Five Things We Will Learn
- Why Rich Mullins believed modern culture was suffering from spiritual decay and decadence.
- How Scripture answers the deep human question: “Who are we?”
- Why information alone can never produce spiritual life or maturity.
- What 2 Peter teaches about growing in faith, godliness, perseverance, and love.
- How believers can discern and walk confidently in God’s personal calling for their lives.
A World Searching for Meaning
Rich Mullins opens with a simple but profound observation: people everywhere are searching for meaning, purpose, and identity. Yet at the same time, society is filled with confusion, contradiction, and decay.
He describes walking past a Benetton advertisement that used sexuality and innocence to sell clothing. The imagery disturbed him because it reflected something deeper happening in culture: human beings were no longer being valued as image-bearers of God, but as tools to market products and satisfy desires.
Mullins then points to other examples of twisted values in society:
- Thousands dying of starvation while luxury pet food consumes vast resources.
- The inconsistency of laws surrounding abortion and parental authority.
- A culture increasingly detached from moral clarity and truth.
He calls all of this by a fitting word: decadent.
The word comes from the same root as decay. A decayed building may once have been strong and useful, but over time it becomes unstable, unsafe, and unable to provide shelter. Mullins believed modern society was experiencing that same kind of moral and spiritual collapse.
The Most Important Question Ever Asked
According to Mullins, one of the greatest questions ever asked in human history came directly from God Himself:
“Where are you?”
God asked Adam and Eve this question in the Garden, but beneath it was another question:
Who are you?
What are you doing?
What are you becoming?
Modern science and philosophy often tell people they are nothing more than biological matter or meaningless accidents drifting through existence. Mullins says this worldview naturally produces rage, confusion, and hopelessness because people instinctively know they were created for more than that.
The Bible, however, gives an entirely different answer.
Scripture reveals that humanity’s identity can only truly be understood in relationship to God. The entire story of the Bible is God revealing who we are in Him and who we become apart from Him.
God’s Divine Power Gives Us What We Need
Mullins centers much of his message around 2 Peter 1:3:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
(2 Peter 1:3)
He explains that people often try to live life by their own strength, wisdom, or ambition, but eventually discover emptiness and frustration. Human effort alone cannot produce true life.
But God’s divine power gives believers:
- Everything needed for life
- Everything needed for godliness
- Everything needed to discover identity and purpose in Him
Mullins also challenges distorted views of godliness. Many people associate godliness with religious appearances, legalism, hypocrisy, or strange behavior. But true godliness is rooted in the very character of God Himself.
And the defining characteristic of God is love.
Godliness is not performance or image management. It is becoming a person who genuinely loves God and others.
Escaping the Corruption of the World
Mullins points again to Peter’s words:
“He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
(2 Peter 1:4)
The world’s corruption, instability, and moral confusion do not have to control the believer. Through God’s promises and through relationship with Him, Christians can live differently.
Instead of allowing culture, politics, philosophy, or social pressure to define identity, believers are called to discover themselves through God’s voice and His truth.
Christianity Is More Than Information
One of the strongest themes in Mullins’ message is his warning against reducing Christianity to information.
He reflects on the “information age” and how Christians constantly chase the latest books, teachings, systems, trends, and spiritual emphases. One season focuses on time management. Another focuses on relationships. Another on spiritual gifts. Another on discipling.
Yet each trend eventually fades and gets replaced by another.
Mullins says the problem is that many people mistake accumulating information about God for actually experiencing God.
Knowledge alone cannot produce spiritual life.
He explains that spiritual vitality comes through:
- Practice
- Obedience
- Faith
- Character formation
- Walking with God personally
Christianity is not merely learning facts about Jesus. It is becoming transformed by Him.
Add to Your Faith
Mullins carefully walks through 2 Peter 1:5-7:
“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”
These qualities are not abstract theological concepts. They are lived realities that must grow within the believer’s life.
Peter says that if these qualities increase in us, they keep us from becoming ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Mullins asks a convicting question:
When was the last time someone noticed Christ in your life strongly enough to ask what makes you different?
If the Holy Spirit truly lives within believers, there should be visible evidence:
- Love
- Self-control
- Perseverance
- Kindness
- Godliness
- Character
- Light in darkness
Make Your Calling and Election Sure
The central focus of Mullins’ message comes from Peter’s instruction:
“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.”
(2 Peter 1:10)
Mullins explains that God calls every believer:
- To Himself
- To holiness
- To the Body of Christ
- To love
- To godliness
But beyond this universal call, each believer also has a unique role in God’s plan.
Some may expect dramatic supernatural signs before knowing God’s will, but Mullins points to Joseph as an example. Joseph never appears to receive a detailed explanation of his future. He simply walked faithfully through circumstances that God sovereignly used to fulfill His purposes.
God’s guidance often unfolds through faithful obedience rather than spectacular experiences.
Practical Wisdom for Discerning God’s Will
Mullins gives practical guidance for young believers trying to discern God’s direction in life.
Should you pray about where to go to school? Yes.
Should you seek counsel from spiritually mature believers? Absolutely.
Should you fast, pray, and carefully consider Scripture? Certainly.
But Mullins also reminds believers that even when specific answers are unclear, some things are always clear:
- Be holy.
- Walk in love.
- Reflect Christ.
- Live godly wherever you are.
The believer’s responsibility is to pursue Christ faithfully while trusting God to direct the larger details of life.
Christianity Must Become Character
Mullins closes with a heartfelt encouragement.
Christianity must become more than doctrines or religious ideas. It must become woven into a believer’s personality and character until Christ Himself is formed within them.
He urges believers to let God reshape their identity, habits, desires, and practices according to His purpose.
Peter ends with this promise:
“For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:10-11)
Rich Mullins reminds believers that hearing the call of God is ultimately about discovering who we truly are in Him. And when we allow God to define us instead of the world, we find both purpose and stability in the middle of a decaying culture.