Our text for this evening's sermon will focus on 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 10 through 15. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach from 2 Peter the former verses in chapter 1. At that time I had no intention of continuing on in the book, but the opportunity has come and I've been rather intrigued and hope you'll enjoy focusing and thinking about this Word of God this evening. Before we read verses 1 through 15, let's ask the Lord to bless it for us. Our Father in Heaven, we do thank You for not leaving us without a witness. for speaking Your Word and for recording Your Word and for preserving Your Word for us over these many centuries and for showing us by Your Spirit how relevant and necessary and true it is for us as Your people. Open our eyes this evening and open our ears that we may see and hear what you would have us to know. We ask these things, dear Father, because of Jesus and in His name. Amen. I turned previously to 2 Peter in my Bible. I would like to read it from the Pew Bible. Beginning with verse 1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours, Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these, He has given us His very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge and to knowledge self-control and to self-control perseverance and to perseverance godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory, as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made it clear to me and I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. So ends the reading of God's Word. The text before us this evening is a reminder of what it means to be a Christian. And it's an urgent reminder because as we see in the text that we've read, particularly in verse 14, it's urgent because Peter finds himself coming to the end of his life. He believes death is imminent. And so he is urgent to give to the church, the church that he gave his life to see strengthened. He gives them one last testament, a last word to remember. I don't know about you, but I often find it of something of special importance when somebody gives a last word. Recently, I was reading some biographies of reformers who gave a last word from their deathbed. And at those years and that season of life, people looked with special attention at what Luther or Calvin or others might say just as the Lord took them away. We often find it of special interest what those who are about ready to go meet the Lord will say. What is it that will come to mind? Well, for Peter, this man who had experienced so many remarkable things, who had experienced personally the Lord Jesus Himself, who knew Jesus, who walked with Jesus, who saw the power and glory of His earthly ministry, who experienced in a most remarkable way what we might call conversion at Pentecost, with the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon him in a way that the world has never known. Who experienced what may well have been the most significant explosion of church growth. Peter, who had all of these experiences, what will he say to the church just before he goes to meet his Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the whole of his letter is a reminder to the church. And this evening, we look at three things. Three things of special urgency that Peter wants the churches to take note of. He reminds us of what we have, of what we need, and what we will be. He begins with what we have. And we find that as we read through this first chapter in particular, Peter is most concerned to underline for us what we have in terms of knowledge, what we know, what we've been given. And that might seem a little remarkable, at least it does to me, for someone who had so many incredible experiences, the first thing that he presses upon us is what we have in terms of knowledge, what we know. He's concerned about the life of our mind. In particular, the truth of God. He references knowledge in verse 2. In verse 3. In verse 8. In chapter 2, verse 20. He references to know in other places. And he emphasizes that he wants to remind us in other places yet. And so the whole of this letter is smattered with this concern about knowledge and remembering. Verse 12, he writes, So I will always remind you of these things even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. When Peter wants to remind the church of what they have in terms of knowledge. He's most concerned about the truth that they've been given. The truths of God's Word. Even more specifically, we might say the truth they know about Jesus, he says in verse 1. The righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He wants them to know about Jesus and about the grace that God gives through Jesus. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And in verse 10, he kind of brings it all together and he shows just how profound the knowledge was, the knowledge of the truth that they had when he refers to their calling and election. This truth about God that highlights the reality that He's one who chooses a particular people and then calls them. A profound and most magnificent truth of the Gospel Peter highlights as special importance that the church know their calling and election. These ideas that underscore the sovereignty of God, God's power, God's grace, all offered for the benefit of His church by faith in Jesus Christ. And so at a minimum, we might stand back and observe that even in the earliest of the church, There was a profound sense of the importance to know the truths of God, even the electing acts of God and His effectual calling through the gospel of Christ. Along with this knowledge of God's election and calling, Peter also reminds the church more specifically that she has the promises of God. The church knows about the truths of God. The church also has the promises of God. In verse 3, we read that His divine power has given us everything we need through the knowledge of Him who called us. Now, look at your Bible and you will see that there is a close relationship between verses 3 and verses 4. The particular knowledge and view in verse 3 is stated in verse 4 as His precious and very great promises. The church has the truths of God. The church has the promises of God. And with these words, we see how significant the truths and promises of God are for the identity of the church. The church is identified by and defined by the promises of God. It's defined, in other words, by what she has. She has the truth of God. She has the promises of God. And Peter wants to emphasize how incredibly significant these things are. Of course, we know the law too, but Peter doesn't emphasize the law here. We know the law. We have the law. We love the law. We pursue the law, which we'll see in the next point. But what he wants to underscore here is the particular importance of the promises that identify and define the church of Christ. And it's through those promises that we have power. Through those promises that God gives us the power we need to live the Christian life. Those promises that Jesus really lives. The congregations of Peter didn't know Jesus. They never met Jesus. They were relying on the word of those who did. And Peter proclaims to them that He lives. The promise of God's love, the Holy Spirit. The promise of justification, sanctification and glorification. The promise that the living Jesus will come again. And you see, as the church embraces these things that she has been given, her eyes are lifted beyond the troubles of this life. Beyond the facts that they lost their home and their family and their nation and their lives were desperately despairing, they have these very great and precious promises that lift the eyes of faith heavenward and anticipate God to move, God to act, God to fulfill His promises in justification, sanctification, and glorification. And congregation of Christ, We know that these promises are ours too. Because we too have faith. We too have that faith, Peter references in verse 1, that very faith of the apostles, that very faith once delivered for all the church. Because we have that faith, we have received the promises and the truths of God so crucial for salvation. Peter is urgent in his reminder of what we have. And he's just as urgent in his reminder of what we need. In fact, what we'll see is that what we have provides the whole reason and logic for what we need. We wouldn't need what we need if we didn't have what we have. What Peter describes and what he explains we need, we need precisely because we have what we have. We need to be very diligent, he says. We need to be fruitful and we need to be sure. We might wonder, given such great and magnificent promises, given the sufficiency of Christ's life and death and resurrection, given the good news of the Gospel, why do we need anything? Jesus did the work. Can't we sit back now and relax and enjoy life? We do need to be diligent. We do need to live as those who have Jesus. We need to live as those who are saved precisely because we have been saved. Think about it this way. In terms of adoption. For there to be an orphan child united to a family, there's all kinds of legal things that have to take place. There's all kinds of requirements that the law specifies before an orphan child can be genuinely united into a family. And once those legal requirements are fulfilled, once every I is dotted and T crossed, and the judge can say satisfied, that orphan child is orphaned no longer and he's now part of a family. And he is part of that family forever. He cannot no longer be part of that family. He has been made a part of that family. And now he has responsibilities as part of that family. Responsibilities that were not real to him before. He has obligations to the family. To enjoy the family. To love the family. to support the family, to promote the good name of the family. Peter is very concerned for the church to understand her need to be diligent because she has been given and been made part of the family of God. She's been joined to Christ and therefore there are obligations that go along with being a part of that family of Christ. He says in verse 10, be more eager. The NIV says, be more eager. The ESV says, be more diligent. Verse 5 translates the same verb. Make every effort. Be more diligent. Make more effort. And why is he so urgent in these exhortations? We're saved. The work is finished. Give us a break, Peter. Can't you just encourage us to be fruitful and leave it at that? Why more diligent? Why more eager? And the reason is because we have been joined to Christ. We've been made part of the family of God. All of the legal requirements have been taken place and we can never be separated from what God has made us to be in Christ Jesus. And therefore, we now have responsibilities that weren't so real to us before. Obligations that are important for us to pursue. And he says, therefore, be more diligent. At the end of the book, If you turn with me to chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 16. Peter's talking about the letters of Paul and he's observing that the letters of Paul can be difficult to understand. He says there are some things in them, the letters of Paul, that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other Scriptures. You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. Then, like now, the tendency is for free grace to become cheap grace. For those who've been freed from the law to live a lawless life. And Peter says, have nothing to do with them. Don't let what you have be confused and distorted into something else. Be diligent to understand and to know the truths of God and what He has given to you and the promises. And through faith, be diligent and be fruitful. As we need to be diligent, we need to be fruitful. You see, our lives have a purpose. Our diligence isn't just for the sake of being diligent or to be busy. We have a purpose that looks beyond this life, even while progressively being realized in this life. Our purpose looks beyond this life, even while it's being realized in this life. What we find is that what we have drives us forward to a particular goal. Verse 3 again says that His divine power has given us all things necessary for life and godliness. All things necessary to cease your work, to no longer be concerned about fruitfulness and faithfulness. His divine power has given us everything for licentious living? Of course not. Of course not. It's almost ludicrous. But that is what so many have concluded and concluded in Peter's own day. But that's not what it says. That His divine power has been given to us for a particular purpose, for life and for godliness. Our lives have a purpose. We've been called to his own glory and excellence. To partake of his divine nature, verse 4 says. And therefore, for this very reason, because of this truth, he says in verse 5, make every effort, try harder to add to your faith knowledge. And to knowledge, add perseverance and patience and brotherly kindness and love. And you see how in verse 5 he lists these, not necessarily in chronological order, but in order to spur us forward, in order to call us on and to be increasing in the fruitfulness of our lives, so that we might not say, check that one off, got it done. No, be ever eager to pursue a life of increasing fruitfulness. We see in these verses that what we have in terms of our election and calling include the need to increase in fruitfulness and the godly character's qualities of life. You see, as believers, though our identity must be defined by the promises of God, our lives must be characterized by the qualities of God. And if they're not, if we're not diligent and we're not fruitful, then Peter says in verse 9 that we have forgotten. We have forgotten the truth. We have forgotten the promises. We have forgotten what we have. We have forgotten what we need. And that is why he says in verse 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. We need to be diligent. We need to be fruitful. And we need to be sure. Because of what we have, we need to be diligent and fruitful and we want to be sure. We need to be sure of what we have. Not long ago, someone said to me, I understand that good works cannot win my salvation. And I also understand that my good works do express my gratitude. But I'm wondering, how much gratitude is enough? That's a good question. That's a good question because not long ago a dear friend was on her deathbed and when I asked her how she was, she said she was very afraid. She was very afraid to go and stand before her maker. And I asked why. And the response was, I'm concerned that I haven't been good enough. But, my friend, you don't understand the gospel. You can quote Heidelberg Catechism 1 for me. Yes, but I'm concerned I haven't been good enough. The concern was, was she grateful enough? It's a good question. It has to do with assurance. Assurance that all that has been given to us is really and truly ours. Sure, it may be true for you, but is it true for me? There are two answers that Peter gives to us. In verses 5-7, as he gives this call towards increasing fruitfulness, we find that we can never be grateful enough. We can never love God and our neighbor enough. We're never finished with that work of cultivating the fruits of the Spirit. Our call is to increase. And the second answer, though, is found in verse 9. He says that if we lack these fruits or qualities, then we've forgotten. You see, he's making a point about lacking these qualities. As a resident of a city, If you have limited knowledge, loyalty, and love for that city and the neighbors you live around, you will question your future there. You may have forgotten why you moved there in the first place. As an employee, if you have limited knowledge and loyalty, affection, and love for your employer and your employees you work with, you will question your future there. As a student, if you have limited knowledge, loyalty, love and affection for your school and fellow students, you will question why you're there at all. As a Christian, if you have limited knowledge, loyalty, love and affection for God, Christ and His church, you'll question your future. It's much like a farmer. A farmer doesn't trust in the fruits he harvests, but rather in the fertile ground and sun and rain that God provides. Nevertheless, if there's no harvest, if there's no fruit, he will question his future. That is why Peter says, if you want to be sure of your calling and election, diligently cultivate your life so that in your faith you have goodness. And in goodness you have knowledge and you are increasing in the cultivation of the fruits of a godly character. It's not that we rest in those fruits. We rest in God. We rest in His divine power. and we see the fruits of His divine power through the qualities of our life. If your faith is unfruitful, if you mingle with immorality, if you are satisfied with a limited knowledge of the Bible, if we don't have a deepening love for Christ and His church, then you and I together will grow unsteady in our faith and unsure of our future. We'll begin to question what we have, whether we had it at all. We'll begin to question what it means, whether it's relevant, whether it's significant. And we'll fall right in with those folks Peter talks about in chapter 3. We'll begin to twist the truths of God in the Gospel of Christ. However, if we cultivate these things, we will not fall, Peter says. We'll not stumble. We might say we won't become unstable and begin to question and doubt. But rather, if we cultivate these things, we will grow in the confidence and surety of eternal life. the legal work has been done. Our place in the family of God has been secured by Jesus Christ. So that if today, if one of us should have to face the prospect of meeting our Maker, we need not doubt, we need not fear, we need not ask if we've been good enough. Because we could never be good enough. Rather, in those moments when life comes to a blinking end, we can rejoice that Jesus is good enough. And there is that fruit of faith that unites us to Him. That faith that joins us to Him. And finally, lest we conclude that our certainty for the future should somehow rest in our works. Peter drives right at that and reminds us that God provides it all. A reminder of what will be provided in verse 10. For if you do these things, you will never fall or become unstable and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a difficult sentence to translate And the ESV does it a little differently, saying, if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the kingdom. Our coming into the kingdom of God is completely of God. The text says that He will provide for you. God provides the entrance into the kingdom. God secures our welcome that will one day be ours. He will sanctify us. He will glorify us. He will bring us into the eternal kingdom. And He's doing it even now. He's doing it even now. Because of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, with all of the legal requirements fulfilled, and His righteousness, our righteousness, God Almighty is devoting Himself to bring us day by day into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Through word and sacrament, the Spirit moves within our souls to strengthen within us faith, to assure us of this very truth. And He works within our souls to cultivate those qualities within our life that we might see how truly rich we are in Him. The latest Time Magazine's cover story asks the question, does God want you to be rich? And as I read it, I was amazed at how this article completely misunderstands what we have as the church and what we need as the church and what we will be as the church. The message of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with the size of our wallet or bank account. There's nothing in that when we read the promises of the Gospel. Indeed, it's completely contrary to the riches that Peter's talking about in this text. The rich provision is not a big bank account. Though that may be present, what Peter's concerned about is that we can stand back and observe how richly God is providing for us even now. and the faith that we have, and the promises we can embrace, and in the joy that we share together as His church. Indeed, the coming of Christ's kingdom will be indeed is being richly provided for us as the promises He's given are cultivated within our lives. congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ this is the word of God as you hear it may we together pray to understand it that we might together grow in what we need as those part of God's family that together we would be cultivating within us a fulfillment of his promises to give to us life and godliness. This is a purpose for us in our lives and let us pursue it to gather with all diligence. Let it be our joy to undertake the work of God. And as we do it, let us look forward to what will come. Let us look for it, long for it, pray for it, And know that one day soon, indeed, the kingdom will come and we will enter there with Christ and be finished with the battles of this life and this present evil age. The One who has chosen us and called us is faithful and He will do it. Amen. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word, for all that You have given to us through it. And we thank You for calling us to pursue a fulfillment of such glorious need. The need to grow in moral excellence, goodness and knowledge and brotherly kindness and love. May these be ours in abundance, dear Father. May these be the things we fight to cultivate and to grow within our lives and in the community that You placed us in. And as we see these things, may we praise You for making us so rich and these fruits of your Holy Spirit. Help us towards this end, we pray, for our good and the glory of your name. Amen.