Salvation Summaries

OVERVIEW OF 2 PETER

When I read this short book of three chapters written by Peter to Christians, four words came to mind: grow, inform, remind and warn.  Of these, the one that stood out the most was GROW. According to Peter, there is no such thing as a lazy Christian.

In chapter 1, Peter urges these believers to grow in their knowledge of Jesus, to realize his power to help them live godly lives, and to remember his promises.  Peter lists a number of areas in which they are to grow, with each one related, and possibly leading, to another (faith leads to moral excellence, which leads to knowing God better, which leads to self-control, and then to patient endurance, godliness, love for Christians, and in the end…love for everyone).  His main point to these Christians is that they are to work hard to prove that they are among those God has called and chosen, for if they do, they won’t stumble or fall away, and they will have assurance of their salvation.  In addition, their lives on this earth will be more productive and useful (for the Lord).

Chapter 2 is a lengthy description of false teachers, with a focus on how evil they are, the harm they can cause others (lure them back into sin) and their ultimate fate (will be sent to hell).

In Chapter 3, Peter reminds the Christians that in addition to false teachers, there will be scoffers in the last days who deny that Jesus will return. Peter reminds them that the Lord is patient with people, giving them time to repent and become saved.  He tells them that while they wait, they should make every effort to lead pure and blameless lives, and be at peace with God.  Peter concludes this letter by warning the believers to not be carried away by the errors of wicked people (false teachers and scoffers), else they will lose their secure footing.  To prevent this, they are to keep growing in their knowledge of Jesus.

SALVATION VERSES

2 Peter answers a number of questions on the topic of salvation, and I’ve chosen to address the following five: 1) Where does faith come from? 2) Once you become a Christian, does this mean “you made it” and can therefore act any way you want to?  3) The false teachers had at one time known the way of righteousness and then turned away from it. Does this mean they lost their salvation? 4) What does repentance have to do with salvation? 5) Peter warned the Christians not to be carried away by the wrong teaching of false teachers, else they would “lose their secure position.” Does this mean they would lose their salvation?

In this blog post, I’ll answer the first two questions posed above.

Where does faith come from?

In my prior blog entries on 1 and 2 Timothy, I wrestled with the definition of faith (what really is it?) and the source of faith (does it come from man or God?), and commented that we need to know these to determine whether a person can lose their faith, and thus their salvation.  For example, 1 Timothy says that Hymenaeus and Alexander had suffered shipwreck with regard to their faith, and this raised the question as to whether they had lost their faith. In 2 Timothy, Hymenaeus and Philetus had destroyed/upset/overturned (verb varies depending upon which Bible translation one uses) the faith of some, and this raised the question of whether others had lost their faith after hearing and believing the false teachings of these two men. I reasoned at the time that if the source of faith was from man and not God, then it seemed reasonable to conclude that a person could lose his/her faith, and salvation too.  But if the source of faith was from God, then it would appear that a person’s faith could not be lost, and they could not lose their salvation, unless God took these from them. Fortunately, 2 Peter 1:1-2 contains a partial answer to this dilemma.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:  2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Here we learn that the faith of the Christians in Peter’s letter was something they had received.  It appears to be a gift, rather than a reward for something they had done.  If we consider Peter’s first letter to these Christians though, where we learned that the Christians were people God had chosen, and elected, and combine this with the verse above, it would seem that the faith they had received was simply and solely from God’s grace, and not based upon anything they had done (to earn it).  If true, this would largely resolve the dilemma I posed above, for if faith is solely and completely from God, and not based upon anything we do or have done, then a person would not lose their faith, and thus salvation, unless God took it from them.

On the other hand, we read elsewhere that faith comes from hearing (and understanding) the gospel message of salvation. If this is true, then it is not something simply given to us according to our election, but rather in response to our desire to hear, understand and believe.  It can still be a gift and something God gives in that sense that we cannot create faith by our intellect or will or hands.  Rather, it is something special – supernatural in fact – that God bestows upon those who trust in His Son for their salvation.

Once you become a Christian, does this mean “you made it” and can therefore act any way you want to? 

We probably all know of some Christians who may well be saved, but they rarely go to church, and it is difficult to tell – by their actions – how they live differently from at least some non-Christians.  What does Peter have to say about this?

2 Peter 1:4-11  4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  8 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.  9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.  10 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,  11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

First, Peter tells the Christians that because of the precious and magnificent promises that Jesus has given them (1 Peter 1:4), which include the promise of eternal life, they should make every effort to grow in certain qualities that he lists (moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love, 1 Peter 1:5-7).

Second, he warns them that if they don’t grow, they will be useless and unfruitful, and they will have forgotten that they have been purified from their former sins. (1 Peter 1:9)

Last, Peter commands them to “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” (1 Peter 1:10).  I find it interesting that Peter tells them to be diligent about making sure that God had called and chosen (or saved) them.  It gives me the impression that they are to continually prove to themselves that they are saved, even though it was very clear in Peter’s first letter to them that they are not only saved, they can be assured that they’re going to heaven.  I don’t personally know of any Christians today who talk like this.  In fact, I must confess, I have never heard any Christian – ever – say that they are seeking to grow in their knowledge of the Lord to make certain that they been called and chosen by God, and to ensure that they don’t stumble (or lose their assurance of salvation).

Peter’s bottom line message to these Christians is that they should work at growing spiritually (in their knowledge of the Lord, and in how they live their lives), not just out of gratitude for what Christ has done for them, but to ensure among themselves that they are indeed saved; that God has called and chosen them.  Christians who do not work at growing  may stumble in their faith, or lose assurance of their salvation and be unfruitful in their Christian walk.  In short, there is no such thing as a lazy Christian.