How can you be certain that you will not fall away from God but will be welcomed into His eternal kingdom? Some say it is God who will preserve us. Others say it is up to us to persevere. Let us consider what Peter says.

In 2 Peter 1:10, Peter urges his readers, whom he addresses as brothers and sisters, to ″make every effort″ to confirm their calling and election. Peter uses the same word in verse 5, where he had exhorted his readers to ″make every effort″ to live godly lives. This puts the onus on us. Yet our calling and election come solely from God (2 Peter 1:3; see Ephesians 1:4). We know that it is by God's grace and initiative that He has called us and chosen us. But this must be confirmed or validated in the way we live our lives, and in the choices we make each day (2 Peter 1:5-9).

Did you notice that 2 Peter 1:10 begins with ″therefore″? This signals that Peter is bringing his opening section (vv. 3-9) to a close. In verses 3 to 4, Peter had assured us that God has given us everything we need to live godly lives. Relying on ″his very great and precious promises″ (v. 4), we can make every effort to possess the eight attributes in increasing measure, and we can confirm our calling and election. When we ″do these things″, Peter assures us that we will never stumble or fall away from God (v. 10).

For Peter's readers, this means that they must reject the false teachers and their denial of the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ who died for them and purchased them for God (2:1). When they persevere in this, then through God's grace they will be welcomed into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1:11).

So is it up to God or up to us to ensure that we will not fall away from Him? Peter would say: ″Both.″ On the one hand, it is God who has given us all the resources we need for a godly life, and He will preserve us in our faith. On the other hand, we must make every effort to live godly lives and persevere in our faith. New Testament scholar Douglas Moo puts it well when he writes: ″God chooses us and ensures that we get to heaven. We need to choose God and live godly lives so that we can reach heaven.″⁴