For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 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. ~ 2 Peter 1:5-8
For this reason...
In the verses prior Peter reminds us that God's power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and through knowing Him, who has called us to His glory and excellence, we are granted His precious and very great promises. One of which, being that we are partakers of the divine nature because we can escape the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
So because God has been so gracious and merciful towards us by granting us not only His Son but also some amazing promises and an abounding hope for the future we are called to live a supplementing life.
Make Every Effort...
To me this denotes a since of urgency. It means we are supposed to strive after it with all we have, not putting it off till we have free time or when it is most convenient, but to 'make EVERY effort' now to supplement ...
sup·ple·ment
[n. suhp-luh-muh
nt; v. suhp-luh-ment] 
Show IPA
nt; v. suhp-luh-ment] Show IPA–noun
1.
something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, orreinforce or extend a whole.
2.
a part added to a book, document, etc., to supply additionalor later information, correct errors, or the like.
3.
a part, usually of special character, issued as an additionalfeature of a newspaper or other periodical.
When Peter suggests that we are to supplement our faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, and so on. He was not referring to a replacement. To supplement something means to add to it, expound upon it, build up. In this case it's an addition to the trait(s) mentioned before.
FAITH with VIRTUE
In order to supplement faith we must first have faith or at least the basic ground workings of faith. In this case, faith is the basic belief that God is GOD and He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life, to die for our sins so that we may spend eternity with them in heaven if we know that the only way to get there is by believe in what Jesus did for us, that we are fallen, we need forgiveness, and the only way to get that forgiveness is to ask for it.
Once that faith is established Peter challenges us to expound upon it virtue.
vir·tue
To have virtue means to do what is right, act the way we know we should act, etc. This means that we are going to have to ask ourselves the hard questions...
~ Do I need to be hanging out with that person?
~ Is what I'm saying positive and uplifting instead of degrading and belittling?
~ Does listening to this music taint my perspective and/or obstruct my sight?
~ Should I really be watching that movie or TV show?
If we go though life without censoring what we willingly allow our ears, eyes, and actions to soak up in our mind and heart we end up more like this world than we want. To be someone of virtue means that we are going against the grain of society. In other words, we are setting the bar, being that example for others to follow. The problem is, so many of us (Christians) use people that are around us as our reference point to how well we are doing on the virtuous scare instead of measuring up to Jesus. Yes, I know that it is impossible to be completely like Him but aiming to become more like Him, I can see no better role model on earth!!
What if we went around asking ourselves, "If Jesus was sitting right next to me would I still be..."
~ listening to this song?
~ saying these words?
~ watching this program?
~ doing what this person is doing?
~ living this way?
Are you making every effort to be virtuous?
VIRTUE with KNOWLEDGE
–noun
1.
acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from studyor investigation; general erudition: knowledge of manythings.
2.
We go through life filling our mind with knowledge. We sit in school for twelve plus years, do countless hours of homework outside of the classroom, choose to read in our free time, do other activities that require our brain to constantly be firing on all cylinders and yet Peter tells us to supplement knowledge.
I think the knowledge he is referring to is one that many of us do not learn in school. The knowledge of who God is, who His Son is, what They have done for us, the lessons They teach, the example They set, etc.
Are you making every effort to expound upon your knowledge of who God is?
KNOWLEDGE with SELF-CONTROL
–noun
control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc.
We are called to add self-control to our well developed character traits. The younger we are the more difficult this seems, because you want to experiment and try new things, not really thinking more than 10 feet in front of you as to what the repercussions may be for that particular set of actions. On the other hand, I feel the older we get, in some areas of life, this gets easier (life style choices, eating habits, etc.). Yet in other areas, such as thought, we may not hold the reigns as tightly as we should.
This trait of self-control, in my opinion, needs to exceed what we eat, what we watch, who we allow to monopolize our attention, etc. I would pose the question that Peter is leaning more towards having self-control and discipline when it comes to spending time with the LORD. We can so easily say we will spend time alone with God when it is most convenient or we have a few extra minutes here or there. But in order to be self-controled in this area we need to make it a habit. In order to form a habit you must do it repetitively over an extended period of time. This takes self-control and a willingness to see it through.
Are you making every effort to be self-controled?
SELF-CONTROL with STEADFASTNESS
–adjective
1.
fixed in direction; steadily directed: a steadfast gaze.
3.
unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence, etc.
Peter then tells us to supplement self-control with steadfastness. When I think of steadfast and what it means I get the visual of a sprinter. Even though he may be set on the blocks waiting for the gun to sound, he is poised, ready and eye's focused on the finish line. When that gun sounds, he doesn't stand straight up and walk down the lane, he pushes off the blocks with all of his might, straining with every step and muscle to reach that finish line. He doesn't turn around or take a moment to enjoy the scenery, he is unwavering and determined to reach his goal.
As a Christian, are you steadfast in your faith? Or do you hear the gun shot, and start a brisk walk down your lane, getting distracted by the people in the stands or the birds flying overhead?
I find myself constantly praying for blinders. You know what I'm talking about? You've see the horses pulling buggies in large cities, they have blinders on so the cars don't distract them and they are focused on what is directly in front of them. I continually ask for those blinders, because I find myself letting my eyes shift from the finish line to another goal or another race. But God is awesome, and He totally provides those blinders when needed and gets me back on track running headlong for the finish line He has set before me.
What about you? Are you making every effort to be steadfast in your relationship with God?
STEADFASTNESS with GODLINESS
Believe it or not we are called to be godly. To be like minded with God. At first I saw this and told myself that it is impossible, but then the more I thought about it... If we heed Peter's words and supplement these traits, we are in fact becoming more and more like God in our actions and character. The closer we get to knowing who God is and striving after having a heart like His our actions and thoughts are sure to follow. As scripture says, we are made in His image. So if we were made in His image and long to have a heart like His then logically we would be gradually increasing our godliness.
Are you longing after a heart like His? Are you making every effort to be godly?
GODLINESS with BROTHERLY AFFECTION
–noun
1.
fond attachment, devotion, or love: the affection of a parentfor an only child.
2.
Often, affections.
a.
emotion; feeling; sentiment: over and above our reasonand affections.
b.
the emotional realm of love: a place in his affections.
Even if you aren't a Christian, you've heard "Love your neighbor as yourself". In the world we live in, it is accepted to be egocentric (self centered). We can walk around our whole lives thinking about nothing but ourselves and the small circle of friends that we keep and the world wouldn't think twice about it. BUT as Christians we are called above and beyond that, we are called to supplement our character traits with 'brotherly affection'. Treating those around us as we would treat ourselves or would like ourselves to be treated.
In my mind, this doesn't mean that you always have to get along with those around you but you love them anyway. If you have siblings you know what I'm talking about. You love your brother or sister, but sometimes you don't like them very much!!! But even after a huge fight, you make up and love each other because, after all, you're brothers/sisters.
Are you living that out with those around you? Are you loving your neighbor as you would love yourself? Are you making every effort to show brotherly affection wherever you go?
BROTHERLY AFFECTION with LOVE
–noun
1.
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2.
Peter urges us to supplement brotherly affection with love. The first time I read this I thought they were one in the same. Then after thinking about it, I realized that love is so much more deeper. The definition states that love is a profoundly tender passionate affection towards another. Profoundly is defined as penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge. I think that loving someone means to dive much deeper into relationship with them then just brotherly affection. It means to truly get to know someone. Not just asking how they are in passing but taking the time out of our lives to sit down and have an in-depth conversation with them. Earnestly wanting to know how they are.
I feel as a Christians, myself included, that we have been living in a superficial knowhow of those around us. We feel as if we do not have time to take a few hours out of our busy lives to have those in-depth conversation with friends, family or even just acquaintances. How different would this world look if all of the Christians earnestly took time to love on the people around them; listening, meeting needs, encouraging, sharing scripture related to what they're going through?
Are you making every effort to love those around you?
CHECK YOURSELF...
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.What if the reason you are not living as you ought to is because you haven't taken the time to check yourself and examine your character?
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