What Does 2 Peter 1:10 Mean?

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. "Wherefore" connects this exhortation to the previous warning (v. 9). Because barrenness indicates blindness and forgetfulness, "the rather" (mallon, μᾶλλον, "all the more") believers must "give diligence" (spoudasate, σπουδάσατε, same root as v. 5)—earnest, eager effort—to "make your calling and election sure" (bebaian hymōn tēn klēsin kai eklogēn poieisthai).

This phrase requires careful interpretation to avoid Arminian or Pelagian misunderstanding. Peter isn't teaching that human effort secures divine election or that salvation can be lost. "Calling" (klēsis) and "election" (eklogē) are God's sovereign acts in salvation (Rom 8:28-30; Eph 1:4-5). "Make sure" (bebaian poieisthai, βεβαίαν ποιεῖσθαι) means "confirm" or "establish"—not making it objectively certain (God has already done that) but making it subjectively evident through transformed living. Diligent pursuit of godliness provides assurance of genuine salvation.

"For if ye do these things" (the virtues of vv. 5-7), "ye shall never fall" (ou mē ptaisēte pote, οὐ μὴ πταίσητε ποτε, emphatic double negative: "certainly not ever stumble"). This isn't sinless perfection but perseverance—not falling away from faith or being eternally lost. Those whom God elects and calls will persevere, evidenced by growing godliness. Peter grounds assurance in both God's sovereign faithfulness and believers' responsive fruitfulness.