PT-7 “The Believer’s Precious Faith—Part 2: Its Certainty” (2 Peter 1:5-11)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/10/2025 8:00 PM

My Worship Time                Focus: PT-7 “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.”

 

            I promised to finish this introduction on these very important verses from the pen of Peter’s 2^nd letter this evening as I have been quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary for these first six SD’s on his introduction.

 

            “The trustworthy, all-sufficient promises of God’s Word provide a firm foundation for a strong assurance of salvation.  The 1689 Baptist Confession (also known as the Second London Confession) summaries well the doctrine of assurance:

 

Although temporary believers and other unregenerate persons may be deceived by erroneous, self-engendered notions into thinking that they are in God’s favour and in a state of salvation—false and perishable hopes indeed!—yet all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and love Him in sincerity, endeavoring to conduct themselves in all good conscience according to His will, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace.  They may rejoice in hope of the glory of God, knowing that such a hope will never put them to shame.

 

Job 8:13, 14; Matt. 7:22-23; Rom. 5:2, 5; 1 John 2:3; 3:14, 18, 19, 21, 24; 5:13.

 

The certainty of salvation enjoyed by the saints of God is not mere conjecture and probability based upon fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith based upon the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel.  It also results from the inward evidences of the graces of the Holy Spirit, for to those graces God speaks promises.  Then again, it is based upon the testimony of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption, for He bears His witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.  Such witness results in the keeping of our hearts both humble and holy.

 

Rom. 8:15, 16; Heb. 6:11, 17-19; 2 Peter 1:4, 5, 10, 11; 1 John 3:1-3.

 

(A Faith to Confess:  The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 [rewritten in modern English; Sussex, England: Carey Publications, 1975] , 43)

 

            “All that discussion leads up to the test for this chapter, in which Peter (1:5-11) concludes his opening discussion of Soteriology with a detailed look at this matter of assurance.  God’s gift of eternal life carries with it the possibility and intention that its recipients will enjoy the full benefits of true assurance (John 10:10; Rom. 8:16; Col. 2:2; Heb. 6:11; 10:22; 1 John 3:19; cf. Ps. 3:8; Isa. 12:2).  Believers who are doubtful or confused about their salvation, who succumb to fear and fail to experience the anticipation of God’s promises or the full benefits of a vital faith, are out of God’s will.  A study of assurance further reveals that Christians who have it do not become easy targets for false teachers (like heretics the apostle discusses in chapter 2 of this letter) and are prepared to resist their deceptions and errors (cf. Eph. 6:10-11; Jude 20-23).  Peter analyzed the blessings of assurance by identifying four aspects: the effort prescribed, the virtues pursued, the options presented, and the benefits promised.”

 

            Now we have the outline for looking at these verses from 2 Peter, and as always I will take my time in getting through these four aspects as mentioned above.

 

10/10/2025 8:24 PM