all the more diligent, supplying your faith with virtue thanks to knowledge, self-control, perseverance, perseverance, godliness, godliness, brotherly kindness, and brotherly kindness, love."
These verses teach that our Christian life should always be a life of change and progress. In order to progress, we have to keep changing, not staying. If we don't "continue", we cannot "progress" or "go forward," but rather regress and retreat. A man named Mappett said, "We learn him while we live with and for the Lord." As we climb the ladder of virtue, we can come to know Jesus Christ more and advance further.
A person must have progress. Faith must move forward, service must advance, and love must advance further. This year is the first year of the 21st century, and a month has already passed. For the rest of this year, I've titled it "Life on the Move," hoping that we will all keep moving forward. If we do not move forward, the following misfortune will arise.
(1) If there is no progress, it will be like a blind person.
If a Christian does not make progress, he is like a blind person, unable to receive the light that Jesus Christ gives him. The author of this book says that if the saints live apart from Jesus, they will soon be living in darkness. In the dark, you can't make strong progress. Our faith must advance closer to God every year, otherwise, it is easy to become like a blind man who is lost in sight and wanders in place.
In John 9:39-41, Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Jesus came to save those who live like blind people in the dark. However, if your faith does not develop, you will become like a blind person and you will not be able to meet the Lord. Because we can meet the Lord through faith.
(2) Without progress, you cannot see far.
If there is no progress in your religious life, you become short-sighted and cannot see things far away. The Christian life must have faith that can see through from the day we become children of God through the redemption of Jesus Christ to the future of glory that will be given through Christ. If you live like that, you will be able to lead a life that moves forward naturally. There are two meanings to not seeing far.
①, means nearsightedness
Nearsightedness sees things that are close, but sees things that are far away. Myopia means "blinking", "blocking the light" or "seeing dimly". After all, it refers to the sight of a condition that is almost blind. A blind person is, after all, a person with dark eyes who cannot gather their sight in one place. Nearsighted people cannot focus on distant objects, but they can spot objects that are close. In the end, you can't see things that are far away, but you only see things that are close. We can see things on earth, but we can't see things above and things in heaven. If you belong to the land of faith and go looking for only what is on the earth, you will not be able to advance in your faith. This year, let's not live like a short-sighted person, but let's look to the Lord above and run vigorously.
② means to close your eyes
To not see far means to not see far by closing your eyes. People close their eyes if they don't want to see them. It's also complicated and I close my eyes when I'm nervous. A person who, for whatever reason, closes his eyes, limits himself to what he can see about the world. Dear all! If you live with your eyes closed, you cannot expect any progress or change. Therefore, no progress can be expected from such a person. The author says that the reason believers do not advance because they do not climb the stairs of virtue is because they forgot to wash away their old sins. You must give up your old life and start a new life in order to move forward. Believers should keep moving forward in progress. We must move forward in reading the Bible, moving forward in our prayer life, moving forward in our evangelistic life, moving forward in our service life, and moving forward in our loyalty.
Those who do not know how to pray should be able to pray, and those who cannot love should be able to love. People who do not know how to give should know how to give, and even if they can't tithe, they need to move forward so that they can tithe. Those who go to church alone should be able to bring their parents and siblings. A person who is irritable and angry should be patient. That is how life moves forward.
If a believer lives the same life as in the past or now, he has lost the meaning of being a member of the church. A living church member must move forward vigorously. However, if you close your eyes, you will fall into your own complacency and self-prejudice, and you will not be stimulated by others' development. Then you can't expect progress.
As we live the year 2001, the beginning of the 21st century, we are looking forward to continuous progress and development. We are all called by Christ. But we have to put in our efforts. Therefore, we should strive to become a life that continues to develop and move forward.