It is one thing to believe, it’s totally another thing to live what you believe.
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 ESV)
Everything we do in life begins with “faith.” Whether it’s faith in a person, or faith in a business, or faith in government, or faith in Jesus Christ, all things begin with “faith.” Being an effective Christian also begins with believing in Jesus. But just believing in Jesus as our savior is just the beginning of the life God wants you to live. He wants you and me to take that belief in Jesus to another level by living like Jesus is our savior. This is the difference between just simply confessing Jesus as Lord of our lives and actually living like Jesus is Lord of our lives (read: this is faith becoming reality).
We are true Christ followers when our faith becomes a reality in our lives, meaning that we just don’t say Jesus is Lord and do something else, we say Jesus is Lord, and start living a life reflective of Jesus’ teachings. Peter says the effective Christ follower “supplements” (or “adds”) to faith with virtue, then with knowledge, then with self-control and then add steadfastness, and godliness, and then affection with love. All that means is that when you have faith, you get to keep on growing with God until you are filled with the love of God and then you will be an effective Christian because you’re constantly flowing with the love of God from within you.
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