A Growing Faith
But also, for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8) We are saved by grace through faith, and nothing needs to be added to that from God's end. We, on the other hand, are called to a vigorous pursuit of our relationship with God, to become complete and lack nothing of the Holy Spirit, to be mature, prepared, equipped, and perfect in Christ. Being a child of God is a full-time job, and it is excellent work and worthy of all our effort. That is what Peter means when he instructs us to “ add” to our faith. A healthy faith is alive and increasing, and it takes that kind of faith to live the overcoming life ordained for us...