For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 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.
What must I do to be saved? The answer to this key question is for us to BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we RECEIVE the salvation of Jesus. These are two basically passive verbs to explain the gospel. It is hard then sometimes to see that there is also a place for effort in the gospel. Paul said to work out your own salvation. Peter here told his audience to make every effort to produce what seems to be the fruit of the Spirit. What gives? Is this a contradiction? Not at all. We do not decide between faith and works. We have a faith THAT works.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow and see what Peter meant by effort and supplement. We will see that we were never told to avoid effort but to avoid earning. The simple gospel message from Ephesians is that we are saved by grace and not by works of the law, lest we boast. The fruit of the Spirit are just that. They are not the fruit of us trying but the natural life giving action of a branch connected to the vine. We will seek that connection so our efforts can be fruitful…
For the Harvest.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church