Love goes both ways Pt 14: Confirm your calling

2Peter 1:3-11                          3His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.   8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.  10Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.  For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The One who calls, enables

All of us believers who have made the leap from worldly thinking to Godly thinking realize the world is quickly sliding into the abyss.  We see murders, otherwise called abortions, rising to sky-high numbers now more than 62 million.  We see corruption in government.  We see the deterioration of moral values.  And we can’t help but wonder, “Just what can I do about it?  I am just one person!”

That same kind of thinking apparently existed during Peter’s time because he is telling his readers in the region of modern day Turkey not to worry.  Essentially he is saying, “God’s got your back!”  His audience was Gentile believers who had been called by God, yet found themselves in a land not their own because of oppression and opposition to the spread of God’s Kingdom.  These readers are our spiritual cousins because certainly we believers today find ourselves living in a world which opposes our foundational beliefs.

The "calling" of God is not a passive invitation but an effective summons that comes with empowerment.  God’s power here is not an abstract thought,  but is tangible, enabling believers to live in conformity with God's will.  This echoes Paul's proclamation in Philippians 2:13,

12b…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The scope of what God provides is comprehensive: “everything we need for a godly life.” This provision is accessed “through our knowledge of him,” a term that denotes not merely intellectual awareness but relational intimacy.1  The believer is not left to his or her own devices but is resourced with everything essential for spiritual maturity and perseverance.

Moreover, verse 4 escalates the argument by pointing to the “great and precious promises,” through which believers “participate in the divine nature.” This verse is not saying we can become gods ourselves, but it does suggest that we enter into a profound moral and spiritual transformation.2  Through the indwelling Spirit and union with Christ, believers are enabled to escape “the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” and take on the likeness of God in holiness (cf. Rom. 8:29).  Thus, the One who calls believers to Himself also empowers them to reflect His nature.

Add these things

Although God provides support in our struggle against opposition, he expects us do to our part.  If you are one of those who wonders how you can make a difference, Peter tells you in no uncertain terms.  Why does he say, “Add these things?”  The answer is that although faith is all that is needed for salvation, action by the believer is required to show the difference faith makes.  Look at the progression of these virtues:  Moral excellence (goodness) leads to greater understanding (knowledge), which leads to self-control, which leads to perseverance in the face of trials.  This perseverance leads to further Godliness, and that to love among brothers, and that to unconditional love of all.  Love is the greatest of virtues.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love. (1Corinthians 13:13)

Confirm your calling and election

Recently I was involved in an email conversation with potentially new business associate.  I had sent some materials but did not receive confirmation they had been received.  I found this irritating because it seemed as if that person didn’t care enough to respond.  Peter presents these virtues not merely as optional adornments, but as essential evidence of true faith.  God wants to know, “Do you really understand what salvation means?”  The growth trajectory is key: spiritual stagnation contradicts the reality of divine calling.  The point here is that justification without sanctification is a spiritual contradiction; faith that saves is also faith that sanctifies.

When Peter says, “make every effort to confirm your calling and election” he is saying the child of God must validate his salvation by validating its presence through perseverance and fruitfulness.3  Election is God’s initiative, but assurance is cultivated in the soil of obedience.

Will never stumble…but will receive

When I first read v10 years ago, I was troubled.  “Wait a minute,” I said, “I stumble a lot!”  The “stumbling” here is not mere moral faltering, but falling away from the faith altogether.4  The text affirms that perseverance in virtue is a means by which final salvation is confirmed.  We should remember that our race is not a 100-yard dash, it is a 26.1 mile marathon.  The salvation given by God is permanent, but the entire rest of our earthly lives should be spent drawing additional people into the Kingdom through the evidence of that salvation

What about me?

The difficult part of all of this is that it initiates a life-style change on the part of the believer.  We know our salvation is permanent and guaranteed, but when we meet that person who claims to be a believer yet visits bars every Friday and Saturday night, we have to wonder.  Upon accepting Christ as our Savior, our life is no longer ours; we belong to Jesus.

20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

From that point on we have been changer; we don’t think the same way, nor act the same way.  At least we hope that we are different.  The truth is we are different, but our flesh still acts up, and we still make mistakes.

Believer, whatever is going on in your heart right now, whatever doubt, whatever uncertainty, you can rest assured that God will see you through to the end.  Use your days to worship and exalt him, however many days you have left.  Your life began as a pagan, continued with divine sufficiency, and will end with end-of-days assurance.  Know that God loves you, and make every effort to grow in virtue to show you love him.

Footnotes

1.     Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter and Jude (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 59–60.

2.     Michael Green, The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude (TNTC; Leicester: IVP, 1987), 70.

3.     Moo, 2 Peter and Jude, 67.

4.     Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter (BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 64.