Making Your Salvation Sure

CORRECTING FALSE TEACHINGS

2 Peter 1

¹From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours, because our God and
Savior Jesus Christ does what is right.

²Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because you truly know
God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Blessings

³Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to
live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called
us by his glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he gave us the very great and
precious promises. With these gifts you can share in being like God, and the
world will not ruin you with its evil desires.

⁵Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your
lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; ⁶and to
your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to
your patience, add service for God; ⁷and to your service for God, add kindness
for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. ⁸If all these
things are in you and are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But anyone who does not have
these things cannot see clearly. He is blind and has forgotten that he was made
clean from his past sins.

¹⁰My brothers and sisters,^try hard to be certain that you really are called
and chosen by God. If you do all these things, you will never fall. ¹¹And you will
be given a very great welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.

¹²You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth, but I will
always help you remember them. ¹³I think it is right for me to help you remember
as long as I am in this body. ¹⁴I know I must soon leave this body, as our Lord
Jesus Christ has shown me. ¹⁵I will try my best so that you may be able to
remember these things even after I am gone.

We Saw Christ’s Glory

¹⁶When we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
were not telling just smart stories that someone invented. But we saw the
greatness of Jesus with our own eyes. ¹⁷Jesus heard the voice of God, the
Greatest Glory, when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The
voice said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.” ¹⁸We
heard that voice from heaven while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.

¹⁹This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. It is good for
you to follow closely what they said as you would follow a light shining in a dark
place, until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Most of all,
you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the
prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹No prophecy ever came from what a person
wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.

The Holy Bible, New Century Version



SITUATION

The Believers had weathered persecution from the outside. Now Peter encouraged them to withstand attacks from within the church.

OBSERVATION

Continue to grow in your faith and knowledge of Jesus.

INSPIRATION

''Add to your faith": Supplement it, flesh it out. Being a Christian doesn't mean believing and then just sitting around. Now that you have faith in God's part, make every effort-that's your part.

That's disciplines.

That's regular "holy habits." That's pacing yourself for the cross-country run to your future.

Says Henri Nouwen, "A spiritual life without discipline is impossible:” Tighten your belt. Get tough on yourself. GO FOR IT.

A woman once said to the great Paderewski, "Sir, you are truly a genius:'

"Well;' he answered, "before I was a genius, I was a drudge!"

To get there, to win-your life needs discipline, order, and arrangement.

"If one examines the secret behind a championship football team, a magnificent orchestra, or a successful business, the principle ingredient is invariably discipline" (lames Dobson, Disciplines of the Home).

You will only discover excellence on the other side of hard work. (From My Sacrifice His Fire by Anne Ortlund)

APPLICATION

Write down on an index card the characteristics listed in verses 5-7. Put it in a strategic position, such as on your bedroom mirror, for two weeks. Whenever you pass by, take a moment and read through the list. Which are you adding to your life? Which need more effort?

EXPLORATION

Perseverance - Nehemiah 4:6; Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13; Hebrews 3:6; 12:1- 3.