I’ve often struggled, wondering if I’m “doing it right” as a follower of Christ. Will I ever become a mature Christian? We need not despair because Scripture gives us the answers about our spiritual walk.
The Apostle Peter followed Christ from the beginning of His time on Earth. Peter was part of Jesus’ inner circle, one of three disciples closest to Him. He witnessed countless miracles and even walked on water with Jesus. Yet, he also struggled in his faith. After Jesus returned to heaven, Peter was transformed from one who fearfully denied Christ to one who preached to a crowd, seeing thousands come to faith.
We can trust Peter knew, by experience, what it means to follow Jesus. He spent the rest of his life teaching, preaching, and making disciples, ultimately dying as a martyr. He wrote two letters recorded for us in Scripture (1 and 2 Peter). In his second letter, Peter gives us clear instructions about being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We might think we could never follow Jesus the way Peter did, but he tells us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3a NIV).
“His divine power” is the power of Almighty God, the power that spoke and everything came into existence—limitless galaxies, wonders, creatures, oceans and mountains, mankind, no two of which are alike.
The power that raised Jesus from the tomb, conquering death forever, has granted us everything pertaining to living a godly life, a life of devotion and respect to God.
How does Jesus give us this? “Through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3b NIV). Then through this knowledge, by His own goodness and glory, “He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4 NIV). We escape that corruption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of His glory, goodness, provision, and promise, we have all we need to follow Him.
Peter goes on in his letter to provide us with a map for living a godly life: “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; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV).
Once we place our faith in Jesus, He gives us the power to pursue moral excellence. We then search the Scriptures to know what moral excellence is and what God desires for us. As we learn His desires, we exercise self-control to obey. As we obey, we persevere even when it gets hard. We don’t give up.
As we persevere in applying Scriptural truth, we develop godliness, and His Spirit enables us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we obey His command to love others, God’s love grows in our hearts.
We must begin with faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There’s no other cornerstone. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Without belief in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to build on.
Scripture tells us, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13 NIV). If you’ve never done so, today would be a great day to begin that relationship by believing in Jesus Christ.
Once we believe in Jesus, as we yield to Him, He helps us develop a virtuous life. Because of the joy and peace He brings, it encourages us to walk with purity of heart out of gratitude to Him.
Perfection is not the goal, nor is it possible. Instead, Jesus asks us to pursue His goodness and righteousness. We desire to grow in bringing glory to God in whatever we do.
To know what goodness is and what God desires, we study His Word. We search Scripture to gain knowledge of our Lord and His will for our lives. As we study, we are encouraged to line up our lives with His truth.
Learning for ourselves what the Bible teaches is essential. If we simply rely on others to tell us what God’s Word says, we can be easily led astray. Reading Scripture, as we listen to the Holy Spirit, helps us acquire knowledge and equips us to follow Him. Unlike other books, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). It’s important to pray before reading and ask God to reveal what He is teaching us.
As we study Scripture, the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and teach us about righteousness (John 16:8-10). To respond obediently, we must exercise self-control as we ask God for help. Saying no to sin requires us to deny ourselves; however, we don’t have the power to do so by our strength. We must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit within us, knowing that even when we fail, His grace covers us.
Jesus taught, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NIV). This is a daily, life-long journey of walking in the grace of our Lord.
This journey requires perseverance. Perseverance means “Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” We must keep on keeping on. Keep studying His Word. Keep pursuing excellence. Keep exercising self-control. It is a life-long exercise. Remember, we won’t reach the goal of perfection until we enter eternity.
Godliness is living a life focused on God, walking with God, and seeking Him first. A godly person lives so that whatever they do, whether eating, drinking, or anything else, they do it for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Living such a life is not about legalism or keeping rules. Instead, the godly person is devoted to God and has a close, loving relationship with Him. Their obedience comes from love and a desire to please the One they love.
Do I love God fiercely for who He is? Am I zealously devoted to Him? Pursuing godliness is loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind.
How can we be devoted to God and not love His children? The Greek language has five words for love. The one used here is “philadelphia,” which means the love of brothers or sisters. Love for our brothers and sisters in Christ should naturally flow from our intimacy with God.
John, the beloved disciple of Christ, shared this command of Jesus, “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:21 NIV).
From loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, we move to the highest form of love, in Greek called “agape.” Constable’s Notes tells us this is “God’s kind, that seeks the welfare of the person loved above its own welfare…It reaches out to all people not just fellow believers.”
Jesus, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, enables us to love as He loves.
We continue growing in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness, and love. As all these qualities develop in increasing measure, we will become effective and productive in knowing Jesus and following Him (2 Peter 1:8).
So many of us want this to be easy. In our modern world, we’re addicted to the quick fix: the immediate answer. But Peter tells us to “make every effort.” Effort means it’s not easy. This is for the long haul. It’s our map for the rest of our time on earth. Every day we stand on faith. We continually fight the battle for moral excellence. We must grow in the knowledge of truth throughout our whole lives. Jesus said we have to deny ourselves every day to follow Him. It doesn’t mean striving to be perfect, or just “doing” more. Seeking to live this way means yielding our hearts to Jesus and listening for His voice each day.
Peter informs us that when we pursue these qualities, we won’t be unfruitful in our relationship with Jesus. He then warns, “But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:9 NIV). When we don’t have these qualities in our lives, we become blind to our true state and may be overwhelmed with guilt, forgetting that Jesus has cleansed us of sin.
I know my eternity with Jesus is secure, but I don’t want to waste the life He’s given me here by living for myself. I’m here for a reason, and I want to fulfill His purpose for me.
The cycle described by Peter is one we’ll live until the day we see Jesus. Our foundation in Christ is secure forever. At different times, we may be in the faith but not moving forward. We could be growing in knowledge or caught in a time of self-indulgence. We may be persevering one week and caught up in laziness the next.
But the key is always returning to the secure foundation of our faith and focusing on our relationship with Jesus. Then, once again, we choose righteousness, read His Word, obey, and continue to pursue love. We don’t give up until the day we enter the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Susan Aken writes devotions and articles for Wholly Loved Ministries, is an Oklahoma native who’s lived in Nebraska since 1987 and has been in public education for over thirty years. She and her husband have one son and a wonderful daughter-in-law. Besides writing she has a passion for special needs and prayer ministries. She enjoys time with family, reading, photography, movies, walking in nature, and a nice cup of tea. She believes life is a journey and we’re all in different places. Jesus is everything to her and it’s all about grace. Visit her at susanaken53.wordpress.com or on Facebook.