2Peter 1:8-11
Don’t Sit On It
Due to VBS, we did not look at this text last week so to keep the
flow of the text, let’s review. In verses 1-4, Peter shared that one
of the thing God gives to the believers is a precious faith \\#1\\.
Then in \\#5-11\\, he charged the Christians to take that faith and
to add to it. So we moved from what God did for us to what we are to
do for ourselves. Now we are faced two alternatives. We can take
what God has started within us and develop it or we can take what God
has given to us a sit on it. Let’s note some things:
I. \\#Matt 25:14-30\\ This is alternative Jesus presented to the
disciples years before.
A. Peter did not tell us something new.
B. In Matthew, we have a parable where the Master (God) gave
talents (some kind of gifts) to his servants (people).
C. Note the outcome:
1. \\#26\\ I think it is safe to say that the Master was not
pleased.
2. \\#28\\ The Master took back what He had given.
a. What did the unprofitable servant have?
b. We are not told but it is described as one talent.
c. That means it could be about anything that the Lord
gives.
3. \\#30\\ The Master cast the unprofitable servant into
out darkness. Outer darkness is always a picture of hell
in the Bible.
D. What does it mean?
1. The easiest interpretation is that God will take salvation
away from those who do serve Him and cast them into hell.
2. While that may be the easiest interpretation to come to,
we know it is not correct.
a. Why?
b. Because God won’t cast a saved person into hell.
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit
of promise,
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption.
3. This parable is not about salvation.
a. It is about service.
b. The unporfitable servant was not saved before he got
his talent, while he had the talent, or after the
talent was taken away.
c. The overall message is, "Don’t sit on your gifts."
d. That is the message of the parable whether you are
saved or lost.
E. The talent could be any gift that God gives but let’s insert
faith as the gift being given into the parable.
1. God gives to everyone a measure of faith. Everyone is
born with it.
2. All faith is not the "precious faith" of which Peter
spoke.
a. If you eat ice cream purchased at the store, you
have faith that is has not been licked.
b. If you take any medicine, you have faith that the
druggist knew what he was doing.
c. If you ever drive or ride in a car, you have faith
that the brakes will stop it and that others will
stay in their lane.
3. But every person has to decide whether they are going to
use the simple faith that God gives to grow it into the
precious faith that saves the soul.
a. If you are lost, God gave you a simple faith.
b. Now invest it. Get a return on it.
c. Don’t sit on it.
d. If you don’t, three things are certain:
(1) God will not be pleased.
(2) God will take even your simple faith from you.
(3) You will go to hell.
II. In our text, Peter was also talking about taking the faith God
has given to Christians and adding to it.
A. There are differences what Jesus was saying in Matthew and
what Peter is saying here.
1. Matthew could be talking to either the saved or the lost
so hell was a very real possibility in that text.
2. Peter is not.
a. He is only speaking to the saved, i.e. "precious
faith" \\#1\\.
b. No where in this text does he indicate there is any
danger of a Christian going to hell.
3. But just like a lost person must work with his faith to be
saved so a saved person must add to his faith to grow.
B. \\#8\\ What if we add the things in \\#5-8\\ to our faith?
2Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
1. We will abound.
2. We will be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
2Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
3. You will never fall.
a. The word means to sin, to stumble, to err.
b. The idea is to stumble or fall in your salvation.
c. It does not have to mean "to fall FROM your
salvation."
4. You will have an abundant entrance into heaven. (You
won’t be barely getting inside!)
2Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
C. What if we do not add anything to our faith?
2Peter 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is
blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1. You are blind to spiritual truths.
2. You cannot see afar off.
a. What is a far off?
b. heaven, judgment
3. You have forgotten that you were purged from your sins.
a. Peter did not say this person lost his salvation.
b. He said he forgot about it.
4. This is the Christian who is stymied.
a. At the best, he is not maturing in his walk with
Christ.
b. Probably sliding back into the world.
c. And may be living the worldly life to an extreme.
III. What will Peter do about it?
A. \\#10\\ Peter challenged them to make certain that their
calling and election was sure.
2Peter 2:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
1. Whenever the word "election" is brought up in the
Scripture, it compels me to look to see what it means.
2. In this text, election could not mean what Calvinism says
it means.
a. To them, election is God randomly choosing some for
heaven and some for hell before the world began.
b. If that was the case, a Christian could not make it
sure—only God could.
c. Yet here, Peter was placing the responsibility for
making sure that you are part of the elect upon the
believer.
d. Why? Because election does not mean some are randomly
elected by God to go to heaven and some are randomly
selected to go to hell.
e. The elect are those who choose the Savior.
f. That you can make certain that you have done.
3. Peter’s thought is that if you are not growing your faith,
you may not be saved, and you had better do something
about it.
2 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?
B. \\#12-13\\ As long as he lives, he will remind the believers
to grow their faith. Peter did not say how he would do that
but I suspect it would be done by:
1. Preaching
2. Writing more epistles
3. Training the next generations of preachers to do the same.
C. \\#14-15\\ Peter will do what he can to make sure they are
reminded even after he is gone.
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