“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 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. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 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; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”
- F. Crosby
This second letter of Peter’s is about false teachers. It is a warning. It didn’t take the enemy long to insinuate his minions into the midst of God’s people with lies and heresies.
Jesus knew it wouldn’t, so He warned about them. Paul fought them, Peter and Jude both warn Christians about them. In fact, Peter saw the problem of false teachers as so important that, knowing he was going home to Heaven soon (1:14), he made this the primary topic of what was quite possibly his last communication to the church.
So it is fitting that Peter begins this letter with assurances, establishing the truths that if understood will give the hearer the foundation he needs to discern truth from lie and be able to stand when evil comes.
There are a lot of false teachers in our day, believers. They abound. They are often not recognized for what they are. Well-meaning Christians are flocking to hear them and they are making them rich by giving them their offerings and supporting their so-called ministries.
They are getting away with it because they use the name of Jesus and they talk of the Holy Spirit and they pray to the Father, and they talk about truth and the Bible, but they distort the scriptures to their own ends, they teach a shallow, one-dimensional gospel, and they leave many weak and foundationless so that when suffering comes, when testing comes, they are confused and ill-prepared and they fall apart and fall away.
The foundational thing they are lacking, and that the false teachers do not teach because they themselves do not know, and that very many sincere preachers of the word do not preach because they themselves have never learned, is the absolute assurance of salvation that comes from understanding the absolute and eternal security of the born again believer in Jesus Christ.
In the first 4 verses of this chapter Peter has established the truths that ought to give the believer that absolute assurance, and in the next seven verses he talks about the human side; the responsibility of the believer to apply the spiritual truth to his life.
Before we get into these verses of our text though, I want to reiterate some things to you that need to be repeated often regarding the assurance of the believer.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Fanny Crosby nailed it. She experienced an inner assurance she called ‘blessed’, and then cited the reasons. Jesus is mine! Heir of salvation! Purchase of God! Born of His Spirit! Washed in His blood!
Those phrases in her song are all based on passages of scripture, any one of which, if thought through, should convince even the self-doubting Christian that his salvation is complete and certain and everlasting.
Can what God has purchased at a precious cost be stolen from Him? Is He unable to guard that which is His? Can a spiritual birth be undone? If He has declared us to be fellow heirs with His Son to all the riches of Heaven and eternity, is He a liar that He would take back His promise? If the perfect and sinless God-Man poured out His blood in death willingly is it possible that His sacrifice would be for all but one or two? Or that it could be good enough for a while but not enough to take away the blackest sin or cleanse the worst of sinners?
Would you have the brazen, pride-filled audacity to believe that any sinfulness in you could be too great for Calvary’s sacrifice to atone? Can your sin be stronger than God’s mercy?
Would He send His only Son to hang on a cruel cross and while there pour out all of His wrath on those innocent shoulders if He knew that there was even one sin; any degree of evil, that would be left unpurged in the end?
What have I heard taught? “I can’t fall away from salvation, but I can walk away if I backslide and sin” “If I sin too much as a believer God will have to cast me out” “If there is a sin I struggle with constantly and can’t win the victory that means I’m not really saved” “If my faith isn’t strong or constant I can be lost again” Yes, I have heard those things and more.
They are worse than uneducated drivel; they cast doubt on the Sovereignty and Omnipotence of God. They diminish His mercy, they diminish even His wrath against sin. They make the sinner stronger than God. They cast aspersions on the very worthiness of Christ’s sacrifice and His ability to save.
Listen, if you are one who has repented of sin and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. None of your salvation, not forgiveness of your sin, not your spiritual birth, not your eternal preservation, not your future glorification and reward, none of it was your doing. He chose you, He drew you, He regenerated you, He gave you faith to believe, He provided the way of salvation in which to place that faith, He made the promises, He prepared the place, all before you were conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity (Ps 55:5).
Not you, nor any other, can undo what God has done.
By His Divine Power He has granted to you everything you will ever need pertaining to life and godliness; according to His own glory and excellence He has granted to you His valuable and magnificent promises, made you sharers of the Divine Nature, caused you to escape the corruption that is in the world. And a true knowledge of Him who called us is defined by the deep inner assurance that all these things are true of us both now and forevermore by His doing and by His unfathomable grace. So Peter now says…
FOR THIS VERY REASON
Can you see why assurance of not only our acceptance with God but the security that comes with the knowledge of eternal acceptance with Him is indispensable to a thriving and fruitful Christian walk?
When Peter says “Now for this very reason”, he is prefacing the instruction he is about to give with a confirmation that it is because of the truth he has just imparted that the believer is either able or willing to exercise the diligence to which he is admonishing us.
A person living in day by day doubt of his acceptance with God, worried lest he has not quite repented enough, thinking he has to live in some perpetual state of confession in case he has accidentally sinned and not realized it, is not going to have the spiritual fortitude or the emotional energy to be diligent in applying any of the virtues Peter has listed here to his everyday life.
In fact, the very definition of a legalist is the one who sees the application of these things as his primary religious duty but does not have the assurance I’ve been discussing here.
He desires favor with God but labors under the misconception that beyond initial salvation it is up to him to maintain his standing with God through righteous behavior. The result is a miserable existence marked by failure and feelings of guilt, which he usually projects onto others who he perceives as coming short of these same standards.
Therefore these transition words of Peter’s at the beginning of verse 5 are vitally important, and provide us with immeasurable comfort once we grasp the implication of them; that being, the admonition he is about to give is not an endeavor of the flesh but a joyful duty in the spirit, made attainable by that which God has supplied – our sharing of the Divine Nature.
So by saying, ‘for this very reason also’ he is saying, ‘Since you have life from God and God’s sure and magnificent promises, and since you have within you the power of the Divine Nature, now apply your own determination and diligence and by exercise of your faith put these things into action in your life’.
So let’s look at them…
IN YOUR FAITH SUPPLY
First, ‘moral excellence’. This is not simply an obedience to the laws and general expectations of society.
If that is all it meant then in a culture where ungodly behaviors were widely accepted, one could deceive himself into thinking he was walking in moral excellence because of the lack of censure from his peers.
The word used means virtue. It was used in reference to heroic deeds or the fulfillment of a duty.
In his ‘Bible Exposition Commentary’, Wiersbe explains the use of the word ‘excellence’ this way:
“The land that produces crops is “excellent” because it is fulfilling its purpose. The tool that works correctly is “excellent” because it is doing what a tool is supposed to do. A Christian is supposed to glorify God because he has God’s nature within; so, when he does this, he shows “excellence” because he is fulfilling his purpose in life. True virtue in the Christian life is not “polishing” human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but producing divine qualities that make the person more like Jesus Christ.”
The next term in Peter’s list is knowledge. Notice by the wording of the text that he ties each of these qualities to the next. In speaking of knowledge he is making specific reference to knowledge of divine truth, without which moral excellence could not be accomplished.
When a person’s mind is illuminated to spiritual truth through diligent study and meditation of the scriptures, he is seeking to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16).
So it follows that Christlike characteristics are going to be manifest in the life of the believer seeking to apply these things.
Self-control. The literal meaning is ‘holding oneself in’. It would be used of athletes who exercised self-discipline, abstaining from food, wine, sexual activity so that all their strength and focus would be reserved for their training and the sport in which they were engaged.
Now most sincere Christians would have no problem exercising self-control when it comes to obeying the laws of society, avoiding getting into fist fights with people, not taking drugs and so forth.
But how many people in the family of God realize that self-control should influence eating habits and other relatively innocent indulgences of the flesh?
I remember an evangelist that came to hold a revival at my dad’s church. I wasn’t actually there; I was in the Air Force at the time but I remember my dad and mom telling me about him. They said he was there for a week-long revival and stayed at their house for that week. He practically ate them out of house and home and he was so obscenely fat that by the time he left he had broken my dad’s favorite recliner in the living room, and he had broken the bed that he had slept on that week.
What does that do for a man’s witness for Christ, when others look at him and wonder if he’ll be buried in a piano case? How do you take that person seriously?
There are other areas where the Christian should exercise self-control. Gossiping is one. Not long ago I heard just a portion of a sermon on the car radio and the preacher was talking about how we might assess ourselves by the sort of people we hang out with.
He was saying that none of us wants to think of ourselves as a gossip, but people who gossip don’t like to hang with people who look down on gossiping and won’t allow it around them. So if your friends are gossips, you probably are one too.
People who are often untruthful in their speech don’t like to hang around people who expose liars. So if your friends are liars you might want to listen more carefully to yourself.
You get the message. Self-control means applying the knowledge of divine truth you’ve learned in your diligent study of scripture and holding yourself in from indulgences that would deny that knowledge.
If you exercise self-control then you will persevere. You will exercise patience and endurance. But it is a Godly perseverance. It is not referring to just a stoic acceptance of circumstances and ‘hanging in’, it is Godly response to trials and testings that calls for the exercise of faith and obedience and allows God to accomplish His will through you.
An example is given to us of Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 which says ‘for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame’.
The next virtue listed is godliness, which means reverence for God. It means true worship. A true desire to know and be like Christ.
So it also follows that a true desire for Godliness is going to generate the next virtue, which is brotherly kindness, and the greatest virtue of all, sacrificial, unconditional love.
This brings to mind Jesus’ conversation with the scribe in Matthew 22.
“One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matt 22:35-40
And we remember that in Romans 13:10 Paul wrote that ‘love is the fulfillment of the Law’, and we see these last three virtues, godliness, brotherly kindness, and agape love, listed in these passages.
DILIGENCE IN ANOTHER SENSE
I appreciate the wording of the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message under the subheading of ‘Perseverance’, which is a reference to the believer’s eternal security. It reads:
XI. Perseverance
All real believers endure to the end. Their continuance in well-doing is the mark which distinguishes them from mere professors. A special Providence cares for them, and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
John 10:28-29; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 John 2:19; 1 Cor. 11:32; Rom. 8:30; 9:11,16; Rom. 5:9-10; Matt. 26:70-75.
Peter goes on in our text to make that same distinction, between real believers and mere professors of religion.
That’s why he uses once more the term ‘true knowledge’. If these qualities he has listed are ours and increasing, and they should be increasing; since we partner with God in the manifestation of them in and through our lives, there should be evidence of a growth process concerning these characteristics in us… if they are ours and are increasing we will be useful and fruitful as true believers.
That’s what Peter is telling us. So it follows naturally that if they are not being demonstrated and we lack these qualities there is a problem.
Therefore Peter admonishes us to another sort of diligence. First of all, if you have the assurance by the statements made in verses 1-4 that you are a true believer, be diligent in applying by faith these virtues in your walk.
Now secondly, since there are only two kinds of Christians; those in whom the virtues are present and growing, and those in whom these virtues are lacking, indicating that he has forgotten the grace that was extended to him in the forgiveness of his sins, another kind of diligence is called for.
Paul talked about it to the Corinthians.
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” 2 Cor 13:5
What Peter and Paul are both saying is, don’t be spiritually slothful! Listen. Do you feel saved every day? I mean, do you always feel acceptable to God? I don’t always feel like I ought to be acceptable to my wife! Sometimes I wonder how she tolerates me! Of course we have our ups and downs, in every relationship.
So Peter wants us to know that there are two ways we can remain confident of our place with God.
One is doctrinally. Know what the Bible says. Know what God has done in calling and bringing us to Him. That’s one way.
The other way, based on our assurance of the first, is that we put feet to our faith, and apply moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love, and see them increasing.
He is telling us that these things distinguish us from those who are not save, and if we are negligent of them, having forgotten the grace that was extended to us by the forgiveness of our sins, how can we continue in any sense of assurance?
If we are no different from those who are still of the world and without God and without hope, then what is there to set us apart as true believers?
But if we are certain of His calling and His choosing of us, if we believe the doctrine and then believing the doctrine apply the practice, then we can have the assurance that comes with faith and practice and we can be confident of our access into the ‘eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’.
See verse 11? It will be abundantly supplied to us. What does that mean?
Here is the way MacArthur put it. “Assurance in this life and riches in heaven are the benefits of spiritual diligence and fruitfulness”.
This is what I want to leave with you today, true believers:
As I said in the beginning of this sermon, this letter is a warning about false teachers of whom there are many in the world today. You have to be able to recognize them when you see and hear them.
The way to be confident that you will spot them, avoid them, expose them, is to have true knowledge of Him who called you by His glory and excellence; true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Know the doctrine, experience the assurance, apply faith to practice and continue to increase in Christian virtues – not to be acceptable to God, but because you are acceptable to God.
Because according to Peter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as long as you practice these things you will never stumble. Meaning, your faith will not falter, you will remain firm in your assurance now and the promise of your rewards in future glory, and the charlatans will never be able to deceive you or steal your joy or your confidence.
You’ll see in verse 12, which we will talk about next, Lord willing, that Peter promises to always be ready to remind them of these things he has said.
The reason is that he is about to exhort them concerning the false teachers coming in and He knew that they first needed to be confident of where they stood.
That is my goal in bringing these things to your attention. The best way to spot what is false is to know what is true. The best way to avoid error is to know in advance what is accurate and right. The best way to protect against the theft of your joy is to know the truth concerning the source and Provider of your joy.
If I can by the teaching of these things, assist you in being certain about His calling and choosing you, then whenever that time comes for the laying aside of my earthly dwelling, my joy will have been made abundantly full.
Matt 7:22,23 Rom 5:2,5 1 Jn 2:3, 3:1-3, 14, 18, 19, 21, 24 5:13 Heb 6:11, 17-19 Jn 10:10
