Here again is the mystery of spiritual life. We are given everything in Christ, and yet it takes everything we have. The follow-up on that. Because we have all in Christ, All the gracious resources for spiritual sufficiency. We are called upon to give maximum effort.
Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Ephesians 2 puts it this way. you were dead in your trespasses and sins. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ.
In other words, a sinner can't save himself any more than a corpse can bring itself to life. Salvation is from God alone. Probably not a new concept for you, but what may be new to you is this. If you're a Christian, you, yes, you. play a significant role in enjoying assurance of your salvation.
Today on Grace to You, John MacArthur is going to show you what it means to apply all diligence in your faith as he continues his study, Myths About Salvation from 2 Peter chapter 1. And now here's John with today's lesson. Every true Christian should enjoy the reality of his or her salvation. Not to have that assurance is to live in doubt. To live in fear.
To live in a certain form of spiritual depression. and a certain kind of misery. Certainly, not to have assurance means you're unable to delight in God. which is inherent in the Christian experience. And you are unable to enjoy the anticipation of all of his promises.
You're unable to relish the reality of faith. and the exhilaration of hope. You see, the promise of eternal life, the promise of abundant life, presupposes assurance. If I'm going to enjoy all that is mine in Christ, I have to know I'm in Christ. I live in fear.
Misery. Doubt. Peter's very concerned that his readers enjoy assurance.
So it is a main theme in this very brief epistle.
Now let me remind you briefly of sort of how it fits. This is a very Short book, just three chapters. The dominant theme of this book is chapter two. And chapter 2 is about false teachers. False prophets And they are described in very clear, graphic terms in the second chapter.
Now, chapter two, which focuses on false prophets and false teachers, is surrounded by other teaching. Directed at successfully countering their attacks. In other words, chapter 1 and chapter 3 are related to the theme in that chapter 1 and chapter 3 tell the believer how to be equipped to deal with the false teachers. To fight off the encroaching, deluding deception of false teachers. The believer must know some things.
The believer must have some accurate, true knowledge. The question comes. What? Must we know? What must we know?
Well, in chapter one, verse twelve through verse twenty-one. We must know Scripture. We must know our scripture. And he deals with that. In chapter 3, We must know our sanctification.
We must know our sanctification. And in chapter one, verses three to eleven. We must know our salvation. If you know the scripture. And if you know you're sanctified and set apart unto God from sin, and if you know your salvation is real, then the attacks of false teachers.
are thwarted. If you don't know the scripture, And if you do not know and are not experiencing a continued state of sanctification. And if you are not sure of your salvation, you become... A ready victim.
Now we're looking at that section on salvation. Knowing your salvation. That is a very essential defense against. False teachers. If you have on the helmet of the hope of salvation, then the blows of Satan that come against you to make you doubt your salvation and doubt the work of God.
are thwarted. You are protected. From false teachers, demon spirits, and Satan himself.
So the first line of defense is: you must know your salvation. And actually the whole chapter up to now has been focused on that. In verse 1, he said, You must know the source of your salvation. It is yours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. In verse 2, he said, You must know the substance of your salvation.
It is predicated on grace and peace multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. In verses Three and four, you must know the sufficiency of your salvation. That you have everything pertaining to life and godliness. And now in verses 5 to 11, you must know the certainty of your salvation. You must be sure.
And so in verses 5 through 11. He speaks to the issue of certainty. of certainty And this, beloved, is crucial if we are going to withstand the onslaughts of false teachers. You say, why? Because false teachers will always try to tell you.
Another way of what? Salvation Always. But if I know where I stand in terms of salvation and there is no question, then there is no attraction. from false teaching. We have in verses three and four.
indicated that we have everything we need in Christ. And yet, In verses 5 to 11, Peter says we have to do everything. that we possibly can. to add to what Christ has done. that we might experience Certainty.
That's quite a paradox. Verses 3 and 4 say you have everything in Christ. Verses 5 to 11 say now add to it. How can you add to everything? That again is that marvelous paradox of being complete in Christ and yet having.
to do everything within our strengths. to follow him. And so we find then verses five through eleven: give us the path. to assurance. Verse 5, let's look at it.
Now for this very reason also, Now I want to stop you right there. What reason? Because we have everything in Christ. Because by his divine power, verse 3, he has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. For by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Let me go back over that just in summary. Because you have divine power granting to you everything necessary for life and godliness. Because this comes to you through the true knowledge of Jesus Christ. Through Him you have precious, magnificent promises. You have become partakers of the divine nature.
You have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Now, for this reason, In other words, because of all that is yours in Christ, Do this. And here again is the mystery of spiritual life. We are given everything in Christ, and yet it takes everything we have. The follow-up on that. Because we have all in Christ.
All the gracious resources for spiritual sufficiency. We are called upon to give maximum effort. Well now false teachers will successfully Pray on those who doubt their salvation. False teachers will have ways of making them miserable, sinful, doubtful, weak. Fainting.
In their worship, their prayer. making them joyless, impotent in service, confused about what they believe. but to those who are confident in their salvation. confident in the riches Christ has given to them. secure and assured in the true knowledge of the Savior.
The false teachers have nothing to offer.
So for this reason, because of all we have in Christ. Let's add to it in order that we might enjoy its benefit, namely. Assurance. Assurance Verse 5 then calls for a diligent effort.
Now, for this very reason, applying all diligence.
Now that gets us into the text, and what I'd like to do. is take this concept of assurance. and break it down. Into four sections for you. We'll just kind of work through these sections one at a time.
First is the effort prescribed. Second, the virtues pursued. the options presented and the benefits promised. Let's start with the effort prescribed. We've just read it.
And I need to say, as a footnote here, you would think after verse 3 and 4. You have everything pertaining to life and godliness. God has poured His divine power into you. You have all of this. That the next statement might be.
So let go and let God. Right? That the next statement might be Hey, relax. Just um Lay back and let God do it. Just the opposite.
The effort prescribed, verse 5 again.
Now for this very reason also, Applying all diligence in your faith.
Now there's the effort prescribed. Because of God's saving work in us and because of its complete sufficiency, it's like Philippians 2:12 and 13. Work out your what? Your salvation. God put it in.
Work it out. Work it out. Applying all diligence in your faith. And then the next word: supply. That's interesting.
That's an interesting statement. Let me take you into it a little deeper. Applying all diligence. In your faith. What does the word applying mean?
Well, Just that. making maximum effort. It's the idea of bringing in every effort alongside of what God has done. God has done all of this. You bring alongside every effort.
That's the word applying. All diligence. Spude means eagerness. Hastiness It's used of someone who's in a hurry. It means zeal.
Very strong word. And so he is saying. Alongside of what God has done. Bring in every zealous, eager, hasty, hurried effort. Pretty direct.
And then the word supply. The word supply. What is that? really mean. Means to give lavishly, means to give generously.
It's a very interesting word, by the way, kind of a different word. It's a word that means a choir master. And then there's a preposition on the front of it. You say, well How could you translate a word that means choir master? By the word supply.
Simply Because the choir master had the responsibility to supply everything that was needed for his choir. And so the word came to mean a supplier. A choir master just was synonymous with a Supplier. William Barclay says this. Perhaps the greatest gift that Greece and especially Athens gave to men was the great plays and dramas of men like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, works of literature and art which are still among the most cherished possessions of the world.
All these plays needed large choruses, for the choruses were integral parts of them. It was, therefore, very expensive to produce such plays. In the great days of Athens there were public spirited citizens who voluntarily and willingly took on the duty at their own expense of collecting, maintaining, training, and equipping such choruses. It was at the great religious festivals that these plays were produced. For instance, at the City Dionysia, there were produced three tragedies, five comedies, and five.
what they call derhythms. Men had to be found. to find and equip and train the choruses for them all. It could cost such a man a great amount of money. And it was the pride of such men to train and equip their choruses as nobly and splendidly as they could.
The men who undertook these duties voluntarily out of their own pocket and out of love for their city were called choragoi. That's the word here. And the verb corogain is the verb for undertaking such a duty to supply a chorus. The word, therefore, has a certain lavishness in it. It never means to equip in a Sparing way.
Or a miserly way, it means lavishly and willingly to pour out everything that is necessary for a noble performance. The word epicoregane Went out into a larger world, and it grew to me not only to equip a chorus, but to be responsible for any kind of equipping. It can mean to equip an army with all necessary provisions and supplies. It can mean to equip the soul with all the necessary and lovely virtues for life. But always at the back of it, there was the idea of a willing and lavish generosity in the equipping.
And so it is that word that the Spirit of God chooses. And back again in verse 5: for this reason, because of all that Christ has done for you. Applying all diligence Supply lavishly. Generously. Not in a miserly or shallow way.
And then that little phrase, in your faith. And faith is assumed here. Faith is the ground in which the flowers of sanctification grow.
So In your faith, your initial believing in Christ. You need to lavishly apply all zeal. to come alongside what Christ has done. and do everything you can possibly do. That's What are you saying?
Now Somebody might say, well, Isn't there assurance in faith? Yes. There is assurance in faith. And the one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have noted on other occasions, has every reason to be assured if you know you believe. Then the God of hope can fill you with all joy and peace in believing.
says Romans 15, 13. There can be joy and peace just in believing. In 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 2, verse 13. We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. In other words, these Thessalonians, who are relatively new Christians, could know they were saved and be filled with hope.
because of faith in the truth. Faith carries with it Assurance. Hebrews chapter 6 also notes the same truth. And 1 John 5, a very familiar text, verse 13: These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. Believing can be knowing.
Having faith can impart Assurance. I can know I believe. You can know you believe, and believing. Bring salvation. And you can have a measure of assurance.
But I don't believe that that faith, that initial saving faith, will continue to yield the fruit of assurance unless the effort is made to be obedient to what this text says. You may enjoy that assurance initially. But if no zealous effort to lavishly supply what is required alongside what Christ has done is made, Then I believe that will be the forfeiture of the joy of assurance. And so There is a prescription given here. And that prescription is diligently pursue the full supply Of all these things Fullness of assurance, listen carefully.
is the product of zealous Effort to tap the full supply of spiritual virtue and lay it alongside the full supply of God's gracious provision.
So in a very real sense, Assurance comes to a believer. who follows This Prescription.
Now that is the attitude. Let's look at the action. We've seen That which was prescribed, the effort prescribed. A Consummate effort. Requiring lavish Zealousness.
But what is it that we're doing? I understand that attitude, but what's the action? What am I supposed to do? Let's look at point two then. The virtues pursued.
The effort Prescribed. The virtues Pursuit. What does a believer need to pursue in his or her life? to bring about the experience of Assurance. Verse Five.
Supply Moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your knowledge, self-control, And in your self-control, perseverance. or endurance And in your endurance, godliness, And in your godliness Brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness, Love.
Seven virtues. to be pursued. And These virtues Each are embodied Somehow in the previous one. Out of faith comes moral excellence. Out of moral excellence comes knowledge, and so forth.
I want you to look at these. We don't need to spend a lot of time, but you'll be very refreshed as you see what. Peter means. First one is moral. Excellence, a rate.
It's the word virtue. Virtue. In classical times, The word meant The God-given ability to perform heroic deeds. And it came to mean the quality of someone's life which makes them stand out as excellent. It is very rare, by the way, in Scripture, but not in secular Greek.
It is a noble term. It is a term of heroism. It is a term of moral heroism, moral excellence, quality. It was usually used to refer to the proper And excellent fulfillment of something. For example, A knife was said to be arete if it cut well.
A horse was a rete if it ran strong and fast. A singer was a rette if he He or she sang well.
Sometimes the word came to mean courage.
Sometimes it meant efficient excellence or operative virtue. It never meant cloistered virtue or virtue in a vacuum as if it were an attitude, but virtue which is demonstrated in a life.
So he says, in your faith. With all your heart. And all your mind. Apply with great effort, eagerness, zeal, and haste the lavish supplying of moral excellence to your life. Let me ask you a simple question.
Where do you find the model of that excellence? Christ That is why in Philippians chapter 3 you have that monumental statement by Paul. Lays down the pattern for all believers' behavior. He said it. more magnificently than Any other place in scripture.
And what he said Was I press? Toward the mark. for the prize. of the high calling of God. in Christ Jesus.
What he was saying was, I pursue Christ-likeness. He admitted, I haven't attained. but I pursue it. The goal to be like Christ. The reward to be like Christ.
The goal is the reward. Pursue Christ's likeness. Pursue excellence. And some have even suggested that it might mean moral energy. Is that People who are Speaking about this word, seem to be afraid, lexicographers, people who give definitions, seem to be afraid that somebody will think the word has a static meaning when it doesn't.
And so some have translated it moral energy. The power that performs Deeds of excellence.
So Add then to your faith Moral excellence. quality of life. Spiritual virtue. A sort of Holy heroism. You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur.
His current series is titled Myths About Salvation.
Well, friend, a key point from today's lesson: assurance of salvation is available. God has provided it, but believers will struggle to experience it without spiritual discipline. But what about that believer who struggles with the spiritual disciplines, who doesn't pray and read scripture all that often? What are practical ways he can develop more consistency? John MacArthur's answer to that is helpful.
Here's what he said. You know, it's so easy to develop bad habits. Um it's the easiest thing there is to do. Just do nothing and you'll develop bad habits. I read a book that basically said: if you repeat the same thing between 60 and 70 times, it's a life habit.
You know, that that's a good thing if you repeated the right thing 60 to 70 times, and that is a bad thing if you repeated the wrong thing 60 to 70 times. Just a few months. Of a bad habit, said sets a course for life. You may be a true believer. But you maybe have gone a year?
Or more. without regular reading of the Word of God. It is a bad habit, and you have cut yourself off. From the daily feeding. You may say, well, I go to church, I go to a Bible study, that's important, that's critical.
You need that. You need to be shepherded and pastored by Bible teachers. But what about your daily soul feeding from the Word of God? We're all as believers Reminded that our Lord said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The Word of God is our life food.
Now, how do you change those habits? Start new ones. if you would get a copy of the MacArthur Daily Bible. The MacArthur Daily Bible And begin to read and just read for a few months, you will set a habit in place. MacArthur Daily Bible takes you through the entire Bible.
Each day has a reading from the Old Testament and the New Testament and the Psalms and a portion of Proverbs. All put together, 365 days, you've covered the entire Bible in one year. And I promise you, the Word of God will come alive to you. And you'll see how it connects internally by reading. The whole Bible in just one year.
Yes, friend, I encourage you to get the MacArthur Daily Bible. This helpful resource makes the entire Bible more accessible, giving you manageable portions for each day of the year. Get your copy when you contact us today. To get a copy of the MacArthur Daily Bible, call 800-55GRACE. or go to our website gty.org.
Reading the Bible every day takes discipline, but the rewards are more than worth the effort. This is a great resource to read with your spouse. Many husbands and wives have benefited from doing that. The MacArthur Daily Bible. is affordable and shipping is free.
To order one for yourself or for a friend, call 800-55GRACE or visit our website gty.org. And while you're there at gty.org, be sure to take advantage of all of our free resources that are designed to help you build good Bible study habits, including all 3,600 of John's sermons in MP3 format and transcript format. That includes myths about salvation, the whole series that we're currently studying. Log on to gty.org today and start downloading.
Now, for the entire Grace TU staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for joining us today and be here for the next lesson in John MacArthur's Myths About Salvation series. to see some virtues that will help you have assurance of your salvation. Tune in for another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time. on Grace to You.
