“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10).
The word “therefore” signifies a transition from teaching or idea to a corresponding action or behavior whenever it appears within the Scriptures. In this instance, our author is about to conclude his discourse on the subject of Godly virtues with a plan of action for implementing them. This leads us to a highly contested portion of this letter: “be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”
We can open our look at this passage by turning to the Biblical letter to the Ephesians for help in defining “election”…
“For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:4-5 NET).
With this in mind, a few observations from the following sources help bring clarity to this passage…
“The author is not saying that virtue and holiness produce salvation, but that virtue and holiness are the evidence of salvation.” (1)
“What ‘make certain about His calling and choosing you’ does mean, is that by pursuing Christian growth, we give evidence that He really did call and choose us. The uncalled and unchosen have no desire to become useful and fruitful by growing in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 8).” (2)
“Assurance of God’s call comes through the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s influence in our lives as it produces good works (Gal. 5:22–24; 1 John 3:10, 14), in conjunction with the internal testimony of the Spirit in our hearts (Rom. 8:16; Gal. 4:6). We grow in our assurance of our election and salvation as we see spiritual fruit in our lives.” (3)
“How can we be sure that we are called by God unto salvation, that we are His elect? By doing these things spoken of in verses 5-7; by conforming our lives to His life; by entering into that process whereby we are conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).” (4)
Thus, we can make our call and election sure in the sense given to us in the following excerpt from the New Testament book of 1 John…
“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7 NIV).
(1) NET Bible notes on 2 Peter 1:10 https://classic.net.bible.org/bible.php?book=2Pet&chapter=1&mode=print
(2) Constable, Thomas. DD. “Notes on 2 Peter 2024 Edition” (1:10) Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable. https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/2peter/2peter.htm
(3) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2256.
(4) See Guzik, Dave, 2 Peter 1 – The Sure Christian Life https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-peter-1/