We have an extremely clear process we are to follow to grow in our faith and build Godly character. Peter was kind enough to write it down in the first chapter of his second letter in a step-by-step list of character traits you should have. This list provides us with the process to grow closer to God and the necessary characteristics we need to be encouraging in other believers.
Firstly, Peter affirms that we have been given everything we need. It’s the spiritual equivalent of the promise God made to satisfy our physical needs. He has done this by granting us His own righteousness and nature so that we can escape the grasp of sin.
2 Peter 1: 3-5 says, “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He had given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.”
Notice that verse three says God has provided us everything that is required for two things: life and godliness. Not only has He given us the key to escaping sin and pursuing Him and His character, He has also granted us all we will need to get through this life on Earth.
2 Peter 1: 5-7 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”
That’s the process. It all begins with faith in Jesus Christ’s death, resurrection, and the salvation of sinners who accept the free gift. But, we must build on our faith, first with goodness. Let the faith that you have in Christ manifest itself in your actions so that you do genuinely good things. The first step is to be good like God is good.
The second step is to supplement that goodness with knowledge. You must know why you are to be good. To know why you are to be good, you must know why God is good. And to know why God is good, you must understand God’s character. This knowledge, then, should spur you on to greater acts of good for the kingdom of God. Those greater acts of good will add to your faith in Christ as you see what good He does in you and through you.
The third step is self-control. This is both control of your own actions and words, and the control needed to hand over control to God to handle our lives. It’s a step that goes against our very nature, which is one wherein we desire to choose for ourselves what we do. So, let your self-control supplement your knowledge of God by choosing to hand over control to Him because you know you can’t do it on your own.
The fourth step is endurance. The race we run is one of endurance, not of speed. Especially when it comes to self-control, it’s not a one and done thing. You must consistently hand over control of your life to God. To do this requires the will and the strength to continually make decisions that are against the sin nature that is prevalent all around us.
The fifth step is godliness. Endurance is useless if you put your will towards the wrong beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors. You must endure consistently against trials that seek to turn you away from God. The only way you can do that is to be filled with godliness through the character and righteousness of Christ.
The sixth step is brotherly affection, and this is less of a build-up on the first five steps and more of a manifestation of the character that should be filling you at this point in the process, though it does still supplement godliness. Brotherly affection is the love you have for your family in Christ. It builds upon godliness as a manifestation of Christ’s character. To exemplify godliness, you must love your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to love your brothers and sisters in Christ as God loves us, you must have His character.
The seventh step is the culmination of all the steps. It is the most important of all. Out of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. The greatest commandment is to love. We are only capable of love because Christ first loved us. So, we must have the first six qualities to love fully as we should. And in addition, we are better able to love others through our faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, and brotherly affection as we love like Christ. Love is the last step because God is love.
The most important thing, though, Peter emphasizes after listing these qualities in verse 8. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Note that Peter doesn’t say that moving from step one to step two means you no longer have to work on step 1. In fact, once you have these qualities, you must ensure they are always increasing. To do otherwise would be to fall away from God.
In verse 9, Peter says, “The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.”
The best way to explain this verse is to compare it to the parable of the sower. Those who lack these qualities are like the seed on rocky soil. It bursts up quickly but dies out just as quickly because it doesn’t have the right nutrients to grow.
Verse 10 says, “Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.” I feel it’s prudent to mention here that no one will ever achieve the perfection of Godly character required to not stumble in your walk with Christ. Though, if you could avoid stumbling perfectly, this would be the process by which to reach that point in your relationship with God.
In verse 11, which says, “For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you,” Peter confirms that this is a checking process for salvation. We know that we can only be gifted salvation through the grace of God, so verse 11 isn’t saying that you’ll get into Heaven by loving others or following this guide. It’s saying that this is a way we Christians can check ourselves for our own salvation, to make sure our hearts are in the right place.
I’m sure a number of us have worried about whether our salvation is real, and this checklist can answer that question for you by presenting you with, and then answering, this question: Have you chosen to follow God and give up your life to Him by chasing after His character?
So, if you’re chasing after God because you want a relationship with the one who saved you, then you’re on the right track. This list just shows you where the track is.