Good morning.
You poor people. You have to look at me twice.
You know, there are probably not many in here who have played golf before, but there is something they call first-tee jitters. That is when you come to the course and go to the very first hole. You are normally the most nervous when you are starting. It is on that first tee, so they call it first-tee jitters.
So, from my point of view, there is some advantage to having spoken twice. Hopefully, I got all the first-tee jitters out the first time, so we can roll a little smoother.
If you could all open to 2 Peter, we are going to look at chapter 1.
The actual burden that we are going to speak about this morning was a burden I received when I sought the Lord about going to Bowling Green to speak. Mike Manns asked me some time ago if I would come up and share there, and I tried to land in Romans, but the Lord just would not let me stay there. I just could not stay there.
So, long story short, I ended up in 2 Peter, and I was captured by these first eleven verses in this book. We are going to look primarily at those first eleven verses this morning. But let us begin with a word of prayer.
Lord, as we are before Thee now, I am very mindful that apart from Thee, Lord, I can do nothing. Lord, I cannot do anything productive spiritually except Your Holy Spirit grant me grace to speak as I have to speak.
And, Lord, I know that is true for all of us. Even to hear, Lord, requires that enabling of the Holy Spirit. So we ask, Holy Spirit, that You would come and just bless this time now.
I pray You will take these weak words of mine and use them somehow, Lord, to Your glory. We just pray in Your name. Amen.
So, 2 Peter 1. Again, we are going to read verses 1 through 11. I guess I do not have the computer here, so you will have to follow along in your own Bible. I will be reading out of the NASB, for those who are interested.
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours,
by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
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.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.
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence,
in your faith supply moral excellence,
and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
and in your knowledge, self-control,
and in your self-control, perseverance,
and in your perseverance, godliness,
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness,
and in your brotherly kindness, love.For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,
they render you neither useless nor unfruitful
in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted,
having forgotten his purification from his former sins.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 I were going to put a title to this, I would call it “Abundant Entrance into the Kingdom.”
Again, we want to look at these first eleven verses of 2 Peter. We know Peter wrote two letters because, in 2 Peter 3:1, it says:
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.
So Peter is not writing anything new here to these recipients. He just wants to remind them of the words spoken by the prophets. He wants to remind them of the words of the Lord that were spoken through the apostles.
And that is, in fact, his heart. We see that the recipients in the first letter are described as the elect. We translate “the elect” as chosen-out ones. They were sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. I think we can deduce that this second letter is written to these same recipients.
But, in addition to that, I think it is also written to us today. Why? Because it says in verse 1, “to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours.”
You know, the Word of God is very unique from any other books. Though authors wrote some of these books and letters with particular recipients in mind, these words, because they are God’s very words and eternal in nature, carry beyond those recipients. They carry beyond time. They are applicable to all ages.
So, even though he is writing in the first letter to a certain group, and we believe he is addressing that same group here, we also believe he is addressing all those who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with that same faith, as it says in verse 1.
We also know that, when Peter wrote the second letter, he knew his time was short. He knew his departure was near because, in 2 Peter 1:14, he wrote:
Knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
So Peter wanted to be diligent to write this letter so that, even after his departure, there would be a way of remembrance of the words he wanted to leave them.
Second Peter is very similar to 2 Timothy because both of these dear old saints, when they wrote these, were writing their last letters. When you write a last letter, and you know it is going to be your last letter, you are going to put down that which is foremost on your heart. You are going to put down that which is the burden that really causes you to move and breathe, as it were.
So, what is this burden that Peter is really talking about? Well, if you look in chapter 1, let us turn to verses 16 through 18. These set forth what is foremost on his heart.
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.For when He received honor and glory from God the Father,
such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory,
“This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven
when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Now, we know Peter here is referring to that experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. That experience is a foretaste, or picture, if you will, of the coming kingdom, when our Lord Jesus Christ will reign as Lord of lords and King of kings.
The Lord had spoken previous to this event that some of the disciples would not die before they saw Him come in His glory. You remember that? It is kind of like, “Wow, well, how can that happen?” Well, it is speaking of this time here, the Mount of Transfiguration.
You remember, the Lord took Peter, James, and John, those considered the inner circle, and took them up on that mount. There they saw the Lord transfigured before their eyes. There they saw the Lord as they had never seen Him before. There they saw the Lord as we will see Him when He comes back one day to reign upon this earth.
So, we believe that the burden Peter had here was the kingdom. He heard the Lord speak much of the kingdom. He had heard John the Baptist speak of the kingdom.
Peter now wants to transfer this, if you will, to all those of faith—this burden of the kingdom, and in particular, preparation for it. We are going to see in these eleven verses that he put some guideposts in there, if you will, to direct us in how we can have an abundant entrance into this kingdom.
God’s desire is not only that you enter the kingdom, but that you have an abundant entrance into the kingdom. So Peter’s burden is the kingdom. He wants us to be prepared. He does not want us to fall short of that calling to be co-heirs with Christ on that day.
You know, our Lord is waiting for a bride to be prepared. But there are conditions to entering into that calling. So hopefully, we can address those a little bit this morning.
Now, if you look at verse 1 of 2 Peter, it is interesting because in the first letter, Peter says, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” But here in 2 Peter, we see him say, “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.”
Peter adds two things here: number one, his original name, Simon; and number two, that he is a bond-servant. I believe these are very significant because the word Simon means “he heard.”
To hear is a very necessary ingredient in coming to and following the Lord. “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear.”
You know, the Word also says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” We follow the Lord by faith, but how can we do that if we cannot hear? It is impossible.
Peter states here that he is a bond-servant. And this is the way to becoming a rock—or, if I can put that another way, to becoming steadfast in the Lord. You know, Peter means rock, or little rock.
So he is setting forth before us a principle that is necessary: the principle of a bond-servant. To be a bond-servant of Christ means to willingly give up all rights to yourself. It means to abandon all your pursuits. It means to give up your agendas.
You know, we have been bought with a price. Is that not what Scripture says? We are no longer our own. We do not belong to ourselves anymore. We belong to the Lord, and we are called to follow Him.
When we follow Him, we find it is the way of the cross. It is the way of a bond-servant.
Now note that bond-servant comes before apostle. Peter must first be a bond-servant before he can be an apostle. To enter into that calling, we have to be a bond-servant and learn of the Lord.
So again, Peter begins his introduction with this very important principle. You know, what does it say of the Lord in Philippians? It says He emptied Himself and took the form of a bond-servant, becoming fully obedient to Him who sent Him.
Now note that verse 1 continues and says, “to those who have received”—now, the King James Version says “obtained”—“a faith of the same kind as ours.”
This word received is found in three other places in the New Testament. Twice it is translated as the word lot—not like in the Old Testament, but like you draw a lot, okay? The other place, it is translated as received, just as we have in this verse.
So, the faith that we possess has been allotted to us. Wuest translates it “divinely allotted.” Ephesians says faith is the gift of God.
The verse goes on to say that we were all allotted the same kind, or measure, of faith. The Greek word translated “same kind” there is like precious faith. It means a faith of equal standing, equal value. We were all accorded the same measure of faith when we were born from above.
Peter is even telling these saints that they have the same kind of faith as he does. They might be a little shocked at that: “Peter the apostle, and I have the same faith as him?”
He is stating this because later in 2 Peter, he starts talking about false teachers. He talks about those who fall after greed and sensuality. He talks about those who deny the Master who bought them.
Peter is concerned for them because the only way these false teachers can get at them is if they show some kind of superiority over them. Otherwise, they are not going to follow.
And so Peter says, “No, we have the same kind of faith. Do not let them come to you. Do not let them say somehow they are superior in faith. We have the same measure of faith.”
Every believer begins with this like precious faith. It is the same seed of faith that enabled Peter to declare that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. It was the same seed of faith that enabled him to walk on water. It was the same seed of faith that enabled him to say to that lame man, “Rise up. You are healed in the name of Jesus.” That same seed of faith resides in us.
Now, obviously, we are to grow in faith. Our faith is not to be stagnant, but we are to grow in faith.
Notice the verse concludes with, “By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” I like how Wuest translates this:
To those who have been divinely allotted like precious faith with us by the equitable treatment of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
So God did not dish out a measure of faith according to partiality. He does not operate like we do. All believers have the same measure and standing before God, and this is based on His righteousness, not on anything in us or of us.
Now notice that he continues in verse 2:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
This grace and peace spoken of here is not the grace and peace you received at your new birth. We thank God for that grace, because we were all dead in sins and transgressions. But we received of His grace, and we were made alive together with Christ. Today, we have a standing before God in grace. We have peace with God because of the blood of the cross.
But this grace and peace here is not that. He is speaking of a sanctifying grace. He is speaking of a grace that is going to equip us to go on in the way of the Lord, to live pleasing unto Him, and to bring about that full salvation in our lives—spirit, soul, and body.
And that is sanctifying peace: that peace that can bring tranquility of heart in every situation, every circumstance. Why? Because we know that God is sovereign. We know He dictates our circumstances.
Things are not happenstance for Christians. They are divinely ordered. Thus, we can trust Him. We can have peace, and that is based on His character.
Now, how are grace and peace multiplied to us? What does it say here? It says it is through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. This knowledge spoken of here is not merely mental knowledge, but experiential knowledge. It is gained through transactions and dealings, if you will, with God, as He opens up His Word to us.
To illustrate this, let me ask you a question: How did you come into that initial relationship with the Lord Jesus?
It was through coming into a knowledge of Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world—not mere mental knowledge, but a knowledge that transcends the mind. It was knowledge that, in fact, entered your spirit. You were convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, who in turn revealed Christ to you as the Savior of the world. Thus, you gained knowledge.
Likewise, we are to enter more fully into grace and peace through coming into a more complete knowledge of Him as our sufficiency in every need. You know, a need will arise in your life that you are unable to overcome in your own strength or resource. If you have not found that out yet, keep living.
But through turning to Him and through fellowship with Him, He can reveal to you a greater revelation, or knowledge, of Himself that speaks to our every need.
You know, do not look upon your needs as a bad thing. God really uses need in our life, and we never grow out of that. It is through need that we go on with the Lord.
Now, verse 3 expands this thought of all that is available to the believer through this knowledge. Knowledge, by the way, is a key word in this epistle.
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.
Everything. See, I underlined it, and I put it in bold. I should have it up there on the wall like Jim does.
It says He 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—by His divine power.
The Greek word for power here is dunamis. We derive the word dynamite from it: explosion, power. You know, that was a big word in the charismatic circle: power. But God has granted to us divine power.
He has granted to us life. This word granted means to bestow abundantly, freely, with no conditions attached. See if you can find something like that in this world.
We know that this life that has been granted to us is the life of the only begotten Son of God. And in this life there is an enabling for godliness—that is, to be like God.
You know, Romans 8 talks about us being conformed to His image. We are to partake of His character.
I once again want to point out this word everything. Everything pertaining to the beginning and completion of your Christian life has been provided.
I am afraid to say that one day there will be no excuse. We are not going to be able to say, “You did not give me enough grace. I did not have peace. I did not know how to do this.” It is just not going to happen.
This provision is available, again, through the true knowledge of Him. And that comes through fellowship. It comes through communion with God.
You know, John, in his first epistle, expressed it in this way:
What we have seen, touched, and heard.
Experiential knowledge. So God has provided everything because He has called us, it says in this verse, according to His own glory and excellence. That means He has called us according to His character, and to be like Him. That is His purpose.
Obviously, if He did not provide everything, who could enter into it? None of us could.
Now, verse 4 underlines the means of bringing us into the knowledge of our God:
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.
So God, out of the character of His heart, has given unto us His promises. We see here that it calls them precious, which means to be held in honor, and they are magnificent. Why? Because through these promises, we are able to become partakers of the divine nature.
Think of some of the promises that we have been given in the Word: that God will never leave nor forsake us; that He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it; or that, as David said, “He will restore my soul.”
Or, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Promises of God—magnificent promises. May we hold these in honor.
Again, the promises are to bring us into fellowship with God so that we may become partakers of His divine nature—or, to put it another way, partakers of His life.
When we do so, we find what it says at the end of verse 4:
Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
We find that, in reality, we can do that as we partake of His life.
Now, having said this, notice that all these first four verses are God’s side, are they not? They are all what He has done for us. So we have to flip the coin now.
Sometimes we do not like to flip that coin, do we? We want to stay on God’s side, and we should. We should focus on the fact that we are in Christ. We do not focus on ourselves, do we? That is going to lead to despair, despondency, and error.
But notice that in verse 5 he begins, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence.”
The apostle states here that, in light of the fact that God has made all provision for us in things pertaining to life and godliness, and that through these promises we may partake of the divine nature, he now exhorts us to our responsibility in this calling.
We are not automatically going to be conformed to the image of the Son. God is not going to wave a wand on us one day when we get to that other side, to the other age, and all of a sudden—it is not going to work that way.
I used to think it would. I used to think, “Well, if I can just, you know, hang in there, and someday, you know…” But we are not automatically going to be conformed to the image of His Son.
No, there is a responsibility on our part. This is something that I think often we get confused with: what God’s part is and what our part is.
But one might say, “Isn’t it all of grace?” And we would say, “Certainly. It is all of grace.” It is His grace that enables us and equips us to be able to cooperate and avail ourselves of His will.
Thus, it says, “Applying all diligence.” The word apply here means to bring in beside, to contribute beside something. And that which we are to bring in, of course, to the provisions of God is diligence.
Diligence means earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after something. You know, Romans 12:11 says:
Not lagging behind, or being sluggish or slothful in diligence.
The kingdom of God is not for the spiritually lazy. For us to fit in and be a part of the kingdom requires the King’s character. We are to apply all diligence on our part to partake of the divine nature.
The purpose of applying all diligence, as we said, is to become spiritually mature—or, to put it another way, to add qualities of the character of Christ to our lives.
Let us read again verses 5 through 7:
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence,
in your faith supply moral excellence,
and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
and in your knowledge, self-control,
and in your self-control, perseverance,
and in your perseverance, godliness,
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness,
and in your brotherly kindness, love.
Notice that there are seven qualities here to be added:
Is there any importance in the listing and order of these qualities? I think we would all agree that faith is the starting block and love is the culmination.
There does appear to be some relevance to the sequence and order of these qualities. But one thing needs to be mentioned: all of these qualities ought to be in the life of the believer.
Even in Galatians 5:22, where it speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, all those fruits ought to be manifested in the life of the believer. We do not just pick the fruits, if you will. Well, we do that when we go to the market. Some may pick apples; some, bananas. But in the fruit of the Spirit, we do not pick and choose. All of those should be manifested in the life of the believer.
The same is true with these qualities here. Obviously, you do not sit on knowledge until there is no more knowledge to be gained. These are integral, and they work together.
Let me say this, too, because I have a little fear whenever you list things like this. Particularly in our day, if you go into Christian bookstores, you are going to see a whole lot of how-to books: how to preach the gospel, how to do this, how to do that.
Guidelines and principles are good, but it is important for me to mention that this list is not a list of imperatives. It is not a list of duties or activities. Peter is not writing a how-to book here. He is describing the kind of life believers should express as they partake of the divine nature. Okay?
Note that, unlike the other qualities, it does not say you are to supply faith. The word supply means to furnish or present. This is because, as a believer, we already possess faith. We mentioned earlier how verse 1 spoke to those who had received faith. But it says we are to supply the other qualities.
The first one mentioned here is moral excellence. We said how Darby translates this word as virtue. We are to supply to faith moral excellence.
This moral excellence is the same word we saw in verse 3, where it said He “called us by His own glory and excellence.” That verse speaks of the person—or, we would say, the character—of God.
We know our calling is to be conformed to the image of His Son, and we are to add moral excellence—or, to put it another way, add the character of God to our life.
You know, 1 Peter 2:9 says—and we ought to be able to quote this one, I think—
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.
Why?
So that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him.
There is our word again: moral excellence. We cannot proclaim His excellencies if this quality is not built into our lives. How are you going to do that? You can try and imitate it, but the world is going to see through that. The enemy is going to see through that.
We are to be like Paul and pursue Christ. Paul wrote and said, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is to be ever before the face of the believer: to be an expression, to be a desire to have an expression of His life in our life.
An alternate meaning of this word excellence is the word courage. I think it is very applicable here too, because it takes courage to go on with God. It takes courage to be, as Paul stated, a fool for Christ.
You know, we see a lot of exhortations in the Bible to be courageous: “Do not be afraid.” Courage is a very important ingredient of going on with the Lord.
So, to add to faith moral excellence, we need to allow the character of God to be built into and expressed through our lives.
It goes on to say that we are to supply knowledge. Now, we saw this word knowledge in verses 2 and 3. But there, in those verses, the word speaks of a full or complete knowledge—a mature knowledge. Here in verse 5, the word knowledge speaks of a knowledge to be attained or enlarged.
How can we progress spiritually without true knowledge? We might be the most zealous person, but if we do not know what the will of God is, if we do not know His ways, we are only going to become a stumbling block to ourselves and others.
We are to walk out the will of God in our lives, and to do so requires knowledge—or, if I can put it another way, knowing the mind of God.
You know, the Word says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The word destroyed there could be translated aimless. I am afraid much of Christendom today is aimless.
Again, the knowledge spoken of here is experiential knowledge. It is not mere mental knowledge. It is knowledge attained through the Word by the Holy Spirit.
Then we come to one of our favorites. It says we are to supply self-control. The Darby Version says temperance.
Self-control is the quality or virtue of one who masters his desires and passions. It has to do with overcoming that which is within.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27:
But I discipline my body and make it my slave.
We find in Galatians 5:22 that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. So we really could call this Spirit-control.
We supply this quality to our life by turning the reins over to the Holy Spirit. You know, Romans 8:12–13 says:
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh;
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die;
but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Adding self-control.
Then it goes on and says we are to supply, or add, perseverance. Again, Darby translates this as endurance, and Wuest as patience.
Perseverance means steadfastness, constancy. It literally means to remain under. What a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ: One who remained under.
He remained under the Father’s will. He remained under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
This patient endurance has to do with trials and testing in our lives. It has to do with overcoming that which is without.
You know, James 1:12 says:
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Then it goes on to say, “Supply godliness.” One brother has written about godliness this way: “The capacity to react to every circumstance as God would react.”
This was the great mark of Christ’s life. He always acted as you would expect God to act. He was totally godlike in every situation.
Now, that is not saying we are to roll up our sleeves and do as that famous saying says, “Do whatever Jesus would do.” We know it is not speaking about that here. It is not speaking about trying to imitate Jesus outwardly. It has nothing to do with that.
We saw already that God has granted to us life, and it is by that life that we can enter into godliness—that is, be like God. It is through His life, and that alone.
He left us this example as the perfect Man expressing the likeness of God. He did this by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can follow Him in the same way if we take up His yoke and submit to Him with reverence and piety.
Then it goes on to say to supply brotherly kindness. Now, is this not the distinguishing virtue of the believer?
You know, John 13:35 reads:
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Note that it does not say all men will know you are My disciples if you go to meetings, if you memorize your Bible, or if you go to conferences. Now, these are good things. But the distinguishing characteristic of the believer is love for the brethren.
First Thessalonians 4:9 says:
Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you,
for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
Then we come to the last one: supply love. This is the Greek word agape, and it speaks of divine love. It speaks of the very character and nature of God.
You know, the Bible tells us God is love. This love is produced in our lives by the Holy Spirit.
This quality is listed last because it is the pinnacle, or climax, of the believer’s experience: to enter into and partake of that love of God.
We are to love the brethren, but we are also to love all men and women, even those whom we would classify as unlovely or unworthy. Where would we be if God did that? I do not think there would be any of us around.
Before moving on to verse 8, I just want to ask a few questions.
Do we desire for the character of God to be built into our lives?
Do we long to know God?
Are we willing to allow His discipline into our lives?
Do we desire to satisfy His heart?
If we find that we add these qualities to our lives, these questions will be answered in the affirmative.
Now look at verse 8:
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“If these qualities are yours.” This word implies that they are yours permanently, indicating an abiding possession. And they are increasing. We are not only to have these qualities in our lives, but they need to be increasing.
They will render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Absence of these qualities will cause us to be useless and unfruitful.
The word useless means lazy, shunning the labor which one ought to perform. You know, James 2:20 says:
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
James 2:26 goes on:
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
This word dead here could be translated useless.
Now, unfruitful means barren—not yielding what it ought to. God would have us bearing fruit, meaning His character in our lives, not thorns or thistles, products of the flesh.
All God requires is that we diligently cooperate with Him. He has made all provision for us to have a useful and fruitful life, to make us fit for the kingdom.
All we need to do on our part is diligently receive of His divine life. When we do so, we will be filled with the true knowledge of Him.
The word knowledge, again, is the same as in verses 2 and 3. Here it speaks of a full, complete knowledge—a mature knowledge. This complete, mature knowledge has to do with God, His Son, His will, His inheritance, and His kingdom.
Now verse 9 goes on to say:
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted. Does this not remind you of the church of Laodicea? You remember, in Revelation 3:17, it stated that part of their condition was that they were blind and that they needed to buy eye salve to anoint their eyes so that they might see.
This being blind or short-sighted is a sad thing. It results from what? Unfaithfulness, worldliness, neglect, slothfulness. It can even lead us to forgetting, or belittling, that we have been purged from our sins.
Second Peter talks about those who denied the Master who bought them. It is speaking of a believer there. That is not speaking of some unbeliever.
But thank God, this is the major reason the Lord instituted the table: that we might remember His death. Because through His death, He has fully dealt with our sins. It is to remind us of His great love for us.
You know, the greatest motivation for us in this Christian life is justification, when we understand it. Paul never separates them. We see in the book of Romans, chapters 3 through 8, justification, sanctification, and glorification are altogether.
That is because when we see the extent God has gone to make us His child—and a child forever—that we have peace with God, that we have a standing in grace, and that this cannot be taken away from us, does that not cause us to want to go after Him and add these qualities to our life?
Verse 10 goes on to say:
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.
Make certain about His calling and choosing you. You remember our Lord said in Matthew 22:14:
Many are called, but few are chosen.
This word calling in verse 10 is the same root word as called in Matthew 22:14, as is this word choosing in verse 10 the same root word as chosen in Matthew 22:14.
Now, we know there is no issue on God’s side with this matter of calling and choosing. But whether we are called is based on whether we are diligent in our calling.
That word diligent here in verse 10 is the verb form of the word diligence that we saw back in verse 5, where it says, “applying all diligence.”
If we apply all diligence in adding these aforementioned qualities, we will never stumble. We will be able to run a good race.
Now, I want to make it clear that, in this matter of making His calling and choosing certain, this is in no way referring to what we call heaven, okay? This is not speaking about being qualified to go to heaven, eternal salvation, being born again, or what we commonly call being saved.
To go to heaven is the gift of God. But crowns, entrance, and participation in the kingdom are a reward to those who are faithful.
Our eternal salvation—our going to heaven—has already been made certain, or sure, based on Christ’s finished work at Calvary. But our making certain of His calling and choosing regarding gaining the kingdom is a reward based on our faithfulness to the will of God, or as our text says, being diligent in this matter of spiritual growth.
Verse 11 goes on to say:
For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
You know, Jesus said it is the Father’s good will to give us the kingdom. And, in addition, that we would have an abundant entrance.
Positions as joint heirs with Christ in the kingdom are presently being offered. But whether we qualify to inherit is totally up to us.
He has made all provision for us. We saw that in verses 1 through 4 of our text: His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.
Let us be diligent to make our calling and choosing sure, because I believe we all want to hear those words one day:
Well done, good and faithful servant.
Well done, good and faithful bond-servant.
He is worthy of such.