A Quality Christian is Committed to Certainty

 

2 Peter 1: 10        

“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. 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.”

 

This passage has been debated by theologians for years. Let’s look at the context. After making an important point about the certainty or confidence of our faith related to the righteousness of Christ (vs. 1-4) you know Peter then is not contradicting himself. He is not saying that you will lose your salvation if you don't keep growing nor is he saying that if you practice these qualities, you will get saved.  He has reminded them, since they are called and elected by God, live up to their calling. They have these tremendous benefits granted to them, now use them to honor Him. We do not work to be saved; we work because we have been saved. A living faith works.

 

Yes, God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. His plan is not to save us for us to live a selfish and sinful life or to have us sit on our duffs. We have fewer doubts about our relationship with God when we live in accordance with the principles of the faith.

 

Yes, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. His plan is not to save you for you to live a selfish and sinful life or to have you sit on your duff. We have fewer doubts about our relationship with God when we live in accordance with the principles of the faith.

 

Even though I was raised in a church, my religious activities was like all the other religions until the day God convicted my spirit that I was lost and unholy. I asked God to save me and just to be sure I asked Him to save me several times afterwards. It wasn't until I stopped asking for salvation and continued to grow in my understanding and in obedience that my doubts lifted.  I was saved by faith by the gift of God by trusting in the works of Jesus Christ, but my awareness of the riches that are mine came as I let Christ live in me in a growing manner.  Now I have certainty.

 

 I don't have to worry about going to hell. I do not have to worry about losing my salvation. The more I know about God and His Word, the more I understand my freedom in Christ and the more I understand the more I experience His closeness. The more I experience His closeness the less I want to sin. That is Christian maturity by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

If one lives in sin, and there is no evidence of new spiritual birth, then God said do not lie to yourself, you still walk in darkness (1 John). For people who do not have certainty I dare say that they have not trusted, or not obeyed. To be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. Trust saved us and obedience lets His power grow in us with certainty and confidence.

 

One preacher asked this question, "If being a Christian was illegal in your society would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you in court?  If not, why not?" Give up your doubts, live in the confidence of your faith. Put one foot ahead of the other and apply these graces into your life.

 

Why do people want to be saved by the skin of their teeth? Peter is saying don't be that way.  If God has saved you and gave you the power for effective living, if you have the resources of living for His glory, then great is your reward. For the Christian who pursues holiness, there is an entrance into the presence of God we eagerly anticipate.  It is an entrance abundantly supplied to us. This is the reward of diligently seeking to confirm our call and election.

 

 If you have not been born again, then you do not have life in Jesus Christ, and thus you cannot expect to grow spiritually. Peter is writing to those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. I urge you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from your sins.

 

Secondly, I must ask you who are Christians, are you really growing? That is a different question from asking how long you have been a believer. For young people maturity often happens by waiting. We grow up. But for Christians, maturity does not come automatically.  Growth and maturity are not merely matters of time. They are matters of disciplined, diligent efforts, and of discipleship by yielding to the power of the Spirit. If you are not growing in Christian character, then you are becoming blind, forgetful and unfruitful. 

 

 Let these qualities be ours and increase so that we may be useful and fruitful, not blind or short sighted (forgetting our purification from former sins), but making certain of His calling and choosing, practice these things so that we will never stumble, and our entrance into the eternal kingdom will be supplied