God, Godliness, and Corruption

Peter said that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness to escape the corruption of evil desires.

2 Peter 1:3-5

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 

But he also said we need to add to our faith to ensure we do not fall.

One of the things we need to add to our faith is self-control and another is godliness.

2 Peter 1:5-11

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 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. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.  10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

But you can not claim to be adding self-control or godliness to your faith if you go against what the Bible teaches. In fact, if you listen to people who are saying you do not have to believe the word of God and do it, and so fail to add these things, you are being seduced.

1 Peter 2:1-2

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

The people who teach things that go against the word of God have a place reserved for them that they will not like. It would have been better for them to not have learned the way to righteousness to begin with.

1 Peter 2:17-22

17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity – for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

The same is true for other people who claim to have come to Christ’s righteousness and are once again overcome by the corruption of the world. 

 

 

Paul tells us that while believers were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures, we have been saved, washed in the rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and are to devote ourselves to doing good.

 

Titus 3:1-8

1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the WASHING OF REBIRTH AND RENEWAL BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. AND I WANT YOU TO STRESS THESE THINGS, SO THAT THOSE WHO HAVE TRUSTED IN GOD MAY BE CAREFUL TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO DOING WHAT IS GOOD. THESE THINGS ARE EXCELLENT AND PROFITABLE FOR EVERYONE.