Pursuit of a godly life – 2 Peter 1:3-10

In the movie called ‘The pursuit of happiness’, based on the life of Chris Gardner, it shows some of his hardships as he endeavors to pursue a career and find happiness for him and his family

Chris names each milestone and obstacle as a type of heading for the next phase of his journey.

In 2 Peter 1 we find something similar. A kind of step by step guide in the pursuit of godly life. These steps or elements are all equal parts of our spiritual growth in our faith in Christ.

The steps or elements that Peter show us in the text are (with Strongs word references):

1. Receiving faith in Christ (G4102)
2. Goodness (G703)
3. Knowledge (G1108)
4. Self Control (G1466)
5. Perseverance (G5281)
6. Godliness (G2150)
7. Mutual affection (G5360)
8. Love (G26)

Let’s look at each of these elements a little bit closer:

1. Receive faith in Christ
   1. Happens by grace of God
   2. Each of us has our own journey when or how this happened, some over time, some has a moment.
   3. Faith is a conviction in the truth of Jesus Christ
   4. The starting blocks of your life in the faith of Christ
   5. We receive all we need for a godly life when we receive the faith
   6. This happens through God’s divine power
   7. It is almost like a religious starter pack so to speak
2. Goodness
   1. To show kindness and gentleness
   2. When you experience and show some compassion and empathy with the person next to you
   3. to have a soft hart for somebody else
3. Knowledge
   1. Any relationship require increase in knowledge of the other person
   2. Have to spend time an a relationship to gain knowledge
   3. We gain knowledge of God through the Word, prayer and seeing God work in every day life
   4. Reading the Bible, not just old or new testament, but the whole story
   5. God reveals Himself in all scripture
   6. And all three disciplines will confirm each other to be true when they all tell the same story
4. Self Control
   1. A very important religious discipline to grow in and practice
   2. Have outward and inward element to it
   3. To consciously resist our natural urges to respond in situations without considering the possible negative outcomes – outward
   4. Not just towards other people, also within yourself – inward
   5. Self control to maintain health and also relationships
5. Perseverance
   1. Any of these religious act require a consistent effort to grow in them
   2. Diligent applying effort and mind daily to achieve our goals
   3. Reading your Bible, praying, being good to others, maintaining self control
   4. Also requires patience
6. Godliness
   1. to show a deep feeling or reverence and commitment in your believe in Christ.
   2. Create a serious awareness of all these elements and actively living them out
   3. Live the elements list above and below with purpose
7. Mutual affection
   1. Love between Christians
   2. Taking care of each other as brothers and sisters in Christ
   3. In small groups, church meetings and councils, in gatherings, during the week
   4. Also crossing denominational borders
   5. How we talk about each other and take care of each other
   6. Refer to all the other elements that tie in
8. Love
   1. Have a charitable heart
   2. Share brotherly love
   3. Have love for all people
   4. Look beyond the boundaries of your church walls and congregations or even religious structures
   5. Serve and love people in the world as Jesus did

These are the elements highlighted by 2 Peter 1:6 to actively grow and live a godly life.

With some elements we will be better than others, trust the Lord and ask Him in prayer to help you through His spirit with the ones you struggle with and also thank Him for the elements that come more easy to you

There is also a warning in the scripture, or a reprimand:

Be active in pursuing all this elements of a godly life so that we are not unproductive and ineffective in our knowledge of Christ.

Although salvation is not achieved through deeds, but by faith alone, a faithful believer will pursue these ‘deeds’ in thankfulness for what God has done for us

Peter says that if you choose to be stagnant in just receiving faith and pursuing the growth as noted in verse 6, you are ‘nearsighted and blind’ and forgot that you were cleansed of your sins.

Therefore, when we continue with our lives beyond today, lets start to practice the elements of a godly life, take the challenge in every aspect of our lives, to honor God and thank Him for His grace, by trying to live out these goals!