The Formula For Never Falling

An expository sermon from 2 Peter 1:10-11.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Uh but along those lines we need to have a meeting with all the students who are going to huge and the people for that. If you have your Bible, would you open it to 2 Peter chapter 1? 2 Peter chapter 1. We're making our way through this epistle of Peter, and we are at verse 10 today, and so we're going to be looking at verses 10 and 11. It says in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 10, wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's pray. We have reoriented our schedule to give this time to you in worship, to turn our attention to your word, to listen intently for your instruction, your voice, your revelation. And so, Father, I pray for the next few moments that you would capture our attention, that we would look into your word, and that we would discover this formula for never falling, what a promise is made here. May we, Lord, by faith receive it, I pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Even though we are studying this chapter in sections, we can't forget that there is a continuity to the passage. It is all one letter, it is all flowing together. And in verses 10 and 11, we find a compelling argument based on the awful alternative from the previous verse. That's why verse 10 begins with these words, wherefore the rather. It is pivoting on what we have just read in verse 9. In verse 9, we read the description of what happens to a person who does not grow in their faith. Remember, it says that if they don't add these things to their faith, that they become blind, they're spiritually blind, they cannot see afar off, they stop thinking about eternity and having it in view. They're living for the temporal. And they actually can forget that they were purged from their old sins, go back into their old ways of life. So coming on the heels of that with that fresh in mind, God leads Peter to follow up with a persuasive plea for Christians in verses 10 and 11. He is pleading with them, wherefore the rather brethren. Don't do that, do this. And in this persuasive plea, he gives us a formula for never falling in our faith life. Now, I have to tell you that this designation falling that is used here encompasses everything from a stumble to a catastrophic failure. And so when you read that and you think about falling, it's not just those who have reached great heights and have this terrible fall. It is the idea of stumbling in your walk. And I would say, at least in my experience, and hopefully, I think honestly, we would say, you know, life is made up of a lot of little stumbles, isn't it? I mean, the Christian life is. I think that most Christians are not having catastrophic failures of sin. But I think that we would all say, you know what, I struggle. I have these little failures, and they frustrate me, and I don't like them, and yet it keeps happening. And so as we come to this passage, we find that the value of this verse is immeasurable when you consider how vulnerable we are to falling. I mean, he just said if we do these things, we'll never fall. We'll never fall. You know, thankfully, on this spectrum of falling, from stumbling to falling, we find that stumbles are a whole lot easier to recover from than falls are, don't we? I mean, just think about your own experience. It's one thing to stumble, it's embarrassing. You might lose some progress, you uh might proceed a little more cautiously, but usually you're pretty injury-free. You take a fall, and oh man, you might hurt something, you might have to limp for a while, you might have to recover. There may be a process. And so anything that we can do to keep ourselves from falling, anything we can tap in that God's provided for us to keep ourselves from falling is of extreme value. As a matter of fact, as I was thinking through this text, and when you study a text of scripture, it is not just the content of that verse that is in front of you, it is the context of the surrounding verses. It is also its location in the Bible. Is it in the Old Testament or is it in the New Testament? Because it's going to affect the way you interpret that passage. It also includes who the writer is, doesn't it? And so we know that God inspired 40 different human penmen to pen the Word of God. And sometimes when we consider who the penman is, it really gives us some color to our view. I don't think it's any accident that out of all of the writers that God inspired to write, that Peter is the one he chose to write these verses. Because Peter is a man who knew about falling, didn't he? I mean, remember that some of the lessons he learned, he learned the hard way. And we are told about that in Matthew 26. Peter sat outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came to him and said, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, I don't know what you're saying. And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth. But again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, Surely you are one of them, for your speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, I don't know the man. And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him before the rooster crows, You will deny me three times. So he went out and wept bitterly. I think that Peter would tell you that was his biggest fall in his Christian life. It was his biggest failure. It was his biggest regret. And so the guy who is writing this letter to you and I is not somebody who hasn't stumbled, who hasn't fallen, who hasn't had a very public fall, right? I mean, at least in our day and time, the news cycle causes people to forget the publicized failings because somebody else will fall next week. But Peter's is recorded in Scripture for all eternity. And so he knows what it is. And when Peter fell, he really fell. But I would say this through his fall, God taught him some great truths to pass on to every Christian. I mean, just give you two. I mean, we're just kind of brushing through this, but he learned the cause. What caused him to fall? He followed afar off. There was distance between him and the Lord. And so when you and I think about growing, we understand that growth happens really in our proximity to Christ. That if we are not close to him, we're not going to be growing. But the closer we get to him, the greater our growth is. And so when we want to avoid falling, one of the things we discover is the cause, traveling at a distance. But he also learned the consequences. It says he went out and wept bitterly. I'll just be honest with you. I've known people who have fallen. I have read articles about people who've done it and they've shared their heart. And here's something that seems to be a common theme. They didn't really think about the consequences. They thought about the temptation. They thought about the immediate satisfaction they might get. They thought about the pleasure they were seeking. But it's not until they fall that they look back and say, I lost so much. I damaged so many people. I didn't really understand the consequences. Peter has learned the cause, he's learned the consequences. And what he gives us here in these verses is a formula for never falling. And I think it would be helpful for us just to walk through these verses to gain this knowledge without having to learn it the hard way. First of all, we find the assurance of salvation in verse 10. This verse begins with that pivotal word, wherefore, which connects it back to the previous verse. And what he's saying is instead of lacking these things, which leads to blindness and not seeing afar off and forgetting that you were purged from your old sins, you should make sure that you have them. Well, if you lack these things, you'll be blind. And now he is back on and he is telling us that we are to add these things to our life. I'd give you this little catchphrase, instead of slacking off, we should be stacking it up. There is just such a tendency to let life go into cruise control, to just kind of coast. Ah, I'm saved, I've grown a little bit, I know the Lord, I can let my foot off the pedal, I can just coast along for a while. But what we find in this text is that we need to be giving diligence to our spiritual growth. Give diligence means to make an energetic effort, doesn't it? Right? When somebody says give diligence, you don't picture some slacker, do you? You don't picture some bum who doesn't hit a lick at anything. The picture and the thrust of that phrase is that you make an energetic effort. That means you take responsibility to ensure that it happens. He is addressing you and I, and he's saying to you, and he's saying to me, give diligence. It's your responsibility. Take some responsibility, put in the effort, make sure this thing happens. Don't just say, well, this life happens to me and I'm a victim and it always goes this way for me. No, put some energy into it. Put some effort into it and make sure that you are adding these things to your faith. Let me ask you a question. How much effort do you put into your spiritual growth? How much effort do you put into your spiritual growth? A lot. A lot, preacher, a lot. Well, let's define a lot. What do you do to help yourself grow? Well, I come to church. That's a good start. But let me ask you, would one hour a week pass as a diligent effort in any other area of your life?

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Hey, I work out one hour a week. Hey, hey, hey, you know what? I eat one healthy meal a week. I brush my teeth once a week.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Now, if somebody made any of those statements to you, would you say that's a diligent effort you are making? If we're going to make a diligent effort to grow, I would say that it ought to have multiples of these things. Read your Bible every day. Pray. Memorize Scripture. Get involved in a ministry. Do an in-depth Bible study. Get into a small group Sunday school class. Say I have to do all those things? I would say that you should be doing some of those things. If I'm going to make a diligent effort, let me see if I can turn it around for you and get ourselves to be a little more honest about it. How much would somebody else have to do for you to say that they are making a diligent effort in their spiritual growth? I'm thinking that we would not look at that once a week church attendance and say, they are lighting it up. They are on fire for the Lord. My goodness, look at them go. No, if we're being honest, we'd sit back and say, There's probably room for improvement. What would it take for you to assess somebody else as giving a diligent effort? Then that's the same assessment we have for ourselves. We can't be hypocrites in this matter. We can't say, well, I would never say that that person's really giving a diligent effort when they're doing what they're doing, and then try to say, well, I'm putting in a good effort, and we're not doing any more than they are. Maybe it would help you to know that diligence is required for spiritual growth. You're not going to require, you're not going to grow spiritually without diligence, without a diligent effort. I mean, just look at our text in 2 Peter 1.5. It says, beside this, giving all diligence, add your faith. And then it says in verse 10, wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. And then in chapter 3, verse 14, Peter writes again, Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found in him in peace, without spot and blameless. It seems to be a favorite word of Peter's. He keeps saying over and over again diligence, diligence, diligence. This is what is required. If we're going to grow spiritually, it needs to be diligent. If we're going to follow Jesus closely, we need to be diligent. Why should I put so much effort into it? You say, Man, I get it, but listen I got a job, I got a family, I got kids. They've got stuff like I'm just spread thin. Why should I stress myself out to put so much effort in this? Well, our text says that we ought to do it to make our calling and election sure. In other words, to shore it up. When we're talking about our calling and election, we're talking about our salvation. We are talking about the most important thing in our life, the thing that determines whether or not we go to heaven or go to hell in eternity. I'm telling you, he is saying you need to do this not just because you don't have enough stuff on your schedule, but because you need to make your calling an election sure. There's a couple of other writers who express this in Scripture. Jude said, building up yourselves on your most holy faith. There's that same picture that we've talked about. You've got that faith in Christ as the foundation. And Jude says, build yourself up. Well, that's going to take effort. That's going to take diligence. I'm going to have to do some things because I want to grow. I want to strengthen myself in my walk with the Lord. Paul wrote it this way in Philippians 2.12 working out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, some people misinterpret that verse and they think that that means that you work for your salvation. No, no. He says, work it out. It is like the idea of working out a muscle. You have to have the muscle before you can work it out. And so it is just like a toddler who is learning to walk. They're working it out, aren't they? I mean, they are trying to build those muscles up in their legs. They're trying to work. Or about the gymnast who's trying to stick the landing. They've got to work it out. I mean, they've got the foundation there, but they've got to keep going. Or what about the patient who is in rehab therapy? They are working it out. They've got the basis, they've got the muscles, they just need to be strengthened to give them that stability. And that's the same idea that Peter is talking about here. You have salvation if you've trusted Christ, but you need to strengthen that. You need to strengthen your stability in that. We have to put work into it to strengthen that muscle. And so I would say it this way: it is not your salvation that needs to be shored up. If you grew up like I did, when you needed to build something, you looked around the yard to find if there was materials you could use to build there, right? We were the first recyclers, but we don't get credit for that. And oftentimes it just wasn't up to code. And you'd have to shore it up, right? You'd nail another board on, you'd stack some rocks on it. You're trying to get that thing to stand on its own. Well, that's not the picture of salvation, right? It doesn't need any help. Jesus paid it all, once and for all, on the cross. What needs shored up is my confidence in God to keep my salvation. That's, I believe, where most people struggle. The apostle Paul said it this way in 2 Timothy. He said, I know whom I have believed it, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. Was Paul's confidence in himself to keep himself saved? No. He was confident in God. I'm persuaded, he said. That's a good place to be. That's a good place to be. I've put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I've come. The only way that God said I could come, and I am convinced that he is able to keep me until that day, and I'm just going to rest in that. I'm not going to fret about it. I'm not going to worry about it. I'm not going to doubt about it. I have that assurance. Not because I think I'm so good, but because I know that he is so good. If you don't make a diligent effort to grow, you'll never have that strong faith. But if you do these things, he said, you shall never fall. You'll strengthen yourself. That's an astounding statement. You shall never fall. Vaughn referred to this as sure footed progress. I like that. Sure footed progress. The Galatians sure could have used some of this. Do you remember what Paul wrote to them? He said, You did run well. Who did hinder you? I would say to you that on this journey of faith that we are on, this race that we have been placed into, that there are obstacles in the way that can trip us up. There are pitfalls that we can fall into. Hey, we even saw recently in one of our studies there are snares. There's hidden traps that the devil uses to try to get us caught up and entangled. There's discouragement. There are false teachers. I'm just telling you, the path is littered with things that can cause us to stumble if we don't get this assurance of our salvation by growing in our faith. But do you know what is worse than falling in your walk with Christ? It's failing to make it into heaven. That's the worst thing. That's the worst thing anyone could think of. Now, in verse 11, Peter talks about the insurance of salvation. He goes on to say that if you do these things, not only will you not fall, but that an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord. I understand the sentiment, but I can tell you, can I tell you, I just despise the ideology that sometimes creeps into our songs or Christian thinking that says, I just want a little cabin in the corner of heaven. I don't need a mansion. I just want, I just hope to make it in. Do you understand? Nobody gets into heaven like that. There's no stinge marks on your tailcoats for the last one in. If you are saved, you are saved to the uttermost. And just like in the parable that Jesus gave, whether you bore the burden of the heat of the day or you came in the last hour of the day in Christ, the reward is the same. And when you are saved and you know that you are saved, then you understand that God has rolled out the red carpet for you, and there is an abundant entrance for you and I. The way may be narrow, but God has opened wide the gate to those who are saved and have put their faith and trust in Christ. The last time I spoke to you, I mentioned that there's only two possible reasons why a person who has professed faith goes back into sin. Either they failed to grow, and that caused them to backslide. That's what verse 9 is talking about. Having forgotten that they were purged from their old sins, right? It talks about Jesus talked about the pig going back to the muck and wallowing in the mud. It is that idea that you can not grow, you can backslide, get so far away from God that you really kind of forget about that and you go back to your old ways. That is a possibility. But the other possibility is that the person never actually got saved. They made an empty profession of faith. They said a prayer, they walked an aisle, but they didn't repent and believe. The apostle John described them this way in 1 John 2 19. He says, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. What do you think John's saying there? He's saying some of those people who leave the church is because they were never in Christ. Right? Now listen, I'm not throwing shade on people who have left our church. Listen, if you show up from week to week, I'll give you multiple reasons to leave our church, right? Because I'm just a human being, too. But what John is saying is, listen, there are some people who give it a test drive, but they didn't really get saved, and they leave because they weren't part of Christ. On the other hand, some people have confidence that they're going to heaven when they actually are not. Jesus talked about this in Matthew chapter 7. He says, Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven, many will say, many will say, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity. Listen, works do not get us into heaven. Only faith in Christ. However, however, our faith in Christ is evidenced by our works. That's what James was talking about. When he wrote, show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. So if we're just having a conversation and I say to Sister Barbara, Sister, are you saved? And she says, I sure am. I'm saved. Well, show me your faith. How do I show my faith? That's an immaterial thing, isn't it? I mean, that's something that happened probably between me and the Lord. What I can show is the evidence of my faith. Well, after I trusted Jesus, it changed my life. You know, I didn't used to go to church, and all of a sudden I'm going to church, and I didn't care about the things of the Lord. Now I care about the things of the Lord. And listen, there was a time when I wouldn't give a dime in the offering, and now I happily give 10% of my income. I would have never talked to anybody about Jesus, but now I'm having conversations with people. What we understand is what James is saying is when you get saved, it changes your life. And it's going to produce new fruit on your branches. The works of the flesh are distinctly different from the fruit of the Spirit. And if God is dwelling inside of you, then there is going to be evidence of that in the way that you live your life. And so not only will adding these things to your faith keep you from falling, but it will also give you the assurance of your salvation. When I add these things to my faith, not only does it stabilize me, not only does it build my confidence in God, not only does it help me to run the race that is set before me without tripping over the obstacles, but it also gives me this internal assurance. I know that I am saved. I know that I'm going to be with the Lord because my confidence is in Him and I can see the evidence of His presence in my life through the way it has changed. How do I know that I am saved? Because I put my faith in Jesus Christ and it changed my life. That's how I know. If I said a prayer years ago, which by the way, I did, when I was seven years old, I went forward to my little church. I guess I answered all the questions right because they baptized me. But I can tell you, there wasn't a change in seven-year-old Justin. Not for the Lord. And if you look at Justin's life from seven years old to twenty one years old, you say, I don't see the evidence, son. Because that's the same conclusion I came to. I don't want to risk my eternity on this prayer I said when I was seven years old, when there is absolutely no fruit to show forth. And so when I was 21 years old, by God's grace, I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And I can tell you right now, there is a distinct difference between Justin Hall from that day to this day. How do you account for that? Because you're such a disciplined man? No. Because God moved into my life and it changed me. And as I began to grow in him, he began to change the way that I lived. And that's what gives me assurance. When I have doubts, when I have struggles, I look back and say, I trusted Jesus. And I see the evidence of the change in my life after that. Not perfection. But as Vaughn said, sure-footed progress. Isn't that what you want? I mean, I just want to keep climbing. I want to keep going. I want to keep growing. I want to keep getting closer to the Lord. How wonderful is it. That the thing that will keep us from falling is the very same thing that will give us the assurance of our own salvation. God is good like that. Would you bow with me? So we bow our heads for just a moment. I believe that when God speaks, it deserves a response. And if God has spoken to your heart today, the question is, what do you need to do in response? Maybe you're here today and you're one of those people who do struggle with doubt. You just constantly feel plagued by that doubt about your salvation, about your eternity, about where you go after you die. My friends, I'm telling you, I'm not trying to reduce it down oversimplically, but it is either you aren't saved or you haven't grown in your faith in that area. And so if you're here today and the Holy Spirit makes it clear to you that you are not saved, you've not put your faith and trust in Christ, you can change that in a moment. All you have to do from your heart to his is confess and repent of your sin and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here today and say, Pastor, I know that I'm saved, but I still have these struggles. My friend, spiritual growth will help you. Maybe you need to put some more diligence into that. How's your Bible reading? How's your prayer life? Do you have any scripture committed to memory? Are you serving in a ministry? I'm telling you, those things not only help us grow, but they produce that assurance in our own heart that reminds us, I am saved because I see the evidence of God in my life. Only you know the response you need to make to the Lord today. Will you make it? Dear Lord, I thank you so much for your word. I thank you that there is a clear path for us to grow. That it is not this labyrinth maze that we're trying to fumble our way through and figure out, and some things work and some things don't. You laid it out for us. We just add these things to our faith and we will grow. That is so wonderful that you have made it clear and plain like that. And not only have you made it clear, but when we do those things, it gives us strength, it gives us stability, it gives us sure-footedness in our progress, so that we don't become instantly perfect, but we are making progress in our walk with you. And in addition to that, when we do those things, it creates within us this assurance, this rest, this peace, where we say, you know what? God's got this. God's got this. I don't have to worry about it. I did what he said to do, I gave it to him, and I know that he is with me. So I have no reason to doubt whether heaven is my home. And so, my Lord, my God, I pray that you would do this work in our lives today. In Jesus' name. Amen.