Last week in our series we began uncovering Peter’s explanation of how Jesus is sufficient for Christian living through three elements. The first of these elements is regeneration, defined as restoring one’s inclination toward righteousness and a right relationship with God. The second is sanctification, the process of purification and spiritual growth. Today we take on the third truth, that Jesus is sufficient for our eternal security. I realize that term is loaded, and ask that you set aside what you think you know so you can rightly understand what Peter wants you to know.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

These two verses are deeply personal for Peter. During his time with Jesus, he was standing tall and proud to be a follower of the true Messiah. After Jesus’ arrest, however, Peter stooped low. He hung his head and tried to keep his identity hidden. When people recognized him, he denied his name and his savior. Repeatedly. The depths he sunk to were not entirely of his own making. Satan was attempting to sift him, to draw him away from God and self-destruction. Just like Judas. So when Peter tells us to make sure of our calling and election, he knows what he’s talking about.

It is important to understand the phrasing here. Peter is not teaching that the righteous works he previously discussed result in salvation, which would be a form of works-based salvation. Nor are we being told to search and wonder if we are called of God and truly saved. His command is to be sure of that which God has already completed, your salvation, by observing the work God is doing in us through regeneration and sanctification, and by noticing how our sinful appetites are being curbed. This isn’t theory, this is how Peter himself got past his personal betrayal and live a new life -- a life that was more than words and which resulted in soul-saving actions.

It may seem like a surprising leap of logic to link the idea of eternal security with living sinlessly, but Peter does so and for good reason. By keeping our focus on the blessings of God and his work in our lives we are kept from sinful cravings. To be clear, Peter is not promising that we will never sin as a Christian. The use of the Greek in this case is to be emphatic. If our chief encouragement is hope in the future, of eternity with Jesus in his kingdom of righteousness, then we are no longer focused on our own desires.

Therefore, all the righteous works that grow in us, those works we examined last week, keep us from “stumbling.” To be sure, this passage does not teach that our salvation is something that could be lost; to “stumble” in this instance, is not “to fall away eternally,” or to no longer belong to Christ. It simply means to live in a manner unlike love, to live sinfully, to be like Peter in those early morning hours before Jesus’ crucifixion. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be like Peter in Acts chapter 3. And we can be. We can be regenerated, sanctified and sure of our calling and election if only we take God at his word and acknowledge the proof of eternal life that grows within us.