Lesson 10

Make Sure

2 Peter 1:10-11

II Peter 1:10-11 deals with a very important subject. Let's open our Bibles, read this passage and carefully consider what it says. (Read).

Peter has been concerned about the Christian's spiritual growth. He urges his reader to systematically add certain qualities to saving faith, vs. 5-7. He says that the presence of these qualities guarantee a fruitful Christian life, v. 8. In verse 9, Peter expresses his concern about those who lack these qualities. They have a vision problem - they are blind or at least very near-sighted - and they have a memory problem having forgotten their purification from those former sins.

Peter wants us to be able to see clearly and to remember clearly who we are in Christ. Peter wants us to be fruitful not forgetful. His desire is for our spiritual growth and development.

And so this introduces to us the subject of verses 10-11. Actually, verse 10 can be boiled down to two words - "make sure". Thus, the important subject to which this passage speaks is the assurance of salvation.

Now, there are some related questions that must be addressed in order to understand our assurance of salvation.

Question #1: Is salvation secure? Does the Bible promise us that when we are saved it will last forever, it is indeed eternal life? Or can it be lost? If it is possible for me to somehow cease being a Christian, then I will have great difficulty having assurance. If my salvation can be temporary then, at best, my assurance is temporary, too. If, on the other hand, my salvation is eternal, my assurance can be permanent. I either have eternal security or I will have eternal insecurity.

What does the Bible teach? Jesus said, (John 10:28) I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. The Father has decreed (John 5:24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. The Bible promises that those who Christ has justified (declared to be without sin in the legal standing of God) in the past, He has promised will be glorified in the future, Romans 8:30. Romans 8 goes on to say that nothing can separate us from God. Ephesians 1 declares that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. The whole Godhead is involved in securing your salvation. Marriage may be a 50/50 proposition. Major medical may be an 80/20 deal. But salvation is 100% God. Salvation is not God holding on to you and you holding on to God. Some people have the idea that God is holding on to us and we are holding on to God and He will never let go first, but if we let go of Him, He will let go of us. II Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. God will never let go of you. If you are saved, you are secure in the Father's hands.

Now, I know all the objections that people put forth. Does my security means that I can sin all I want to and still be saved? Is eternal salvation a license to live in sin? The truth is, that when Christ saves you, He changes you. You no longer have the desire for sin that you once had. You now have the desire for obedience which once you did not have. Accompanying salvation are what Jonathan Edwards called "holy affections." Since I have been saved, I have all that I want to. You see, I don't want to sin anymore. In fact, I sin more than I want to. Every time I sin, I am saddened because I love God so much that I never want to displease Him.

What happens when I sin? The truth is, you see, that we will never completely stop sinning so long as we are in this flesh, this sinful mortal state. If sin caused you to lose your salvation, then no one would be saved, because everyone sins. I John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Those who believe that sin will cause them to cease being saved, have to qualify sin. They think that, you know, a really "big sin" - like murder or adultery will cause you to lose your salvation. But what about the other commandments? What about dishonoring your parents? What about being lose with the truth? What about losing your temper? What about neglecting prayer or Bible study or church attendance? If you could lose your salvation by sinning, then your salvation is by your works and not by God's grace. But the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

How do we explain apostates? How do explain those who claimed Christ as their Savior but then eventually departed from the faith? Here is the Bible explanation. I John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. It is not that they had salvation and lost it. It is that they never had it to begin with. Their departure, John writes, reveals their true condition. Jesus said that not every one who claims Christ is really saved. He taught that Satan infiltrates Christianity with pretender (the wheat and the tares).

Security and assurance are like Siamese twins. They are not the same thing but they are linked together in such a way that one depends on the other.

We can only have assurance, we can only make sure, because salvation, by its very nature, is eternal and secure in Christ. Is salvation secure? Absolutely.

Question #2: Can You Know For Sure That You Are Saved? There are a lot of people who think that no one will know for sure if they are saved until they die. But it will be too late then! To those people, for someone to claim to know for sure that they are going to heaven when they die sounds proud and arrogant and boastful. What makes you so special that you know your eternal destiny. There are a lot of people who go through life hoping that they are saved but never knowing for sure, always wondering, always doubting. And they are convinced somehow that it is impossible to know. I have to tell you that that would be a pretty miserable way to live your life. It would be like going on a long trip and never knowing if you are on the right road. That's a miserable way to travel. The fact that this passage tells us to make sure implies that we can indeed be sure. This is not the only passage that speaks of the reality of assurance. Paul said, (II Corinthians 13:5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? In other words, Paul wanted to make sure. The most definitive verse on this subject comes from the pen of the Apostle John. In I John 5:13, John writes, "These things have I written unto you ... that ye may know that ye have eternal life." Yes, you can know. And that is why Peter says, "Make sure."

There is another question that must be answered. And that is the question, "How?' Yes. I know that the Bible says that salvation is secure. Yes, I understand that the Bible says that I can know for sure. Yes, I see that the Bible tells me to make sure. But how? How can I know that I have eternal life? What must I do to make sure?

Next Sunday morning, the Lord willing, I will address that question.

Let us rejoice today in the promises from God that our salvation is eternal and security and that we can know that we have eternal life.