Make Your Calling and Election Sure

How many of you have been involved with scouting? What would you think of a person who joins a scout troop and is given their scout uniform and handbook, but never goes camping, does nothing to earn any merit badges or go beyond the level of tenderfoot or junior, and rarely attends troop meetings? That person wouldn’t be much of a scout. Or, if they attended every meeting, knew the handbook by heart, and could sing all the scout songs but didn’t live by the scout law they wouldn’t be considered a very good scout.

In the same way, being a disciple of Jesus is more than just calling ourselves a Christian or being a member of a church. Peter began his letter by saying that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Now he goes on to telling us what we need to do because of that.

2 Peter 1:5–11 NIV84

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 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.

Two commands:

Add to your faith

Equip it – supply, furnish it

God gives us the foundation, faith, and the materials we need.. We are to use them to add on to that foundation in building our lives.

Make every effort - we are to make every effort to do this, Christian growth and maturity do not come automatically. We are to make growth in Christ a high priority.

For this very reason – because of God’s gifts to us:

everything we need for life and godliness,

His great promises,

being partakers of the divine nature.

In light of all that God has done for us and given to us, because of His calling and election, we are to demonstrate the reality of being God’s people.

Supply your faith with these virtues. We know that we are saved by faith alone, but as James reminded us, genuine faith produces a lifestyle in keeping with the character of Christ. Faith is the beginning of being a disciple, not the end point.

Goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness.

One of the ways we are to keep growing is in knowledge – knowledge of God and of God’s will.

Colossians 1:10 NIV84

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

The story is told of a religious gathering where a famous actor and an elderly minister were both present. The actor, while not on the program, was nevertheless asked by the emcee to come forward and give a word. At a loss as to what to say, he turned to the elderly minister and whispered, “I don’t really know what to do.” The seasoned pastor shoved his Bible into the hands of the actor and replied, “Just read Psalm 23.” The actor stood and with his eloquent voice read the psalm. When finished, he wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he turned to the minister and announced, “Well, I’d like the minister to come up and say a few words on this.” The minister surprised everyone by merely reciting the psalm again and then sitting down. The actor leaned over to him and said, “You did much better than I, and now I understand why. I knew the psalm, but you knew the Shepherd.” That’s the kind of knowledge we should be after.

The list of virtues to be added to faith builds up to brotherly affection and love. The first means affection between fellow-believers, including sympathetic concern for others and the care of those in need. Love is not limited to family members or to fellow-believers but is universal in scope and has as its object all people.

Peter says that all these virtues are to continue increasing. This is possible through the help of the Holy Spirit, in fact they are the natural result of the new nature God gives us.

Be eager

Diligent, do your best

Make your calling and election sure

Moffatt quotes a saying that, “the Christian life must not be an initial spasm followed by a chronic inertia.”

How do you know if you are one of God’s called and elect? Make sure of it by eagerly growing in the virtues that Peter has listed.

When we appreciate God’s choosing and calling us to be His children we will want to live our lives for Him

If you do this

They will keep from being ineffective and unproductive – useless and barren

Will never fall – stumble, fail to arrive at your destination

Will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom

If you don’t

Nearsighted and blind

Forgotten has been cleansed from past sins – shows that Peter is addressing Christians

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV84

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Our salvation, our calling and election, is from God but we then work it out.

William Barclay gives us this illustration:

Suppose a man who is wealthy and kind picks out a poor lad, who would never otherwise have had the chance, and offers him the privilege of a university education. The benefactor is giving the lad something which he could never have achieved for himself; but the lad cannot make use of that privilege unless he is prepared to work, and the harder he works the more he will enter into the privilege offered to him. The gracious free offer and the personal hard work have to combine before the privilege becomes fully effective.