We'll read together 2 Peter 1, verses 5 through 11. Hear now the word of Almighty God, inspired by His Spirit, profitable for us. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance. and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word from the book of 2 Peter chapter one. Let us pray for the Lord's blessing on it as we consider it together. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the blessed apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, who spoke to us in his name, the words of everlasting life. We pray as we consider these verses together this afternoon, that you might write them upon our hearts, that we may receive the benefit of them, even our everlasting salvation. For it's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen. Please be seated. We continue in our study of the foundations of faith, looking at the assurance of eternal election. We looked at God's purpose in our last study together of God passing by and for ordaining some to dishonor. to be inflicted upon them the wrath of God for their sins, for the praise of God's glorious justice. We saw God's power over the clay to make of one lump vessels to honor and some to dishonor. We saw God raising up Pharaoh to cast him down. We saw the disobedient builders who rejected Christ, who were appointed to that disobedience. the false teachers that Jude warns about, being of old ordained to that condemnation. We saw our duty to meditate on God's sovereign rights over his creatures. and how likewise we would be ordained by God to dishonor and wrath were God to leave us to our just desserts. And yet, trembling when we consider God's sovereign decree, we may rejoice when we consider that he has ordained us to honor. Now then, the assurance of eternal election. Peter says, and beside all this, giving all diligence. Now, of course, in context, he's talking about God's divine power in verse three, by which he's given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He's referring in verse four to the exceeding great and precious promises that God has given to us, that we've been made partakers of the divine nature. that we've escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside all of these glorious and precious promises, here's something else you must remember. You must give all diligence. Now, this word diligence means zeal or haste or eagerness. And what is it that you should give all diligence to do? Well, he says to add. That's the main verb. And then you'll notice a series of the word and, and this, and that, and this, and that, and this, and that, four, verse eight. So between verses five and seven, you have a list of things that you should diligently add. And what are these things? Let's look at them. Add to your faith, virtue. So you believe in these great and precious promises. That's not all that you need as a Christian. You must diligently add to your belief in God's promises something else, virtue. This word means moral excellence, uprightness, goodness of every sort. It is a conformity to the image of God who made us good in his image. and to his law, which is goodness itself in its moral way. You must be virtuous as well as believing." That's what he's saying. Although faith alone justifies us, we're not justified by our virtues. Faith is never alone in the person who is justified. He who is justified will grow in virtue. He who is justified will be sanctified, in other words. So here Peter says that we must, in addition to our faith, diligently add virtue. And not just virtue, not just moral excellence, not just goodness and uprightness, but also knowledge. This is information God has revealed. Having understanding, having insight to God's ways and to his word. You believe his promises, Live in a virtuous way, continue to grow in knowledge. You see, the black chain of reprobation goes downward. Someone has ignorance, therefore they have unbelief, therefore they have hardness of heart, therefore they have sin, so they're visited with more ignorance, you see, and harder hearts. This is the other way. You have faith, now add virtue. To virtue, you will know more if you're virtuous. And if you are virtuous, you will have more knowledge. You see it goes upward, it spirals upward. Truth to virtue to truth again. What else should we add? Verse six, to knowledge, temperance. Kratos is a ruling power in Greek. We have dēma-kratos. That means the rule of the dēmas, the mob, the group, the big group of people. Democracy is the mob rule. Ego-kratos, ego is me, myself. Kratos is the ruling power, the government. Temperance means that you govern yourself. You have self-control. And this is especially true of the stronger passions, such as sexual desire in the New Testament. This word refers to that especially. The capacity to govern your temper and your passions, the urges of your body. You believe the promises, add moral excellence. You have moral excellence, now know more of God's truth. You know more of God's truth, now govern your passions. You see what he's saying? Building blocks of holiness. Add to temperance, patience. The ability to adhere to a course of action. Despite opposition or trial, that's patience. Sticking to your duty, regardless of opposition, that's patience. Being steadfast, enduring hardship, as Timothy is told, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Persevering in your line of duty. Knowledge, temperance, temperance, patience, patience, godliness. Freiberg says, a particular manner of life characterized by reverence toward God and respect for the beliefs and practices related to Him. Religion or piety. These are two other words we could say for godliness. Barclay Newman and their lexicon say that this means godliness or religion. Have you ever heard religion versus relationship? That is not a biblical motif. That is a mantra people use to deny the fear of God and godliness. To deny religion is to deny the whole chain of salvation he's talking about. This golden chain of holiness that leads you to heaven and to the assurance of your election, you're cutting one of those links and saying, no, I don't want that one. Add to your patience religion, godly fear, piety, a respect and reverence for God and all those beliefs and practices. That's what religion is. The beliefs and practices that relate to him. Add that diligently. What else? Verse seven. And to godliness, brotherly kindness. Philadelphia, where we get the name of the city. The city of what? Brotherly love. Why? That's because you ought to love your brethren. Affection to the members of the body of Christ. Those who have partaken with you in the divine nature, who have escaped together from the corruption that is in the world by lust, have an affection for them, have a kindness toward them. Love them for the sake of God. Love them for the sake of the image of God in which they have been recreated together with you. So add to godliness, brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity. Now, this is the general word for love. Love, which is the fulfilling of the law. Love to God, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, same word, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. This is a general rule, not just for the brethren. You should have a specific kindness toward them, a specific love for them, but likewise to all men and to God himself. You must add to your brotherly kindness a love and respect for God and for his commandments. In your thoughts, in your will, in your actions." Then verse eight, after giving us the command to give all diligence, to add all these things, to continue to accrete this golden chain of holiness, he says, for if these things be in you and abound. Now being in you is to be constantly present with you. If you have them at all times, and if they grow to the point of abundance over time, they shall make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful." Now, to be barren is to be free from labor and toil. To sit around doing nothing, free and easy, idle, that's the idea. If you do these things, you'll always have something to keep you busy in God's vineyard, as you cultivate your own life of piety and charity, of virtue, of knowledge, of self-government, of endurance, of religion, of brotherly kindness, of charity. If you're working on these things, you're never going to be idle. You're never going to be sitting around doing nothing. God calls you to fruitfulness. Remember, we're united to the olive tree, right? And from the olive tree, we derive the fatness and the sap from the roots. And therefore we bring forth fruit to God, not like the wild olive tree that cannot bear fruit or fatness. God has united us so that we might bear fruit. And we will not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge and faith of a Christian produces virtue, which produces knowledge, which produces temperance, which produces patience and godliness, brotherly kindness and charity, and abounding in these things, you come back again to what? The knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an upward spiral. Truly knowing the word of God produces a genuine labor and fruitfulness, We are not saved by works, but unto good works. And if you lack these things, Peter says, you're like a blind man. You don't have knowledge, virtue, these graces, this fruitfulness. You are a blind man. You're forgetting what is the forgiveness of sins all about. You claim to be purged from your sins, and yet you have not put on the new man. What is that blindness, forgetfulness? And so verse 10. Wherefore, the rather brethren, unlike this blind man, do not choose his ways, brethren. Rather than that, give diligence to make your calling and election. Sure, this is in the heiress imperative. Diligently give diligence. Immediately give diligence. With urgency give diligence. What? To make a solid, stable, unshaken knowledge that you have been called and chosen. Calling and election, that's what that means. Calling as God has effectively called you out of darkness, like the shepherd calls the sheep. And chosen means that before the world was founded, God chose me in his son." Now, you cannot make your calling and election sure to God. They already are. It's already sure to him. This is not for God's sake. This is for yours. That you may have a certainty that you have been called by God. These graces. All of these virtues that we looked at, that Peter has given to us, that we should give all diligence to add to our faith, these other virtues and graces. All of these assure us that we have been affectionately called. And if you have been effectually called, what do you know about your eternity past? You were chosen in Christ for those whom he foreknew, then he called, justified, glorified. You see, if there one link in the chain is there, the whole chain is there. So if you can assure yourself that you have been called by God, you have assured yourself that you have been chosen by God in Christ Jesus. God does not need to be assured of these things, but we do. The security of our election is by diligently pursuing the graces and virtues above. For if you do these things, he says, you shall never fall. If you are constantly doing these things, you shall not fall at all. No, never. That's literally what it says. Never ever. Your race shall be smooth and constant. You won't have falls and trips along the way. Your entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ won't be a bear eking into the kingdom, but an abundant, stumble-free, welcome home, verse 11. The Geneva Bible notes say, therefore, seeing our calling and election is approved by those fruits and is confirmed in us. And moreover, seeing this is the only way to the everlasting kingdom of Christ. It remains that we set our minds wholly on that way. Be completely devoted to this. Be always about these things. for you shall have given to you an assurance of your eternal election. The doctrine then built upon this text. Our confession of faith, chapter three, paragraph eight states that the doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care. That men attending the will of God revealed in his word and yielding obedience thereunto, may from the certainty of their effectual vocation be assured of their eternal election." That's exactly what Peter's saying. If you do these things and abound, you shall have an assurance that you have been called by God and chosen by God. And what are the things that he's telling us that we should add diligently? What should we do? Well, these are things God requires of us. To know His will, to attend upon it with diligence as He reveals it in His Word, and when He tells us what to believe or what to do, yield obedience to Him. Submit yourself to Him. Obey Him. And if you do these things, you shall be certainly assured of your effectual vocation or calling and of your eternal election." Attending on the will of God is diligently adding the things that Peter identifies. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to God and our neighbor. Therein is the whole duty of man. Such real world possession of these things and growth in such graces, these give a certainty that we are chosen by God. They make a sure, a solid, and an unshakable assurance that God has chosen us. This then stands, this doctrine, as a rebuke to two classes of people, First rebuke to those who seek or claim assurance without virtue, without knowledge, without temperance, without love, without attending to God's will revealed in scripture. Just believe the promise. You see, that's where Peter started, wasn't it? You must have faith in these great and precious promises. Does he stop there? No. Diligently add these things to your faith. You see, this sort of error just says, well, all you need for assurance is to believe. Well, that's kind of true because faith produces these other graces. It's a mother grace, gives birth to others. But it's not true if it just means all you have to do is believe the promises. That's not true. You must add to your faith virtue, knowledge, et cetera. Some wish to have heaven without holiness. Well, you can't have that. Without holiness, no man sees the Lord. Without these things, you're like a blind man who forgets the whole purpose of redemption. Another rebuke, a second class. Some people deny that there's any ordinary possibility to be assured that you're the elect. You can't tell the people of God that they should even think about being assured. It's illegitimate, they say. It's tenuous every hour. No matter how solidly you believe in the promises of God, no matter how charitably and religiously you live your life, the mark of humility is to doubt your salvation. Is that what Peter says? No. He commands the saints. to be diligent, to have an assurance of their election. He requires it of us. And God speaking through him shows us that he wants his people to have this diligence so that they may have this assurance. Now those who deny the ordinary possibility of assurance of salvation, such persons generally believe that you're justified by your works. Isn't that interesting? You're supposed to be justified by your works, but what does that mean? Can you have any assurance? If God is holy and just, and he requires a perfect satisfaction, you think he's going to accept your stained and tainted works? Of course not, so you can't have assurance. But when we believe the gospel, that God himself has provided a lamb, a spotless lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world, then of course we can have assurance. because our redemption is perfect. Finally then, in exhortation, brethren, attend carefully to the will of God. Know the will of God. Desire to do the will of God. Add to your faith in Christ's gracious and precious promises a virtue, a moral excellence, and all of the other virtues and graces that Peter mentions. Add to faith these other qualities in your life. Be a morally excellent people. Know the revelation God has given you in scripture. Know his great and precious promises. Know his righteous law and your duty in light of it. Govern your passions, the urges of your body. Adhere to your duty despite opposition and trial. Be holy and reverent and religious toward God. Love your brethren. Love your neighbor. Love your God. For I can assure you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that such a fruitful walk will lead you to have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not just saved by the skin of your teeth, but a good conscience and full assurance of understanding and faith. You shall, in such a way, Peter assures us, never stumble. You shall be assured of your eternal election by attending to God's will and obeying it. Amen. Let's pray.