Fruitful in the Knowledge of Christ

2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall


Peter is giving us the formula for a fruitful life and so that we will never fall.
The Formula:

1. Diligence in adding these things.
Diligence means: "constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken." To be diligent in our Christian walk in crucial in growing in Christ. Through God's wonderful grace and mercy in our lives, He has given us faith.

2. Adding Virtue to our Faith
Now Peter is telling us to add virtue to our faith. Virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth. Since we have faith in Christ, we know the truth and we are to be obedient to what is true. The Word of God is the ultimate truth. Through the grace of God, I want to have virtue in my life.

3. Knowledge In the Word.
Now how do we add virtue to our faith without knowledge? We can't! In order to know the truth, we have to read the Truth(The Bible). We base all subjects according to the Bible. Of Course, there are other books we need to read to function in this world. We have to read a Math book to learn math, a book on birds to learn of the different types, etc... All other sources of knowledge have to based on the word of God though. God is showing me how important reading His word is. If you are not into the Word daily, you need to check your spiritua state and ask God to pour out grace and give you a desire to be in it.

4.Temperance
Temperance is just another word for moderation or in excess. Temperance of natural urges in our lives will bring us closer to God. I cannot prove that in Scripture but I know it true because I have experienced it. Whe you are taking your pleasure in Christ, you will not need so much of pleasure of the world. As Christians, we are to be overcomers of evil. Romans 12:21 proves this, "Be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good." God is in us! Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! Praise God!

5.Patience
Patience, in my own words, is to endure the temporary because you know and have hope in what is permanent, namely being with God! Matt Lollar gave a good illustration of this,"If you were to be told that next year you would be given 2 million dollars, than that anticipation would help you cope with your broken down car, leaky roof and old clothes, because you know this time next year all of that will change, and life will then be "Good." You are being patient with the things because you know what the outcome is going to be. This can also be applied to hope.

6.Godliness
Godliness literally means: "Having great reverence for God; pious." When we are Godly, we have a profound awe, respect, and love of God. Because of this, it is easy to have virtue(obedience). We can only become more Godly by God giving grace and us getting into the word.


To be continued.....

Continued on 02-18-05

7. Brotherly kindness
Brotherly kindness gives us a sense of brotherhood. We should treat all people with love as we would our best friends. Kindness is the tendency to be kind and forgiving. It's a attitude. Because of the forgivness of our sins, we are able to be forgiving to others.