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” …

While we have no control over the actions, thoughts, or words of others, we do have the ability to control ourselves. This ability, however, seems to be rare. Self-control is literally the idea to control oneself. To possess self-control is to reign in one’s “emotions, impulses, or desires” (BDAG). Bringing all of these thoughts and actions under control is a challenge, but it is a necessity for the Christian. Peter writes that it is because of the knowledge God has given to us alongside His promise of eternal life that we as Christians must give “all diligence, [to] add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, [and] to knowledge self-control” (2 Pet. 1:5-6, NKJV). When we come to understand the surety of our convictions, the morals we are to live by, and grow in our knowledge of what is and is not right, working on our self-control is the next step to making our “call and election sure” (2 Pet. 1:10). To exhibit self-control is a way in which we put our faith, virtue, and knowledge into action. We trust that God’s word is right, we desire to live with all moral excellence, we know what is or is not right, so it only makes sense that we would then do what is right or restrain ourselves from doing that which is not right. Understanding self-control is one thing, but exhibiting self-control is something completely different. It is easy to know on a practical level what self-control is, but it …

                  You’re standing at the gas pump when an old friend pulls up to the pump next to you and asks, “What do you know?” Generally, our response to such a question is, “Nothing much.” But when it comes to our spiritual lives, what do we know? Hopefully, our answer to that question would be rather different. Hosea warns that when we don’t know much, destruction is imminent (Hos. 4:6). Knowledge is valuable, and knowledge is necessary in the life of a Christian. After all, Peter encourages us to put forth the effort to “add to [our] faith virtue, [and] to virtue knowledge” (2 Pet. 1:5, NKJV). When Peter says that we as Christians are to add to our knowledge, we must understand what type of knowledge he means. The knowledge in which we are to be growing is in what God has given has – “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). This means that we as Christians are to grow in the knowledge of all that God has given to us through His word. Another way we might see this point being established is in the sequence that Peter gives. Our knowledge should be based on the moral excellence which we know is found in and rooted in Christ (2 Pet. 1:5). When our faith is where it should be, and we desire to be virtuous like Christ, we will then work to grow in our knowledge. Growing in the knowledge of God’s word and …