2 Peter 1:1-9 KJV
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Nine Considerations:
1. Diligence – Eagerness
2. Faith – Persuasion; to convince by analogy
3. Virtue – Excellence (in this passage)
4. Knowledge – The act of knowing
5. Temperance – Strength
6. Patience – Endurance, constancy
7. Godliness – Reverent
8. Brotherly Kindness – Humane
9. Charity (love) – Agape
Note in these nine considerations the posision of temperance.It is positioned right in the middle… A balancing point and core item of our lives.
But, what is temperance? What does it mean to be tempered?
Temperance is to be self-controled; strong in something; masterful; to have vigor…
Vigor is to have physical or mental strength, energy, or force and the capacity for natural growth and survival…
What is the process? In order to temper metal there is a process. In order to temper our lives, there is a process…
The process for tempering steel is described below. Growing up, I worked with my uncle who was and still is a wheelwright . Often he would have people from all over the United States send him their wagon or buggy wheels. Once, he was sent the wheels from the Ringling Brothers Circus and George Washingtons cannon wheels to repair and replace the metal bands on the wheels. The metal had to be worked or heated and then beaten onto the wooden wheel. Back then I could not stand the work but now I really count it a blessing that I got to help with some of that work. This is where I gained some understanding about hardening and teempering metal…I had no idea then the spiritual implications of this process and the labor involved in doing it. I am tired just typing about it…
Here is the process…
Hardening and Tempering
This process changes the molecular structure of the steel. Without going into a lot of scientific verbiage, I will just keep it simple.
Heat treatment of steel in a shop is normally a two-stage process. For example, if a mild steel screw driver blade has been manufactured at some point it will have to be ‘’hardened’ to prevent it wearing down when used. On the other hand, it will have to be ‘tempered’. This second heating process reduces the hardness a little but toughens the steel. It also significantly reduces the brittleness of the steel so that it does not break easily. The whole process is called ‘hardening and tempering’.
Step One:
The screwdriver blade is heated; slowly at first, warming up the whole blade. Then the heat is concentrated on the area at the end of the blade. This gradually becomes ‘red’ hot.
Step Two:
The screwdriver blade is removed quickly from the brazing hearth, with blacksmiths tongs and plunged into clean, cold water. Steam boils off from the water as the steel cools rapidly. At this stage the blade is very hard but brittle and will break easily.
Step Three:
The screwdriver blade is cleaned with emery cloth and heated again in the brazing hearth. Heat is concentrated at the end of the steel blade. The steel must be watched very carefully as it changes color quite quickly. A blue line of heat will appear near the end of the blade and it travels towards the tip as the temperature rises along the blade. When the line of blue reaches the tip the brazing torch is turned off. The blue indicates the correct temperature of ‘tempering’.
Step Four:
The screwdriver blade is placed on a steel surface, such as an anvil face. This conducts the heat away and allows slow cooling of the screwdriver blade. When cold, the blade should be tough and hardwearing and unlikely to break or snap. This is due to the tempering process.
How does this apply to our lives? Our lives must go through the entire process. If not, we will be too hard or not strong enough.
How does this relate to our struggles and forgiveness…Or life in general? Balance is the key. Just as temperance is in the middle of the nine considerations, it must be the part of our lives that provides balance when the chips are down or we are flying on cloud none.
What does losing my temper really mean? It mean that we are losing that which has strengthened us or not placing our full trustin the Lord that his strenght is enough.
We have been changed…Our life structure has been changed…We have a new life!
We have been regenerated (re-gene-rated)…Our whole life has been changed and we have new life blood coursing through our lives.
The first step in our tempering is salvation. We recognize our sin and the need for it to be forgiven. We accept with eagerness the love and forgiveness of Jesus. We get baptized and join a church. But if that is all we do, we will miss out on the next important step in the process.
The second step we must take is to submit ourselves to the reading and teaching of the Word (becoming a disciple of Jesus). We must discipline our lives so that it becomes engrained in us that Jesus really is Lord…His word is true and that there is deliverance through its application in our lives!
If we stop on the first stop, we have a greater chance of not entering into the abundant life that Jesus provides. We become brittle (bitter) and may break under the pressure of life. By following through with the last step, we seal our lives by applying what it written into our lives by submitting to Jesus.
The Balance of Being Tempered
Posted July 9, 2009 by StephenCategories: Comments and Thoughts
Tags: Christianity, commitment, discipleship, faith, impact, Jesus, life, living, relationship, religion, Spirit filled, submission, witness
2 Peter 1:1-9 KJV
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Nine Considerations:
1. Diligence – Eagerness
2. Faith – Persuasion; to convince by analogy
3. Virtue – Excellence (in this passage)
4. Knowledge – The act of knowing
5. Temperance – Strength
6. Patience – Endurance, constancy
7. Godliness – Reverent
8. Brotherly Kindness – Humane
9. Charity (love) – Agape
Note in these nine considerations the posision of temperance.It is positioned right in the middle… A balancing point and core item of our lives.
But, what is temperance? What does it mean to be tempered?
Temperance is to be self-controled; strong in something; masterful; to have vigor…
Vigor is to have physical or mental strength, energy, or force and the capacity for natural growth and survival…
What is the process? In order to temper metal there is a process. In order to temper our lives, there is a process…
The process for tempering steel is described below. Growing up, I worked with my uncle who was and still is a wheelwright . Often he would have people from all over the United States send him their wagon or buggy wheels. Once, he was sent the wheels from the Ringling Brothers Circus and George Washingtons cannon wheels to repair and replace the metal bands on the wheels. The metal had to be worked or heated and then beaten onto the wooden wheel. Back then I could not stand the work but now I really count it a blessing that I got to help with some of that work. This is where I gained some understanding about hardening and teempering metal…I had no idea then the spiritual implications of this process and the labor involved in doing it. I am tired just typing about it…
Here is the process…
Hardening and Tempering
This process changes the molecular structure of the steel. Without going into a lot of scientific verbiage, I will just keep it simple.
Heat treatment of steel in a shop is normally a two-stage process. For example, if a mild steel screw driver blade has been manufactured at some point it will have to be ‘’hardened’ to prevent it wearing down when used. On the other hand, it will have to be ‘tempered’. This second heating process reduces the hardness a little but toughens the steel. It also significantly reduces the brittleness of the steel so that it does not break easily. The whole process is called ‘hardening and tempering’.
Step One:
The screwdriver blade is heated; slowly at first, warming up the whole blade. Then the heat is concentrated on the area at the end of the blade. This gradually becomes ‘red’ hot.
Step Two:
The screwdriver blade is removed quickly from the brazing hearth, with blacksmiths tongs and plunged into clean, cold water. Steam boils off from the water as the steel cools rapidly. At this stage the blade is very hard but brittle and will break easily.
Step Three:
The screwdriver blade is cleaned with emery cloth and heated again in the brazing hearth. Heat is concentrated at the end of the steel blade. The steel must be watched very carefully as it changes color quite quickly. A blue line of heat will appear near the end of the blade and it travels towards the tip as the temperature rises along the blade. When the line of blue reaches the tip the brazing torch is turned off. The blue indicates the correct temperature of ‘tempering’.
Step Four:
The screwdriver blade is placed on a steel surface, such as an anvil face. This conducts the heat away and allows slow cooling of the screwdriver blade. When cold, the blade should be tough and hardwearing and unlikely to break or snap. This is due to the tempering process.
How does this apply to our lives? Our lives must go through the entire process. If not, we will be too hard or not strong enough.
How does this relate to our struggles and forgiveness…Or life in general? Balance is the key. Just as temperance is in the middle of the nine considerations, it must be the part of our lives that provides balance when the chips are down or we are flying on cloud none.
What does losing my temper really mean? It mean that we are losing that which has strengthened us or not placing our full trustin the Lord that his strenght is enough.
We have been changed…Our life structure has been changed…We have a new life!
We have been regenerated (re-gene-rated)…Our whole life has been changed and we have new life blood coursing through our lives.
The first step in our tempering is salvation. We recognize our sin and the need for it to be forgiven. We accept with eagerness the love and forgiveness of Jesus. We get baptized and join a church. But if that is all we do, we will miss out on the next important step in the process.
The second step we must take is to submit ourselves to the reading and teaching of the Word (becoming a disciple of Jesus). We must discipline our lives so that it becomes engrained in us that Jesus really is Lord…His word is true and that there is deliverance through its application in our lives!
If we stop on the first stop, we have a greater chance of not entering into the abundant life that Jesus provides. We become brittle (bitter) and may break under the pressure of life. By following through with the last step, we seal our lives by applying what it written into our lives by submitting to Jesus.
Comments: Be the first to comment