Qualities that Lead the Escape of Sinful Desire

“⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” – 2 Peter 1:5-7 (ESV)

And there they are, the qualities that I have to undertake each and every moment. I notice this morning that they begin with faith and build up to the quality of love. What a great quality to have. We have to love. After all, it is the top two commandments.

“³⁷And 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. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)

Jesus, when asked, identified love as the important part of those commandments and it is no wonder that Peter identifies it as one of the key qualities to escape sinful desire. But, it is not just about knowing the qualities, we are called to live them out.

“⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” – 2 Peter 1:8-10 (ESV)

Peter lets known that the qualities, where having them is important, it is more important to live them out. And notice in the second half of verse 10 that “if you practice these qualities you will never fall”. This fall is not related to the experience of hardship or persecution, but that you will escape the trap of sinful desire.

“³His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” – 2 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

So here we have it. Immerse into the qualities that are good, faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. They begin with faith and the pinnacle is love knowing that the top two commandments are rooted in love. When I am living these qualities daily, I am able to escape sinful desire and inherit the kingdom of God.

“¹¹For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 1:11 (ESV)

What are you doing to escape sinful desire? Are you looking to simply be good? What if you lived daily the qualities above knowing that they will keep you from sinful desire?

The Law is Righteous

I have to be speaking of the Law of God, right? I am of course, although as I was reading and working to understand my reading this morning, I was no so sure at the start. I was seeing things through the lens of man and not of God.

You see, sin cannot take hold of one if sin is not understood to be sin. Think about small children and the grocery store. The children will reach out and grab things from the shelf and unknowingly the adult leaves the store and the child will therefore have “stolen” the item. The child is not a sinner, as there was not an understanding that the sin had occurred. And in the animal kingdom, killing is a part of the circle of life and is not considered sin. In each of the above circumstances, for me if I were to commit either of those, I would have sinned. And so, the law of God was introduced through Moses to call out the sin and define it for you and me.

“¹²So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” – Romans 7:12 (ESV)

The law of God is holy, and righteous, and good. The LORD would not have introduced them if they were not. The Ten Commandments that are referenced here by Paul were given to the people to deter them from sin. They are for our benefit to keep us on the path to righteousness. They are good and fair and healthy to uphold.

Paul specifically refers to the commandment related to covetousness. We are not to covet that which is not ours. If the commandment had not been introduced, then we would not know that covetousness is even something to be concerned with. I can see something and believe in its goodness and want to have something like it, but now, I know that I should not want that thing exactly. And there is the conflict with my heart and in my body. The commandment is there to let me know it is not right, yet all I can think of is how I want it.

The law is in place to guide and are put in place with all good intention by the one who placed it there. Regardless of where the law comes from, it was enacted with the right intention at the time and for the one who enacted. The thing is that laws of man are of the flesh and the Law of God is of the heart. God’s Law is for all and man’s law is for the one. Therefore, God’s Law is righteous. Man’s law may come from righteous thought and/or action, yet they are generally directed at a select situation and not for all.

I have to do things according to God’s Law to ensure that I am taking actions that are righteous. I know that there are others in this world with more than I have and to remember the commandment of covetousness and know that it is okay to want to have things like that, yet I have to avoid wanting what they have.

What is your view of the law? Are they there for you to do with what you please? What if you viewed the Law of God as righteous and for everyone as a guide through this world?

Guidelines for Righteous

I am a sinner who needs guidance in my life to ensure that I am on the path God would have me on. I am not able to do it on my own.

“⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.”

— Psalm 19:7-9 (ESV)

And there it is, the guideline for me in my navigation of this world. These are telling me that the LORD is the guideline. That is all I need to know and where I should look to for the guidance in avoiding sin.

God’s Word is where I have to look. He has provided the road map for me to reach righteous. As I recently wrote, righteous comes from Him. He is the place to go when needing direction. And that direction is needed at all times.

Yes, I am a born again Christian saved by the grace of God and some might think that I have reached the pinnacle of the Christian faith. And where I have been forgiven of my sins, I have not been made sinless.

Just yesterday I committed sins that I continue to commit. I seem to get tempted into them and find it difficult to avoid. The LORD sees and feels my sin and loves me anyway. He waits for me to repent, knowing that I will continue to struggle with that sin. And He forgives me. He knows that I am His and that when I come to Him I am repentant. He knows I don’t “want” to sin, that it is just a part of me being a sinner.

The LORD has placed this media in my path as a way to share my thoughts on His Word. I will again say that I am not a biblical or theological scholar by any means. I am just a sinner who is working to do the will of God and share Him with as many I can. I am not afraid for you hear that I struggle with sin as you are the same as I in that respect.

I am not asking anyone to see me as righteous as only God can declare me righteous. I can only do things that will be considered righteous. I can do those things that are in God’s plan and impact the people in my life with His Word. I need a guideline and outline of how to go about doing those righteous things. In God’s Word I find what I need. Here in the verses above I see the guidance toward those righteous things. Following the law, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear, and the rules of the LORD lead me in the right path.

What are your guidelines? Are you looking to the world to get you on target? What if you followed the LORD and used His Word as your guidelines for righteous?