What Does 2 Peter 1:10 Mean?

Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

2 Peter 1:10(HCSB)

Verse of the Day

God knows the end from the beginning. He knows before the foundation of the world the choices that every man and woman will make with regard to their salvation. God knew Your choice, and He knew mine before we were even born. We who, at some point in our life, have chosen to accept His gift of salvation, were elected as God's children before the foundation of the world.

God has given every man and woman volition to choose their eternal destiny, either faith in Christ as Saviour OR rejection of the One Who died for their sins and rose to give life to all who would believe in His name.

God knows those who through their free-will choice will trust in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ for salvation during their lifetime on earth, and it is because God is omniscient that He knows ahead of time the choices each one of us will make.

God elects everyone who by faith choose to trust in Christ for salvation. And the astonishing thing is that this election was made before the foundation of the world. Our election was established on what each one of us would choose to do with God's free gift of salvation, which is by grace through faith in Christ.

And those that God in His foresight knew would one day choose to trust in Christ as Saviour are also the 'called' by God. We, whom God knew would accept His free gift of salvation became 'called' the very moment we first believed on the only begotten Son of God. And yet we were elected before the foundation of the world because God is omniscient and knows the freewill choice we will one day make.

Our election and calling are fused together as one unit. Our election and calling cannot take pace without the other. Our election and calling are inseparably woven together and founded on the truth of God's Word: "Whosoever believes on the only begotten Son of God will be saved," and salvation includes our election before the foundation of the world, and our calling at the moment of our personal salvation.

Peter is eager for us to "make our calling and election sure," and yet our salvation, which includes both our calling and our election, cannot be more secure than it was when we first believed. For once we are saved by grace through faith, God accepts us in Christ, we are positioned in Him, we are accepted in the Beloved, we are sealed unto the day of Christ by the Spirit, and we are also elected and called - all because we believed on the only begotten Son of God. So what does Peter mean when we are told to "make our calling and election sure?"

Well, Peter is encouraging us to give all diligence to the truth of God's unbreakable promises regarding our salvation. Peter is urging us to be absolutely sure that our salvation, which includes our calling and election, has become a firmly fixed fact in our heart. Peter wants us to base our understanding of our salvation on the never-changing truth of God's Word, for when we have absolute assurance in our heart and mind that our calling and election is secure in Christ and anchored to the precious promises in the Word of God, then we are much more secure in every aspect of our lives. We will not stumble so quickly in our Christian walk, we will not start to doubt God's Word regarding our salvation, and we will not be tossed about by every changing wind of doctrine that seeks to place believers under condemnation when the Word of God clearly tells us that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

Peter is not suggesting that we can lose our eternal salvation, but that we stand secure in God's eternal promises connected with our salvation. Our election and calling is an integral part of our salvation and we confirm it in our lives by living a holy life, growing more like Christ, trusting in His sufficient grace, and depending on Him in all things.

Having been saved by faith, let us confirm our election and our calling by walking in spirit and truth, and trusting in the unchanging Word of God so that we will live our lives as He intended and produce fruit to His praise and glory. Let us make every effort to confirm our calling and election by living a holy life, which is rooted grounded in the word of truth.

And the more we know God's Word, the more we trust His Word. The more we trust His Word, the more we become secure in our election, our calling, and our eternal heritage in Christ.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that there is nothing I can do to be saved but believe on the finished work of Christ on the Cross. Thank You that once I am saved, I cannot be plucked out of Your hand but I can live a life in a manner that honours You and shows spiritual fruit. I pray that as I walk in faith, the truth of my salvation becomes the greatest reality in my life as, day by day, Christ is being formed in me. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

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