Are we making progress in the Christian faith? Are we growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?

In the above text we are given seven supplements which if taken will guarantee progress in our Christian life. These supplements are the ways and means of spiritual vitality and maturity. This is the way to healthy spiritual development for the individual Christian and for the church collectively.

This is the way to ensure that we do not remain spiritual babies all our days which is not acceptable to God who commands His people to grow. This is therefore the way to please God. This is the way to usefulness in and out of the church.

This is the way to full assurance of faith.

Let us firstly note that this is God’s word to His people. Peter is writing “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (1b). It is ultimately pointless taking cognisance of the supplements if you lack faith. You must firstly repent and believe the gospel. This is God’s word in other words to believers; to those who have received the gift of faith and are putting it to work.

Let us be in no doubt that faith works; it must be exercised for faith without works is dead. Therefore this word is particularly and uniquely directed to all those who have been made partakers of the divine nature by the divine power and who are therefore standing on the promises of God. It is not for a special group of Christians but is for each and everyone who is part of the church. This is God’s word to you and me. Will we hear and heed it?

Let us also take note that God is teaching us that we are responsible for our personal and collective spiritual growth and development. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith”. It is not enough to simply profess faith in Jesus Christ with our mouths if there is no corresponding transformation in our lives. Instead we must walk the walk as well as talk the talk. While we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone that faith is never alone in God’s people but is always accompanied by good works; and hence our great need to supplement our faith.

This is something we must unceasingly apply ourselves to. We are to make every effort. We must never allow ourselves to become apathetic, complacent, half-hearted, lethargic or neglectful in this matter lest we remain spiritually impoverished or worse. Some Christians start off well but appear to have more in common with the incredible shrinking man for they appear to regress rather than progress in their Christian lives. They start off well but fall away. Instead we must be ever determined to make progress herein. We must make it our constant aim and desire to be growing and developing in the faith. We must be supplementing our faith; we must be adding to it.

Here then is God’s seven step plan for our spiritual maturity. We are all familiar with the concept of taking supplements. Some people on account of a particular chemical or vitamin deficiency or imbalance are forced to take supplements regularly. The way to spiritual maturity is through taking supplements. For we all have a serious deficiency without these seven qualities. These seven moreover must all be taken. We cannot pick and choose from among them; but this is like a cocktail of supplements that are all essential for our spiritual welfare and witness. They are like links or precious pearls in a chain that we must decorate our lives with.

The first supplement is virtue; the first step on the road to spiritual maturity is by adding virtue to your faith: “supplement your faith with virtue”. The word virtue speaks to us of moral excellence; it communicates the sense of being morally good or righteous. By faith we believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. We are justified that is declared righteous by God through faith; for by faith the righteousness of Christ is accredited, imputed or reckoned to our account. This is the only way we can be saved.

However the righteousness that saves us is the righteousness of another – it is of Christ, the LORD our righteousness. In other words it is extraneous to us. We are not made intrinsically righteous thereby but we are declared righteous in the sight of God. However we are then called to be holy; we are called to be saints; we are called to pursue righteousness; we are called to live morally upright lives as those who are God’s children, partakers of the divine nature. Thus living virtuous lives is evidence that we are Christ’s; that we are followers of Him. Hence the advice of the apostle Paul to the church in Philippi: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence (virtue), if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil 4:8-9). Let us therefore “supplement (our) faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge”.

Virtue is founded and grounded on knowledge for right thinking or understanding must precede right acting or doing. What we believe determines our behaviour. By contrast ignorance is a major enemy of the true faith; it is the way of danger and destruction for the Christian individually and the church collectively. Our spiritual development is dependent on our knowledge of God and self, the true way of salvation, and of the manner of making progress in Christ’s school of learning.

We are all learners and must be growing from infancy to adulthood in the faith. That is why good preaching and teaching ought to be at a premium in the church. This also necessitates that we give ourselves to learning from the word of God and the example of Christ. We must be students of the word, searching the scriptures daily, reading sound Christian literature and such like. Let us hear and heed the word of the living God: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Cor 14:20). “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:9-10). Let us therefore supplement virtue with knowledge “and knowledge with self-control”.

Self-control which is one of the fruits of the Spirit speaks to us of our need to lead disciplined lives. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Cor 9:25). We must thus be disciplined like an athlete in preparing for as well as participating in the race. Just as an athlete watches what he eats so the Christian must take care not to be imbibing things that are spiritually harmful. Just as an athlete has a strict exercise regime so too must the Christian make full use of the means of grace if we are to prosper spiritually and attain to maturity there-in. Just as the athlete is disciplined in keeping to his regimen so must the Christian not allow himself to become distracted or dissuaded by the multitude of things that compete for his time and talents. Just as the athlete must compete according to the rules so must the Christian do according to the revealed will of God which is contained in the sacred scriptures.

Self control also communicates to us the idea of self-restraint, temperance or moderation. We are to exercise self-control when confronted by trials, troubles and temptations. We are to be ever careful not to open the door to the fallen nature, the world and the Evil One. We must “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and ... live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Tit 2:12). Lack of self-control is just one of the signs of godlessness in the last days according to 2 Timothy 3:3. By contrast the exercise of self-control is evidence that we are Christ’s. Let us live self-controlled lives.

We must moreover supplement self control with steadfastness: “and self-control with steadfastness”. This is essential for if we continue with the analogy of the athlete, the race we are called to run is more like a marathon than a sprint; we must be prepared for the long-haul – “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1). We must continue therein through the pain barrier; through the humiliation, scorn, opposition and even persecution that might come our way. Like the salmon that must constantly battle against the tide, current and stream so we must make our way against the prevailing torrent of ungodliness and unrighteousness.

The Christian pilgrimage is uphill all the way to the Celestial City. Therefore there must be “steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:4). We are to continue steadfastly in following Jesus; in the worship, work and witness that we have been called to. James writes: “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (Jam 1:3).

Steadfastness thus speaks of commitment and resolve. It also speaks of endurance: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Heb 10:36).

Steadfastness speaks of patience. There must be patient endurance among us. We must patiently wait for the fulfilment of God’s promises. Steadfastness similarly speaks of perseverance. We are to keep alert with all perseverance. We can do so in the knowledge that our great and gracious God is preserving us and will fulfil in us and bring to completion and perfection what He has started. Let us moreover supplement “steadfastness with godliness”. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control and steadfastness promote or lead to godliness.

Godliness conveys the idea of a life lived in a God-ward fashion or direction. Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever; we are to do all to the glory of God. We are to live God-centred and God-focussed lives in and through Christ our Lord. Thus we ought to model our lives on the commands and example of Jesus Christ as His disciples.

The Bible says: “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim 4:7-8). As beloved children we are to bear the family-likeness – there must increasingly be God-likeness in our words and deeds. Let us also supplement “godliness with brotherly affection”.

If we are Christ’s then we belong to the family and household of God. We are not many different families although we give the appearance today of being a plethora of dysfunctional families but we are part of the one family of God for there is but one true church universal. And we are called to give expression to this fact. We ought to be labouring to achieve unity in heart and mind in and between the churches, that we might truly be united in the Spirit as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul can thus write to the church in Rome: “Love one another with brotherly affection” (Rom 12:10a). In the Letter to the Hebrews we are commanded to “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb 13:1). In some churches it does not even appear to have begun!

The apostle Peter makes the connection between obedience to the truth and love: “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Pet 1:22).

The Lord Jesus says that the world will know that we are His disciples by the love that we have for one another! This is the way to and is a sign of spiritual maturity. Brotherly affection is a good indication of progress in the Christian life.

And finally we are to supplement “brotherly affection with love”. Love is the crowning grace; the chief fruit of the Spirit. “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14). Love is like the capstone which holds all in place. God is love and as beloved children we are to be imitators of God and walk in love – this is the way to and the way of spiritual maturity. It is the most excellent way for “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor 13:4-8a).

Is the love of God manifest in and through our individual and collective lives? The more we progress in spiritual vitality and maturity the more loving we must become!

Let us acknowledge then our great need for spiritual vitality and maturity. It is to be had by supplementing our faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. With spiritual maturity comes usefulness and fruitfulness: “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 Pet 1:8). With spiritual maturity moreover comes assurance and confidence in the faith. This is the way to make our calling and election sure: “for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (10-11).

Are we on the way to spiritual maturity which means usefulness and fruitfulness in Christ’s church? Let us supplement our faith with these seven qualities for spiritual vitality and maturity for our personal blessing and the blessing of others to the glory of God.