Growing in Godliness

One of the significant parts of our priorities at Hope Community Church is to GROW in our relationship with God and others.  Part of growing in our relationship with God and others is to grow in godliness!  But how are we to grow in godliness?  In order to grow in godliness, we must first be committed followers of Jesus Christ!  When we make a commitment to trust Jesus as our Savior; it is not a one-time event where we say a prayer and then we move on with our day-to-day lives!!  When we pray to respond to God’s invitation to trust Jesus Christ, it is only the beginning of a life drawing close to God.  We not only accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we commit to follow Him as our Lord!  As one pastor I read suggested, “Growing to Christian maturity takes a lifetime of submitting to God and His Word, and His process in our lives.”

Peter suggests various qualities in which we are to supplement our faith in his second letter (2 Peter 1:5-7): virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.  As we examine these qualities, we need to understand that Peter does not tell us to “supply” faith as he does the other subsequent qualities listed.  Rather, he declares, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue . . .”  Peter assumes faith in this context as the foundation upon which the other qualities stand and from which they are able to grow!  So, as we see in 2 Peter 1:1, we obtain faith in Christ as God’s free gift.  But then we supplement the other qualities, which in essence are the fruit of faith!

Therefore, if we are to grow in godliness, we must first make sure we have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!  Faith is the basis from which we are able to grow in godliness and enjoy these various qualities!  It is my prayer that we at Hope Community Church will continue to grow in godliness, as we place our faith and confidence in Jesus Christ our Lord!