The Road Less Traveled

My Journey of Faith

If you have listened to Martin Lloyd-Jones much, then you know that he did not mince words about the authenticity of Christianity and how it ought to be lived.

The Road Less Traveled

Did you ever know something was true but didn't know how you knew? Every authentic believer in Jesus Christ has imparted such knowledge in their heart, whether they realize it or not. I remember having thoughts at the time of my rebirth and afterward that I knew no one had taught me, but I just knew it. The thought occurred to me while walking home in Bay Ridge, New York, in 1974, many years before I understood Peter's words from his second letter.

"To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours..." (2 Peter 1:1). To what kind of faith was Peter referring? To start with, Peter blessed his hearers by saying, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God..." The grace and peace that Peter was referring to came through the knowledge of God. How, then, does a person receive the knowledge of God? The world is filled with "religious" people who know absolutely nothing of God by way of experience. Such people will make statements like, "How could God allow such terrible things to happen?" as if God's word does not make it perfectly clear that the whole world stands guilty before Him and is in danger of spending eternity in the blazing fires of hell.  

The Road Less Traveled for us is to Experience God

"...seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). According to Peter, I have received life and godliness through the true Knowledge of Him. What our English Bible refers to as "true knowledge" in Greek is "epignosis" or "knowledge gained through first-hand relationship," that is, "contact-knowledge" a contact appropriate and fitting to first-hand, experiential knowing.

The thing that is different about authentic believers is that internally, they have been born again, regenerated by the working of the person of the Holy Spirit who takes the death and resurrection of God in Christ, which is "His Divine Power," and through experiential knowledge of Christ made us to partake of His Divine Nature. As stated in verse 4, "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of [the] divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

What becomes confusing in verse 4 is the meaning of "For by these," which we must ask, what does Peter mean by the words "by these?" What are these? Peter wants his hearers to experience the multiplication of grace and peace. At rebirth, all believers experience peace with God by His grace because it is undoubtedly not by our good works, which were nonexistent before grace, but by God's grace, we benefit from His Holy Life lived as a man, His sufferings of death, and His Resurrection from the dead, by which we receive eternal life and thereby the peace with God that allows an intimate relationship to exist.

The Road Less Traveled Must Be Traveled in the Correct Way

By becoming partakers of the Divine Nature through rebirth, Peter wants us to continue in such a way that in verse 8, "...they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the "true knowledge" of our Lord Jesus Christ." What Peter refers to by using the word "they render you" is also what he refers to by "these qualities" in verse 9. The qualities are moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Peter says we need to apply diligence in our faith, verse 5, so that our lives do not amount to empty and fruitless works of the flesh, which are selfish lust and pride.

The idea that should be noticed is that it is not just the beginning (rebirth) that matters but the continuing to increase by faith. If our character continues to change by due diligence and not some lazy, half-hearted, lukewarm indifference to what God desires for us, then and only then we become neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. If what I just said is true and it is according to God's Word, then the opposite is also true: we could become useless and unfruitful.

The Road Less Traveled Leads to Abundance in Eternity

As stated in verses 10 and 11, "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; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you."

If we properly understand Peter's inspired words, the proud, brash, competitive, earth-bound disciple turned humble, Christ-seeking, martyred Apostle, we will discern God's will. Then, we will stop and earnestly consider what road we are on. If it is The Road Less Traveled, we should continue. If we are not on the Road Less Traveled but going the way of a lukewarm institution, going through the motions of faith in Christ but centering our lives in worldly lusts and attainments, wealth, stuff that will be moth-eaten and rust corrupted, then repent and allow God to change your direction.

During My Journey of Faith, God has stopped me many times and asked me to consider the life I am living and the Church of which I am apart. It has not always been comfortable for me, but I trust in Christ; it has always been so grace and peace be multiplied.

To learn more about the people God uses to build His kingdom, click the link below.

Podcast: Consider Your Calling, Brethren