Today’s passage says this: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.
All believers have been called to do the will of God on earth. That is why Jesus taught us to pray that the Kingdom of God may come on earth as it is in heaven. Here, Peter wants to rouse the complacent believers who had listened to the false teachers and believed that because salvation is not based on good deeds, they could live any way they wanted. My friend, if you truly belong to the Lord, Peter wrote, your hard work will prove it. Alleluia! Besides, he points out the qualities that will develop in whoever is working FOR the kingdom of God: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Yes, if you are the working for the Lord, and your hard work backs up your claim to be chosen by God, you will be able to resist the lure of false teaching or glamourous sin (that of showmen or show-women).
My friend, the New Testament focuses on the fruit every Christian must bear because faith must be more than belief in certain facts; it must result in action, growth in Christian character and the practice of moral discipline… or it will die away (James 2:14-17). That’s why Peter also lists several faith’s actions that are not optional for Christians: learning to know God better, developing perseverance, doing God’s will, loving others… all these actions must be a continual part of the Christian life. And the truth is, we don’t finish one and start on the next, but we have to work on them all together. For that, the Lord empowers and strengthens us. Yes, our faith must go beyond what we believe: it must become a dynamic part of all we do, resulting in good fruit and spiritual maturity: “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:8-9). Salvation does does not depend on good deeds, but it produces good deeds in us: a person who claims to be saved while remaining unchanged does not understand faith and what Jesus has done for him or her on the cross. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.