“You of little faith, why did you doubt?” —Matthew 14:31
Do you consider yourself heavenly-minded or earthly-minded? If you’re not cultivating the qualities of 2 Peter 1, then you’re going to be spiritually shortsighted; so much, Peter says, you will forget you were cleansed from your former sins (v. 9).
While you’ve been forgiven, you will still have doubts about your salvation. I believe one of the major reasons people doubt their salvation (other than they’ve never truly been saved) is because they haven’t been intentional about spiritual growth.
From God’s perspective if we are His, we are eternally His. However, 2 Peter 1 has to do with our perspective. I believe Peter is saying we have no basis for assurance of salvation if we’re not progressing spiritually. So, he’s challenging us not just to claim that we’re believers but to produce evidence that our profession of faith is genuine. And the evidence in this context is these graces.
Add to your faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, love. If you’re growing in these things, you will have assurance that you are a child of God.
Make it Personal
If a non-Christian were to look at your life, what evidence would they find that the qualities of 2 Peter 1 are growing in you?