20241206

confirming our election

2 Peter 1:3-11

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through knowing him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption in the world because of evil desire.
2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
2 Peter 1:6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,
2 Peter 1:7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with care.
2 Peter 1:8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in knowing our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.
2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things, you will never stumble.
2 Peter 1:11 For in this way, entry into the permanent kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

confirming our election

Peter’s words meet believers across the entire spectrum of theological instinct—those who rest confidently in God’s electing grace and those who hesitate to speak too boldly because they know the frailty of their own hearts. He does not divide them, correct them, or force them into a system. Instead, he gives a pastoral invitation that transcends categories: confirm the calling and election already given by God. This confirmation is not achieved by introspection or by attempting to peer into the hidden decrees of God. It is expressed through growth in Christlikeness.

Peter anchors this encouragement in the character of Christ himself. The more believers know Christ—his ways, his words, his priorities, his compassion, his purity—the more clearly they can imitate him. Knowledge becomes the soil in which assurance grows. Peter highlights two attributes in particular: glory and goodness. These are not abstract theological terms but the visible radiance of Christ’s character and the moral excellence that marked his life. Peter does not tell his readers to prove they are elect by claiming security; he urges them to display Christ’s glory and goodness in increasing measure. Election is confirmed not by confidence in one’s status but by resemblance to the Savior.

Every believer, regardless of background or temperament, should be confident that past sins have been cleansed. That cleansing is the foundation on which growth stands. But cleansing is not the end of the journey. Peter calls believers to build upon that grace by pursuing the virtues that reflect Christ. As these qualities take root—faith, virtue, knowledge, self‑control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love—their lives bear witness to the transforming work of God. This is how election becomes visible. Not by presumption, not by fear, but by steady, Spirit‑shaped growth.

Peter’s pastoral wisdom shines here. He does not ask believers to measure the size of their faith or to search anxiously for signs of divine favor. He invites them to walk forward in obedience, trusting that Christlikeness itself is the evidence of God’s gracious call. The more their lives reflect the glory and goodness of Christ, the more their confidence grows—not in themselves, but in the God who has called them, cleansed them, and is shaping them for his kingdom.