Yeah. If an apostle walked in here and This evening, and we had a chance to have him come up and lead a question and answer. We would say to the Apostle, Tell us what our priorities should be. What would you say if that apostle said to you, the most important question you could ever get answered in this lifetime is the question, Am I numbered? Among The elect.
That is the most important question, not just for Christians, but for everyone. Am I numbered among the elect? Am I saved? Welcome to the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm Nathan W.
Bingham, and today we're continuing our series in 2nd Peter. Perhaps you have struggled with assurance, or maybe you're not sure what it means to be truly saved. If that's you, then I'm glad you're joining us today because RC Sprawl will help us understand not only how we're saved, and also how we can have assurance of that salvation.
Well, here's Dr. Sprohll in 2 Peter chapter 1. We're going to continue our study of the second epistle of St. Peter. I will be reading from chapter one.
beginning at verse five, and reading through verse 11. But also for this very reason. Giving all diligence, add to your faith. Virtue. To virtue knowledge.
to knowledge, self-control, to self-control. perseverance to perseverance godliness. The godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, You will be neither barren nor unfruitful. In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these things is short-sighted. even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed. from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, Be even more diligent. to make your call And election sure.
For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly. Into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord. and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Peter has already spoken about the Glorious majesty of the God who has called us.
by glory and by virtue and who has given us exceedingly great and precious promises. And then he goes on to say. For this very reason. because of what God has done for us. We ought to be giving all diligence.
That is that our approach to learning of God is not to be done in a frivolous, a capricious, or a cavalier manner. It is to be done with earnest application. With careful study and inquiry. By applying ourselves diligently. to every word that has proceeded forth from his mouth.
And to expand on this diligence to which he is called. Peter then gives us a long list of things about which we are to seek diligently. And as you heard that list being read moments ago, you couldn't help but notice. how similar that list is From lists that the Apostle Paul will often set forth, most notably. In that list that he gives that we call the fruit of the Spirit.
That is, these virtues that are to follow upon faith. these virtues that are supposed to be manifest in the Christian life. And let's look at them briefly. And we are to add to our faith virtue. To virtue knowledge.
And to knowledge self-control. It's a self-control, perseverance. To perseverance, godliness. To godliness, brotherly kindness. To brotherly kindness love For if these things are yours, And you abound.
You will be neither Barron. nor unfruitful. In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember at the beginning, We saw that in all probability, The great enemy that was threatening the church here to which Peter was addressing himself was the. Intrusion of the Gnostic heresy.
Where the Gnostics were called Gnostics because they claimed to have a superior type of knowledge above and beyond that possessed by the Apostles. A knowledge that was gained through some direct mystical perception. and not by diligent thinking. And Peter Again and again throughout this epistle. Brings us back to the subject of the acquisition of true knowledge.
The true gnosis. Which is that knowledge that is revealed by God and is found here in His Word. And so here when he gives these lists of virtues, He says, if you have these virtues in your life, You will not be barren. Or unfruitful. In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, the knowledge of God. the true knowledge of the things of God, is not a knowledge that is satisfied with mere abstract propositions. But it is a knowledge by which we are equipped. For virtue. And that's why we're called to be diligent.
To seek the knowledge of God. Not to get A degree in theology? Not to receive the accolades of men, not to be known for. our intelligence. but that we may learn From God.
And gain The mind of Christ. And so he says, if you had these virtues, you won't be barren, you won't be unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things, Peter goes on to say, is short-sighted. Even to blindness He is Myopic. He is byopic like mister Magoo.
To that degree, so that he can't see his hand in front of his face. He is short-sighted. Peter says Even To blindness. You know, that image of blindness is used again and again in the Word of God to describe. The natural tendency is the same as the nature of the nature of people who live in darkness.
And who will not have God in their thinking? and who, proclaiming themselves to be wise, become fools because Their minds are darkened, We find people out there with 2020 vision. Who are blind? To the things of God. And you can see.
Those who are blind. Because their lives are barren. Of the fruit. of the spirit and of the fruit of the virtues that Peter has listed. Here in He who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness.
And now he's directing this critique, not, however, at the pagan, but at the Christian, where Christians can become short-sighted. Because they have forgotten. That he has been cleansed. From his Old. Sins.
You know, David understood that when he wrote in the Psalm. Bless the Lord. Oh my soul And forget not all his benefits. I'd like you to just take a moment. to do a little reconnaissance.
In your own personal life, in your own personal... Pilgrimage I want you to think back to the first time that you. realized. That God had forgiven you. of all of your sin.
And I want you to try to recall. What that did for you. The freedom that that brought to your soul, the peace that came to your conscience, the joy. that came to your heart. And yet how easy it is.
to forget. What God has done. To forget That he has forgiven us? And in Christ has made us. clean.
Now Peter comes to an extremely important Teaching That Drips. Of theology. And people who don't like theology.
Well, certainly not like this. Little bit. of data. It's the conclusion. of these remarks.
The place where Peter is taking us When he says Therefore, brethren. Be even more diligent.
Now, do you see what he's just said? He said, I want you to be diligent, industrious, careful to apply yourselves, to add to your faith virtue, and perseverance, and loving kindness, brotherly love, all these things.
So that you won't be barren, so that you won't be fruitless. But there's something about which I want you to be even more. diligent. No. If an apostle walked in here and This evening, and we had a chance to have him come up and lead a question and answer.
And we would say to the apostle, be it Paul or Peter or John or whoever, and we said to them, Tell us what our priorities should be. What kinds of things should we be most diligent to learn? Would we not be a little bit surprised? If the answer said you need to learn, About The doctrine of election. But the doctrine of election or of predestination.
Yeah. not in the abstract. But with respect to your own person, what would you say if that apostle said to you, the most important question you could ever get answered in this lifetime is the question, Am I numbered? Among The elect. Now, I realize that there are multitudes of professing Christians out there that don't even.
worry about such questions because they don't believe in election in the first place. In fact, if there's one verse... That people appeal to in all of sacred scripture to try to deny the doctrine of election. It is a verse that we will examine later on in this same epistle. That verse that says, God is not willing.
That any should perish. And if it's true that God is not willing that anybody should perish, then manifestly who needs to worry about election? You do. Because Peter is saying. You need to be all the more.
Diligent. to make your calling And your election Sure. Do you remember to whom the first epistle of Peter was addressed? To the elect. The doctrine of election.
permeates. The Epistles. Of Saint Peter.
So we can't. dismiss the doctrine of election simply To the machinations of the mind of the Apostle Paul. Or even to Jesus himself. It's everywhere. on virtually every page.
No. I want to ask two questions. What does Peter mean by making You're calling an election, sure. And what reason does he give? For being especially diligent, to do that.
Well, let's start with the first one. What does he mean when he says to be all the more diligent to make your calling And your election Sure. I had a person ask me that once and said to me, How can I know if I'm a Christian? I say, well, let me ask you a couple questions. Do you love Jesus.
Perfectly.
So no? Do you love Jesus as much? As you ought to love them. Of course, that's just the same question, repeated, isn't it? And he said, no.
And now, whatever assurance he had when he asked the question is starting to slip out of his fingers, and I finally asked him the third question. Do you love Jesus at all? But I should be careful. I'm not asking you if you love the Jesus that was portrayed to you. at a youth camp.
I'm asking you if you love, have any affection in your heart. For the biblical Jesus, for the Jesus whose person and work is set forth in the pages of the New Testament. Do you have any affection for him? And if that person says to me, Yes, I do, I can tell what the disposition of my heart is, I know that I. I don't love them as much as I ought to, but I know.
I do love him. I want to see. the consummation of his kingdom I wish I didn't disobey him as much as I do. But I know that I have affection in my heart. For him.
And I said, well, okay, here's where your theology is so important. Because if you understand that the natural person The unregenerate person. Never has an ounce of affection in his heart for God. That it is impossible for anyone to have any love for Christ unless first the Holy Spirit has changed. The disposition of your soul, because by nature.
Not only do you not love him, you cannot love him. If now in time and space you have the slightest true affection for Jesus, and if the doctrine of election is true. Then, based upon your good theology. Your assurance. is solidifying.
So one of the best ways. of gaining the assurance of salvation that you need to have. Is by understanding what salvation requires and of what it consists and how it comes to pass. That's where the learning of theology has such great practical. Implications Now again.
What is Peter concerned about here? Before I close, I just want to look at the end of this is that He is not talking about this diligent quest for the assurance of your election. Just for the sake that you can sleep tonight. Just so that you can stop worrying about what your status is in the kingdom of God. But let's look at it.
If you do these things, that is, if you are diligent to make your call and election sure, if you do these things, you will never stumble. And an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Dear friends. Regeneration, we say, is monergistic. It's not a joint effort.
between you and God, You cannot cause yourself to be born again. You cannot do anything to help yourself to be born again. Your rebirth is totally dependent upon the monergistic, the soul working of God the Holy Spirit, who in his sovereign immediate power raises you from spiritual death. You are utterly, completely passive. In that action.
Which is the beginning of the Christian life? But from that moment Until you die. The whole pilgrimage, the whole Progress of your Christian life. is a synergistic action. One that does involve a cooperation between you and God, you know.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, with all diligence. Because God is at work within us both to will and to do. That's a cooperative activity. Everything after rebirth.
Now what Peter is saying here is If you want to have a fruitful Christian life, If you want to grow in grace. If you want to move forward in your sanctification, one of the most important things that you can do. Is early on in your walk Make sure. of your election. Because those who are sure with the sound reasons of assurance of their election.
Yeah. Are not like those who are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. They're not double-minded people. Who are up one day and down the next? But they're people who know that their destiny.
Has been settled. from the foundation of the world. When I talk with my Christian friends who, you know, just kick and scream against election, predestination, everything, I say, you don't know the sweetness of these doctrines. You just don't understand how valuable. These are in the Christian life.
to know that your final destination is in God's hands, not yours. And the irony is the more sure of that you are. The more likely it is that you will bear forth fruit. in abundance. You know, we say that The purest flower in God's garden is the tulip.
T for total depravity, U for unconditional election, L for limited, you know, the five points. And we also say in a teasing manner to our Arminiate friends that their favorite flower. is the daisy. As a semi-Pelagian never knows for sure. He sits there and he takes the daisy and pulls the petals.
He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me. It loves me not. Daisies don't give you much substance of hope For your eternal destiny. But when you know The truth of election.
And the efficacy of God's calling inwardly in your souls. That matter is settled. And you will begin to bring forth your fruit in your season. Being, as the psalmist said, like a tree planted by rivers of living water. Bringing forth abundant fruit.
fruit. God grant that it will be so. With us. Amen. The doctrine of election is so rich, giving us assurance of our salvation because it places our hope not in ourselves, but in God.
I love what R. C. Sproll said to the questioning believer. Do you love Jesus perfectly? And of course we all would say no.
But then he asked, do you love Jesus at all? If your answer is yes, if you truly love the Jesus we learn about in Scripture, then that is evidence of the Holy Spirit's regenerating work in your life. That's such an encouragement to me, and I hope it is for you as well. Over the past few Sundays we've been studying the book of Second Peter. Dr.
Sprohl has been so helpful in expositing the first chapter of this epistle, and when you give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind, we'll send you Dr. Sprohl's hardcover commentary on the entirety of both 1 and 2 Peter. Simply visit renewingyourmind.org to request your copy today. And for our global listening audience, the e-book edition is available for you at renewingyourmind.org slash global. Thank you for helping share the truth of God's Word every day through Renewing Your Mind.
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Well, in this epistle, Peter shares that he's nearing the end of his life. and there's something he wants his readers to remember. But what is it? Find out when you join us next Sunday here on Renewing Your Mind.
