Tired of a boring, do-nothing religion—the kind that shuffles into a pew on Sunday and stays awake by thinking about what what you have to do when you get home that afternoon?

Peter has a deal for us. “Off the couch,” he says. “Let’s start growing’.”

These eight qualities move us from couch-potato faith (lots of bulk, not much activity) to marathon faith (lean, mean, light, strong, and on the move).

Peter gives us a plan for moral development, but he gives us few clues for how we should present these truths to others.

The only clue seems to be that the eight virtues are presented in four pairs, indicating that one virtue develops out of the other. So we know they are progressive and active.

Some have explained the relationship of these virtues to each other like steps or rungs on a ladder. We must reach one in order to progress to the next. Others see them as spokes of a wheel to be developed simultaneously.

Perhaps they are like the Russian dolls, where each contains a smaller box inside of the other. This would indicate that to discover the next virtue, we must realize and express the prior one.

• We must fully cooperate with God, using all diligence in developing each characteristic.
• We can meditate and ask God for discernment for how we should understand and apply each one.
• In areas where we are weak, we can double our efforts to exemplify the virtue.

The Christian Life Begins with Faith (2 Peter 1:1-4). “Faith” is, of course, the first characteristic, for without it, Christians are no different from the pagans in the world around them.

The faith Peter referred to is faith in Christ, faith that brings them into the family of God. While people might have some of the following characteristics by nature, those are worthless in eternity without being grounded in faith.

Peter called it “like precious faith.” It means that our standing with the Lord today is the same as that of the Apostles centuries ago. They had no special advantage over us simply because they were privileged to walk with Christ, see Him with their own eyes, and share in His miracles.

Faith Results in Spiritual Growth (2 Peter 1:5-7). Where there is life, there must be growth. The new birth is not the end; it is the beginning. God gives His children all that they need to live godly lives, but His children must apply themselves and be diligent to use the “means of grace” He has provided.

Peter now lists seven characteristics of the godly life.

These graces relate to each other the way the branch relates to the trunk and the twigs to the branch. Like the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23), these qualities grow out of life and out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.

The first quality of character Peter listed was virtue. It basically means “excellence.” To the Greek philosophers, it meant “the fulfillment of a thing.” When anything in nature fulfills its purpose, that is “virtue—moral excellence.”

The word was also used to describe the power of the gods to do heroic deeds. The land that produces crops is “excellent” because it is fulfilling its purpose. The tool that works correctly is “excellent” because it is doing what a tool is supposed to do.

A Christian is supposed to glorify God because he has God’s nature within; so, when he does this, he shows “excellence” because he is fulfilling his purpose in life. True virtue in the Christian life is not “polishing” human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but producing divine qualities that make the person more like Jesus Christ.

Faith helps us develop virtue, and virtue helps us develop knowledge (2 Peter 1:5).

The word translated “knowledge” in 2 Peter 1:2-3 means “full knowledge” or “knowledge that is growing.” The word used here suggests practical knowledge or discernment.

It refers to the ability to handle life successfully. It is the opposite of being “so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good!” This kind of knowledge does not come automatically.

Knowledge leads to patience and patience leads to self-control.

Knowledge can leads us to be cruel in applying scripture to others in our teaching. It could easily cause us to be arrogant or conceited.

Self control helps us to be tender, kind, discerning in our application of God’s word, to self and especially to others.

Patience is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult.

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Prov. 16:32).

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls” (Prov. 25:28).

Patience is not something that develops automatically; we must work at it. God uses difficult people or difficult situations to develop this quality.

Whatever happened to self-control? Many books and speakers guide wandering souls to self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction, and self-awareness. Not many tackle self-control.

Self-control requires an honest look at our strengths and weaknesses, with emphasis on the latter. It means building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes.

To self-control, add godliness: “God-likeness.”

In the original Greek, this word meant “to worship well.” It described the man who was right in his relationship with God and with his fellowman.

Perhaps the words reverence and piety come closer to defining this term.

It is that quality of character that makes a person distinctive. He lives above the petty things of life, the passions and pressures that control the lives of others.

He seeks to do the will of God and, as he does, he seeks the welfare of others.

We must never get the idea that godliness is an impractical thing, because it is intensely practical. The godly person makes the kinds of decisions that are right and noble.

He does not take an easy path simply to avoid either pain or trial. He does what is right because it is right and because it is the will of God.

To godliness, add brotherly kindness: a virtue that Peter must have acquired the hard way, for the disciples of our Lord often debated and disagreed with one another.

If we love Jesus Christ, we must also love the our brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love” (Rom. 12:10).

The fact that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ is one evidence that we have been born of God (1 John 5:1-2).

But there is more to Christian growth than brotherly love; we must also have the sacrificial love that our Lord displayed when He went to the cross.

The kind of love (“charity”) spoken of in 2 Peter 1:7 is agape love, the kind of love that God shows toward lost sinners.

This is the love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13, the love that the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts as we walk in the Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22).

When we have brotherly love, we love because of our likeness to others; but with agape love, we love in spite of the differences we have.

It is impossible for fallen human nature to manufacture these seven qualities of Christian character.

They must be produced by the Spirit of God.

To be sure, there are unsaved people who possess amazing self-control and endurance, but these virtues point to them and not to the Lord. They get the glory.

When God produces the beautiful nature of His Son in a Christian, it is God who receives the praise and glory.

Spiritual Growth Brings Practical Results (2 Peter 1:8-11) How can the believer be certain that he is growing spiritually? Peter gave three evidences of true spiritual growth.

Fruitfulness (v. 8).

Christian character is an end in itself, but it is also a means to an end. The more we become like Jesus Christ, the more the Spirit can use us in witness and service.

The believer who is not growing is idle (“barren”) and unfruitful. His knowledge of Jesus Christ is producing nothing practical in his life.

The word translated “idle” also means “ineffective.” The people who fail to grow usually fail in everything else!

Some of the most effective Christians I have known are people without dramatic talents and special abilities, or even exciting personalities; yet God has used them in a marvelous way.

Why? Because they are becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. They have the kind of character and conduct that God can trust with blessing. They are fruitful because they are faithful; they are effective because they are growing in their Christian experience.

These beautiful qualities of character do exist “within us” because we possess the divine nature. We must cultivate them so that they increase and produce fruit in and through our lives.

Vision (v. 9).

Nutritionists tell us that diet can certainly affect vision and this is especially true in the spiritual realm. The unsaved person is in the dark because Satan has blinded his mind (2 Cor. 4:3-4). A person has to be born again before his eyes are opened and he can see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

But after our eyes are opened, it is important that we increase our vision and see all that God wants us to see. The phrase cannot see afar off is the translation of a word that means “shortsighted.” It is the picture of somebody closing or squinting his eyes, unable to see at a distance.

There are some Christians who fail to see the greatness of God’s family around the world. Some believers see the needs at home but have no vision for a lost world.

Jesus admonished His disciples, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35).

Some congregations today are like the church at Laodicea: they are proud that they are “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” and do not realize that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). It is a tragedy to be “spiritually nearsighted,” but it is even a greater tragedy to be blind!

If we forget what God has done for us, we will not be excited to share Christ with others. Through the blood of Jesus Christ we have been purged and forgiven!

God has opened our eyes! Let’s not forget what He has done! Rather, let’s cultivate gratitude in our hearts and sharpen our spiritual vision.

Life is too brief and the needs of the world too great for God’s people to be walking around with their eyes closed!

Security (vv. 10-11).

If you walk around with your eyes closed, you will stumble! But the growing Christian walks with confidence because he knows he is secure in Christ.

It is not our profession of faith that guarantees that we are saved; it is our progression in the faith that gives us that assurance.

The person who claims to be a child of God but whose character and conduct give no evidence of spiritual growth is deceiving himself and heading for judgment.

While it is true that God must work in us before we can do His will (Phil. 2:12-13), it is also true that we must be willing for God to work, and we must cooperate with Him.

Divine election must never be an excuse for human laziness.

The Christian who is sure of his election and calling will never “stumble” but will prove by a consistent life that he is truly a child of God.

He will not always be on the mountaintop, but he will always be climbing higher.

In fact, the growing Christian can look forward to “an abundant entrance” into the eternal kingdom!

The Greeks used this phrase to describe the welcome given Olympic winners when they returned home.

The word ministered in 2 Peter 1:11 is the same as the word add in 2 Peter 1:5, and is the translation of a Greek word that means “to bear the expenses of a chorus.”

When the Greek theatrical groups presented their dramas, somebody had to underwrite the expenses, which were very great. The word came to mean “to make lavish provision.”

If we make lavish provision to grow spiritually (2 Peter 1:5), then God will make lavish provision for us when we enter heaven!

Just think of the blessings that the growing Christian enjoys: fruitfulness, vision, security—and heaven’s best! All this and heaven too!

The Christian life begins with faith, but that faith must lead to spiritual growth—unless it is dead faith. But dead faith is not saving faith (James 2:14-26). Faith leads to growth and growth leads to practical results in life and service. People who have this kind of Christian experience are not likely to fall prey to apostate false teachers.