"Make Your Calling & Election Sure" Sermon: II Peter 1:9-15

“Make Your Calling & Election Sure”
[II Peter 1:9-15]
June 22, 2008 Second Reformed Church

Is it your heart’s desire to be seriously, urgently, zealously making every effort to live a godly and holy life? Are you seriously urgently, zealously responding to the salvation that God has given you by doing the good works He has called you to do? Are you seriously, urgently, zealously working to bring together all those graces – those virtues – that Peter names in the passage just before this one – through the conduit of faith, into a harmonious, balanced choir? We saw last week that if you are a Christian responding in this way, you are an effective and fruitful Christian in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

In this morning’s Scripture, Peter tells those Christians scattered throughout the known world – and us – that any Christian who lacks this response of good works, as he has described it, is so nearsighted as to be legally blind. That is, he has forgotten that his sins have been forgiven in Christ – that he has been cleansed by Christ’s Blood, and he is now to carry out those good works for which he was created.

Notice, Peter is talking about Christians. Peter says in verse nine, “for anyone who lacks these.” Anyone of who? Anyone of those Peter has been talking about – those who have an intimate knowledge of Jesus and have received His Salvation. So this is a warning to us: although it is not possible for a Christian to “lose” his salvation, it is possible for a Christian to become so deluded – so blinded – that he does not walk in the good works that God called him to walk in – for a time.

Let us remember the two extremes that Peter is warning against: there are two major false teachings about the relationship between our salvation and our good works: this first says that good works are a part of our salvation – that salvation equals faith plus good works – that God saved us part way and we save ourselves the rest. That is a lie of the devil. The second goes to the other extreme and says that we are saved by faith alone, and we never have to obey God or do the good works that He has called us to do. That is also a lie of the devil. What the Bible tells us is that we are saved by faith alone and then we must respond to that gift of salvation by doing those good works that God has called us to do.

Paul wrote, “[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are jealous for good works” (Titus 2:14, ESV). And, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV).

Peter tells us that the Work of Salvation belongs entirely to God. It is God Who sent His Son to live and die and rise, having paid the debt for our sin and credited our accounts with His Righteousness. And the natural response of a person who has come to know Jesus in His Salvation through faith is to be thankful every moment for the rest of his life and to live out that thankfulness by telling others and doing other good works to the glory of God. Yet, amazingly, it is possible for a Christian, for a time, to not respond rightly to God.

Therefore, since it is possible for Christians – for us – to find ourselves in such a deplorable and unthankful state, he tells us in verse ten to “confirm your call and election” or “make your calling and election sure.” Peter says that Christians ought to find assurance of their salvation. Peter says we ought to all establish proof that God has saved us. The Scripture tells us that before the foundation of the world, God called and elected some to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God chose some to be His based solely on His Sovereign Good Pleasure. And Peter tells us not to be fools, not to be blind, but to be assured – to have proof – that we are the called and the elect of God.

How? By answering two questions: First, do you know and believe that Jesus is the One and Only Savior from your sin and the Wrath of God? And second, are you zealously pursuing good works as your thankful response to God’s Salvation? If you truly believe in Jesus Alone for your salvation, if you believe all that is written of Him in God’s Word, then you are called and elect of God. And if you are responding to that salvation by striving to do all that God calls us to do, then you may be assured that you are called and elect of God.

And, if you receive that surety – that assurance – then, Peter tells us “you
will never stumble.” Literally, it reads something like, “you will never fall, never at any time.” One of the problems these Christians were experiencing were false teachings coming into the Church, teaching things other than what the apostles taught. They were confused about what to believe, and some were following after the false teachers. So, Peter reminds them, and us, that if we are grounded in the Scripture, if we are learning more and more each day through the reading of God’s Word and hearing it read and preached and taught, then we won’t fall for the cunning arguments of the false teachers. If we know our Bibles well, we will not be fooled when some smooth-talking character gets into the Church and teaches things contrary to the clear Word of God.

And, Peter says, “for in this way” – if we are an assured people, a strong, believing people, a people who know our Bibles and can distinguish between false teaching and truth, a people who pursue the good works of God with every part of our being – “entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”

What does that mean? Peter is saying that if we have been called by God to salvation, if we are elect to salvation, if we have believed and received His Salvation, and we have assurance and proof in our lives of His Salvation by the way we are living, then we can also be assured that Jesus has already richly provided for us entry into the kingdom of God. There is no doubt, Peter says, that every Christian will be received into the kingdom. How? Through the Precious Blood of Jesus. Through the riches He shed to cleanse us from our sin. In other words, we do not earn the kingdom, the kingdom is also a gift that Jesus worked for and gives to us. Paul wrote, “[God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14, ESV).

In verses twelve through fifteen, Peter tells these Christians why he is reminding them of these things – these foundational issues of Christianity. The reason is, humans have a tendency to forget. Humans have a tendency to forget. You and I have a tendency to forget – what we have been taught, what we have learned, the details of what we have believed. Would you agree that you sometimes forget? If you say “no,” would you be willing to summarize last week’s sermon for us?

I had a friend when I was in Drew Seminary who dropped out of the Masters of Divinity program because he decided that once he preached through the Bible, there would be nothing else to say. (He said that as though he could preach through the Bible in a rather short period of time.) I have no fear of that – for three reasons – first, I don’t believe I will live to preach through everything in the Bible. Second, even if I do live to preach through everything in the Bible, I will not have preached the fullness of the depths of the Bible – there is always more in God’s Word, which is why I can preach on the same text over and over, and it is one reason that we can hear two very different messages preached by two ministers on the same passage. And the third reason I have no fear of running out of preaching material is that you forget. And I forget. We need to be reminded week after week and for all of our lives, and then we will only have begun to understand everything that is in the Mind of God.

So, Peter tells these Christians that he is writing them, reminding them, because we are prone to forget. Peter tells them that he is reminding them, even though “you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you.” Peter is not writing these things to non-Christians – he is writing them to believers – people who have already heard these things and believed in them. However, false teachers had come into the Church, and humans tend to forget – and the Gospel is the most important thing we can ever hear and believe, so Peter tells them, even though they have heard this all before and believed it, he is going to remind them again, because it is likely that they have forgotten some, and they need to remember to be able to defend themselves against the false teachers. And the same is true for us today. There may even be more false teachers in the Church today. We need to know what we believe and be reminded of it again and again, so when a false teacher comes in, we can say “no” to his false religion. Jude tells us the same thing about the serious need to be reminded: “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe” (Jude 5, ESV).

Again, Peter tells them that he thinks it right that he remind them of all these things because he will soon be put to death, “as indeed our Lord Jesus made clear to me.” Peter especially wanted to remind them of these things because he would not be alive on earth for much longer – he was soon to be crucified for his faith – as Jesus told him. Do you remember when Jesus told Peter about his death – how and when it would occur?

Remember that while Jesus was on trial, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Peter was crushed to hear the rooster crow and recognize that Jesus’ prophecy concerning him had come to pass. However, do we also remember, that after the resurrection, Jesus came to Peter and asked him – three times – once for each denial – if Peter loved Him? And Peter confessed his whole-hearted love for Jesus, and Jesus commissioned Peter to “feed my lambs,” “feed my sheep,” and “feed my sheep.” In this way, Jesus restored Peter and forgave him for his sin.

And then Jesus said this to Peter: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me’” (John 21:18-19, ESV).

We don’t have time to unpack all this amazing word this morning, but notice this: Jesus told Peter that he was restored, that he would die when he was old (he was probably 70 or so when he wrote II Peter), and he would die by crucifixion to glorify God. And the historians tell us that Peter was crucified, but Peter thought it too high an honor to die as his Savior had died, so they permitted Peter to be crucified upside-down.

Peter knew his time was short. He was soon to glorify God through being crucified, so he wanted to remind these Christians one more time of the salvation that they had received as a gift and how that salvation must change the way we live.

And one more time, Peter comforts them, telling them in verse fifteen, that he was making arrangements so after his death, others would continue to remind them of everything he had taught them. And that promise has been kept to this day, because God has graciously caused humans to gather the sacred texts together in one volume, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and God continues to call ministers to preach the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit has preserved it for us, that we all might hear the Gospel and believe and respond and be reminded again of all the things that God has revealed to us through the prophets.

Very quickly then, having heard this word this morning, what shall we do?

Let us remember that our salvation is wholly the Work of God through Jesus by which our sins are cleansed and we are credited with Christ’s Righteousness.

Let us make our calling and election sure – let us prove our salvation by Jesus Alone – receiving assurance – by zealously pursuing the good works God has called us to do.

And let us never think that we know everything there is to know of God’s Word and the Gospel, nor that we won’t ever forget anything. Let us recognize the forgetfulness we all suffer with, and let us, at every assembling of the saints, gather to learn and be reminded of the Great Good News of God. As the author of Hebrews wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV).

Let us pray:
Almighty God and Savior, You Who are pleased to make Yourself known to us, we lift up our hearts in thanksgiving to You for saving us by Yourself, through Your Son, since we were unable to do any good thing. We thank You for the gift of salvation and the kingdom, and we ask that You would continue to be with us and remind us through many and various ways of all You have done, and then spur us on to thankfully do the good works You have set before us, that You would be glorified in our lives and in our deaths. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.