For the second time in chapter one, Peter says there is something to which a Christian needs to “give diligence” (II Pet. 1:10). When we read the context, we see that it is connected with adding to our faith. In this case, we must be diligent in making our “calling and election sure.”

The phrase teaches me that “once-saved-always-saved” is a false doctrine. Though many teach it today, they are wrong. This passage says that Christians have a responsibility to be diligent (eager, earnest, Strong’s) to make our calling and election sure (steadfast, firm, Strong’s). There is no need for this warning if once one is saved, he is always saved and can never fall! A simple reading of verses eight and nine also show that Peter was teaching just the opposite! We can fall from grace (Gal. 5:4). “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith ...” (I Tim. 4:1). Therefore, we better be diligent in making our “calling and election sure”!

How do I make my “calling and election sure”? I do this by following what Peter taught in II Peter 1:5-10! I add to my faith or grow daily (II Pet. 3:18). I make sure that what is produced is genuinely in me and “abounds” (v. 8). This means it overflows. My life as a Christian is a truly changed life, being changed from the inside-out! Being a Christian is not like putting on and taking off a coat. Instead, the old man of sin was put to death and buried, and I rose from the watery grave of baptism ready to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4-7).

Making my “calling and election sure” is a full-time job! Satan tempts us constantly, looking for some weakness in us that he can exploit (Jas. 1:14-15; I Pet. 5:8). He wants us to leave the Lord and return to the kingdom of darkness. We need to remember how dangerous this is. “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (II Pet. 2:20-21).

Friend, make your “calling and election sure”! Live faithfully for God every day (Rev. 2:10; I Cor. 15:58). Add to your faith, grow closer to God daily (II Pet. 1:5-8), and see the blessings that come as a result of doing what God has said. There is nothing better we can do on this earth!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

II Peter 1:4 completes the thought from verse 3. Since God has “given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” Christians are also recipients of God’s precious promises and made “partakers of the divine nature” since we have escaped the corruption of the world. What does this mean to Christians? While it is a “mouthful” to read, the truth behind it is simple.

Peter is merely reminding Christians that we are the recipients of God’s “exceeding great and precious promises.” This is an overwhelming thought when we think of all of the promises God has made to His children. The beautiful thing is that God has not forgotten us, and we have access to His many promises as a result of being in Christ.

“By these” promises, we are also made “partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet. 1:4). What does this phrase mean? A way that helped me understand was to think about other times when the word “partaker” is used in Scripture. Often, the Bible speaks about a man “partaking” in sin with someone else (I Cor. 10:20-21; Eph. 5:6-7, 11; II Jn. 11). In other words, the Bible is saying do not have fellowship with those in sin. In II Peter, though, we find just the opposite. Since this is God’s blessings, and bestowed promises under consideration, this text encourages us to be a partaker, share, or have fellowship with God!

Just think -- that which was lost at Eden has been restored in Christ! Though our sins are many, they can be forgiven (Acts 2:38)! Though we have been separated from God because of sin (Isa. 59:1-2), we have the opportunity to enjoy fellowship (be partakers) with God once more in Christ! Since we have escaped “the corruption that is in the world through lust,” we have access to blessings we might not have considered before. We have these because we “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine” delivered through the apostles, and now are “made free from sin” (Rom. 6:17-18). Now is the time to enjoy the fellowship we have with God!

If you read this and realize that you are not a Christian, then why not become one today? Believe that Jesus is the Son of God (Jn. 8:24; Heb. 11:6), repent of your sins (Lk. 13:3; Acts 17:30), confess your faith in Christ (Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10) and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16). When you do this, you can have access to God’s blessings, His promises, and be in fellowship or a partaker of the divine nature. What’s stopping you from doing what the Lord says? Obey today (II Cor. 6:2; Heb. 5:9)!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

When the walls of Jerusalem were erected, and only the gates remained to be hung, Israel’s enemies again tried to stop the progress. Seeing that brute force would not work (Neh. 4:7-23), Sanballat and Geshem tried a more “diplomatic” approach where perhaps they could get Nehemiah to compromise with them. They asked him to stop the work and meet them in one of the villages in the plain of Ono (Neh. 6:2-3). Nehemiah was not falling for this, and refused, even though the men hounded him for a meeting (v. 4-5).

When Nehemiah refused, Sanballat sent an open letter (Neh. 6:5) accusing him and the Jews of rebellion against Xerxes. Understand, an “open letter” was a form of insult against Nehemiah. Yet, when insulted, Nehemiah spoke the truth that Sanballat made up these charges. He then prayed for God’s strength (v. 8-9). He faced yet another test when Shemiah tried to get him to hide in the Temple under the ruse that Nehemiah needed to do this to save his life (v. 10-11). Thankfully, Nehemiah refused to listen and stood his ground with his people, again turning to God in this time (v. 14).

Satan does the same to us. First, he tempts us to give in to our lusts and sin against God (Jas. 1:14-15). If temptations that lead to rebellion do not lure us, then he uses other tactics, like compromise, to lead us away from the Lord. We see this in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 when Satan tempted Christ. When other tactics failed, he tried to get Jesus to compromise. If Jesus bowed and worshipped Satan, He would have the “kingdoms of the world”! He could avoid the cross altogether (Matt. 4:8-10; Lk. 4:5-8)! Why not compromise, Jesus? Isn’t this a way to “have your cake and eat it too”?

Compromise with the truth has been Satan’s tactic for years. He wants men to feel good about their partial obedience and then justify the behavior we want to do. For example, we might not yield to the temptation to be homosexual (Rom. 1:26-27), but Satan wants us to say we love others and will accept this behavior in others (ignoring Rom. 1:32). Similarly, we might not drink alcohol (I Pet. 4:3), but Satan says we ought not to condemn others who drink and exercise their “rights” in the USA. If someone takes a stand for truth and says that there is only one way to Heaven, through the teachings of Christ (Jn. 14:6), Satan’s minions will hound us and call us “narrow-minded,” and a “Pharisee.”

Yes, when Satan fails at getting us to turn from the Lord, he will try to get us to compromise. Friend, what will we do about this? What have we done? I hope we haven’t fallen into the trap of compromising with sin, but if so, know that there is still time to repent while we live (II Pet. 3:9; Heb. 3:7-8). If you need to be baptized for the remission of sins, then do it (Acts 2:38; I Pet. 3:21). Don’t compromise with false doctrine on this issue or any other! Take advantage of the time we have and do what God says without compromise or apology -- just like Nehemiah!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

Nehemiah 5 records a sad event in the history of God’s people. As the wall was being built, and the people united against a common enemy, Nehemiah records that the “nobles and the rulers” (v. 7) were guilty of oppressing their countrymen. They did this by charging usury (KJV) or interest against their people. Think: Loan sharks!

The affected people came to Nehemiah, crying out against this treatment. Why had they gotten out of the bondage of Xerxes only to trade it for bondage to their brethren? Sons and daughters were sold into servitude so landowners could pay the interest they had accrued (Neh. 5:5). This was wrong, and Nehemiah condemned the “nobles and the rulers” for their behavior (Neh. 5:7, 9).

There had been a famine (Neh 5:3), and though there were people who needed to buy grain or other things, those making the loans could have left off charging their brethren interest (v. 10). Can you imagine the decline in morale as the work of wall-building is taking place, and then those trying to build the wall cannot work because of how their brethren are treating them! In this chapter, we see that it was not what Sanballat, Tobiah, and the others had done that was killing them. This issue was internal!

How are we treating our spiritual brethren? Christ says the world will know we are His disciples when they observe the love we show our brethren (Jn. 13:34-35). Loving the brethren is more than words. It is also action (I Jn. 3:18)! What does the world see in us? What do we see in each other (Phil. 2:3)? Friend, how can a man love God whom he hasn’t seen if he doesn’t love the brethren he has seen (I Jn. 4:20)?

Have we noticed that often we treat strangers better than we treat those we know the best? Just observe and contrast how we treat a stranger in town with how we treat a family member at home. Why the difference? Similarly, some treat their brethren in harsh ways. Do we backbite? Gossip? Treat them cruelly? Why is this? Aren’t we supposed to be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17)? Why then, do brethren treat those we are supposed to spend eternity with worse than the people who have rejected God? Please understand, our work is to love all men without partiality (Jas. 2:8). So, why are we not completing our work?

Let’s take a moment for some self-examination (II Cor. 13:5). How are you treating your brethren? Are you treating them with love (Matt. 22:39)? Are you treating them as you want to be treated (Matt. 7:12)? If not, why not? Why are you not willing to treat those whom God loves with respect? Don’t act like the “nobles and the rulers” did. Instead, read Romans 12:9-21 and treat fellow-Christians in a manner that respects them and God!

I am thankful to see that when confronted by Nehemiah about their behavior, the “nobles and the rulers” repented (Neh. 5:11-12). What will we do if we examine ourselves (II Cor. 13:5; Jas. 1:22-25) and see that we are guilty?

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

This may seem like an odd title at first, but I believe it describes Nehemiah’s actions appropriately. Nehemiah’s occupation was cupbearer to Artaxerxes (Neh. 1:11). This work required him to be a trusted person, but also one who was closest to the king not only physically, but emotionally. He and the king were friends in a sense. R.A. Torrey describes it this way, “The office of cup-bearer was one of great trust, honour, and emolument, in the Persian court. To be in such a place of trust he must have been in the king's confidence; for no eastern potentate would have a cup-bearer to whom he could not trust his life, poison being often administered in that way. It was an office much desired, because it gave access to the king in those seasons of hilarity when men are most disposed to grant favours” (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge).

There came a day, though, when Nehemiah saw he had to do something else. Jerusalem’s walls lay in ruins (Neh. 1:3), and it seemed no one else would take up the responsibility to repair those walls. Therefore, Nehemiah took it upon himself to lead the people in this work. He prayed to God about it (1:4-11, 2:4), and then requested “time off’ from his job to go and help the people (Neh. 2:5-6). The king consented to this, and Nehemiah went to Jerusalem (2:6-11).

Nehemiah then worked to lead the people and get them to do the work of rebuilding the walls (Neh. 2:17-18, 3:1-6:15). In fifty-two days, the walls were repaired, and the gates were attached! The work had been accomplished in spite of ridicule they faced, the physical threats, and attempts to get Nehemiah to compromise. Not to mention the internal issues (Neh. 5), and the general unrest at times when people were scared of the enemy or just frustrated because of the work. Despite all of this, we see success and happiness when the work was completed. Nehemiah, the “Tirshatha” (governor, Neh. 7:65, 70, 8:9, 10:1), had led the people, and they were blessed.

I hope that we can already see the comparison between Nehemiah and Christ. Just as Nehemiah, Christ was sent to do a job (Jn. 3:16; Heb. 3:1b). The One described as “in the bosom of the Father” or “in the closest fellowship with the Father” (Jn. 1:18, KJV, NET) was sent to this earth because men’s lives were in ruins and no one else could repair this problem (Jn. 10:10; Rom. 3:23, 5:6-8). Christ came to this world and led the people to the truth (Jn. 14:6). Even though Christ had the plan, each person must follow it on his own (Mk. 16:16; Rev. 22:14, 17; Jas. 2:24). As Nehemiah had a title, so also Jesus wears the title of King (Jn. 18:33-37; I Tim. 6:15)!

Like Nehemiah, Christ endured ridicule, physical threats, and hatred for what He did (Matt. 16:21; Lk. 6:11, 15:2; Jn. 7:1, 11:47-54; etc.). Unlike Nehemiah, however, Christ died for what He did, and saved not merely Jerusalem or the Jews, but saved the world (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 5:9)!

What beautiful foreshadowing we see in Nehemiah! When we read the book and marvel at Nehemiah's words and actions, let’s make sure we also see Christ.

- Jarrod M. Jacobs