Faith Supplements That Cure Blindness
2 Peter 1:5-10 ESV
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
I realize the title of this devotional reads like YouTube clickbait. However, it’s truth, not hype. And the qualities that are mentioned by Peter, when applied, do wonderful things in our lives.
Make every effort to supplement your faith. Peter is working under the assumption that he stated in verse two of this chapter. We have obtained a faith just as he and James and John and the other disciples. Remember that faith is not an outdated emphasis from the 70s and 80s. Faith is a foundational tenet of the Kingdom of God and was seen thousands of years ago. Abraham was around long before the twentieth century faith teachers showed up. Without faith, we can’t please God, so all the other qualities that Peter listed are not a replacement for faith; they supplement our faith.
Virtue, or moral excellence. Knowledge, spiritual more than academic knowledge. Self-control, which looks a whole lot like self-discipline. Steadfastness is perseverance; we don’t typically use steadfastness today. Godliness, which is a living devotion to God. Brotherly affection or brotherly kindness, and the divine kind of agape love. These supplements are strong stuff, and we have the capacity to add them to our lives in increasing amounts by putting them into practice.
Peter lists these seven supplemental qualities that we are to add to our lives. And these supplements cure spiritual shortsightedness and blindness. These qualities remind us that we have been cleansed from our old sins. These qualities, when practiced, cause us to be productive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. These were qualities He walked in to the full during His time on earth.
Peter also states that if we practice these qualities, we will not fall. It does not mean we are perfect, but we are not falling and certainly not falling away. But just a cursory look at these qualities, and we can easily determine that they are a deterrent against sin and a stabilizing force in our lives.
Peter tells us to make every effort, or in other words, don’t be passive about adding these high-quality supplements to our lives. They add to our faith and add to our lives.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, that I have the capacity to add these high-quality character supplements to my faith.