These verses begin with "beside all this" so I will go back to say that by accepting Christ we are partakers of the Divine nature having escaped (past tense) the corruption that is in the world through lust. That means basically we who are Christians are different. We don't go after everything the people of the world run after.
Now we are to add the following things to our original faith. These are first a life of virtue, which is an honest and good life. Then knowledge meaning we are building on our faith a good knowledge of God's Word. Then temperance meaning self-control. Then patience, next godliness, meaning God is in control of our lives. Next brotherly kindness, Christian to Christian, and last of all love to all people.
With these we will not be barren, meaning unproductive nor lacking in the fruit of the Spirit, having a good knowledge of life with our Lord Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to lack these things? Can true Christians lack these things? They certainly can. All they have to do is nothing after they are saved. There is a spiritual myopia that prevails in some Christians in our day. They are not unsaved, but notice they have forgotten they were purged from old sins. In order to be healthy we must continue to add the above named Christian graces.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment