II peter 1 8 12 commentary

II PETER 1 8-12 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
8 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.
BAR ES, "For if these things be in you, and abound - If they are in you
in rich abundance; if you are eminent for these things.
They make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful - They will
show that you are not barren or unfruitful. The word rendered “barren,” is, in the
margin, “idle.” The word “idle” more accurately expresses the sense of the
original. The meaning is, that if they evinced these things, it would show.
(1) That they were diligent in cultivating the Christian graces, and,
(2) That it was not a vain thing to attempt to grow in knowledge and virtue.
Their efforts would be followed by such happy results as to be an
encouragement to exertion. In nothing is there, in fact, more encouragement than
in the attempt to become eminent in piety. On no other efforts does God smile
more propitiously than on the attempt to secure the salvation of the soul and to
do good. A small part of the exertions which men put forth to become rich, or
learned, or celebrated for oratory or heroism, would secure the salvation of the
soul. In the former, also, men often fail; in the latter, never.
CLARKE, "For if these things be in you and abound - If ye possess all
there graces, and they increase and abound in your souls, they will make - show,
you to be neither αργους, idle, nor ακαρπους, unfruitful, in the acknowledgment of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The common translation is here very unhappy: barren and
unfruitful certainly convey the same ideas; but idle or inactive, which is the
proper sense of αργους, takes away this tautology, and restores the sense. The
graces already mentioned by the apostle are in themselves active principles; he
who was possessed of them, and had them abounding in him, could not be
inactive; and he who is not inactive in the way of life must be fruitful. I may add,
that he who is thus active, and consequently fruitful, will ever be ready at all
hazard to acknowledge his Lord and Savior, by whom he has been brought into
this state of salvation.

GILL," For if these things be in you,.... Are wrought in you by the Spirit of
God, and exercised and performed by his assistance, who works in his people
both to will and do:
and abound; increase in their acts and exercises by the frequent performance of
them: they make you; both by way of influence and evidence,
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. There is a knowledge of Christ which is barren and fruitless;
and those that have it are so in their conversations, and it will be of no avail to
them another day: and this is a mere notional and speculative knowledge, such as
is not attended with any inward experience and application of Christ to
themselves, or any fruits of righteousness in their lives, and is a bare theory of
things relating to his person, offices, and works; but there is a knowledge of him
that is spiritual and experimental, by which a soul not only approves of Christ,
but places its trust and confidence in him, and appropriates him to himself, and
practically observes his commands and ordinances in the faith of him; and in love
to him he performs the above duties, and exercises the above graces; from whence
it appears, that he is neither barren nor unfruitful himself in the profession of his
knowledge of Christ; "or in the acknowledgment of him", as it may be rendered;
nor is that a vain, empty, and useless thing: he is not like the barren fig tree, or
the earth that bears briers and thorns, and is nigh to cursing and burning, but like
a tree planted by a river of water, and is green, flourishing, and fruitful. This is
used as an argument to enforce the foregoing exhortation, to add to, that is, to
exercise and perform the above graces and duties, in conjunction with each other.
JAMISO , "be — Greek, “subsist” that is, supposing these things to have an
actual subsistence in you; “be” would express the mere matter-of-fact being (Act_
16:20).
abound — more than in others; so the Greek.
make — “render,” “constitute you,” habitually, by the very fact of possessing
these graces.
barren — “inactive,” and, as a field lying fallow and unworked (Greek), so
barren and useless.
unfruitful in — rather, ... in respect to, “The full knowledge (Greek) of Christ”
is the goal towards which all these graces tend. As their subsisting in us
constitutes us not barren or idle, so their abounding in us constitutes us not
unfruitful in respect to it. It is through doing His will, and so becoming like Him,
that we grow in knowing Him (Joh_7:17).
CALVI , "8.For if these things be in you. Then, he says, you will at length prove
that Christ is really known by you, if ye be endued with virtue, temperance, and the
other endowments. For the knowledge of Christ is an efficacious thing and a living
root, which brings forth fruit. For by saying that these things would make them
neither barren nor unfruitful, he shews that all those glory, in vain and falsely, that

they have the knowledge of Christ, who boast of it without love, patience, and the
like gifts, as Paul also says in Ephesians 4:20,
“Ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have heard him, and have been
taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off the old man,” etc.
For he means that those who possess Christ without newness of life, have never been
rightly taught his doctrine.
But he would not have the faithful to be only taught patience, godliness, temperance,
love; but he requires a continual progress to be made as to these endowments, and
that justly, for we are as yet far off from the goal. We ought, therefore, always to
make advances, so that God’s gifts may continually increase in us.
COKE, "2 Peter 1:8. For if these things be in you, and abound, &c.— For your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ will not be barren and fruitless, if these virtues
take place and improve in you. Heylin. The words make you—neither barren nor
fruitless, are, by a meiosis, put for will make you very diligent and fruitful. One
grand end of our Christian knowledge andtruth is, that we may be diligent and
fruitful, in works of holiness and righteousness. Titus 3:8; Titus 3:14.
COFFMA , ""It is the necessity of possessing these things enumerated in 2 Peter
1:5-7 and to be achieved at least in part by human effort, that is here stressed."[26]
If ... How frequently this word appears in the ew Testament! suggesting here that
in the last analysis, there is a vital and necessary contribution that man himself must
make in the direction of his salvation, but in the sense of doing those things without
which not even God can save his soul.
E D OTE:
[26] Albert E. Barnett, op. cit., p. 178.
BE SO , "2 Peter 1:8. For if these things be in you — This faith, this courage, this
knowledge, &c. ot if they be understood and professed by you merely, but if they
be in you, experienced in your hearts, and evinced in your lives; and abound —
Increase more and more, otherwise you fall short; they make you — They cause;
that ye shall neither be barren — Or rather, slothful, as αργους signifies; nor
unfruitful — Cumberers of the ground; or taking pains to do good, but without
succe, your efforts being fruitless through your want of one or other of these graces.
But these graces, possessed by you and kept in lively exercise, will neither suffer you
to faint in your minds, nor be without fruit in your lives. Observe, reader, if there be
in us less faithfulness, less watchfulness and care, less tenderness of conscience, less
fervour of spirit, and diligence in working out our salvation: and serving God, and
his cause, and people, since we were pardoned, than there was before; less outward

obedience to the law of God, and less zeal and conscientiousness in doing his will,
and glorifying him in and with our body and spirit, which are his, than when we
were seeking remission of sins and regenerating grace, we are both slothful and
unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ — That is, in the faith, which in that case does
not, cannot work by love.
BARCLAY, "O THE WAY (2 Peter 1:8-11)
1:8-11 For, if these things exist and increase within you, they will make you not
ineffective and not unfruitful in your progress towards the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For whoever does not possess these things is blind, short-sighted, and
has lapsed into forgetfulness that the sins of his old way of life have been cleansed
away, So, brothers, be the more eager to confirm your calling and your choice. For,
if you do practise these virtues, you will never slip, for you will be richly gifted with
the right of entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter strongly urges his people to keep climbing up this ladder of virtues which he
has set before them. The more we know of any subject the more we are fit to know.
It is always true that "to him that hath it shall be given." Progress is the way to
more progress. Moffatt says of ourselves and Jesus Christ: "We learn him as we live
with him and for him." As the hymn has it:
May every heart confess thy name,
And ever thee adore,
And, seeking thee, itself inflame
To seek thee more and more.
To keep climbing up the ladder of the virtues is to come ever nearer to knowing
Jesus Christ; and the further we climb, the further we are able to climb.
On the other hand, if we refuse to make the effort of the upward climb, certain
things happen. (a) We grow blind; we are left without the guiding light that the
knowledge of Jesus Christ brings. As Peter sees it, to walk without Christ is to walk
in the dark and not to be able to see the way. (b) We grow what Peter calls
muopazon (Greek #3467). This word can have either of two meanings. It can mean
short-sighted. It is easy to become short-sighted in life, to see things only as they
appear at the moment and to be unable to take the long view of things, to have our
eyes so fixed upon earth that we never think of the things beyond. It can also mean
blinking, shutting the eyes. Again, it is easy in life to shut our eyes to what we do not
wish to see, and to walk, as it were, in blinkers. To walk without Christ is to be in
danger of taking the short-sighted or the blinkered view of life.
Further, to fail to climb the ladder of virtue is to forget that the sins of the old way
of life have been cleansed away. Peter is thinking of baptism. At that time baptism
was adult baptism; it was a deliberate act of decision to leave the old way and to

enter upon the new. The man who, after baptism, does not begin upon the upward
climb has forgotten, or never realized, the meaning of the experience through which
he has passed. For many of us the parallel to baptism in this sense is entry into the
membership of the Christian Church. To make our commitment and then to remain
exactly the same, is to fail to understand what church membership means, for our
entry into it should be the beginning of a climb upon the upward way.
In view of all this, Peter urges his people to make every effort to confirm their
calling by God. Here is a most significant demand. In one way all is of God; it is
God's call which gives us entry into the fellowship of his people; without his grace
and his mercy we could do nothing and could expect nothing. But that does not
absolve us from every possible effort.
Let us take an analogy, which, although not perfect, may help us to understand.
Suppose a man who is wealthy and kind picks out a poor lad, who would never
otherwise have had the chance, and offers him the privilege of a university
education. The benefactor is giving the lad something which he could never have
achieved for himself; but the lad cannot make use of that privilege unless he is
prepared to work, and the harder he works the more he will enter into the privilege
offered to him. The gracious free offer and the personal hard work have to combine
before the privilege becomes fully effective.
It is so with us and God. God has called us in his free mercy and his unmerited
grace; but at the same time we have to bend every effort to toil upwards and
onwards on the way.
If we follow this upward way, Peter says, we shall in the end be richly gifted with
the right of entry into his eternal kingdom; and we shall not slip upon the way. By
this Peter does not mean that we will never sin. The picture in his mind is of a
march and he means that we will never fall out upon the march and be left behind.
If we set out upon this upward and onward way, the effort will be great but God's
help will also be great; and in spite of all the toil, he will enable us to keep going
until we reach our journey's end.
ELLICOTT, “ (8) For if these things be in you.—First reason for the preceding
exhortation—the benefit of having these graces. The original of “be in you” is a strong
expression, implying permanent and not mere momentary existence.
And abound.—Strictly, and multiply or increase. (Comp. Romans 5:20, and Note
there; Romans 6:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:3, where the same inadequate translation occurs in
the Authorised version.)
Neither be barren nor unfruitful.—Better, not idle nor yet unfruitful. Cranmer, Tyndale,
and Geneva all have “ydle.” The Greek word literally means “without work”—i.e., doing
nothing, as” unfruitful” means producing nothing. “That ye shall be” is not in the Greek,
and is not needed. The two adjectives “idle” and “unfruitful” exactly correspond to the
two verbs “be in you” and “increase.” If these things be in you, you will be morally

active; if they increase, you will be morally productive.
In the knowledge.—Rather, unto the knowledge; the fuller, more advanced knowledge
of 2 Peter 1:2-3, and 2 Peter 2:20. This is the goal towards which all these virtues tend,
the fruit which they tend to produce—the perfect knowledge of Christ. Those who are the
most like Christ in their lives have the fullest knowledge of Him in this world, a
knowledge to be perfected in the next world, when, purified from sin, “we shall see Him
as He is.” This clause, without the negatives, accurately describes the condition of the
false teachers whom the Apostle has in view. They were both “idle and unfruitful unto the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” They neither did nor produced anything that in any
degree advanced such knowledge either in themselves or others. The list of virtues just
commended (2 Peter 1:5-7) constitutes a solemn indictment against them. Practical
infidelity leading to vicious conduct; a hollow and pretentious philosophy leading to
libertinism; an impatience of control leading to utter godlessness; a selfish indifference to
the claims of those nearest to them ending in absolute heartlessness towards all men—
such is the charge brought against them, by implication here, directly in 2 Peter 2.
PULPIT, “For if these things be in you, and abound; literally, for these things belonging
to you and abounding make, etc. The word used here ( ??pa´????ta) implies actual
possession; these graces must be made our own; they must be wrought into our
characters: then they will increase and multiply, for the grace of God cannot lie still, it
must ever he advancing from glory to glory. They make you that ye shall neither be barren
nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; literally, they make you not idle
nor yet unfruitful towards the full knowledge. The Greek word for "knowledge" is e?p?
´???s?? (on which see 2 Peter 1:2, and note there). Here we know only in part, we see
through a glass darkly; but that imperfect knowledge should be ever growing, increasing
in fullness and distinctness (see 2 Peter 3:18). The various graces of the Christian
character, realized in the heart, will lead us on towards that fuller knowledge of Christ; if
they are really ours, they will not allow us to be idle, they must bring forth the fruit of
good works; and the life of righteousness by faith draws the Christian onwards in the
knowledge of Christ: we learn to knew him by following him (comp. Philippians 3:9,
Philippians 3:10; Colossians 1:10).
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful.
Fruits of the knowledge of Christ
Among the most beautiful emblems of the Christian life in Scripture are those
employed to shadow forth its fruitfulness. The choicest and noblest trees, the
majesty and gracefulness of whose form delight our eye, or whose fruits regale
our taste, are the Divinely chosen types of saved and sanctified men.
I. The supreme importance of Christian fruitfulness. It was not that your leaves
might idly wave in the sun, be fanned with the pleasant breath and sprinkled with
the refreshing dews of heaven, that you were taken from the wild forest of nature
and planted in the garden of God; but that you might reward the husbandman’s

care with abundance of the fruits of righteousness. And, if this result is not
realised, you may read His deep sorrow and anger in the words pronounced over
Israel (Isa_5:6). Fearful is the doom of barrenness (Heb_6:7-9).
II. Fruitfulness—in what it consists. It is in a man’s works and words and
influence that, according to the view of the apostle, we are to find the fruits of the
Christian life. Do not tell us of feelings and experiences, of qualities and graces, of
which you say you are conscious; unless these inward impulses and affections
make your life fertile in holy and loving purposes and performances. It is by what
a man does that it becomes known what he is. The fruit proceeds from the tree,
but is distinct from it. It is elaborated by the tree from the juices that circulate
through root and stem and branch. The air, and light, and moisture, and
nutritious elements of the soil contribute the materials; but the tree, out of these,
by the power of its wondrous life, forms a product altogether new. And so, like
the bounteous fruit-tree, every man who rightly fills his place in God’s vineyard is
not a consumer only but a producer. The world is the better for him. What has
been taken into his own soul from above and from around—the doctrine of God’s
Word—the influences of God’s Spirit—the lessons of nature and Providence—
mingles with his being, and is changed and elaborated into holy thoughts, which
may refresh thousands of hearts—into precious words of truth and power to
become the germs of life in others, and into deeds of holiness and love.
III. The degree in which fruitfulness is attainable. “Barren and unfruitful”—are
not two terms to express the same idea. A fallow field, which yields nothing for
the reaper’s sickle, is “barren” in the sense here meant. A field which rewards the
husbandman’s toil with only a scanty crop would be appropriately designated
“unfruitful.” He is far from exhibiting the perfection of the Divine life, who, like
the bleak patch beside the lonely cottage on the side of some stony bill, produces
but a poor and precarious harvest, although he has made a great and happy
transition from the desert barrenness of an unregenerate state. Maturity in grace,
with its rich and mellow clusters, is a spectacle as lovely as it is rare. Where it
does exist, it is often hidden from the view in many a humble home, in many a
sequestered path. It is by our bearing “much “fruit, our Saviour tells us, that His
Father is glorified in us. It is His continual aim that the fruitful branch may
become more fruitful still.
IV. The productive energies of the life of faith. To be fruitful, all the functions of a
tree must be in a healthy, vigorous state, its roots drawing nutriment from
beneath, its leaves drinking in the dew and sunshine, the sap stirring through
trunk and branch and leaf. If all its activities are in full and healthy play, its
energies will not be wasted in excessive growths of foliage and useless sprays, but
it will in its season bring forth fruit. What qualities must our souls possess in
order to secure fruitfulness? They are virtue, knowledge, self-restraint, patience,
godliness, brotherliness, charity. They impart to the soul a stamina and vigour,
which not only preserve its life in the drought of summer and amid the icy winds
of winter, but load the boughs with fruit. (W. Wilson, M. A.)
The choir of graces

In ancient Athens there was a class of officers called chorus-leaders, who
represented the various tribes and at public festivals or religious rejoicings for a
victory, brought out a chorus to lead the songs of the people. These leaders were
not always singers or practical musicians, but they equipped the chorus and paid
the cost of marshalling it upon public occasions. Hence the term which denoted
their office came to mean in general, “one who provides supplies,” and, therefore,
as in the text, add to or supply to faith, virtue, and the whole train of graces. Faith
is the leader of this choir; virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness,
brotherly-love, and charity are marshalled under faith as their leader, to swell the
praises of Christ from an obedient and loving soul. Faith is the clef which gives
the key in which these seven notes of the perfect scale are sounded. Faith
organises and sustains the chorus and has a place for each in its well-trained
band. When all are assembled faith drills them into harmony. But if any one be
wanting faith itself appears defective, and the soul is out of tune. It is as if the first
violin were wanting at a Philharmonic concert, or the trumpet obligate should fail
to sound in the resurrection scene of Handel’s “Messiah.”
1. That one who is wanting in these graces and takes no pains to cultivate
them has no warrant to believe himself a Christian. Every one of these virtues
being thus inward and spiritual, and having an intimate and necessary
relation to faith in Christ, where these are wanting there can be no living
germinating faith. I do not understand the apostle to teach that completeness
in each of these virtues, and the exact proportion and harmony of the whole
are essential to a Christian character; but are not these graces themselves,
each and all of them, so essential to that character that if any one of them is
wholly wanting, neither possessed nor sought after, he who is thus deficient is
blind and destitute as to the Christian character and life? A true Christian may
betray a lack of moral courage in certain emergencies, as did Peter after the
arrest of Jesus. But suppose Peter had continued to deny Christ at every
approach of danger, should we not have classed him with the apostate Judas?
One may be a true Christian whose knowledge of Christian doctrine is meagre,
and who makes frequent mistakes in practice. But if, after five, ten, twenty
years, one knows no more of the Bible and has no more heart-knowledge of
Christ, shall we continue to regard his experience of conversion as genuine? A
Christian may sometimes neglect a call of charity, or set aside a real claim
upon his love. But if he never heeds such a call, can he be a child of our Father
in heaven? Moreover, since all these graces may be imitated, the positive and
entire lack of one proves the rest to be counterfeit or superficial.
2. A full and symmetrical development of these graces is the most satisfactory
evidence and the most beautiful exhibition of Christian faith. The mind delights
its symmetry. The symmetrical development of the human form, in which each
member and feature, perfect in itself, is well proportioned to every other, is our
ideal of beauty. This symmetry of form and feature, extending to every line of the
countenance and every muscle of the anatomy, is the life-like perfection of the
statue; proportion is indispensable to beauty in architecture; symmetry and
perspective to the harmony of colours, to the effect of painting; chord and
harmonies, preserved even in the most difficult combinations of sound, are the

highest charm of music; rhythm, the measured and regular succession of sounds,
is essential to good poetry; the proportion of numbers and of mathematical laws
enters into every science which aims at completeness. But in nothing is this
symmetry so strenuously insisted upon as in moral character. The sharp and
sometimes carping criticism of men of the world upon the faults and even the
peccadilloes of professed Christians shows the demand of conscience for
completeness of character, and does homage to Christianity itself as a complete
system of morality. Hence the New Testament lays much stress upon
completeness of Christian character; for the word “perfection” signifies not so
much the absolute sinlessness of a sanctified nature, as the completeness, the full
symmetrical development of the renewed man in all the graces of the Christian
life. This conscious, steady, visible growth in all the graces is the best evidence of
a renewed heart. This full and symmetrical development of the Christian graces
makes to the world a most beautiful and convincing exhibition of the Christian
faith. A perfect Christian character is one in enumerating whose graces you can
always say and, and never interpose a but. The average Christian character is
sadly marred by that little disjunctive conjunction—He is a very good man—but;
He is kind and charitable at heart—but rough and irritable in manner; he is
temperate and patient—but lacking charity; he is reverent and devout—but lacks
moral courage.
3. The abounding of these graces in the soul will make it fruitful in the knowledge
of Christ—will insure for it a progressive and rewarding piety. The relation of
heart-culture to the enjoyment of religion is like that of good agriculture to a good
crop. You cannot have a garden by merely purchasing a place. The soil may be of
excellent quality, and the situation most favourable; the title may be well secured,
and the party of whom you buy may make most abundant promises as to the
fertility and beauty of the ground; but unless you give all diligence to make and
stock the garden, unless you dig and plant, and weed and trim, your title, deed,
and promises will not give you a single shrub or flower. If well-selected fruits and
flowers are in your garden and abound, they will make you fruitful in the
knowledge of its capacities and in the enjoyment of its pleasures. Two reflections
are obvious here.
1. If Christians find no enjoyment in religion, it is because they have failed to
cultivate its particular and combined graces.
2. The highest fruitfulness of a Church is to be secured by the perfecting of
personal character in its members. (Joseph P. Thompson.)
Two sorts of Christians
I. The bright picture of what every christian may and should be.
1. Every Christian may have for his own in assured possession that whole
series of lustrous beauties of character (2Pe_1:5-7). You may be strong and
discerning and temperate, etc. It is a prize within your reach; is it in any sense
a prize within your possession?
2. We may each have an increasing possession of all these graces. “If these things
be yours and abound,” or, as the word ought more accurately to be rendered “and

increase.” The expression suggests that if in any real sense they are in you, they
will be increasingly in you. The oftener a man lavishes the treasures of his love
the richer is the love which he has to lavish. The more rigidly he schools and
disciplines himself the more complete becomes his command over his unruly
nature.
3. We may all, if we will, have these graces making us diligent and faithful. The
meaning of the word rendered “barren” is, as the Revised Version and the margin
of the Authorised give it, “idle.” Well, that seems a little thing, that all that
aggregation of Christian graces has only for its effect to make men not idle, not
unfruitful. And it seems, to some extent, too, illogical, because all these graces are
themselves the result of diligence, and are themselves fruit. But the apparent
difficulty, like many of the other anomalous expressions of Scripture, covers deep
thoughts. The first is this—Look after your characters and work will look after
itself. The world says, “Do! do! do!” Christianity says, “Be! be! be! “If you are
right, then, and only then will you do right. So learn this lesson, do not waste your
time in tinkering at actions, go deeper down and make the actor right, and then
the actions will not be wrong. The highest exercises of these radiant gems of
Christian graces is to make men diligent and fruitful, Again, it takes the whole of
these Christian graces to overcome our natural indolence. The pendulum will be
sure to settle into the repose that gravitation dictates unless the clock be kept
wound up, and it needs all the wheels and springs to keep it ticking for its four
and twenty hours. The homely duty of hard work, the prosaic virtue of diligence,
is the very flower and highest product of all these transcendent graces. Then, still
further, there is a lesson here in the collocation of the words before us, namely, an
idle Christian is certain to be a barren one. And now the last point in this picture
of what all Christian people may be is—by the exercise of diligence and
fruitfulness attain to a fuller knowledge of Christ. Literally rendered, the text
reads, “towards the knowledge.” There be two measures of knowledge of Christ.
There is that initial one which dawns upon a heart in the midst of its sin and evil,
and assures it of a loving friend and of a Divine Redeemer; and there is the
higher, constantly expanding, deepening, becoming more intimate and unbroken,
more operative on the life and transforming in the character, which is the reward
and the crown of earth, and the crown and heaven of heaven. And it is this
knowledge which the apostle here says, will follow if, and only if, we have striven
to add to our faith all these graces, and they have made us strenuous in service
and fruitful in holiness.
II. The contrasted outlines of the black picture of what some of us are.
1. It is possible for a man to be purged from his old sins and yet not to be
growing. It is a case of arrested development, as you sometimes see a man
with the puny limbs of childhood; or, as you sometimes see a plant, which you
cannot say is dead, but it has not vitality enough to flower or to fruit.
2. Further, such a one is “blind,” or, as the apostle goes on to explain, or, if you
like, to correct himself, “he cannot see afar off.” The apostle employs a unique
word to express “cannot see afar off,” which, if you will pardon the vulgarism for
the sake of the force, I would venture to translate “blinks.” There was a time when
you had clear vision. The smoky roof of your cabin was rent, and you saw through

it up to the Throne, but your eyes have gone dim because you have been careless
to develop your faith; and where there is no development of faith there is
retrogression of faith. Therefore, all the far-off glories have faded, and the only
things that you see are the things that are temporal, the material, the pressure of
present cares, and the like.
3. Let me remind you of the last point in this sad picture. “He hath forgotten that
he was purged from his old sins.” Yes! These idle unfruitful Christians have in
their memories, if they would only open the cupboard door and look, a blessed
gift long ago given that might, and that ought to stimulate them. They are their
own worst condemnation. There was a time when they felt the burden of sin upon
their consciences when they hated it and desired to be free from it. And what has
it all come to? The sins forgiven have come back; the sins hated have reasserted
their dominion; Pharaoh has caught them again. The moment’s emancipation has
been followed by a recrudescence of all the old transgressions. So they contradict
themselves and their own past and contravene the purpose of God in their
pardon, and, with monstrous ingratitude, are untouched by the tender motives to
growth in holiness which lie in the pouring out of the blood which cleanses from
all sin. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.—
Our Lord Jesus Christ
As He is “Lord” He can, as He is “Jesus” He will, as He is “Christ “He doth, as He
is “Our” He shall save us. “Lord”; consider His righteousness. “Jesus”; consider
His sweetness. “Christ”; consider His willingness. “Our”; consider His goodness
that gives us interest in Himself and vouchsafes us to challenge His mercy.
“Lord,” in regard of His dominion (Psa_99:1). “Jesus,” in regard of His salvation
(Psa_68:20). “Christ,” in regard of the promise (Joh_7:26; Joh_7:41). “Our,” in
regard of His appropriating Himself unto us (Heb_2:16). “Lord,” in His power,
His works declare Him to be the Lord (Psa_135:6). “Jesus,” in being made (Gal_
4:4; Joh_1:14). “Christ,” in being sacrificed and crucified for us (1Co_11:24).
“Our,” in respect of the covenant (Heb_8:10). Infinite mercy! The Lord’s Christ is
become our Jesus (Luk_2:26). (Thos. Adams.)
GUZIK, “4. (8-9) How to use these qualities to measure our Christian walk.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to
blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
a. If these things are yours and abound: If we have these things, and abound in these
things, it is evident to everyone that we are not barren nor unfruitful in our knowledge of
Jesus.
i. The words barren and unfruitful characterize the lives of many Christians, who
lack these qualities because they lack in their knowledge of God, that is, knowing Him
relationally in an increasingly fuller and deeper sense.

ii. Abound: Some may feel good that these qualities are seen in us from time to time. But Peter
says they should abound in us.
b. He who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness: If we lack these things, it
shows we have "eye trouble." We are shortsighted, unable to see God, only ourselves. This
makes us virtually blind, showing we have forgotten that we were cleansed from his old
sins.
i. "Such a man sees the things of time, and fails to discern those of eternity . . . he
sees himself and his fellowmen, but not God. This nearsightedness is destructive of a
true Christian experience, and therefore makes advance impossible." (Morgan)
ii. The reason for this condition is also stated; such a one has forgotten that he was
cleansed from his old sins. "That is to say, he has failed to respond to all the
enlargement of life and vision which came to him when he received the cleansing of
his nature at the very beginning of his Christian life." (Morgan)
iii. Perhaps this one has forgotten how bad he was, and how much he needed this cleansing.
Perhaps this one has forgotten the great cost of this purging of sin's dirty stain. Perhaps this
one has forgotten how great and complete the cleansing is, making a once guilty sinner now as
pure and as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18 ).
9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted
and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed
from their past sins.
BAR ES, "But he that lacketh these things is blind - He has no clear
views of the nature and the requirements of religion.
And cannot see afar off - The word used here, which does not occur elsewhere
in the New Testament, (µυωπάζων muōpazōn,) means to shut the eyes; i. e., to
contract the eyelids, to blink, to twinkle, as one who cannot see clearly, and hence
to be “near-sighted.” The meaning here is, that he is like one who has an
indistinct vision; one who can see only the objects that are near him, but who has
no correct apprehension of objects that are more remote. He sees but a little way
into the true nature and design of the gospel. He does not take those large and
clear views which would enable him to comprehend the whole system at a glance.
And hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins - He does not

remember the obligation which grows out of the fact that a system has been
devised to purify the heart, and that he has been so far brought under the power
of that system as to have his sins forgiven. If he had any just view of that, he
would see that he was under obligation to make as high attainments as possible,
and to cultivate to the utmost extent the Christian graces.
CLARKE, "But he that lacketh these things - He, whether Jew or Gentile,
who professes to have Faith in God, and has not added to that Faith fortitude,
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and universal
love; is blind - his understanding is darkened, and cannot see afar off, µυωπαζων,
shutting his eyes against the light, winking, not able to look truth in the face, nor
to behold that God whom he once knew was reconciled to him: and thus it
appears he is wilfully blind, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sins - has at last, through his nonimprovement of the grace which he received
from God, his faith ceasing to work by love, lost the evidence of things not seen;
for, having grieved the Holy Spirit by not showing forth the virtues of him who
called him into his marvellous light, he has lost the testimony of his sonship; and
then, darkness and hardness having taken place of light and filial confidence, he
first calls all his former experience into doubt, and questions whether he has not
put enthusiasm in the place of religion. By these means his darkness and
hardness increase, his memory becomes indistinct and confused, till at length he
forgets the work of God on his soul, next denies it, and at last asserts that the
knowledge of salvation, by the remission of sins, is impossible, and that no man
can be saved from sin in this life. Indeed, some go so far as to deny the Lord that
bought them; to renounce Jesus Christ as having made atonement for them; and
finish their career of apostasy by utterly denying his Godhead. Many cases of this
kind have I known; and they are all the consequence of believers not continuing
to be workers together with God, after they had experienced his pardoning love.
Reader, see that the light that is in thee become not darkness; for if it do, how
great a darkness!
GILL," But he that lacketh these things,.... Or in, and with whom, they are
not; that is, these virtues, as the Arabic version reads, as faith, virtue, knowledge,
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity; where the
principles of those things are not, and they are not exercised and performed, such
an one
is blind: let him boast ever so much of his light and knowledge, and value
himself upon it, and expect to be saved by it, let him live as he will; for he has no
true knowledge of God, as in Christ, as the God of all grace, as his covenant God
and Father; nor does he know what it is to have communion with him in Christ;
he only professes to know him in words, while in works he denies him; nor has he
any right knowledge of Christ, only notional and general, not spiritual,
experimental, particular, and practical; he does not see the Son, so as truly to

believe in him; he has no true sight of his beauty, suitableness, and fulness, and of
him for himself; nor any experience of the work of the Spirit of God upon his
heart, whom he neither receives, sees, nor knows spiritually, any more than the
world itself does; nor does he see the plague of his own heart, the corruptions of
his nature, and the exceeding sinfulness of sin; nor has he any true spiritual light
into the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, only a form of godliness, without the
power of it: and therefore, whatever natural understanding of things he has, he is
spiritually blind,
and cannot see afar off: at least, not the good land that is afar off, the
kingdom of heaven; the invisible glories of the other world; things that are not
seen, which are eternal, which one that has true faith has a glimpse and sight of;
nor Christ, who is in heaven at the right hand of God, and the things of Christ, his
blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, carried within the vail; nor even what is
within himself, the sins of his heart, the pollution of his nature, and the evil that
dwells there; he sees not that he is poor, and wretched, and miserable, but fancies
himself to be rich, and in need of nothing; he sees nothing but outward things,
the things of time and sense, worldly and earthly things, which are near him, and
all around him, which he minds, on which his heart is set, and he pursues with
rigour. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "trying with the hand", as blind men
do, feeling and groping to find the way; see Act_17:27,
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins; not by baptism,
from the sins committed before it, for that does not purge from any sins, old or
new, but that which it leads the faith of believers to, for pardon and cleansing,
even the blood of Christ; but this also, and purification by it, is not meant here,
though generally interpreters give this as the sense, and understanding it of the
sin of ingratitude in such a person, who had received so great a benefit by Christ,
and was unmindful of it; since it cannot be thought that one so described as above
should ever have had his conscience purged by the blood of Christ from his old
sins, or those before conversion, unless it be by profession; and then the sense is,
that he has forgotten that he once professed to have been purged from all his sins
by Christ; which, if he had, would have made him zealous of good works, and put
him upon glorifying Christ both in body and spirit. The Ethiopic version renders
it, "and he hath forgot to purge himself from old sins"; which he would have been
concerned for, had he had a true and spiritual knowledge of Christ, and his
Gospel, and an application of the exceeding great and precious promises of it, or
had been made a partaker of the divine nature through them; see 2Co_7:1, but
the words are better rendered agreeably to the original text, "and hath forgotten
the purification of his old, or former sins"; or "sins of old"; as they are rendered
by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; that is, he does not consider,
nor think of it, that he was a sinner of old, a sinner in Adam, that he was
conceived and shapen in sin, and went astray, and was called a transgressor from
the womb; he does not think that he stands in any need of being purged from
former sins; and is entirely unmindful of, and neglects, the purification of them
by the blood of Christ.

JAMISO , "But — Greek, “For.” Confirming the need of these graces (2Pe_
1:5-8) by the fatal consequences of the want of them.
he that lacketh — Greek, “he to whom these are not present.”
blind — as to the spiritual realities of the unseen world.
and cannot see afar off — explanatory of “blind.” He closes his eyes (Greek) as
unable to see distant objects (namely, heavenly things), and fixes his gaze on
present and earthly things which alone he can see. Perhaps a degree of willfulness
in the blindness is implied in the Greek, “closing the eyes,” which constitutes its
culpability; hating and rebelling against the light shining around him.
forgotten — Greek, “contracted forgetfulness,” willful and culpable
obliviousness.
that he was purged — The continually present sense of one’s sins having been
once for all forgiven, is the strongest stimulus to every grace (Psa_130:4). This
once-for-all accomplished cleansing of unbelievers at their new birth is taught
symbolically by Christ, Joh_13:10, Greek, “He that has been bathed (once for all)
needeth not save to wash his feet (of the soils contracted in the daily walk), but is
clean every whit (in Christ our righteousness).” “Once purged (with Christ’s
blood), we should have no more consciousness of sin (as condemning us, Heb_
10:2, because of God’s promise).” Baptism is the sacramental pledge of this.
CALVI , "9.But he that lacketh these things. He now expresses more clearly that
they who profess a naked faith are wholly without any true knowledge. He then says
that they go astray like the blind in darkness, because they do not see the right way
which is shewn to us by the light of the gospel. (151) This he also confirms by adding
this reason, because such have forgotten that through the benefit of Christ they had
been cleansed from sin, and yet this is the beginning of our Christianity. It then
follows, that those who do not strive for a pure and holy life, do not understand even
the first rudiments of faith.
But Peter takes this for granted, that they who were still rolling in the filth of the
flesh had forgotten their own purgation. For the blood of Christ has not become a
washing bath to us, that it may be fouled by our filth. He, therefore, calls them old
sins, by which he means, that our life ought to be otherwise formed, because we
have been cleansed from our sins; not that any one can be pure from every sin while
he lives in this world, or that the cleansing we obtain through Christ consists of
pardon only, but that we ought to differ from the unbelieving, as God has separated
us for himself. Though, then, we daily sin, and God daily forgives us, and the blood
of Christ cleanses us from our sins, yet sin ought not to rule in us, but the
sanctification of the Spirit ought to prevail in us; for so Paul teaches us in 1
Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you; but ye are washed,” etc.
PULPIT, “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off; literally,
for he to whom these things are not present is blind, short-sighted. We cannot attain
to the knowledge of Christ without these graces, for he who has them not is blind,
or, at the best, short-sighted, like one who blinks with his eyes when he tries to see

distant objects, and cannot bear the full light of day. Such a man can only see the
things which lie close around him—earth and earthly things; he cannot lift up his
eyes by faith and behold "the land that is very far off;" he cannot "see the King in
his beauty" (Isaiah 33:17). The word for "short-sighted" ( µ??pa´???) occurs only
here in the ew Testament. And hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sins; literally, having incurred forgetfulness of the cleansing from his old sins. St.
Peter is apparently thinking of the one baptism for the remission of sin. Ananias had
said to Saul, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins" (Acts 22:16); St.
Peter himself had said, in his first great sermon, "Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the ame of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Those who do not
realize in the religious life that death unto sin of which holy baptism is the sign and
the beginning, incur forgetfulness of the cleansing from sin which they then
received; they do not use the grace once given for the attainment of those higher
graces of which St. Peter has been speaking. The one talent once entrusted to them
must be taken from them; they are idle and unfruitful, and cannot reach unto the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ELLICOTT, “(9) But he that lacketh.—Rather, for he that lacketh. Geneva and Rheims have
“for.” The “for” introduces the second reason for the exhortation to furnish forth all these graces—
viz., the evil of not having them. The Greek implies absence of possession in any degree, not
merely absence of permanent possession. (See first Note on 2 Peter 1:8 .)
Is blind.—We might have expected “will be idle and unfruitful, &c.,” but the writer is not content
with merely emphasizing what has just been said, after the manner of St. John (e.g., 2 Peter 1:3
; 1 John 1:5 ; 1 John 2:4 ; 1 John 2:27-28 ; 1 John 4:2-3 ; 1 John 4:6 ); he puts the
case in a new way, with a new metaphor equally, applicable to the subject of knowledge. Note that
he does not say “will be blind,” but” is blind.” The very fact of his possessing none of these graces
shows that he has no eye for them.
Cannot see afar off.—The Greek word means literally closing the eyes; and the point seems to
be, not wilful shutting of the eyes (those who won’t see), but involuntary and partial closing, as in
the case of short-sighted people; in a spiritual sense, those who have only a very hazy
apprehension of the objects of belief and of the bearing which their beliefs should have on their
conduct. There is, therefore, no anti-climax, a weak expression following a strong one, but a
simple explanation, a more definite term following a general one; it explains what kind of blindness
is meant. The special kind of short-sightedness here indicated is that of one who just sees that he
is a member of a Christian community, but perceives neither the kind of life that one who has
been purged from heathen enormities is bound to lead, nor the kind of life which alone can win an
entrance into Christ’s kingdom. The shortsightedness of not being able to see beyond this present
world is probably not expressed here.
And hath forgotten.—Literally, having received or incurred forgetfulness—a unique expression in
the New Testament. The phrase does not necessarily imply that the forgetfulness is voluntary; it is
the inevitable result of wilful neglect—the neglect to cultivate Christian virtues. The forgetfulness is
not the cause of the shortsightedness, but a phase of it.
His old sins.—Those committed before he was “purged” in baptism (1 Corinthians 6:11
; Ephesians 5:26 ; 1 Peter 3:21 ).
COKE, "2 Peter 1:9. And cannot see afar off,— The word ΄υωπαζων signifies

literally winking, or closing the eyes against the light. The apostle having
represented the professed Christian, who is destitute of the graces and virtues of the
Christian life, as blind, immediately informs us what sort of blindness that is, and
intimates that it is a voluntary blindness. He does not see his way, because he
voluntarily shuts his eyes against the light. The Christian religion does so often and
so clearly represent the absolute necessity of a holy life unto all that would be saved,
and the light of the Holy Spirit is so far given or offered to every man, that whoever
can read the scriptures, and does not perceive the nature of the gospel so far, as to
press after acceptance with God through Jesus Christ his Son, and holiness of heart
and life in consequence thereof, is indeed blind, but wilfully so: blinded by criminal
prejudice, by lust, passion, or a love of vice. They must be wilfully blind, who see not
that Christianity requires a holy life as necessary to eternal salvation.
COFFMA , "Blind, seeing only what is near ... The last clause is a limitation on the
blindness, showing the kind Peter meant, which was not "total blindness" but
myopia, or extreme near-sightedness.
SPIRITUAL MYOPIA
Alas, this is the blindness that afflicts all unspiritual souls who sacrifice the hope of
eternal life for immediate convenience or pleasure. There are many Biblical
examples of persons afflicted with spiritual myopia. (1) Lot pitched his tent toward
Sodom, solely because the immediate prospect seemed favorable. (2) The rich man
neglected Lazarus begging at his gate, rather than accepting whatever
inconvenience of the moment that might have been incurred in his relief. (3) Demas
was dazzled by the near-at-hand attractiveness of the present age and forsook Paul
(2 Timothy 4:10). (4) The parable of the prodigal son gives another example of one
for whom the romantic allure of the "far country" with its short term promise of
diversion, pleasure and entertainment, etc., blinded him to the tragedy of ultimate
consequences. It is not hard to see that the world still has its share of those who are
the spiritual sons of Lot, Demas, the prodigal son, and the rich man of the parable.
SPIRITUAL HYPEROPIA
There is also a spiritual malady exactly the opposite of spiritual myopia except in
the one particular of producing the same undesirable consequences. It is spiritual
hyperopia, or far-sightedness. It is generally accepted as a compliment when people
are told that they are "far-sighted"; but there is a type of far-sightedness that goes
much too far: (1) The eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth (Proverbs 17:24). (2)
The one concerned with the mote in his brother's eye while at the same time being
unable to see the beam in his own eye is another example. (3) Hyperopia afflicts the
emotions of some who cannot appreciate present blessings, who are restless and
dissatisfied even with abundance, because they have set their eyes upon some
Utopia, despising all present good in the fevered pursuit of some fantastic Shangrila.
Harriet Winslow addressed these lines to sufferers of such a malady:
Why thus longing, thus forever sighing, For the far-off, unattained, and dim? While

the beautiful all around thee lying, Offers its low, perpetual hymn.
(4) Hyperopia also interferes with the work that people should do, making it
impossible for those afflicted with it to find anything close at hand to do. Like Sir
Launfal, they set their eyes on the ends of the earth, dashing off in pursuit of some
great thing to do, while their only opportunity for service and salvation lies ignored
and forgotten at their feet. It is this class which Jesus warned with his words,
"Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to
me" (Matthew 25:45). What far-sighted souls we are! We go in a trance dreaming of
worlds to conquer while at our very doors and within our very homes the Master is
hungry and sick and in prison!
Illustration. At a religious convention in Pittsburg a few years ago, a young woman
from a western village sought funds to remain in Pittsburg and do social welfare
work. When the committee in charge inquired of the work she had been doing at
home, it came out that she had never done anything; and the chairman said, "Young
lady, what you need is to learn how to move in your own burg before you move to
Pittsburg!"
Great spiritual opportunities do not lie at the foot of some Andean rainbow, but
here, not upon some nebulous tomorrow, but today and now. As Paul put it: "The
word that is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith
which we preach" (Romans 10:8).
"Having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins ... "This refers to wrong acts
committed prior to baptism, not to inherited depravity of human nature."[27]
"Peter is apparently thinking of the one baptism for the remission of sin."[28] This
expression is an allusion to baptism."[29] It refers to "the cleansing he received in
baptism."[30] "His old sins ..." means "those committed before he was `purged' in
baptism."[31] William Barclay has this:
Failure to climb the ladder of virtue is to forget that the sins of the old way of life
have been cleansed away. Peter is thinking of baptism. At that time baptism was
adult baptism, a deliberate act of decision to leave the old way and to enter upon the
new.[32]
This passage sheds light on a number of important questions; and the following
deductions would appear to be justified: (1) Conversion does not occur until
baptism takes place. (2) "Old sins" are totally remitted at the time of baptism. (3)
The salvation in this is neither final nor irrevocable. (4) Obedience to the commands
of Christ is prerequisite both for cleansing from "old sins" and for the ultimate and
eternal cleansing.
[27] Ibid., p. 179.
[26] B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 5.
[27] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 528.

[28] B. C. Caffin, op. cit. p. 5.
[29] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 528.
[30] J. R. Dummelow, One Volume Commentary on the Holy Bible ( ew York: The
Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1050.
[31] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 446.
[32] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 306.
BE SO , "2 Peter 1:9. But he that lacketh these things — And does not add them
to his faith; is blind — With respect to spiritual things. The eyes of his
understanding are again closed; he hath lost the evidence of things not seen; he no
longer sees by faith God reconciled to him in Christ. Inward and outward holiness
being the natural fruit of the knowledge of Christ, the person who pretends to have
that knowledge, and yet does not aspire and labour after that holiness, is blind with
respect to the nature of true Christianity; and cannot see afar off — amely, the
things of another world, but only the things of this world, which are present. The
word µυωπαζων signifies literally, he is pur-blind. He has lost sight of the precious
promises: perfect love and heaven are equally out of sight. ay, he cannot now see
what he himself once enjoyed, having, as it were, forgot that he was purged, &c. —
Greek, ληθην λαβων του καθαρισµου των παλαι αυτου αµαρτιων, having forgotten
the purification from his former sins; not remembering, or not having a proper
sense of what he himself felt when his past sins were forgiven him, and he wasfirst
assured of his acceptance with God. “The apostle’s expression here, in which he
alludes to baptism, together with Ananias’s words to Paul, (Acts 22:16,) Arise and
be baptized, and wash away thy sins, is thought by many to imply, that in baptism
the guilt of former sins is washed away. But Paul himself hath taught the sound
meaning of Ananias’s words, (Hebrews 10:22,) Having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Besides, Peter, in his first
epistle, tells us expressly that baptism is not the washing away of the filth of the
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, in which respect it resembles
circumcision, which is not that which is outward, but of the heart, by cutting off all
irregular passions and appetites. The washing in baptism, therefore, is not a real,
but an emblematical washing of the sinner from the guilt of his sins.” Which
emblem, as it contains a promise of pardon, so it is realized to all truly penitent
sinners, who believe in Christ with their hearts unto righteousness, and to none else.
See Macknight.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make
every effort to CO FIRM YOUR calling and

election. For if you do these things, you will never
stumble,
BAR ES, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence - 2Pe_1:5.
“In view of these things, give the greater diligence to secure your salvation.” The
considerations on which Peter based this appeal seem to have been the fact that
such promises are made to us, and such hopes held out before us; the degree of
uncertainty thrown over the whole matter of our personal salvation by low
attainments in the divine life, and the dreadful condemnation which will ensue if
in the end it shall be found that we are destitute of all real piety. The general
thought is, that religion is of sufficient importance to claim our highest diligence,
and to arouse us to the most earnest efforts to obtain the assurance of salvation.
To make your calling and election sure - On the meaning of the word
“calling,” see the notes at Eph_4:1. On the meaning of the word “election,” see the
Rom_9:11 note; 1Th_1:4 note. Compare Eph_1:5. The word rendered “election”
here, (ᅚκλογήν eklogēn,) occurs only in this place and in Act_9:15; Rom_9:11;
Rom_11:5, Rom_11:7,Rom_11:28; 1Th_1:4; though corresponding words from
the same root denoting “the elect, to elect, to choose,” frequently occur. The word
here used means “election,” referring to the act of God, by which those who are
saved are “chosen” to eternal life. As the word “calling” must refer to the act of
God, so the word “election” must; for it is God who both “calls” and “chooses”
those who shall be saved. The word in the Scriptures usually refers to the actual
choosing of those who shall be saved; that is, referring to the time when they, in
fact, become the children of God, rather than to the purpose of God that it shall
be done; but still there must have been an eternal purpose, for God makes no
choice which he did not always intend to make.
The word “sure,” means firm, steadfast, secure, (βεβαίαν bebaian.) Here the
reference must be to “themselves;” that is, they were so to act as to make it
certain to themselves that they had been chosen, and were truly called into the
kingdom of God. It cannot refer to God, for no act of theirs could make it more
certain on his part, if they had been actually chosen to eternal life. Still, God
everywhere treats men as moral agents; and what may be absolutely certain in his
mind from the mere purpose that it “shall” be so, is to be made certain to us only
by evidence, and in the free exercise of our own powers. The meaning here is, that
they were to obtain such evidences of personal piety as to put the question
whether they were “called” and “chosen,” so far as their own minds were
concerned, to rest; or so as to have undoubted evidence on this point. The Syriac,
the Vulgate, and some Greek manuscripts, insert here the expression “by your
good works;” that is, they were to make their calling sure “by” their good works,
or by holy living.
This clause, as Calvin remarks, is not authorized by the best authority, but it does
not materially affect the sense. It was undoubtedly by their “good works” in the
sense of holy living, or of lives consecrated to the service of God, that they were to
obtain the evidence that they were true Christians; that is, that they had been

really called into the kingdom of God, for there is nothing else on which we can
depend for such evidence. God has given no assurance to us by name that he
intends to save us. We can rely on no voice, or vision, or new revelation, to prove
that it is so. No internal feeling of itself, no raptures, no animal excitement, no
confident persuasion in our own minds that we are elected, can be proof in the
case; and the only certain evidence on which we can rely is that which is found in
a life of sincere piety. In view of the important statement of Peter in this verse,
then, we may remark:
(1) That he believed in the doctrine of election, for he uses language which
obviously implies this, or such as they are accustomed to use who believe the
doctrine.
(2) The fact that God has chosen those who shall be saved, does not make our
own efforts unnecessary to make that salvation sure to us. It can be made sure to
our own minds only by our own exertions; by obtaining evidence that we are in
fact the children of God. There can be no evidence that salvation will be ours,
unless there is a holy life; that is, unless there is true religion. Whatever may be
the secret purpose of God in regard to us, the only evidence that we have that we
shall be saved is to be found in the fact that we are sincere Christians, and are
honestly endeavoring to do his will.
(3) It is possible to make our calling and election sure; that is, to have such
evidence on the subject that the mind shall be calm, and that there will be no
danger of deception. If we can determine the point that we are in fact true
Christians, that settles the matter - for then the unfailing promise of God meets
us that we shall be saved. In making our salvation sure to our own minds, if we
are in fact true Christians, we have not to go into an argument to prove that we
have sufficient strength to resist temptation, of that we shall be able in any way to
keep ourselves. All that matter is settled by the promise of God, that if we are
Christians we shall be kept by Him to salvation. The only question that is to be
settled is, whether we are in fact true Christians, and all beyond that may be
regarded as determined immutably. But assuredly it is possible for a man to
determine the question whether he is or is not a true Christian.
(4) If it can be done, it should be. Nothing is more important for us to do than
this; and to this great inquiry we should apply our minds with unfaltering
diligence, until by the grace of God we can say that there are no lingering doubts
n regard to our final salvation.
For if ye do these things - The things referred to in the previous verses. If you
use all diligence to make as high attainments as possible in piety, and it you
practice the virtues demanded by religion, 2Pe_1:5-7.
Ye shall never fall - You shall never fall into perdition. That is, you shall
certainly he saved.
CLARKE, "Wherefore - Seeing the danger of apostasy, and the fearful end of
them who obey not the Gospel, and thus receive the grace of God in vain; give all
diligence, σπουδασατε, hasten, be deeply careful, labor with the most intense
purpose of soul.

To make your calling - From deep Gentile darkness into the marvellous light
of the Gospel.
And election - Your being chosen, in consequence of obeying the heavenly
calling, to be the people and Church of God. Instead of κλησιν, calling, the Codex
Alexandrinus has παρακλησιν, consolation.
Sure - Βεβαιαν· Firm, solid. For your calling to believe the Gospel, and your
election to be members of the Church of Christ, will be ultimately unprofitable to
you, unless you hold fast what you have received by adding to your faith virtue,
knowledge, temperance, etc.
For if ye do these things - If ye be careful and diligent to work out your own
salvation, through the grace which ye have already received from God; ye shall
never fall, ου µη πταισητε ποτε, ye shall at no time stumble or fall; as the Jews have
done, and lost their election, Rom_11:11, where the same word is used, and as
apostates do, and lose their peace and salvation. We find, therefore, that they who
do not these things shall fall; and thus we see that there is nothing absolute and
unconditional in their election. There is an addition here in some MSS. and
versions which should not pass unnoticed: the Codex Alexandrinus, nine others,
with the Syriac, Erpen’s Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac with an
asterisk, the Vulgate, and Bede, have ινα δια των καλων (ᆓµων) εργων, That By
(your) Good Works ye may make your calling and election firm. This clause is
found in the edition of Colinaeus, Paris, 1534, and has been probably omitted by
more recent editors on the supposition that the edition does not make a very
orthodox sense. But on this ground there need be no alarm, for it does not state
that the good works thus required merit either the calling and election, or the
eternal glory, of God. He who does not by good works confirm his calling and
election, will soon have neither; and although no good works ever did purchase or
ever can purchase the kingdom of God, yet no soul can ever scripturally expect to
see God who has them not. I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink: go, ye cursed. I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; etc., etc.;
come, ye blessed.
GILL," Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence,.... To exercise the
afore mentioned graces, and to perform the above duties, since this is the way
to make your calling and election sure; by calling is not meant a call to any
office in the church, nor an external call, either by the voice of nature, or by the
ministry of the word; but an internal and effectual call by special grace, to grace
here, and glory hereafter; instead of "calling", the Alexandrian copy reads,
"comfort": and by "election" is meant, not a national, nor church election, but a
particular and personal one, since scattered saints, and particular believers, are
here written to, and each called upon to be diligent to make their own, and not
another's, calling and election sure; nor is a choice of persons to an office
designed, seeing the apostle writes not to officers of churches in particular, but to

believers in common; nor a separation of persons from the world by the effectual
calling, since these two are both mentioned here, and as distinct from each other,
and to be made sure; but an election of particular persons to eternal life and
salvation is here intended, which is an eternal act of God, arises from his free
grace and favour, and is according to his sovereign will and pleasure; and is
absolute, and independent of any condition, foreseen, or required in men, as
faith, holiness, and good works; all which are fruits and effects, and not causes
and conditions of electing grace. These may be made "sure", not in themselves, or
with respect to God, for in this sense they cannot be made surer than they are:
effectual calling is according to the purpose of God, which cannot be frustrated,
and is, without repentance, irreversible, and irrevocable, and is inseparably
connected with eternal glory; and election stands not upon the foot of works, but
upon the free grace of God, which cannot be made void, and upon the will of God,
which cannot be resisted; and is also closely connected with glorification; see
Rom_8:30 nor are those to be made sure by saints, with respect to themselves;
for though they may sometimes be at a loss about them, and may have some
scruples and doubts in their minds concerning their interest in them, and an
assurance of their being both called and chosen, may be after all attained unto by
them; yet this is not their work, but it is the work of the Spirit of God, to certify
and make sure unto them, or assure them of their calling and election of God: but
the sense is, that diligence is to be used by the saints, to make their calling and
election sure to others; not their election by their calling only, which is to
themselves; for both are to be made sure, and that to others, and by some third
thing; either to their fellow Christians, which they may do by giving them an
account of the work of God upon their souls, joined with a testimony of their good
lives and conversations; or rather to the world "by good works", as the Vulgate
Latin version and two copies of Beza's read; or "by your good works", as the
Alexandrian copy and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read; or by the exercise of
the graces, and the discharge of the duties before mentioned, whereby the men of
the world may be certified and assured, by the best evidence the saints are
capable of giving to them, or they of receiving, that they are the called and chosen
of God, they profess themselves to be; and which is a reason why those things
should be done: and another follows,
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; or "sin", as the Vulgate Latin
and Arabic versions render it; not that they should never fall at all, or in any
sense, for in many things we all offend or fall; or should ever commit any act of
sin, or fall into sin, for there is no man that lives, and sins not; or that they should
not fall from a degree of the lively exercise of grace, or from a degree of
steadfastness in the doctrine of faith, but that they should never sin the sin
against the Holy Ghost, or fall totally and finally; for though they fall, they should
rise again by faith and repentance, through the grace and power of Christ, who is
able to keep them from falling: and besides, while they were exercising those
graces, and doing those duties, they should not fall; for these are the means of
final perseverance, and therefore the rather to be regarded. Another argument,
strengthening the exhortation, follows:

JAMISO , "Wherefore — seeking the blessed consequence of having, and the
evil effects of not having, these graces (2Pe_1:8, 2Pe_1:9).
the rather — the more earnestly.
brethren — marking that it is affection for them which constrains him so
earnestly to urge them. Nowhere else does he so address them, which makes his
calling them so here the more emphatical.
give diligence — The Greek aorist implies one lifelong effect [Alford].
to make — Greek middle voice; to make so far as it depends on you; to do your
part towards making. “To make” absolutely and finally is God’s part, and would
be in the active.
your calling and election sure — by ministering additionally in your faith
virtue, and in your virtue knowledge, etc. God must work all these graces in us,
yet not so that we should be mere machines, but willing instruments in His
hands in making His election of us “secure.” The ensuring of our election is
spoken of not in respect to God, whose counsel is steadfast and everlasting, but in
respect to our part. There is no uncertainty on His part, but on ours the only
security is our faith in His promise and the fruits of the Spirit (2Pe_1:5-7, 2Pe_
1:11). Peter subjoins election to calling, because the calling is the effect and proof
of God’s election, which goes before and is the main thing (Rom_8:28, Rom_
8:30, Rom_8:33, where God’s “elect” are those “predestinated,” and election is
“His purpose,” according to which He “called” them). We know His calling
before His election, thereby calling is put first.
fall — Greek, “stumble” and fall finally (Rom_11:11). Metaphor from one
stumbling in a race (1Co_9:24).
CALVI , "10.Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence. He draws this
conclusion, that it is one proof that we have been really elected, and not in vain
called by the Lord, if a good conscience and integrity of life correspond with our
profession of faith. And he infers, that there ought to be more labor and diligence,
because he had said before, that faith ought not to be barren.
Some copies have, “by good works;” but these words make no change in the sense,
for they are to be understood though not expressed. (152)
He mentions calling first, though the last in order. The reason is, because election is
of greater weight or importance; and it is a right arrangement of a sentence to
subjoin what preponderates. The meaning then is, labor that you may have it really
proved that you have not been called nor elected in vain. At the same time he speaks
here of calling as the effect and evidence of election. If any one prefers to regard the
two words as meaning the same thing, I do not object; for the Scripture sometimes
merges the difference which exists between two terms. I have, however, stated what
seems to me more probable. (153)
ow a question arises, Whether the stability of our calling and election depends on
good works, for if it be so, it follows that it depends on us. But the whole Scripture

teaches us, first, that God's election is founded on his eternal purpose; and secondly,
that calling begins and is completed through his gratuitous goodness. The Sophists,
in order to transfer what is peculiar to God's grace to ourselves, usually pervert this
evidence. But their evasions may be easily refuted. For if any one thinks that calling
is rendered sure by men, there is nothing absurd in that; we may however, go still
farther, that every one confirms his calling by leading a holy and pious life. But it is
very foolish to infer from this what the Sophists contend for; for this is a proof not
taken from the cause, but on the contrary from the sign or the effect. Moreover, this
does not prevent election from being gratuitous, nor does it shew that it is in our
own hand or power to confirm election. For the matter stands thus, — God
effectually calls whom he has preordained to life in his secret counsel before the
foundation of the world; and he also carries on the perpetual course of calling
through grace alone. But as he has chosen us, and calls us for this end, that we may
be pure and spotless in his presence; purity of life is not improperly called the
evidence and proof of election, by which the faithful may not only testify to others
that they are the children of God, but also confirm themselves in this confidence, in
such a manner, however, that they fix their solid foundation on something else.
At the same time, this certainty, mentioned by Peter, ought, I think, to be referred to
the conscience, as though the faithful acknowledged themselves before God to be
chosen and called. But I take it simply of the fact itself, that calling appears as
confirmed by this very holiness of life. It may, indeed, be rendered, Labor that your
calling may become certain; for the verb ποιεῖσθαι is transitive or intransitive. Still,
however you may render it, the meaning is nearly the same.
The import of what is said is, that the children of God are distinguished from the
reprobate by this mark, that they live a godly and a holy life, because this is the
design and end of election. Hence it is evident how wickedly some vile unprincipled
men prattle, when they seek to make gratuitous election an excuse for all
licentiousness; as though, forsooth! we may sin with impunity, because we have been
predestinated to righteousness and holiness!
For if ye do these things. Peter seems again to ascribe to the merits of works, that
God furthers our salvation, and also that we continually persevere in his grace. But
the explanation is obvious; for his purpose was only to shew that hypocrites have in
them nothing real or solid, and that, on the contrary, they who prove their calling
sure by good works, are free from the danger of falling, because sure and sufficient
is the grace of God by which they are supported. Thus the certainty of our salvation
by no means depends on us, as doubtless the cause of it is beyond our limits. But
with regard to those who feel in themselves the efficacious working of the Spirit,
Peter bids them to take courage as to the future, because the Lord has laid in them
the solid foundation of a true and sure calling.
COKE, "2 Peter 1:10-11. Wherefore the rather, &c.— The connection seems to be
this: "As he who is destitute of the graces and virtues of the Christian life, is
voluntarily blind; therefore, my Christian brethren, do you give the more diligence
to make your calling and election firm and steadfast, by the exercise and practice of

those graces and virtues which I have already enumerated: for, if youperform these
things—if you live in the exercise of these graces and virtues, you shall never
stumble like the blind man mentioned 2 Peter 1:9 but your way shall be made plain,
and a wide, smooth, and easy entrance granted you into the everlasting kingdom of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Those Jews and Gentiles to whom the gospel
was preached, were called to come and embrace it; just as all the Roman citizens
were called together when it was proposed to levy an army. Then all who were
capable of bearing arms were by a public summons called to the standard, and
obliged thereupon to appear. Those Jews or Gentiles who under the blessing of God
came with well disposed minds, and embraced the gospel, were chosen out from
among the rest; and baptism was like the sacramental
ormilitaryoathoffidelity;wherebythey obliged themselves to be faithful soldiers
under Jesus Christ, the great Captain of their salvation. As they were not in this
sense chosen till after they were called, and had embraced that call, it is evident that
this text can have no reference to any decrees of God made from all eternity,
concerning those particular persons to whom St. Peter is here writing. It is
moreover to be observed, that they were not so called or elected; but that if they did
not exercise and perform the graces and virtues here recommended, they would
stumble and even fall both from their calling and election, or from the happy
consequences of both; and if they had so fallen, the fault would have been their own,
and not owing to God, nor to any thing in his decrees. Faith was the condition on
which they were called into the Christian church, and elected to be of the number of
God's people here upon earth. And they were so called and elected, with a view to
their obtaining everlasting salvation: for, as Christians, they had all things
pertaining to a godly life, and the best advantages for preparing for everlasting life:
but the bestowing that life, even upon such as are called and elected, is suspended,
upon the condition that they, according to the measure of grace given them, and the
opportunities afforded them, do internally and externally exercise these graces and
virtues. Otherwise, both their callingand election will prove in vain, and they will
finally miss ofa happy immortality. See on 2 Peter 1:7.
ELLICOTT, “(10) Wherefore the rather.—Exhortation resumed, with still more earnestness,
for the reasons just stated in 2 Peter 1:8-9 . The direct address, “brethren,” is a mark of this
increased earnestness, and also assures those addressed that they are not included among the
mere nominal Christians described in the preceding verse.
Give diligence.—Recalling “bringing all diligence” in 2 Peter 1:5 .
Calling and election.—By God into the kingdom of heaven. “Calling” and “election” are two
aspects of the same fact, “calling” referring to God’s invitation, “election” to the distinction which
this invitation makes between those who are called and those who are not. “Election” is one of St.
Paul’s words. One of the best MSS. and several versions insert “by means of your works,” which
gives the right sense, although the words are wanting in authority. It is by following the in junctions
given (2 Peter 1:5-7 ) that our election is made secure. God calls us to salvation (2 Peter 1:3
), selects us from the heathen; it is for each one of us to respond to the call, and thus ratify His
choice.
If ye do these things.—Showing that the making sure of our election is not a single act, but

multiform, viz., the furnishing the graces commended (2 Peter 1:5-7 ).
Never fall.—The same word is translated “offend” (James 2:10 ; James 3:2 ); and “stumble”
(Romans 11:11 ). It means to knock one’s foot and stumble. The man who has acquired these
graces has his path freed from many stumbling-blocks, and his vision cleared to see and avoid
the rest.
COFFMA , "Calling and election ... are two of the biggest theological words in the
ew Testament; and this verse is invaluable in the revelation that neither calling
nor election is a thing finally and irrevocably determined by God apart from what
the Christian himself does. Also, any thought of impossibility as regards a Christian
falling away and being lost is far away from the apostle's mind in a statement like
this verse. "If" ye do these things! (See under verse 8). As Payne put it: " ote the
emphasis on God's initiative and man's response; both are essential, or the
Christian may fall (literally stumble)."[33] "All Christians have been called, but
they must work out their salvation" (Philippians 2:12).[34] We are amazed at the
comment of Wheaton, who said, "Peter even hints at the possibility that one can fall
from grace!"[35] Reference to Peter's warnings in this letter as a "hint" reminds
one of the gang leader in Boston, who when five of his henchmen were shot-gunned
to death in the basement of a bar, said, "I believe there is a hint of opposition in
this!"
[33] David F. Payne, A ew Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 600.
[34] James William Russell, op. cit., p. 590.
[35] David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1253.
BE SO ,"2 Peter 1:10-11. Wherefore — Considering the miserable state of these
apostates; the rather — That you may not be destitute of these things, but be fruitful
in all graces and virtues; brethren — St. Peter nowhere uses this appellation, in
either of his epistles, but in this important exhortation; give diligence — amely, by
the exercise and increase of the fore-mentioned graces. The word σπουδασατε
means also be in earnest, and make haste, the matter being of infinite moment, and
delays extremely dangerous. To make your calling and election sure — βεβαιαν,
firm. As if he had said, God hath called you by his word, his providence, and his
Spirit, to repentance, fai, and new obedience. By obeying this call, and turning
sincerely to God, you became God’s elect or chosen people; even elect, through the
sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience. See on 1 Peter 1:2. ow as you made
your calling firm or effectual by obeying it: so make your election firm by enduring
to the end, remembering the Lord’s words: Many are called, but few finally chosen.
For if ye do these things — If you thus give diligence, and are thus in earnest,
without delay, to add the graces and virtues here inculcated to your faith, and to
make your calling and election firm; ye shall never finally fall — ay, ye shall not

fall, ποτε, once, or at any time, into known sin, so as to come under guilt,
condemnation, and wrath; nay, ου µη πταισητε ποτε, yshall not so much as stumble
at any time. Stumbling-blocks will, indeed, be in your way, probably not a few, but
you shall not stumble at them, much less shall you fall over them; but you shall
proceed forward on your way with steadiness, alacrity, and joy. For so an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly — πλουσιως, richly, freely, and in the most
honourable manner; into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour — The
kingdom of his eternal glory. You shall depart hence in peace and trium, knowing
that as soon as you are absent from the body you shall be present with the Lord;
and you shall be received as with a cordial welcome, and shall sail, as it were, into
that blessed harbour with a full gale of consolation and joy.
CHARLES SIMEO , "MAKI G OUR CALLI G A D ELECTIO SURE
2 Peter 1:10-11. Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for
if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I the system of religion which the inspired penmen have transmitted to us, duty
and privilege go hand in hand. It is “the Divine power alone which gives us all
things which pertain unto life and godliness:” but we must exert ourselves in
dependence on that power, to “escape the corruption that is in the world through
lust.” This plain and scriptural idea gives the true solution to many difficulties that
occur in the sacred volume, and particularly so to those which arise from the words
before us.
In the text are set before us,
I. Our duty—
Though all are agreed that our duty is here declared, the opinions of men differ
widely respecting the precise nature of that duty. Our first point therefore is to fix
the true meaning of the text—
[By our “calling and election,” is meant that effectual call which men receive when
they are truly converted unto God [ ote: This is manifest from 1 Corinthians 1:26.],
and which both evinces, and results from, God’s eternal purpose to save their souls
[ ote: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5.].
ow those who deny the doctrine of election, argue thus. We are commanded to
“make our election sure;” and, if we neglect to do so, we may “fall” and perish for
ever: therefore there is no such thing as is generally understood by “election;” and
that which is so called in Scripture, is nothing more than a designation of God to the
enjoyment of outward privileges, or an acceptance of us upon certain conditions.

To avoid these consequences, many who hold the doctrine of election affirm, that the
exhortation in the text means only that we should exert ourselves to get an assured
sense of our election.
But there is no such ambiguity in the original, as there is in our translation.
Whatever the text may prove or disprove, it can have but one meaning; namely, that
we are to make our election firm, and, by diligence in good works, to secure the
benefits to which God has elected us.
This however does not disprove the doctrine of election. The truth is, that God elects
us to holiness as the means, as well as to glory as the end [ ote: Ephesians 1:4.]: He
elects us to the end by the means [ ote: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14.]; so that the end
can never be secured but by the means prescribed. Though therefore God does elect
us unto salvation, we can never partake of that salvation, if we be not found in a
diligent discharge of all our duties, and the constant exercise of all moral virtues
[ ote: Romans 2:7.]. Hence St. Paul, notwithstanding he was assured of his final
enjoyment of heaven [ ote: 2 Corinthians 5:1.], was careful to “keep his body under
and bring it into subjection, lest, after having preached to others, he himself should
be a cast-away [ ote: 1 Corinthians 9:27.];” and hence we also are commanded to
“look to ourselves, lest we lose the things we have already wrought, and so come
short of our full reward [ ote: 2 John, ver. 8 and Hebrews 4:1.].” The truth lies, not
in a simple affirming or denying of the doctrine of election, but in connecting the
means with the end, as the joint objects which God, in his eternal purpose, has
determined to accomplish.]
The meaning of the text being ascertained, the duty contained in it is clear—
[There is a connexion between all the graces of the Spirit: they are so many links in
a chain, no one of which can be dispensed with. If we have faith, we must add to it
“valour,” that shall encounter difficulties; “knowledge,” that shall regulate the
whole of our deportment; “temperance,” that shall make us indifferent to the
pleasures of sense; “patience,” that shall carry us through all hardships;
“godliness,” that shall fill us with a delight in heavenly things; “brotherly-
kindness,” that shall knit us to every member of Christ’s mystical body; and
“charity,” that shall engage us in all offices of love even to our very enemies. All of
these graces we should cultivate; and, having attained any measure of them, we
should seek to grow in them daily; resting in no attainment “till we come to the
measure of the full stature of Christ [ ote: ver. 5–7.].”
In labouring after these things, we shall “make our calling and election sure:” we
shall not only prove that we have been elected of God, and called by his grace, but
shall “strengthen the things that remain,” and “make firm” the work that has been
begun in our souls. Indeed the very pursuit of virtue must in itself tend (in
proportion as we are diligent) to keep us from declension [ ote: Proverbs 3:21-23.]:
and it is certain, that God will prosper those who conscientiously labour to approve
themselves to him [ ote: 2 Chronicles 15:2.].]

Here then is our duty, viz. to secure by unwearied diligence in good works the final
enjoyment of those blessings to which God has elected us by his grace, and called us
by his good Spirit. And, to aid us in the discharge of this duty, the Apostle sets
promises before us for,
II. Our encouragement—
“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come.” But more particularly God engages to give his diligent and
devoted people,
1. A steadfast life: “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall”—
[It too often happens that professors of religion are left to dishonour their holy
calling by open and scandalous offences: nor have any of us any security against
such falls, except as we are upheld in God’s everlasting arms. But this security shall
be afforded to the zealous and faithful follower of Christ. My text says, “If ye do
these things, ye shall never fall.” The diligent Christian doubtless will, even to his
dying hour, have reason to acknowledge, that he is a poor imperfect creature: but he
shall be kept from flagrant transgressions; and shall, in respect of them, “be
preserved blameless unto God’s heavenly kingdom.” umberless are the promises
of God to this effect [ ote: 1 Samuel 2:9. Psalms 37:23-24.] — — — And O, what
encouragement do they afford to those who know their weakness and their frailty!
Surely the hope of being enabled to “do all things through the strength of Christ,”
and of being made “more than conquerors through him that loved us, and of having
“our strength in all respects proportioned to our day of trial,” may well stimulate us
to exertion, and make us diligent in performing every thing which God requireth at
our hands [ ote: 1 Corinthians 15:58.].]
2. A triumphant death—
[A variety of things may occur to affect the mind of a dying saint, and to prevent
him from displaying the full efficacy of his principles in his last hours: but, in the
general, the peacefulness of his departure will be proportioned to the integrity and
diligence of his life. Indeed, it may be expected by those who “abound in every good
word and work,” that God will be peculiarly present with them in the time of their
greatest need [ ote: Psalms 73:26.]: they may hope to be favoured with Pisgah-
views of the heavenly Canaan, and, like Stephen, to behold their Saviour standing
ready to receive them. Such was Paul’s departure, after a life of unremitting
exertion in his Master’s cause [ ote: 2 Timothy 4:6-8.]: and such “an abundant
entrance into the kingdom of our Lord shall be ministered to us” also, if we follow
the steps of that distinguished Apostle.
Who that has ever seen the insensibility of some, or the terrors of others, would not
wish to have this promise fulfilled to him in a dying hour? — — — Let us then live
the life of the righteous, if we would die his death. Let us look to it, that we be daily
ripening for glory: then shall we in due time be carried to it, “like a shock of corn”

to the garner.]
Application—
You will naturally ask me, what directions I would give you for the attainment of
this great object? I answer,
1. Let there be in you no allowed sin—
[The wisdom that is from above, is “without partiality and without hypocrisy [ ote:
James 3:17.].” One leak will sink a ship; and one allowed sin will destroy the soul
[ ote: Matthew 18:8-9.]. If ever you would be saved at last, you must be “Israelites
indeed, and without guile [ ote: John 1:47.].” Faith in Christ must be laid as the
foundation; but every Christian grace must compose the edifice that is built upon
it.]
2. Cry mightily to God to perfect and complete his work within you—
[He who has been “the Author of your faith must also be the Finisher [ ote:
Hebrews 12:2.].” “Be strong only in the Lord, and in the power of his might [ ote:
Ephesians 6:10.].” Commit your soul into the Saviour’s hands, and entreat him to
“keep you from falling [ ote: Jude, ver. 24.]:” so shall you “stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God [ ote: Colossians 4:12.],” and “be kept by the power
of God through faith unto everlasting salvation [ ote: 1 Peter 1:5.]”]
PULPIT, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence. The two first words, d??`
µa?????, "wherefore the rather," are by some understood as referring only to the
last clause; as if St. Peter were saying, "Rather than follow those who lack the
graces enumerated above, and forget that they were cleansed from their former sins,
give diligence." ?a????? is not unfrequently used in this antithetical sense, as in 1
Corinthians 5:2; Hebrews 11:25. But it seems better to refer d??´ to the whole
passage (Hebrews 11:3-9), and to understand µa????? in its more usual intensive
sense, "all the more," as in 1 Thessalonians 4:10, etc. Because God has bestowed
such gifts on men, because the use of those gifts leads on to the full knowledge of
Christ, therefore all the more give diligence. The word sp??da´sate, "give
diligence," recalls the sp??d?`? pa?sa?, "all diligence," of 1 Thessalonians 4:5. The
aorist seems, as it were, to sum up the continued diligence of daily life into one vivid
description. This is the only place in which St. Peter uses the vocative "brethren;"
he has "beloved" in the First Epistle (1 Peter 2:11) and in 2 Peter 3:1, 2 Peter 3:8.
Both words imply affectionate exhortation. Two ancient manuscripts, the
Alexandrine and the Sinaitic, insert here, "Through your good works ( d?a` t??? ?
a???? e?´????, or t??? ?a???? ??µ??? e?´????)." To make your calling and election
sure. Alford calls attention to the middle voice of the verb, " ot p??e???, which lay
beyond their power, but p??e??s?a?, on their side, for their part. But the verb must
not be explained away into a pure subjectivity, 'to make sure to yourselves;' it
carries the reflexive force, but only in so far as the act is and must be done for and
quoad a man's own self, the absolute and final determination resting with Another."

The calling and election are the act of God. All the baptized, all who bear the name
of Christ, are called into the Church, but few comparatively are chosen, elect ( ????
´??? de` e???e?t??´, Matthew 20:16). We look, as it were, from far below up to the
mysteries of God's sovereign government; we cannot read the list of blessed names
written in the Lamb's book of life; we cannot lift ourselves to a point high enough to
comprehend the secrets of God's dealing with mankind, and to reconcile the Divine
foreknowledge and omnipotence with the free agency of man. But we feel the energy
of that free agency within us; we know that Holy Scripture bids us to work out our
salvation, and tells us of some who receive the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians
6:1), or frustrate the grace of God (Galatians 2:21); and we feel that when the
apostle tells us to make our calling and election sure, he means that we must try to
realize that calling and election, to bring its solemn responsibilities and its blessed
hopes to bear upon our daily life, to live as men who have been called into God's
Church, who are elect unto eternal life, and so to ratify God's election by our poor
acceptance. He calls us into covenant with himself; we answer, as the children of
Israel said at Mount Sinai, "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient"
(Exodus 24:7). Our obedience makes the covenant sure to us; holiness of life is the
proof of God's election, for it implies the indwelling presence of "that Holy Spirit of
promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." For if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall. "If ye do these things;" i.e., "If ye make your calling and election sure."
"The plural shows that the apostle considered this making sure a very many-sided
act" (Dietlein, in Huther). Others refer the ta??ta, "these things," to the graces just
enumerated. Ye shall never fall; literally, ye shall never stumble ( ??? µ?` pta?´s?te).
pta?´e?? is "to strike one's foot against some obstacle," and so to stumble. St. James
says, "In many things we offend ( pta?´?µe?) all" (James 3:2). St. Peter here means
to stumble so as to fall (Romans 11:11); while Christians "do these things," while
they make their calling and election sure by holiness of life, they cannot stumble; it
is in unguarded moments that they fall into temptation.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Give diligence to make your calling and election
sure.
Diligence in making our calling sure
I. Exhortation.
1. An induction.
(1) “Wherefore.” This word infers a consequence on the premises, or is a
reason of the precedent speech. The apostle had formerly shown the
danger of such as forget their own purging. But there are many who forget
not that they were purged by the redemption of Christ, but remember it
too much; and from this derive encouragement of a licentious life, quitting
themselves from all sins by His passion. He that thus spells Christ, hath
but small literature of religion (Rom_6:1; Joh_5:14; 2Ti_2:19; 1Pe_1:17).
The end of our conversion is to amend our conversation.
(2) “Brethren.” (a) This word of relation declares in the apostle two
virtues (i) His humility; he prefers not himself to the rest of God’s
saints, but calls them all brethren. (ii) His policy; he desires to win

II peter 1 8 12 commentary

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II peter 1 8 12 commentary