Mike Focht 5/2/2025
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore brethren, be even more diligent to make your call an election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-11
Spiritual growth is more than subtraction.
The scriptures command us to sever anything that connects us to sin ruthlessly. We are called to put off our old man with his desires, thoughts, and actions. We are to flee youthful lusts. We are to make no provision for the lusts of our flesh. All of these subtractions are good and necessary.
Even so, Peter makes it clear that subtraction is not enough. Spiritual growth takes place when we begin to add to our faith. Look at all the things Peter calls us to add! The point of removing weeds is to make way for sowing and growing good seed. Subtraction is preparatory, but addition is necessary. The more we grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the less room we have for anything that would ever need to be weeded out.
Notice what Peter says the outcome of this addition will be. We will never be barren. We will never stumble. We will enter into heaven with an abundant supply. Those are the fruits of adding to our faith! Don’t get so focused on subtraction that you forget about addition.
Maybe some of us keep failing because we remove what is ungodly, but we never plant anything godly in its place. Without addition, it won’t be long before the vacuum is filled with more or worse sin! We cannot cease a particular sin and try to keep it away by adding another habit that is simply a little less blatantly worldly into its place. Actual spiritual growth will happen when we remove the weeds and plant good seeds.
Look at your life and see where you can add more of God and godliness. How can you add more good seeds to your thoughts? How can you add more good seeds to your heart? How can you add more good seeds to your service? How can you add more good seeds to your fellowship and friendships? How can you add more good seeds to your personal Bible reading, prayer, worship, and communion? Where has God gifted you to serve and bless others? Do more of that! Where you are alone, add fellowship. Where you are in the dark, add light. Where you find temptation, add the salt of God’s Word. Where you find discouragement, add worship. Where you see only yourself, add serving others. Add to your faith and do so diligently!
Spiritual growth is more than subtraction!