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No Place for Laziness

 

2 Peter 1:5-6 - And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 

In verse 6 God tells us to “be diligent.” In other words, get busy growing in the Lord! In verse 10 we are told to be diligent to be sure you are saved. Satan is the imitator, and he has many sincerely religious people believing they are saved and going to heaven. Can a person know they are really saved? Of course, make your calling and election sure, says Peter. Don’t be satisfied with a mere head knowledge, or with emotional experiences. Rest your confidence on the finished work of Christ and the unchanging promises of God’s Word.

In verse 4 of the above-mentioned chapter, Peter informs us that the true Christian shares God’s very nature by turning away from corruption in the world (1 John 5:4).

But salvation is only the beginning. Peter continues by saying to be diligent to grow in your Christian life (verse 5). Faith is the beginning; but there must follow virtue, knowledge, self-control, and the other wonderful fruits of the Christian life. Where there is life, there must be growth. “Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby,” Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:2. It takes diligence to grow; there is no place for laziness in a vibrant Christian life.

Be diligent! “Awake thou that sleepest!” (Ephesians 5:14). Put as much effort and concern into your spiritual life as you put in your job, your home, your hobby. Be Diligent!