PT-3 “The Believer’s Precious Faith—Part 2: Its Certainty” (2 Peter 1:5-11)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/06/2025 9:25 PM

My Worship Time                  Focus: PT-3 “The Believer’s Precious Faith—Part 2: Its Certainty”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  2 Peter 1:5-11

            Message of the verses:  “5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 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.”

 

            Well the great drama from yesterday is now past, and my wife is feeling much better today after a fairly good night’s sleep as her pain level has stopped, and for that we are thanking the Lord for his grace and mercy.  I now want to continue to quote from the introduction to these very important verses that we will be looking at in great detail after this rather long introduction is complete.

 

            “Fifth, some believers still feel the strong influence of their flesh or unredeemed humanness and wonder if they truly are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).”  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  One day all saints will experience complete deliverance from the flesh when they enter the heavenly realm (Rom. 8:23; 1 John 3:2; cf. 1 Cor. 15:52-57).  But as long as they feel the power of the flesh warring against them (Rom. 7:14-25; Gal. 5:17), they may doubt if they are really Christ’s.

 

            “But one must read Romans 7:14-25 in a balanced way.  The passage does explain the reality and power of the flesh, but it also speaks of the believer’s desire to do what is right (vv. 15, 19, 21), his hatred of sin (vv. 23-24), and delight in the Law of God (v. 22).  The battle Paul refers to is indicative of the regenerated spirit contending against the flesh (cf. Rom 8:5-6), and therefore is reason for saints to be confident they have hew life in Christ.  Unbelievers have no such struggle (Rom. 3:10-20) and no confidence in Christ.”  Now I will first of all quote Romans 7:14-25, and then Romans 8:5-6 in order to help all to understand better what MacArthur is writing about.

 

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

 

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

 

            Lord willing I will continue to look at this rather long introduction in tomorrow evenings SD as we move ever closer to looking at these very important verses in this section.

 

10/6/2025 9:44 PM