Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities [faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love] you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Peter 1:10-11 (ESV)
How can we be sure to get into heaven? Peter tells us. He lists the qualities necessary for a stable Christian life, one that will make sure we never fall. Then he talks about how these qualities will affect our entrance into Christ’s kingdom. He says that the qualities listed will richly provide for us an entrance, but what does that mean? Well, imagine that you are taking several friends out to an expensive restaurant for dinner. If you are like me, you mentally calculate about how much the cost will be so that you are sure you can pay for the evening. Do you think Bill Gates does this? Probably not, because he has plenty of resources and need not worry about one evening out with friends. The same principle applies to our entrance into heaven. If we pursue the qualities listed by Peter, we will not have to fret over what sort of entrance there will be for us – it has been richly provided for in Jesus Christ – and we are living diligently in him. Conversely, we can live our lives in such a way that we may always be left wondering if we will be able to get in at all.