The One Thing That Makes Christians Unfruitful – 2 Peter 1:9

Have you ever noticed how many self-help books there are? They use words like “secret” and “potential” and “mindset” to get you to part with your money in a quest to “unlock your potential” and “live your best life.”

I have read a few such books and, to be honest, most of them have left me disappointed. They promised I would make a “quantum leap” to “self-mastery” and reach “the next level,” but that never happened. Maybe I’m unteachable.

Or maybe I’ve got a better book.

What if I told you there was one chapter in the Bible that contains the “recipe” for living your best life. Seriously. It tells you the “secret” to spiritual growth and divine power. I am talking, of course, about 2 Peter 1, which describes the new life that is ours in Christ.

It is an amazing chapter and I encourage you to read it slowly. (Better yet, read it on the Grace Commentary.) If you can grasp the truths unveiled in this chapter, they will change your life.

In this life-changing chapter, Peter paints a picture of “the normal Christian life.” What is normal Christianity? It’s partaking of God’s divine nature, being led by his Spirit, and having Christ’s characteristics – his faith, self-control, perseverance, godliness, love, etc. – revealed in our lives.

If we have all these things, says Peter, we will be active and fruitful in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. We will be normal Christians, shining with the glory of God, and revealing his kingdom wherever we go.

So why isn’t the world full of “normal Christians”? Why aren’t our churches packed with people who shine like Jesus?

The “secret” to the normal Christian life

To put it another way, what is the one thing that stops Christians from being fruitful? Some might say Christians are unfruitful because they are lukewarm, half-hearted, or confused. They don’t tithe, pray enough, or read their Bibles. They’re worldly, rebellious, or have hidden sin. They’ve got pride, strongholds, or generational curses.

But that’s not what Peter says. According to the apostle, if Christians are weak and unfruitful, it’s because of this one thing:

He who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. (2 Peter 1:9)

The reason some Christians aren’t walking in the power and grace of God and bearing his fruit is that they have forgotten they have been cleansed from their sins. It’s that simple.

The gospel of grace declares you are eternally and completely forgiven (Acts 13:38, Eph. 1:7, Col. 2:13, 1 John 2:12). But if you forget you are forgiven, you’ll be susceptible to the lie that says you need to be forgiven.

And that’s the first step towards dead works and unbelief.

Convince a Christian they’re not completely forgiven and they’ll move heaven and earth to clear the slate. They’ll start confessing sins, join an accountability group, and make promises they can’t keep. They will put their trust in the flesh, fall from grace, and become spiritually barren.

If this describes you, Peter gives you two things to think about:

1. “Purification” means you have been cleansed from all sin (1 John 1:7). All your sins – past, present, and future – were carried away by the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2).
2. “Former sins” means sinning was a part of your old life and has no place in the new life you share with Christ (1 John 3:9). This is not to suggest you will never sin, but you are no longer a sinner. You are a royal priest and a citizen of a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9). You are part of the family of God. So reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Learning to walk in God’s forgiveness is the first step into the new life you have in Christ. If you wish to grow in grace and enjoy the supernatural life God has for you, you need to believe that your old sins are gone.

In Christ, you are righteous, holy, and as pure as the driven snow (Is. 1:18).

What does it mean to make your calling and election sure?

But wait, what about the next verse:

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. (2 Peter 1:10)

Believers stumble into dead works when they are unsure of their position in Christ. They forget they are forgiven or they start thinking that they need to complete what Christ began. “Jesus got me started, but the rest is up to me.”

Big mistake.

Whenever we look to ourselves to supply that which God has supplied, we fall from grace. For this reason, we need to be diligent to establish our hearts in the certainty of our Father’s love.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to convince us that we are holy and righteous and one with the Lord.

We need to abandon our old ways of thinking and learn to walk in the new way of the Spirit.

When Peter says, “For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble,” he means, “When your eyes are fixed on Jesus, you’ll never put a foot wrong.”

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Read this verse in context on the Grace Commentary, your free verse-by-verse study guide.