Add to Your Faith

It's been a while since I have posted on the blog! Things have gotten busy and lot's going on, but I have been missing writing so I am back! I hope these posts are a help and inspiration on your journey.

Today I want to talk about what the Bible says about "adding to your faith." You know, just because we are believers, does not implicate in any way that, for just one example, "trust" in God will automatically just be there. If we want to have the best opportunity at a genuine, rich and alive relationship with God so that we can realize the treasures of His love, like knowing our value, the depth of the reality that our sins are forgiven; we need to "add to our faith."

2 Peter 1

New International Version

"1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

This is not effort you are expending to "earn salvation", but rather because you ARE saved. If you are saved, the Holy Spirit will manifest these desires in your heart.

This first chapter of 2 Peter presents a profound call to spiritual growth, urging believers not to remain stagnant in their faith but to actively cultivate a virtuous character. Peter begins by reminding his readers of the divine power that has granted them "everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." This foundational truth underscores that believers are already equipped with all they need for a godly life, not through their own merit, but through Christ. The emphasis here is on the incredible privilege and responsibility that comes with being a recipient of God's grace, setting the stage for the subsequent exhortation to diligent spiritual development.

The core of Peter's message in this chapter is encapsulated in his instruction to "add to your faith." This isn't about earning salvation or adding works to grace, but rather about demonstrating the fruit of a genuine faith. Peter lists a progression of virtues: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Each virtue builds upon the last, forming a ladder of spiritual maturity. This active pursuit of character development is presented as essential for a fruitful and effective Christian life. It implies a conscious effort and intentionality in living out one's faith, moving beyond mere belief to a vibrant, lived experience of godliness.

Peter concludes this section by emphasizing the profound benefits of diligently adding these virtues to one's faith. He states that if these qualities are present and increasing, they will keep believers from being "useless or unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Conversely, he warns that those who lack these qualities are "blind or short-sighted, having forgotten their purification from their former sins."

The ultimate promise for those who earnestly pursue this spiritual growth is a rich and abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, highlighting the eternal significance of present-day spiritual diligence, as we "live in this world but are not of it." We live in a "Kingdom economy and lifestyle" while on this earth. As we do, we do it not only to have an abundant life as we are told is available to us; but so that the "world" will see something different about us and desire it. Then we can lead them to the Rock that can save them as well.

Add to your faith. Next post will be a continuation of todays post. Thanks for reading... share with your friends of you're blessed!

Various Resources/Gemini/NIV Bible/Original Content