Thursday, October 11, 2007

2nd Peter

I was having some bad dreams last night, so I woke up early this morning at about 4:30AM and read some of 1st and 2nd Peter. I was confused about a few things Peter wrote. Such as the "make your calling and election sure", and also when mentions certain qualities, that if someone is missing, then he is: "So nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins."

I'll take a guess and say "former sins" is in reference to who the person used to be? Like in 1 Corinthians when Paul writes a list of sins, and then follows it by saying: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Concerning "Make your calling and election sure." I have no idea what that means.

Can anyone help me out?

3 comments:

Bino M. said...

NLT says: "work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen."

Few verses earlier it says:

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

We have everything we need. So use it, explore it and convince/prove yourself you are called and chosen.

Why is Apostle saying this?

12 Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. 13 And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live.

My 2 cents...

Joel Brueseke said...

Bino,

I like your take on this. I would bet that a lot of the church sees the words in this passage as a "warning" to make sure you're doing all the right things to make sure that you're keeping yourself saved. I know I used to wonder if that's what it meant!

But the context that you gave, as well as so many other scriptures, proves that our salvation is "sure." We are already certain of that. We know that there is nothing we can do to get ourselves saved or to maintain our salvation.

I think Peter is simply giving a reminder for us to act upon the truth of who we are. And since Peter is also the one who encourages us to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," then all of this involves a growth process, through God's grace, and is not automatic.

As we grow in grace, over a period of time, we will "add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." Too many times I've seen people using these as "steps" to making themselves more and more right with God, but really I believe these things are fruit of growing in grace over a period of time, through abiding in the Vine.

Grace Walker said...

Bino, love your feedback on this!! It was like warmth to my heart and spirit. Fantastic.

Matthew, thank you for your posts. They really provoke thought and it's great to read the responses.

Hello Joel! As always, I enjoy reading what you have to say.

Blessings,
Sheryl