Free Bible Commentary
“Second Peter 1:8-11”
Categories: Second Peter“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 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.”
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Peter encouraged us to apply all diligence in adding moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love to our faith (verses 6-7). The reason we must diligently pursue the supplementation of our faith is because these things are not friendly suggestions but absolute imperatives. These qualities must be acquired and “increasing” if we desire to be useful and fruitful “in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 8).
In verse 9 Peter illustrates in three figures what it is like for Christians to fail to pursue a path of spiritual growth. Disciples who lack these qualities are either “blind” or “short-sighted,” and they are forgetful about their former purification. I am a “short-sighted” person who can see things well when they are right in front of my face, but far away objects look fuzzy without my glasses. Applied in the spiritual realm, the short-sighted might be the kind of people who can only focus on the here and now, or only the things that are going on right around them. They easily lose sight of their spiritual commitment of the past, and have trouble maintaining a clear focus on the future consequences of their thoughts, words and actions. They get all caught up in the activity or thrill or stress of the moment and lose sight of what God consistently expects of them.
“Blind” people are those who are not perceptive of the spiritual realities which cannot be seen with the naked eye (2 Corinthians 4:4). It is possible for a person’s mind to be enlightened by the word and get a good taste of the future glories of heaven, and then go blind to the light of the truth (Hebrews 6:4-6). Whether it is blindness or short-sightedness, in either case, when person puts the Lord on in baptism and then drifts away by refusing to pursue a course of continuous spiritual improvement, he has “forgotten his purification” and the commitment he made to the Lord, and he becomes “useless” and “unfruitful”. Lord willing, we will see in tomorrow’s reading that we all can be forgetful hearers, therefore God knows that we all need frequent reminders (verses 12-13).
“Therefore,” since we can go blind, loose sight, atrophy spiritually, become useless, become unfruitful, and “stumble,” we must “be all the more diligent” (verse 10) to make our “calling and election sure” (KJV). Friends, do these verses not make it perfectly clear that the way we live our lives has a bearing on our eternal salvation? We must frequently examine our lives under the microscope of the word by which we were called (2 Thessalonians 2:14) to “make certain” that we are living in accordance with God’s calling. If we are not, there are only two possibilities: we either make the necessary corrections and live, or we continue on our course of destruction and perish.
As long as we “practice these things,” as long as we continue to build upon the framework of our faith, we “will never stumble.” If we do stumble and fall spiritually, we can either stay down or we can choose to get back up. Keep pushing, keep studying, keep praying. God only wants you to succeed and not fail. He has “abundantly supplied” to you “the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (verse 11). If you obey the truth and are making the effort, He will give you the victory.
Please read 2 Peter 1:12-15 for tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day!
-Louie Taylor
