Gospel Grace in 2 Peter

Today, on Renewing Your Mind. If the root is sovereign election, the fruit will be a changed life. There is no way you could be living the way that you are living with a desire to know God and to love God and to pursue holiness, except it is God who has dramatically intervened in your life. God is sovereign over His creation. That's clear in nearly every page in Scripture. But when it comes to His sovereignty over salvation, there are a few skeptics. Does He really choose who will be saved?

Does that seem fair, they ask? Well, today on Renewing Your Mind, Dr. Stephen Lawson continues his series, Foundations of Grace. We'll see that the Apostle Peter teaches what every other author in Scripture teaches.

Here's Dr. Lawson. In this session, we want to look at the book of 2 Peter. We have been in 1 Peter, and we want to continue our study of the Apostle Peter as an author and preacher of the sovereign grace of God. I believe the stronger the preacher, the more deeply rooted and grounded he is in these core truths that magnify the sovereignty of God in salvation. And Peter is one of those prolific, powerful preachers that these truths of the sovereign grace of God just flow from his lips and flow from his pen as he is addressing whatever the subject is. And in 2 Peter, he gives himself to addressing false teachers.

And as he does so, he makes much mention of these doctrines. And so they become, I believe, a comfort and a contrast for the believers, a contrast from what the false teachers are and what true preachers actually preach. But I want us to go through the book of 2 Peter as we have been doing. I want us to go through it five times for us to be able to see these wonderful truths.

And I want to begin with, again, total depravity, with radical corruption. And I want you to look in chapter 2 with me, beginning in verse 1, as Peter more specifically now addresses the false teachers. But what is true of the false teachers is what is within the heart and soul of every unconverted person.

It's not as though there is something different in those who are unconverted from those who are false teachers and unconverted. And so in 2 Peter 2 and verse 1, Peter writes, but false prophets also arose from the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them. And I think that is said with some sarcasm that they claim to have this relationship with the Master Jesus Christ, but in reality they do not, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. The key word there is denying. Yes, they do deny the Master of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this word means to refuse and to reject. And this is at the heart of every unbeliever. There is a refusal to submit their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, to become His bondservant and to become His slave and He their Master.

And so when there is this useless claim that they are making that this Master Jesus Christ has supposedly bought them. As we continue in this chapter in verses 2 and 3, we read, many will follow their sensuality. Now, the word sensuality means habitual, unrestrained, sexual immorality. And it says many will follow their sensuality, and the idea is that they will join in the very same sensuality.

This sensuality is in every unbeliever just expressed in fuller measure in some than by others. And because of them, the way of truth will be maligned and in their greed. And this greed is a part of total depravity. It speaks of uncontrolled, covetous desire for money and possessions.

In their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. So here we see their sensuality and we see their greed, and this is pent up within the sin nature of an unbeliever. In the same chapter in verse 10, we read, especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. That they despise authority means they're unsubmissive.

They will not yield their life to any authority over them. They're self-willed. They are rebellious. And first and foremost, this is how they are towards God and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are stiff-necked and refuse to submit and surrender their life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and they also indulge the flesh. They pamper their flesh.

They feed their flesh. This too is the result of total depravity. And then also in verse 10, we read that they are daring. The idea is reckless. They have no restraint and no careful thought. They're just daring in their sin. They are bold in their sin. They sin in a high-handed manner and are self-willed.

The idea is self-pleasing conceit. They are obstinate. They do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties. The idea is they have no fear of God. They have no reverence for holy things. They instead revile, which means to blaspheme and to slander that which is holy. And then in verse 12, but these like unreasoning animals, and the idea here is they just live by the instinct of their flesh.

They do what they want to do, when they want to do it, where they want to do it, how they want to do it. They're just like an animal in heat, but these like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge. I mean, they have no true knowledge of God. They just have knowledge of sin and knowledge of their own pleasures. What we read here in 2 Peter chapter 2 of these false teachers is but the tip of the iceberg of this doctrine of total depravity that is like drops of poison put into a glass of water, and that poison permeates the whole.

And such drops of poison are in every unconverted person. But the second doctrine of grace is sovereign election. And we see this too, and we see what a miracle it is that anyone is saved. And in 2 Peter 1 and verse 10, 2 Peter 1, verse 10, we are introduced in 2 Peter to the doctrine of election. And in this verse, we read, Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. We'll talk more about this calling in just a moment, but standing behind this effectual call of God is the doctrine of election. He only calls, God only calls those who are chosen, and all who are chosen will be called by God. Those chosen in eternity past will be called within time into saving a relationship with Jesus Christ. This calling is election, and it speaks of how all believers are chosen out of this cesspool of this world, chosen out of the muck and the mire of this world. And this is your testimony and my testimony as well, that God has chosen us for Himself and did not leave us in the foul, evil system of this world. I want you to note also in chapter 1 and verse 1, a hint at definite atonement.

This in and of itself is not enough to secure the doctrine, but there is a hint here. And in verse 1, he writes, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ… By the way, this is one of the great verses in the New Testament for the deity of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ?

Well, He is our God and He is our Savior. And only one who is God could be our Savior because it would require the infinite power of Almighty God and His abundant grace to save and deliver us from His own wrath. But here in verse 1, we see that there are those who receive faith as a gift, and we'll talk about that in just a moment.

But it comes by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And I think that there is implied that Christ has become the Savior of all those who have received a faith of the like kind. But what is abundantly clear in this verse is the irresistible call of God.

And I want you to look at verse 1 yet again. Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours. That means they were without faith, and in order to exercise faith, they had to receive faith. And there is only one giver of such faith, and that is none other than God Himself.

None of us could have faith in Christ until God gives us faith in Christ. It's very clear in this passage, and also when you do a word study on this, it also implies that we have been chosen to receive this faith. Also, he knows that this faith that we have received is of the same kind as ours, meaning it's saving faith. It's a true faith. It is genuine faith. It is authentic faith, because there is a non-saving faith that is mentioned, for example, at the end of John chapter 2. Many believed in Jesus, but Jesus was not believing or entrusting Himself to them. There is a faith that's only in the mind but is not in the heart.

There is a faith that is an acknowledgement of facts, but there is never the surrender of the will and the giving of one's life to Jesus Christ. So when he says that we have received a faith of the same kind as ours, he is referring to a genuine, authentic, saving faith. Now, please note also in verse 3, seeing that His divine nature has granted to us everything pertaining to life.

Stop right there. Well, if He is granted to us everything pertaining to life, that would also include saving faith. That would also include repentance, if it's everything pertaining to life. And in this context, based upon what we just read in verse 1, I think that is a reasonable conclusion to which to come. But notice how this verse continues through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Here again we see Peter making such a strong emphasis upon the doctrine of the effectual call of God. He called us. The us refers to the elect. He has not called the entire world. He has not called every person in the world. Instead He has called us. And the us are those in verse 1 who have received a faith as the same kind as ours.

In the context, it's very clear who the us is. So He's called us. It's almost hard for me to come up with something new at the moment after we've gone through so many times of looking at this call of God.

But it's like a nail being driven down into a board, deeper and deeper and deeper into the board until it's permanently lodged there. I think that's the idea of what Peter is wanting to convey to us, the reader of his letter, that there is a continual driving emphasis that he is making on the critical nature of being called by God. If you would, look at verse 10 in this very same chapter, 2 Peter 1 and verse 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. Yet again, here is the doctrine of God's irresistible, sovereign, effectual call that is inseparably connected with being chosen by God.

And He says you need to make certain about your calling. Make certain about your being chosen by God. That tells us very clearly, you can know that you have been called by God. And you need to know that you have been called by God. And how may we know that we have been called by God? Well, number one, that you have believed upon His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Have you called upon the name of the Lord to save you from the wrath that is to come? However, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. He indicates there that yes, many will go through the motions of praying a prayer and saying, Lord, Lord, but have never been born again.

And the ultimate acid test is that you do the will of your Father who is in heaven, that you are now walking a new path, headed in a new direction, you have new affections for God and for Christ, and you have new desires now to live a godly and holy life. That's really the argument that Peter is making in verse 10 of chapter 1, as he says, to be diligent to make certain His calling and choosing you. It's the latter half of this verse that indicates how we can make certain His calling and choosing us. And he says, as you practice these things, if the root is sovereign election, the fruit will be a changed life.

And you can know that the root is genuine as you observe the fruit of a changed life. There is no way you could be living the way that you are living with the desire to know God and to love God and to pursue holiness, except it is God who has dramatically intervened in your life. And the mere fact that you now love the truth and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and you practice the things that He requires of you, then that becomes a validation of the genuineness of the call of God that has come upon your life.

If you claim to be called by God, but you are living an ungodly life, you have serious reason to call into question the validity of your supposed conversion. But, as you continue to practice what the Lord requires of you from the heart, that becomes a means by which you make certain His calling and electing you. Well, I want us to now look in chapter 3 and verse 9, chapter 3 and verse 9, a text that has tripped up many. It says, the Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Some would say, well, see, He wants every person in the world to be saved.

And some could argue that there is a general desire of God that all would come to the knowledge of the truth, though He does not call all. However, please note, He says, that God is patient towards you. The you clearly refers to true believers who are chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit, sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and who have been born again. We can go back to chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, for that.

But it's patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish. And I think the word any is modified and qualified by the you, such that the meaning of this, He is patient towards you, not wishing for any of you to perish, but for all of the elect to come to repentance. God is patient in waiting to send His Son once all the elect are converted and brought into the body of Christ. So given the rest of Scripture, and that is my understanding of this particular passage, and it is Scripture interprets Scripture, and we need the rest of the verse to help us on this. And so God is patient towards you, believer, you elect one, not wishing for any of you elect ones to perish, but for all you elect ones to come to repentance. And finally, we need a verse on preserving grace, and that would be in chapter 1, and verses 10 and 11, 2 Peter 1, verses 10 and 11. 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. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Now, it's obvious these are already converted. He calls them at the beginning of verse 10, brethren. So in verse 11, when he talks about entrance into the eternal kingdom, he's referring to people who have already entered into the kingdom. But the eternal kingdom signifies the eternal phase of the kingdom.

They're already in the kingdom because they're brethren. The eternal phase of the kingdom, or as he says here, the eternal kingdom, refers to heaven. It refers to the kingdom not in this world, but the kingdom in eternity to come in heaven. And so all those who are called and chosen in verse 10 will find entrance into the eternal kingdom in verse 11, so much so that the entrance into this kingdom is abundantly supplied to you, meaning there is much grace and much access into heaven for you who are called and chosen.

So that becomes to me the very clear understanding of what Peter is saying. And if you've entered into the kingdom in this world, you are certain to enter into the eternal kingdom in the world to come. Again, he is stressing here the eternal security of the believer. He is stressing that all true believers will one day find themselves before the throne of God in heaven with that blood-washed throng of worshippers around the throne of grace, proclaiming the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ in ongoing adoration and praise throughout all of the ages to come. This really is a great text that teaches the perseverance of the saints and the preservation of the saints, not only in this world, but taking us and ushering us into the very presence of God in the world to come. Saving grace is sovereign grace, and sovereign grace is securing grace that keeps us saved, not only in this life, but throughout all of the ages to come.

And that security helps us through every difficulty we face. We're glad you've joined us today for a message from Dr. Stephen Lawson's series, Foundations of Grace in the New Testament. We've aired several lessons from this series this week here on Renewing Your Mind, and as we've learned, Scripture makes it clear that God is the author of salvation.

He has accomplished it through the death of Christ on the cross, and He applies it through the work of the Holy Spirit. But that tends to go against our sense of pride, doesn't it? We like to think that we played at least some part in our salvation. That's why Dr. Lawson's series is so important, though.

We must learn to think biblically about these doctrines. We invite you to request this complete series. There are 24 messages on three DVDs, and we'll be glad to send them to you for your gift of any amount to Ligonier Ministries. There are a couple of ways you can reach us.

One is online at renewingyourmind.org, or you can simply call us with your gifts at 800-435-4343. Table Talk magazine is also a rich source of material on the doctrines of grace. Each month you'll find helpful articles, plus daily guided Bible studies. You can request a free three-month trial subscription if you've never subscribed before. Find out more by going to TryTableTalk.com. Dr. Lawson has given us a great starting point for the series we're featuring next week. This Dr. R.C. Sproul series, simply titled, Predestination. We hope you have a great weekend and that you'll make plans to be with us beginning Monday, here on Renewing Your Mind.