God has provided us with everything we need for both life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3, NKJV). More than that, God has provided us with the hope of eternal life (2 Pet. 1:4). Believing that God has provided us with the means to live a pleasing life on this earth and to someday receive our eternal reward is merely just the beginning. “Giving all diligence,” Peter says we as believers are to “add to [our] 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” (2 Pet. 1:5-7). As we develop and mature in our faith, it will be evidenced through our morality, understanding, the way we act, our ability to endure, our desire to look more like God, the way we treat one another, and ultimately through the way we love. Love is a small word as far as letters are concerned, but it is a big word where meaning is concerned. Love is more than just a word. Love is a choice, it is continual action, and it is enduring. Biblically speaking, the specific word used by Peter in this context for love is agape. This type of love is a love that cares about and takes a real interest in others. This love is more than the brotherly love required of the family of God in “brotherly kindness” (2 Pet. 1:7). This is the love that God has shown to us through the …

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is known as the “city of brotherly love.” The reason the city is known this way has less to do with the kindness or love shown by its citizens, but because of the meaning of the city’s name. The name of the city comes from the Greek word philadelphia which means the love of a brother or a sister (BDAG). Citizens of Philadelphia should not be the only individuals known for brotherly love. Citizens of the kingdom of our God should be known as a people of brotherly love (2 Pet. 1:7, NKJV).  Those who wish to take part in “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” will give “all diligence” to ensure that they are showing and growing in “brotherly kindness” (2 Pet. 1:5-11). To have “brotherly kindness” is to have brotherly love. As Christians, it makes sense that we ought to have brotherly love. As members of the Lord’s body, we are all brethren. We are all children of our heavenly Father. We all should have a love for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Brotherly love should not be a problem for Christians, but expressing brotherly love can be a challenge. We are all different people with different personalities and different qualities. This reality can make getting along a challenge. Despite the challenge, if we know what God has provided for us through His Son, we should do all that we can to rise to the challenge (2 Pet. 1:3-4). …

If someone were to ask you what it means to be godly, how would you respond? Would you say that being godly means you love like God? Does it mean you are merciful like God? Does it mean that you are holy like God? Simply put, being godly is being like God. If we are Christians, we are to be godly, and when we practice all that God would have us to, we will be like Him! By inspiration, the apostle Peter writes that we are to “add to [our] faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, [and] to perseverance godliness” (2 Pet. 1:5-6, NKJV). The specific word used by Peter for “godliness” is a word that signifies great piety, loyalty, and respect for God (BDAG). This type of admiration for God can only be produced in the one who first of all trusts in God with all “faith” (2 Pet. 1:5). It is a type of loyalty seen through one’s actions to possess “virtue” in all areas of life. It is a reverence that is so deeply rooted in the individual that his “knowledge” is filled with the things of God which exhibits itself in one’s “self-control” and “perseverance” through hard times. Godliness shows in one’s life because godliness is pervasive; God must be central to all that one does.  We as Christians are to be a godly people. The thoughts we think, the decisions we make, and the actions we take should all be …

            As Peter wrote 1 and 2 Peter, he was writing to a group of Christians undergoing great persecution (1 Pet. 1:1ff; 2 Pet. 3:1). Without the ability to stick with it and push through the difficulties, the Christians would not be able to overcome. Perseverance is an essential quality trait of the Christian. Peter says that if we wish to make our “call and election sure,” we must give all diligence to “add to [our] faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, [and] to self-control perseverance” (2 Pet. 1:5-6).             Perseverance is staying power. Perseverance can be understood as the ability to “hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty” (BDAG). Seeing perseverance in this light might shed some new perspective on just how difficult perseverance is. Perseverance is not an easy thing because one does not persevere through easy times. It is when times get tough that one is forced to either stick with it or to abandon what they have held dear. When hard times come, however, the one who has given all diligence to “add to [his] faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, [and] to knowledge self-control” will have the tools and the strength necessary to push through the difficulty.             Perhaps the greatest example we have of perseverance is found in Christ Jesus. In Hebrews 12:1, we as Christians are encouraged to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The word used for “endurance” is the same translated as “perseverance” …