God's gift of faith
Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. 2 Peter 1:10-11 CSB
Peter wraps up this section of growing in the faith given to those whom God had called with a message of encouragement. For the past few days, we have seen how believers are challenged to continue to grow with the help of the Holy Spirit. Peter wants to assure believers of their salvation. During the time, the original recipients of this letter were under attack from false teachers and persecution, and many believers began to doubt their salvation. So, when Peter writes “make every effort to confirm your calling and election,” he means that believers should evaluate themselves when they begin to doubt their faith and calling. God, on the other hand, does not have any doubts regarding His plan of salvation and will never change those terms of how to get to heaven. As believers grow in their faith, those previous characteristics (verses 5-7) will become more evident in their lives. So what happens when the opposite is true? As in, what about the life of a believer that does not show those positive qualities and change, and there is no urge or personal care within themselves? That might be a good cause for concern to ask whether or not they are a true believer in Christ, for again, the Holy Spirit was sent to be a helper and would cause the believer to feel when they are going against the Spirit’s leading. If a believer is truly growing and established in their faith, there is assurance that “you will never stumble.” Now, this does not mean that the believer will not experience hardship or will never sin again, but that the believer will never lose their salvation, as seen in verse 11, “entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.” Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are guaranteed to enter the kingdom of heaven. How do we then know if we are truly saved in moments of doubt? Whether or not we are positively different from before we were saved: I’m not the same from who I used to be under the bondage of sin but have been transformed by Christ and now filled with the Holy Spirit. I have assurance of salvation because God has given me His Word, has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and has worked and continues to work in my heart through the Holy Spirit. God has created faith in my soul so that I put my complete confidence and trust in Him. As I reflect on His calling and election, I shall never fall for He “is able to protect me from stumbling and to make me stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy” (Jude 24).
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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