How do you become a more fruitful, effective Christian? Do we just need to buckle down, read more Bible, pray harder, and show up to church more often? That’s often what we (I) tell people to do. But if that’s all we say, it can become a soul-crushing, joyless works-righteousness that kills our desire for God. How do we think about growing in our faith in such a way that we don’t kill the thing we’re trying to grow? If “try harder, do better” isn’t the right way to go about growth, what’s a better way? Turns out, the Bible tells us pretty clearly. In 2 Peter 1:3-11, the apostle gives us a profound path for growth in the Christian life. In two steps, I’d like to lay out this path for you. 

The work of God is the Christian’s power to grow.

The apostle says that God’s power has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” That’s great! But how do we get at all those things God’s given us? We must come to know Jesus, who calls us to share his own glory and excellence. Think about that! As we come to know Jesus, we receive the priceless, precious promises of God. Other than “I am with you.” How many of God’s promises do you know? God’s promises to you are more certain, more trustworthy, than the ground on which you stand. You should get to know them. Why? because God’s promises enable us to share in His very own life and escape sinful desires. How? God’s promises are given to you in the person of Jesus. The foundation of Christian growth is a person, not an action, a plan, a decision, or a process. It is only by knowing the person of Christ that we are granted God’s power to grow. We stagnate in our growth when we try to grow by means of anything other than this foundation. Know Jesus.

The knowledge of Christ is the Christian’s motive to grow.

Because we know Christ, and because by knowing him we have the power of God, we then “make every effort” to build upon our faith – to grow. Effort is required! But it’s effort motivated by faith, rooted in genuine knowledge of Christ. This is the sure foundation for working at virtues, and knowing Christ motivates us to be more like him. We want to be righteous and generous and selfless and holy because Jesus is those things, and we love him. As we grow in virtue, we realize that knowing Jesus makes us want to know him more; growing Christians have a “holy addiction” to knowing their savior better. In a strange way, this holy addiction to knowing Jesus leads us to make war on unholy addictions; we add self-control to our virtue and knowledge. This self-control helps us to maintain constancy and to apply a humble discipline to our lives; self-control begets steadfastness. Contrary to what our instant-gratification-driven society will try to sell you, you don’t find joy in a 30-second video clip. As steadfastness takes its root, we begin to sense a deep, reverential awe, a thrilling excitement for God in our lives. This is godliness. As we take on the character of God, we see those around us not as objects that exist for our good, but as souls made to receive our brotherly affection. When we move toward the brothers and sisters with this affection, we find ourselves working to love them, and we grow in love for the God who made them. Love, perfected in heavenly presence of God our savior, is the final destination for all those who wish to grow in Christ.

Easy, right? Not quite. Walking the path is always harder than reading the map, but it is a proven path. So proven, in fact, that the apostle sums up his ministry in one word: Reminding (1 Peter 1:12). In fact, a pastor’s job title could be summed up like this: reminder-in-chief. So be reminded: know Christ, and in knowing him walk this path with everything you’ve got. The prize at the end is worth it, in this path, “there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Know Christ. Be reminded to know Christ. Remind others to know Christ. This is the path to growth.