“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2Peter 1:5-10 ESV)
God has given us sufficient evidence to know him and have a relationship with him (re:2Peter 1:3&4). How? Through Christ, He “called us to (observe and investigate) his own glory and excellence.” By “his divine power,” God issued everything necessary to achieve “life and godliness.” By Christ, “who called us to his glory and power,” He has “granted to us his precious and very great promises.” His promises empower us to fellowship in his divine nature of holiness and “escape from the corruption . . . of sinful desire.”
What a wonderful, loving God we serve! Yet, it is not automatic but a growth and development process. We develop and grow as we “make every effort to supplement” our faith with additional life choices.
Peter, the leading Apostle, makes it very clear that a believer is responsible for growing and developing additional qualities in the foundation of his/her “calling and election” from “former sins.” These additional qualities are chosen by us to ensure our effectiveness and fruitfulness as knowledgeable disciples of Christ.
Growing and developing (i.e., adding) virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfast godliness, and brotherly love defends us against nearsighted blindness and constantly reminds us that we have been “cleansed from our former sins.”
And according to Peter, we should be “all the more diligent” to develop these qualities in our walk with Christ. He wrote, “if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”
Dear Father, thank you for delivering us through Christ from our former sins. Empower us to add these qualities to our lives. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be courageous today in making your foundation of faith steadfast,