ADDING VIRTUE

2 Pet. 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue

knowledge;  2 Pet. 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and

to patience godliness; 2 Pet. 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly

kindness charity.

            One might be surprised at the idea of adding to faith, but the apostle is not talking about how to be saved.  He is showing what all the Christian life should be about.  The three verses above show us seven things we should add to our faith.  I will only deal at this time, however, with the first one, virtue.  Common Usage is to think of virtue as such things as honesty, justice, etc.  These are not to be excluded, but that is not what the word means in this epistle.  The Greek word should be translated "man" or "male."

            The word is here associated with glory.  Just as our Lord has called us to glory, He has also called us to virtue.  The idea is not just male, but the idea is manly strength.  We already as Christians have faith.  Otherwise we would not be saved.  To that faith, however, we are called on to add manly strength.  Some men think if they become a Christian, they must become little pushovers.  Far from that.  The world needs today some godly men who will put all the force of their manhood into living right themselves and teaching others to please God.  This requires the utmost attention, desire & diligence.

How can one add this virtue or manly strength? There must be a determined steadfastness in the iwill. I do not mean stubborness either. Verse 10 tells us to give diligence to make our calling and election sure. Let your Christian life be something you plan for and work diligently to please our Blessed Lord. There must also be spiritual nourishment. In 1 Pet. 2:2  we are told, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"  One cannot wrestle with the world all week, and tip his hat toward God for one hour on Sunday, and expect to be strong in the Lord. There must be diligent time spent in the word of God. Let there also be exercise in letting our light shine. See  Matt. 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Add virture (manly strength) to your faith.