… they will keep you from being ineffective …
Summary: The Greek word for “ineffective” can also be translated as “lazy.” Peter is helping us to avoid being a lazy Christian.
These things that Peter wants us to have in “increasing measure” have a purpose. Peter says that having these things keeps you from being “ineffective.” The Greek word argos is the word translated as “ineffective.”
When I think of the word “ineffective,” I think of someone who is trying to get something done but is not very good at their job. Argos, on the other hand, suggests someone who is not even trying. Of course, it is hard to be effective if you do not even try.
Look at Peter’s list again and see how it applies to whether or not we try to serve our Lord. The list includes:
- goodness
- knowledge
- self-control
- perseverance
- godliness (reverence)
- mutual affection (philadelphia)
- love (agapē)
If you take away all of these qualities, I can see where someone would be considered lazy or ineffective. How can a person without these qualities even care about what the Lord wants to be done?
When we turn the equation around, everything looks different. Instead of lacking goodness, knowledge of Jesus, self-control, and the rest, we have a little bit of each and we are adding more and more every day. As such a person grows in goodness and knowledge of our Lord, they have reason to be more self-controlled and to persevere. As these qualities increase, they feel more reverence for our Lord and more love for each other.
Instead of being ineffective, let us be effective in our faith and consciously add to our faith the qualities that Peter has shown us.
Application: The lazy believer is not helpful or effective. The effective believer is always working to add to their faith in ways that are pleasing to Jesus.
Food for Thought: Pick one of the qualities Peter is pointing us to and explain how it helps us be motivated to serve Jesus.
09-20-2021, 2 Peter 1:8b, Pick one of the qualities Peter is pointing us to and explain how it helps us be motivated to serve Jesus.
Matthew 22:34-40, The Great Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
John 3:16, 14:12, 1 John 4:7-8, James 2:8,
Ron,
Loving God is the ultimate motivation. Thank you! As we reflect on what He has done for us, it softens our hearts and draws us into his will. When we are in His will, we find ourselves serving our neighbor with the same love our God serves us.
Hard to pick just one…but I’d say mutual affection challenges to to love other members in the church body the way Jesus would love them.
Good point Rob. Mutual affection is closely tied to loving the church body.
Thanks Rob!
That is a great point. It is really the foundation for building one another up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
I agree with Ron. If I had to pick one I guess I would pick the most important and the ultimate goal of our faith. Without love, everything else falls short. 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 3. The love of Christ compels us to action. 2 Corinthians 5: 14 – 21.
Thank you, Rich.
One part of the second passage you reference jumps out at me: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” (2 Corinthians 5:16)
Having the Spirit of God in us is key to discerning the difference between the worldly and the things of God. How we relate to others puts our relationship with God on display, too.
Pick one of the qualities Peter is pointing us to and explain how it helps us be motivated to serve Jesus.
Well, I had to ask myself “which one(s) help me to be motivated to serve Jesus?” This started a whole lot of thinking and research on my part (lol). I think because of my time in the military the word “serve” and service mean something more to me. What motivated me to “serve” in the military? To be very honest, initially it was to get out of Ohio and earn money for college. As time went on the motivation developed into the knowledge of the impact my service had. I became an effective servant, and that motivated me to continue. I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was 10, and the initial motivation was I was afraid of physically dying and being separated from God. As my walk has changed and grown my motivations have become the knowledge that I am forgiven, and that the trials and tribulations of my life, the pain that my actions and the actions of those around me, is slowly being replaced by the love I feel from God. In a very real way I understand the love of God because I understand the pain of sin. That knowledge motivates me to seek Him out, and in turn changes me internally so that I show more love, goodness, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and mutual affection.
Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Isaiah 11:2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Chris,
Thank you for sharing today. I appreciate the illustration of how our motivations change with our understanding of what is going on and who we are dealing with. Well said.