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2 Peter 1:11  (King James Version)
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<< 2 Peter 1:10   2 Peter 1:12 >>


2 Peter 1:10-11

For those who believe in the doctrine of eternal security, II Peter 1:10-11 is a particularly difficult passage to dispute because it exposes the lie in this infernal teaching. It does this by stating a simple command that God asks us to carry out.

The inverse is also true; if we fail to do what Peter advises, then our calling and election are not sure. Beyond that, if we stumble, an entrance will not be supplied to us into the Kingdom of God.

God has done His part. He called or elected us out of all the billions on this planet. He forgave us, granted us repentance, and gave us His Holy Spirit. He opened up the truth to us and revealed Himself and His way of life to us. He made the New Covenant with us, supplying us with spiritual gifts, love, and faith. There is no end to what He has done for us.

Nevertheless, if we do not reciprocate, the relationship He has begun will fall apart. Our calling and election are not certain without us doing our part. We can fall away and not make it into the Kingdom of God.

Why did Peter write this to the whole church (verse 1)? He wrote it because the church at the time was experiencing various apostasies (II Peter 2:3). False teachers were bringing into the church destructive doctrines to turn the people away.

Why would Satan put false teachers in the church if there was no chance for the people to fall away? If church members have eternal security, why waste his time on them? However, Satan himself knows that Christians do not have eternal security, and he tries his best to turn us into apostates. We can fall away!

Peter was writing in this atmosphere. The people in the first-century church were living in a time of false teachings, false teachers, and apostasy, and he needed to warn them. "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth" (II Peter 1:12).

This, too, begs the question: Why did Peter command them to make their calling and election sure? If they had the truth, and he admitted that they were established in it, why did they have to make it "sure"? In making their calling and election sure, they would be doing the one thing that would keep them on the right path to the Kingdom. Christians keep themselves from falling into deception, error, and sin - keep themselves from apostatizing and losing their salvation - by validating their conversion.

When a thing is validated, it is objectively determined to be genuine, true, real, authentic, or legitimate. How do Christians validate their calling and election? The answer is simple. Jesus describes it in Matthew 7:16-20: We validate our calling and election by producing fruit. Jesus expounds on this in His Passover message in John 15:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. . . . As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. . . . By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (verses 1-2, 4-6, 8)

This blows the eternal security doctrine to smithereens. Our Savior, Jesus Christ - our Judge - says that if we do not bear fruit, God will take us away and throw us into the fire! If we bear fruit, however, we will glorify the Father and truly be disciples of Christ, that is, true Christians!

We validate our calling by growing in grace and knowledge (II Peter 3:18). If we are showing love to the brethren, if we are serving as opportunity permits, if we are deepening our relationship with God, we can be certain that our calling and election are still firmly in force.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Do We Have 'Eternal Security'?



2 Peter 1:11-13

If we love someone, we like to hear about him or her. I remember being taken when I was a boy to my grandmother's church, which was a Pentecostal church, and hearing and singing a song called, "Tell Me the Old, Old Story." I liked the song because of the melody, and some of the words have stuck with me. But the words are far more important to me now than the melody ever was because I understand a great deal more about the thought that the poet was trying to convey in the song.

I recently heard of someone who is upset and angry because he does not want to listen to recordings of Herbert Armstrong's sermons or broadcasts. What saddened me was that he does not have the spiritual capacity to look beyond his personal antipathy to Mr. Armstrong to the truths that he conveyed from God's Word. Instead, he is looking only at the messenger and metaphorically killing him, forgetting all about the message.

If we love someone, we find pleasure listening to someone else talk about him. We are all ears—at attention—whenever somebody talks about him. We want to hear him described, his activities expounded, his words repeated, and his plans explained. Others might be indifferent, but if we really love that person, why, we are all ears!

The true Christian delights to hear about Christ and enjoys most that fellowship in which He is being talked about.

We can see this principle at work in our culture with the groupies who form fan clubs so that they can get together and talk about their athletic hero or their entertainment star. They want to hear the latest that he or she has done. Who are they married to now? Are they expecting children? Have they been thrown in jail? Are they on drugs? Have they written new music or come out with a new albums? How many home runs have they hit? They want to hear about this person who they idolize. The principle is so easily seen. Some even go to the extent of publishing newsletters that contain the latest gossip about the one that they love because they want to be kept informed.

This same principle involved in our relationship with Christ. If we really love Him, we like to hear about Him all the time.

John W. Ritenbaugh
How to Know We Love Christ



2 Peter 1:2-11

It is noteworthy that the apostle Peter lists virtue as the first thing that a Christian should strive to add to his faith, implying that this combination provides a solid foundation upon which the elect can build a spiritual house (II Peter 1:5).

Equally noteworthy are the biblical descriptions of Ruth as virtuous (Ruth 3:11) and Solomon's declaration of the value of a virtuous woman (Proverbs 31:10). Both cases depict virtuous women as willing to work hard in self-sacrificial service for others (Ruth 1:16; 2:3, 11, 17; Proverbs 31:12-27).

In these contexts, virtue is moral excellence, the essence of which is self-sacrifice, which is also the essence of good works. While virtuous behavior does not guarantee absolute purity and innocence, it shows itself in the attitudes that drive a successfully righteous, Christian walk.

Finally, the apostle Paul preaches regularly that virtuous behavior is a necessary ingredient in the exercise of Christian faith (Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:3-4; Colossians 3:12-13; Hebrews 13:16). As we read in I Timothy 6:18-19, he emphasizes this same excellence in character as foundational to the elect for entering the Kingdom of God: “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

Martin G. Collins
Excellence in Character (Part Three)




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Peter 1:11:

Mark 1:15
1 Corinthians 2:2
2 Corinthians 13:5
2 Peter 1:10-11
Revelation 3:7-10

 

<< 2 Peter 1:10   2 Peter 1:12 >>



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