“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
Therefore
“Therefore” means on which account. “Therefore” closely connects thought to verses 5-9. This is the punch line of verses 5-9.
brethren
Peter identifies himself with his readers. These are those who have “obtained like precious faith” with Peter.
be even more
“More” is a word of advance. After the smoke clears, God has a purpose for our lives as long as we are alive. Therefore, we pick ourselves up and move on. The “blind” Christian (v.9) lives in spiritual failure. If we live in carnality, we should “be more diligent” to advance our spiritual lives.
diligent
“Diligent” means to make haste, to be zealous. Diligence signifies hastening to do a thing. “Bend every effort” to build character into your lives. Give every atom of energy you can to this task.”
Ti. 3:12, “When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.”
“Diligent” is eagerness. This is not the rah, rah approach to life. “Let’s all get behind this because we use group psychology.” No, this eagerness comes from the motivations previously presented in this chapter. Eagerness comes from the character qualities of verses 5-7. This person does not allow personal ambition or human drive to get in the picture. He rests in God’s provisions.
PRINCIPLE:
Christians are to advance their spirituality even in the face of failure.
APPLICATION:
We have no right to “feel sorry” for ourselves. There is no excuse for accepting defeat. No matter how much we have failed the Lord, we must pick ourselves up by God’s grace and move on. God has a plan for every Christian as long as they are still alive. Get up and fight another round. Don’t lie on the canvass. There is no excuse for self-pity. God always has “more” grace for us.
Some may question our walk with God. They question whether it is real to us. Our salvation might be suspect to your wife or husband. We claim that we are Christians, but they cannot see the reality of it. We can claim that we are Alexander the Great, but that does not mean we are. People examine our walk to see if it measures up to talk.
We can talk about a good game but cannot produce on the field. We can second-guess the coach’s call, but we never played the game. We criticize others, but we do not produce. We talk well but not walk well. We are good talkers, not good walkers.
Ep. 4:3, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
2 Ti. 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
He. 4:11, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
God bless you and your ministry.your comments has opened my eyes in the word
Dear Brither in Christ
Today I was praying for a message and on my reading passage
God ask me to preach on 2 peter 1;10-11. So I was going through some sites and select your comments on this passage. It was encourage me to diligent for His work. I could fight with failure and gain over it. Thanks for your
message and be touch with in future.
God bless you all
Thanks for that blessing Pastor Mathew.
I had been praying about how I feel I should be maturing in my Christian walk and while my re-reading the New Testament, came to this scripture in 2nd Peter 1:10-11 and I did not really understand its meaning after reading it several times and I finally gave the reading of it a break and seeked an answer to it in prayer. Out of my own mouth I even thanked the Lord admitting that if I had fully understood it meaning I would as diligently prayed about the verse and continue to look into it. After a few hours with it still on my mind, I searched the internet and came across your explaination and It all made sense. My Heavenly Father was answering my prayer to be more faithful, dilligent, and mature by impressing the burning desire for understanding the scriptures. I am amazed by his love and faithfulness towards us everyday. After having moments where I questioned myself as a Christian with slips and stumbles and wondered why God would put up with me and my mistakes he once again has saw fit to show his grace and mercy and love for me. Thank you and bless Pastor Mathew
Pastor Matthew, Note this study on maturity: http://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/the-edification-construct-discussion-guide/