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” in 2 Peter 1:6. With this understanding in mind, the Hebrews’ writer is telling us that we must push through the difficulties of life and stick with our faith through all the challenges that come our way. The reason we know that this type of “endurance” or “perseverance” is possible is because of the One to whom we look – Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2)!
Perseverance is essential to our salvation. If we cannot push through the hard times, we will fall in the hard times. Perseverance is required if we are to continually be growing in our Christianity. We must not stop with faith, virtue, knowledge, or self-control. We must add to these things “perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, [and] to brotherly kindness love” (2 Pet. 1:5-7).
By Preston McElyea