Focus: Do Your Part

Text: 2Pet.1:5

"And beside this, GIVING ALL DILIGENCE, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge."

The nitty gritty of today's devotional is focused on the phrase, "Giving all diligence." So let's see a few other translations in order to help us grasp its full meaning.

The Message Bible says, "So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character…"

NASB says, "Applying all diligence…"

William Barclay says, "Bend all your energy to the task of equipping your faith…"

NLT says, "So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life."

J. B. Phillips says, "You must do your utmost from your side…"

Wuest says, "Having added on your part every intense effort, provide lavishly in your faith the aforementioned…"

Peter is telling us that we have a part to play in cultivating and developing character. The Christian Faith has the belief and practical sides to it. Bunyan says that "the soul of religion is the practical part." It is not enough for us to know that we are partakers of the divine nature and that we are the account holders of all the precious promises of God, but we must do our part in ensuring that we are experientially in possession of all the spiritual graces of Christ and that we are manifesting the life of Christ in this morally warped and spiritually darkened world. God is calling on us to make use of all that God has in store for us.

What sense does it make having a rich or fat bank account and living in acute penury or like a pauper? The practical side of faith is our business, not God's. Paul tells us that "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities…" (Rom.8:26). Experiencing the help of the Spirit of God involves our wholehearted participation.

In the divine scheme of things we always have a role or part to play, and that part is very vital that it cannot be left undone without running into a huge deficit or suffering some grave consequences. As a matter of fact, God supplies us with all the needed ability, and even more, but we must use it if we earnestly desire to see divine results in our own lives.

Our own part in the scheme of divine things is littered all over the Scripture.

Paul says, "Work OUT your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh IN you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil.2:12-13).

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Heb.4:2). The people of Israel were unable to concretize the preached word with their faith, and so in their unbelief they neutralized the effect that the word of God should have in their own lives. For lack of faith and constant rebellion they missed out on the promise land of milk and honey.

The writer of Hebrews has also given us a list of things to do. He exhorts and persuades us to get involved in what God is doing.

He says:

"LET US therefore FEAR…" (Heb.4:1).

"LET US LABOUR therefore TO ENTER…" (Heb.4:11).

"LET US HOLD FAST our profession…" (Heb.4:14).

"LET US therefore COME BOLDLY unto the throne of grace…" (Heb.4:16).

"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, LET US GO ON unto perfection…" (Heb.6:1).

"LET US DRAW NEAR with a true heart in full assurance of faith…" (Heb.10:22).

"LET US HOLD FAST the profession of our faith without wavering…" (Heb.10:23).

"And LET US CONSIDER one another to provoke unto love and to good works…" (Heb.10:24).

"LET US LAY ASIDE every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and LET US RUN with patience the race that is set before us…" (Heb.12:1).

"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, LET US HAVE GRACE, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear…" (Heb.12:28).

"LET BROTHERLY LOVE continue" (Heb.13:1).

"LET YOUR CONVERSATION be without covetousness…" (Heb.13:5).

"LET US GO FORTH therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach…" (Heb.13:13).

"By him therefore LET US OFFER the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Heb.13:15).

Peter declares, "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YE TO BE in all holy conversation and godliness, LOOKING FOR and HASTING unto the coming of the day of God" (2Pet.3:11-12).

You can see that faith has a practical side! How can Christianity be enjoyable if we have no part to play?

Peter, from our text, implores us to make supreme effort in appropriating sovereign grace. Let us bring in alongside every ounce of energy. Let us tap into the illimitable resources of Calvary. The word Peter uses for 'diligence' is 'spoude' in the Greek, and by that word, he's calling us to action with a certain note of urgency. The word connotes zeal, speed, haste, industry, earnestness, seriousness, pursuit, effort or business. Someone has said that sanctification is "a work of God in which believers co-operate." We can't afford to rule out human activity or involvement in matters of our spiritual development. Nothing can take the place of an active and progressive Christianity. "The Christian life," says another, "must not be an initial spasm followed by a chronic inertia." Yes, a lot of us are suffering from a prolonged spiritual inertia or atrophy. The Spirit lives in us to supply the needed fire or fervor to advance in spiritual affairs.

The God who worked, and still works, is telling us to work. The thrice holy God is demanding that we be holy. The God who answers prayer is commanding us to pray. The God who works with the faith of His people is requiring of us to believe Him. We connect to collect. Jesus says, "If ye KNOW these things, happy are ye if ye DO THEM" (Jh.13:17). Let us know and do, for it is by knowing and doing that we can realize divine happiness or blessedness. Let's do our part, and we will be glad that we did. The key to doing our part is obedience. Mary hit the nail on the head where she said, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (Jh.2:5). For me, that is the highest level of spirituality, doing what God commands. Do your part!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter