Apostle Peter: Sanctification

I was reading through 2 Peter today and it struck me that Peter has to deal with an issue that many Christians today have to deal with. Peter opens his letter expressing how it is important to be in pursuit of a holy life that is compelled by Faith with love being a driving force as well as outcome. And he lays this out very simply in 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Peter goes on throughout the rest of the letter expressing the importance of living a life that is bearing fruit and not allowing oneself to fall back into their old ways of sin. It is important to note that Peter never says that because you fall back into to sin you are not saved or that you lost your salvation, but he does say how this can cause separation and a loss of faith in Christ. He points out in verse 9 that they will forget the reason of why they became believers; in a sense they lose their hope and joy.

I found this very intriguing, especially in today's age. For those of you who do not know me, I enjoy talking Doctrine and Theology – I do not like a heated debate but I do enjoy an actual conversation in which there is love and compassion from both parties. When it comes to sanctification there is a wide debate on what that looks like. Many believers agree that sanctification does happen, but the question is – when? Sanctification is mentioned in the Bible so I find it important that we as Christian’s seek out what this means.

There are two major thoughts when it comes to sanctification. 1) Salvation and Sanctification go hand in hand – you cannot have one without the other, or 2) Once one is saved sanctification can develop in time but sanctification does not qualify one for salvation. One thing that I want to mention, just in case, is that Salvation is a free gift from God and is given to those who accept the Message of Christ which is the FACT that He is God, He lived a perfect life, died and was raised on the third day and now lives and rules with God.

What Peter is writing and warning against in his second letter is that there are many obstacles for those who proclaim to be believers in Christ, many distractions, and many false teachers who will pull away from the True message. But what I want to point out is that Peter gives this list in 2 Peter 1:5-7 to help keep believers focused and to learn how to focus on Christ and to live a life filled with sanctification. I DO NOT believe that he is presenting it as to say, “If you are not doing these things, you are not saved.”  What I do believe is that Peter presents this so that we can hold one another accountable as believers, so that we can encourage one another to continue in our faith and dwell in the fact of what we have been saved from which is expressed in verses 10-11.

There is probably no better way to finish this than to finish it how Peter does, and so I close with 2 Peter 3:17-18. My hope is that this propels you of the Faith to read 2 Peter as a whole and to knoll over what it is saying. For those of you who are not sure about Christianity please keep searching, read the Bible and pray – talk to the Lord even if you have no words to say.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.