SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
6/10/2012 7:59:02 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Spiritual Growth Brings Practical Results
(PT-2)
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: 2Peter 1:10-11
Message of the verses: As far as I know this will be the last SD in
the book of 2Peter as I have filled in all of the blanks that were missing from
when I first did my Spiritual Diaries back in 2003. I am very thankful that the Holy Spirit of
God has brought me to do my Spiritual Diaries for the end of 1Peter and the beginning
of 2Peter; it has truly been a blessing to me.
Security (vv. 11-11): “10
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His
calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will
never stumble; 11 for in this way the
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be
abundantly supplied to you.” (NASB) 10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and
election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided
for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.” (ESV)
There are
those who believe that once a person becomes a born-again believer in Jesus Christ
that somehow they can lose their salvation, but this is not what the Bible
teaches at all. When you are sure that
you have been born again and can never lose it, then you will walk with your
eyes wide open so that you will not stumble because you are secure in
Christ. “1Jo 5:13 These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Jesus said
that we can be known by our fruit, and Dr. Wiersbe writes “It is not our
profession of faith that guarantees that we are saved; it is our progression in
the faith that give us that assurance.
The person who claims to be a child of God but whose character and
conduct give no evidence of spiritual growth is deceiving himself and heading
for judgment.”
Peter
speaks of our calling and our choosing (NASB) in verse ten. In the ESV the words are translated as
calling and election, and election is God choosing those to salvation. When a person is not a believer we do not
preach to them about election, we preach to them the Gospel, and once they
become a believer they will realize that the Lord elected them to
salvation. God will use the Gospel to
call sinners to repentance. This is a
deep subject that the Bible teaches and faith is involved in order to accept
it, just as faith is involved in trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord. “Faith comes by hearing and
hearing of the Word of God.”
So now we
know that God has elected and called us, but this does not mean that we should
sit on the sidelines and do nothing.
Peter points out that election is no excuse for spiritual immaturity,” for
as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.” The ESV uses the word “diligent” in verse ten
and this means “make every effort.” “12
¶ So then, my beloved, just as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to
will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13).” We have looked at this before, but what we
see here is that God must work in us before we can do His will. Another thing that is true as Dr. Wiersbe
points out is “It is also true that we must be willing for God to work, and we
must cooperate with Him. Divine election
must never be an excuse for human laziness.”
Just a
thought here and that is that Dr. Wiersbe uses the KJV in most of his
commentary, and I like the NASB, but the ESV is similar to the KJV, as it uses
the same manuscripts, so it is easier to follow his teachings in the ESV. I must say that I do like the ESV a lot.
We read in
the ESV in verse eleven, “For in this way there will be richly provided for you
an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Dr. Wiersbe points out that “The Greeks used
this phrase to describe the welcome given Olympic winners when they returned
home. Every believer will arrive in
heaven, but some will have a more glorious welcome than others. Alas, some believers ‘shall be saved, yet so
as by fire.’” (1Cor. 3:15)
We will
finish this section with these words, “Just think of the blessings that the
growing Christian enjoys: fruitfulness, vision, security—and heavens best! All this and heaven too!
“The
Christian life begins with faith, but that faith must lead to spiritual growth—unless
it is dead faith. But dead faith is not
saving faith (James 2:14-26). Faith leads
to growth and growth leads to practical results in life and service. People who have this kind of Christian experience
are not likely to fall prey to false teachers.”
False teachers is the major theme of 2Peter, 2nd John, 3rd
John, and Jude, which is why Dr. Wiersbe combined these three short letter into
his commentary entitled, “Be Alert.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Spiritual growth is the most important thing
that we can do in our Christian life, for as we grow we become more and more
like Jesus Christ and that is the goal of all believers: “For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the
firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans
8:29)
My Steps of Faith for
Today: I continue to write about
abiding in the Vine, or remaining in the Vine.
When one looks at the outside of a branch that is connected to the vine
it does not seem like it is doing anything, but then one day we see the development
of fruit, which shows that there were many things going on in the inside of the
branch in order to produce this fruit.
What is going on in the inside of a believer in order to produce the
fruit that God has called us to produce can be seen in different parts of the
Scriptures. We read in Romans 12:2, “And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.” The renewing of
one’s mind can only be done through the teaching, reading, meditating, and
memorizing of the Word of God. It says in
Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against
thee.” The process of growing up in my
walk with the Lord, and being more and more conformed to the image of Jesus
Christ is centered around His Word.
Memory verse for the week:
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the
righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”
6/10/2012 9:08:44 AM
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