Make Every Effort! - 2 Peter 1:5-7

 

📖 Scripture:
“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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”
– 2 Peter 1:5–7

🔎 Examination:
When the Apostle Peter says, "make every effort," he's not giving us a suggestion. He's throwing down the gauntlet against the lazy, lukewarm attitude that infects so many churches today. Peter isn't telling us to try harder in our own strength. He's reminding us that God has already given us everything we need for real, godly living through Christ. We're not called to fake it or put on a show. We're called to actually walk in what God has already provided.

Peter's command isn't about passively coasting through the Christian life. The word he uses means urgent, focused effort. But don't get it twisted—this isn't about earning your way into God's favor. If you've really been made alive in Christ, you won't stay stuck or stagnant. Just like a healthy tree can't help but bear fruit, a true believer can't help but show evidence of Christ's life.

Peter isn't giving us a list of optional upgrades for super-Christians. These qualities—goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love—are the proof that Christ is actually at work in you. If you don't see these things growing in your life, it's not just a sign of immaturity. It's a sign you're spiritually blind, maybe even dead.

This blows up the popular lie that you can just "accept Jesus" and then live however you want. That kind of easy-believism isn't biblical. You can't have Jesus as Savior and ignore Him as Lord. If you're really united to Christ, your life will start to look like His. Jesus Himself said it straight: if you call Him Lord but don't obey, you're not just fooling yourself... you're allowing Satan to fool you out of a love of darkness.

Peter isn't letting anyone hide behind a prayer they prayed years ago, an aquatic ceremony, or some teary-eyed emotional high at camp or a church service. Real assurance doesn't come from a memory or a feeling. It comes from actually living out your faith right now. Paul says to test yourself. If you're not growing, not enduring, not bearing fruit, you have no reason to be confident. The true people of God are the ones who keep going and keep growing.

Not everyone saying to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens. -Matthew 7:21

But don't get it backwards. We're not grinding away out of fear or trying to impress God. If you're truly in Christ, the Holy Spirit gives you both the desire and the power to obey. Real effort is the proof that grace is at work, not the enemy of it. (See 1 Pet 1:23; 1 Pet 2:2; Jer 31:33; Ps 1:2; Matt 4:4; Ps 119:97; Ps 119:103; Jas 1:21; John 8:47; Rom 8:6; 2 Cor 13:5)

If you see no effort, no growth, no craving to fight, persevere, and glorify Christ in your walk with Him, that's not just laziness. It's a warning sign that your heart was never changed at all. The Bible doesn't recognize some queer category of a fruitless, unchanged Christian. If you're content to stay the same, you're content to stay lost in darkness.

So here's the bottom line: The goal isn't to earn what Christ already paid for IN FULL. The goal is to love, honor, and adore Christ as Savior, Creator, God, King, and LORD by living the reality of the GOSPEL. There's no point in trying to impress God with religious activity. If you haven't been walking in the Spirit and letting the world see Christ alive in you... then the proof is in the pudding. If you truly are in Christ, your life will prove, validate, and confirm it through your devotion to a God-honoring local church... not anonymity, autonomy, or selfish spirituality.

🤺 Action:

• Test your diligence – “Test and prove what pleases the Lord.” (Eph 5:10)
  Is your life marked by intentional pursuit of Christlikeness, or passive spiritual drift?
• Examine your fruit – “Every good tree bears good fruit.” (Matt 7:17)
  Are the qualities listed in 2 Peter 1 increasing in measurable ways?
• Confront false assurance – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom.” (Matt 7:21)
  Is your confidence rooted in past experiences or present transformation?
• Reject performative religion – “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” (Mark 7:6)
  Are you merely managing appearances, or walking in genuine obedience?
• Engage the Body of Christ – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship…” (Acts 2:42)
  Are you functioning as a committed member of Christ’s Church, or remaining detached?

🧠 Reflection:
"Make every effort" isn't some extra burden God throws on top of salvation. It's the proof that salvation is real. Where Jesus is King, things change. There's growth. There's fruit. If you're coasting, you're not neutral—you're exposed. Wake up. Get moving. Live like someone who actually belongs to the risen King.

✝️ Study:
Q1: What qualities does Peter list that should grow in the life of the saints (2 Peter 1:5–7)?

Q2: How does 2 Peter 1:3–4 help explain why “making every effort” is not about earning salvation?

Q3: In what ways does ongoing fruitfulness serve as confirmation of calling and election (2 Peter 1:8–10)?

Q4: How does Peter’s use of spoudē (diligence) integrate with Pauline theology on grace and sanctification (cf. Philippians 1:5-6; 2:12–13)?

Q5: Why is the teaching that someone can be saved without any evidence of transformation incompatible with the full testimony of Scripture?

Blessings & love, 

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

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