THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ADDITION (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.

2 Peter 1:5b-6 NIV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Lord expects all Christians to grow in their faith from the time they believe in Jesus as Savior until the day they draw there last breath here on this earth as we know it. Indeed, there’s an expectation of spiritual addition that we find in the scriptures and yesterday we began to look at the expected supplementing of faith in the first message of what will be a six message series.

You may remember that this spiritual addition was progressive in nature. In part 1, we saw where Christian believers were to “supplement their faith with a generous portion of moral excellence” (NLT) which we see translated as “goodness” in the NIV. This starting point means to center all Jesus followers on putting righteousness and holiness first, adding them to faith and then building on that foundation.

From there, we saw the call for acquiring knowledge, not just any knowledge but the genuine, authentic knowledge that only comes from the Lord Himself. We reviewed two excerpts from Proverbs that reminded us that having reverence for God was the beginning of knowledge (1:7) and that believers were to trust in God for said knowledge with all of their heart, not leaving on their own understanding (3:5-6).

With goodness and knowledge added to faith, Christians were then to add self control, a fruit gained from gaining the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief in Jesus as Savior (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit always works in the life of a believer to conform the way they live to the life of Jesus and that’s what being a Christian is all about, to be Christ-like in every way.

This brings us to today as we continue to add onto the spiritual identity we are to take on as true disciples of Jesus Christ. Look again at the verses that form today’s message:

...and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness. 2 Peter 1:6b

The first thing we are called to add is perseverance and boy do we ever need this as believers. I say this because the Christian walk over time is a marathon, not a sprint. There are many highs and lows, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats. These ebbs and flows can really sap one’s strength, leaving them emotionally exhausted and in many cases, ready to surrender and give up. Maybe you can relate.

This is why we find the Word of God calling believers to persevere. Consider these words from James, the brother of Jesus:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Trials test our faith for sure and in order for our faith impurities to be skimmed off by the Lord, we need to be superheated and melted down by life’s circumstances, much like the purification process used by a metallurgist working with gold or silver.

What is the end reward for persevering through trials?

We go a little further into James, chapter 1 for the answer.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. v.12

Our struggles have an expiration date and that is when this worldly life ends. That’s good news for us all for when viewed in the light of the eternal life we are promised through our belief in Christ Jesus, our times of tribulation are but for a brief moment. This is why all Christians need to keep their hearts and minds fixed on the target, the day when they will see this life end and “receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him”.

As we move on from perseverance, we find the command to add godliness which simply means that we are to allow others to see God through the way we live. This begs several questions we need to consider for self reflection:

1. Do I think the way God thinks or are my thoughts more centered on the world and myself?

2. When I speak, would others feel like they are listening to God speaking to them?

3. In regard to my behavior, do I honor and represent God by the way I act around others? Do they see God in me or does my conduct more blend in with the world and its mannerisms?

Friends, I think we all are convicted by these questions. I know I was the moment I wrote them but they are important for us to consider because we see just how short we fall when it comes to call to be godly in the way we live.

In the end translation, we are all works in progress and the good news is that the Lord isn’t finished with us yet. Today is a ripe opportunity to become a better version of ourselves than we were yesterday and so let’s all commit ourselves to do just that, to add perseverance to our spiritual identity while we continue to strive for achieving godliness, a godliness reflected in the way we think, talk, and act.

Tomorrow, we’ll add two other critical elements that are needed if we’re to fully experience the power of spiritual addition.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.