The Ladder of Seven Virtues That Grow Your Faith

Introduction

Peter writes to Christians, and he doesn't leave them at day one of their faith. He tells them: "make every effort to add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge…" and he lines up seven qualities that, added one to another, turn a simple believer into a mature disciple. In this message on 2 Peter 1:3-11, JM Botteron invites you not to stay a "spiritual baby" and to climb, step after step, the ladder of virtues that God sets before you. You are a child of God by grace, you have been made "partaker of the divine nature": now it's time to let that nature grow in you.

Message outline

1. Faith, the foundation: refusing to stay a spiritual baby

• Everything starts with faith in Jesus. Without it, you are still lost, separated from God. Believing in Christ, giving yourself to him, that's the new birth.
• But a spiritual baby isn't meant to stay a baby for life. A child who didn't grow for ten years wouldn't be normal: it's the same on the spiritual level.
• God has a high calling for his church: he wants it pure, without stain, ready for his return. So it's up to you to sanctify yourself, to walk as Christ walked (1 John 4:17).
• Peter also says to "escape the corruption that is in the world by lust." This isn't about fleeing people, but about fleeing the spirit of the world that comes to contaminate your heart, your thoughts, your mind.
• And then comes this slightly uncomfortable word: "make every effort." God gave everything to save you; the effort, though, he won't make it for you.

2. Add virtue: moral courage in a hostile world

• Virtue, here, is the strength to stand for what's true in a world that pushes toward compromise. Jesus says it himself: "In the world you have trouble, but cheer up! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
• The first thing Christ gives is peace, not a relative peace, but a peace that surpasses all understanding. When you're in Christ, you no longer need to live on anxiety medication just to hold on.
• The troubles are plural: when one ends, another arrives. These are life's trials, the mockery, the rejection, sometimes persecution because of your faith.
• Following Christ means letting go of the power the world has over you. Paul writes: "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).
• When everything collapses, remember David at Ziklag. His men wanted to stone him, everything was lost, and "David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God" (1 Samuel 30:6). That's your resource too.

3. Add knowledge: but spiritual knowledge, not just intellectual

• The knowledge Peter speaks of isn't religious culture or a stockpile of Bible facts. It's "the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness" (Titus 1:1).
• Many Christians have only shallow knowledge and stay fragile. Dig deep. Study the Word thoroughly. Those roots will hold you up on the day of the storm.
• This knowledge comes by revelation, by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:3). It isn't earned in a classroom: it's received in prayer and meditation.
• Yet Paul had enormous religious learning, trained under Gamaliel. After his conversion he writes: "I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:7-8).
• Intellectual knowledge puffs up and breeds pride. Spiritual knowledge, though, is given to children, to those who come with an open heart, like little ones, before God.

4. Add self-control: over your words, your thoughts, your anger

• Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It's a sign of maturity: you no longer let your desires drive you, you steer your life under Christ's leadership.
• Your words. "Set a watch, Yahweh, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3). When the mouth knows nothing but criticism, praise falls flat. Ask God for words that build up.
• Your thoughts. "We bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Left unchecked, your thoughts run off like wild horses: rein them in according to Philippians 4:8, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely.
• Your anger. "Be angry, and don't sin… neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27). Poorly handled anger gives the enemy a direct opening: it's what drove Cain to kill Abel.

5. Add patience: persevering under suffering without giving up

• James opens the subject: "Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7). Patience must walk with you through your whole Christian life.
• Picture the farmer. He sows without seeing the fruit right away. He waits for the rain, the seasons, the time it takes to sprout. You too are sowing in hope of a harvest, not in despair.
• When you're walking through the valley of Baca, the valley of tears, you can feel abandoned. But God "makes it a place of springs" (Psalm 84:6-7), and your strength grows as you walk.
• Steady your heart by storing up God's promises inside it. They will hold you upright when you no longer feel any strength of your own.
• Remember Job. He lost everything, his wife and his friends piled on, but something in him (his attachment to God) was stronger than the trial. God kept him, then honored him for his perseverance.

6. Add godliness: a daily exercise, like at the gym

• Paul writes to Timothy: "Exercise yourself toward godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7-8). The Greek word translated here gives us our word "gymnasium." It's trained every day.
• Godliness is a fervent attachment to God. It isn't a passing emotion, it's a discipline of presence: prayer, meditation, listening.
• Just as an athlete lifts weights, you build your "spiritual muscles" when you take time with God. That's how you become solid, wise in your decisions.
• Paul reminds us: "Bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8).
• A godly Christian who bears witness can change someone's eternal destiny. Always look at things from eternity's point of view.

7. Add brotherly kindness: and love that reaches even your enemies

• Brotherly affection is directed inward, toward God's family. Peter writes: "Love one another from the heart fervently" (1 Peter 1:22).
• You belong to a vast family: wherever you go in the world, you find brothers and sisters. A sincere, whole-hearted, warm love, not the formal religion of the Pharisees.
• We've all been hurt, and we've all hurt someone. Don't spend years stuck on a word that wounded you: ask God to heal you so you can love fully.
• Love, the seventh step, goes further still. It reaches outward, even toward your enemies. "Love your enemies… pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).
• Loving an enemy isn't humanly possible. It takes God's help, a miracle in the heart. Corrie ten Boom, after Ravensbrück, couldn't bring herself to love her former tormentor; she simply held out her hand, and God poured his love into her heart. That's how we love the way Christ loves.

Key takeaways

• Being born again is the beginning, not the end. You're called to grow toward maturity, not to stay a spiritual baby your whole life.
• God won't make the effort for you. He saved you, he sustains you, he fills you; but daily obedience is your part.
• The seven qualities are added together: virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love. Not pick and choose, all of them.
• Grow them in abundance. If you neglect one, the Word says you become "blind" and forget the cleansing from your past sins.
• The promise is immense: "the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly supplied" to those who persevere.

Personal application

1. Of the seven qualities Peter lists, which one is weakest in you right now? What can you start working on this week?
2. What specific "effort" is God calling you into: reading his Word, guarding your mouth, the discipline of prayer?
3. Is there an old wound from a brother or sister that keeps you from loving fully within the church? Are you ready to lay it down before God?
4. Who is your "enemy" today, the person you can't manage to love? Can you simply hold out your hand and let God fill your heart?
5. Have you moved from being a believer to being a disciple? If you had to place yourself on this ladder, where are you standing?

Verses cited

• 2 Peter 1:3-11 : The ladder of seven virtues added to faith
• 1 John 4:17 : As he is, even so are we in this world
• John 16:33 : Cheer up, I have overcome the world
• Galatians 6:14 : The world has been crucified to me
• 1 Samuel 30:6 : David strengthened himself in Yahweh
• Titus 1:1 : The knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness
• Ephesians 3:3 : The mystery made known to me by revelation
• Philippians 3:7-8 : I count all things a loss for the sake of Christ
• Galatians 5:22-23 : The fruit of the Spirit
• Psalm 141:3 : Set a watch before my mouth
• 2 Corinthians 10:5 : Bringing every thought captive to Christ
• Philippians 4:8 : Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely
• Ephesians 4:26-27 : Give no place to the devil through anger
• James 5:7-11 : The farmer's patience, Job's patience
• Psalm 84:6-7 : The valley of Baca turned into a place of springs
• 1 Timothy 4:7-8 : Exercise yourself toward godliness
• 1 Peter 1:22 : Sincere brotherly love
• Matthew 5:43-48 : Love your enemies

Frequently asked questions

Why does Peter talk about "adding" these qualities instead of receiving them passively?

Because salvation is received by grace, but growth comes through your cooperation. Peter emphasizes the word "effort" in verse 5: God has already given "everything that pertains to life and godliness," but he calls you to respond by developing these qualities. They aren't virtues you build up on willpower alone; it's more a joint work where you bring your discipline and God brings his grace. Faith saves you; the virtues grow that faith. Without this work, you stay a baby your whole life and miss out on the blessings God has prepared.

What's the difference between a believer and a disciple according to this message?

A believer is already a great deal: it's someone who has placed their faith in Jesus, dead and risen for their sins. Without that, you're still lost. But a believer who stops at day one stays fragile. A disciple, on the other hand, puts things into practice. He trains himself, he digs deep into the Word, he governs his mouth, his thoughts, his anger, he perseveres through trials, he clings to his Lord day by day. A disciple is rooted: he isn't one of those who will abandon the faith in the last days. Peter calls all of us to make that move, from believer to disciple.

How do I love someone who has deeply hurt me?

That kind of love isn't within your human reach. Not in the sense that you can "decide" to feel love for someone who wronged you. What you're asked to do is hold out your hand without waiting to feel like it, the way Corrie ten Boom did before her former tormentor from Ravensbrück. She couldn't manage it on her own; she simply obeyed and held out her hand, and God poured his love into her heart in that moment. Pray specifically: "Lord, fill me with your love so I can love the way you love." Then take one concrete first step. God will do the rest, and often, you're the one who ends up healed of old wounds in the process.