What Does "Equal Standing" Mean? | 2 Peter 1:1–2

0:00Hey everybody this is Vince Miller. Welcome right here to the daily. We are beginning a brand new book of the New Testament. It is second Peter. We just finished first Peter five chapters there. Second Peter has three. So three weeks with me daily stay with me. If you've never done this before, great. Pick up one of these scripture journals. Take notes. Follow along. Just like I do right here. I put these on my shelves so I can kind of commemorate my journey. I can pull them off the shelf time and time again so I can remember all the great things that I learned. Through this letter right here and all the letters of the Bible as we study every book of the Bible over the next 23 years together. I know a long journey but stay with me please. All right today we're going to dig into second Peter here. We're looking at verses one through two. Simi and Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have obtained have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ may grace peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

1:13This is such a good word right here. This is a great way to start this little letter. So Peter begins by calling himself a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. And I just got to say I think Peter is calling and resume was extraordinary. I mean he got to walk with Jesus. Kind of cool right he witnessed miracles especially cool. He even saw the empty tomb how cool is that and then he was the lead preacher at Pentecost. Awesome. Yet before he emphasizes all his authority credentials and his resume here Peter identifies himself as a servant as a doulos as a slave his life and ministry belong to Jesus Christ someone else. Then Peter says something kind of remarkable here he writes to believers who have who have received a faith of equal standing.

2:13I underlined those words there unequal standing with God. You see we don't share in Peter's apostolic calling in the same way that he did. But we do share in something with him his standing before God. Ours is exactly the same as his Peter did not have a a better Savior than we do or a superior gospel or even a higher class of citizenship in the kingdom. Every believer is accepted on the same basis. What is it? It's the righteousness of God of God. You see our standing is received not achieved. Our standing is received not achieved. It does not it does not depend on how much scripture you know. It does not depend on how disciplined you are or how visible your ministry becomes or how impressive our spiritual resume appears.

3:14We are accepted because Jesus Christ is righteous and he's extended that to us not because we have performed well enough. Jesus Christ was the one who performed righteously we have not. Now I just got to say I don't always feel like I stand on equal ground with someone like Peter. I mean yeah he walked with Jesus preached some of the great sermons that have ever been preached that change thousands of lives early in the life of the church and during heavy persecution. You know sometimes I compare myself to him. Sometimes I even look at other believers and feel spiritually behind them too. I do that all the time. And in those moments I have to reach a truth to myself. It is this. My standing is equal before God and rest on Christ's righteousness not my own. My own accomplishments or even my feelings about my accomplishments. I mean when we start comparing ourselves with other people it makes us and me honestly forget that essential truth.

4:23If you just see someone else's knowledge or their family or their ministerial or their discipline or their influence you begin to think that maybe God values them more than you. But another believer's calling does not determine your standing before God. Now their growth can challenge you to growth without making you feel less accepted by God. You see there are no second class Christians at the foot of the cross. Zero. We are all first generation believers, sons and daughters of the king. Now this does not mean spiritual growth is unimportant. Peter is going to soon urge us all the way throughout this chapter to pursue Godly character and qualities of that character with a list of characteristics that cause us to pursue this spiritual diligence. But the order here matters. You see first he reminds us of what we have received before telling us what we're supposed to pursue.

5:27You see we don't grow so God will accept us. We don't grow so that God will accept us. We grow through Christ because he already has accepted us. Note this your your calling may look different from Peter's it may look different from mine. Your story may be quieter than others someone else's who's really has a loud testimony. Your progress might feel a little slower than you would like. But your faith in Christ your faith in Christ you stand you stand on the same unshakable foundation his perfect righteousness that everybody else stands on including Peter. You see we all have different callings but we have this same Savior and the same standing God may we see our standing as founded in you may we see that you have extended your righteousness to us but God spur us on

6:29to growth and good deeds we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. I love you guys hope this blessed you have a nice share with someone else and don't forget show up here tomorrow because I'm going to be here tomorrow.