The Christian walk is a walk of faith,when you receive Jesus as your personal saviour you receive the measure of faith according to Romans 12:3.We all receive the same measure of faith at salvation,that’s why the bible didn’t say a measure of faith but the measure of faith apportioned to us by christ himself.
But that measure of faith is just a potential and God expects us to grow in faith,from glory to glory,your growth is important.
The bible shows us what we need to do to grow,in 1Peter 2:2 says “as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word so that you may grow thereby” and in Romans 10:17,the bible further says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” so for us to grow our faith we must give ourselves to hearing of the word.
You cannot grow spiritually except you eat spiritual food,so if you must grow in faith walk with God you give yourself to the hearing of the word.note the bible didn’t say reading,it says hearing.Hearing by the word is what brings about your growth in faith.That's why we need to position ourselves in a church were the word is taught for real,cause this is the only way we can actually grow in God.
So when you become saved you should desire the milk,(milk is for newborn babes in christ),the sincere milk of the word,and this desire will pull you to be a part of a christian gathering.I remenber years ago when I and my brother got saved we went from place to place looking for a church since were we where the word wasn’t taught,we kept looking till we found one and that desire made out growth faster.
But just getting faith is not enough God intend that we actually leave successful lives and for that to happen there are some other important character that we must add to our faith to make it more productive.
1Peter 1:3-4 – tells us that God has given us all we need for life and Godliness and he has bestowe on us his precious promises,but for us to actually walk in those promises and see the effect in our lives we need to walk in and by faith,but having the faith isnt enough we need to add to our faith virtue,so lets find out what virtue is.
What is virtue? 1Peter 1:5;
Virtue is defined by the dictionary as “moral excellence and righteousness or an example or kind of moral excellence” the quality and practice of moral excellence is what we call virtue.
Also when translted from the text in the greek it also means moral excellence.
Morality is a character that is hard to find in our society today or the lives of individual. Morality is defined as the quality of being in accord with the standards of right or good conduct.Morality speaks of how we live our lives according to the standards of good and bad,we know the difference of what is right and wrong.
Christianity is a way of life, a lifestyle,that’s why in Romans 1:17 the bible says “the just shall live by his faith”,so we live the christian life by faith.
The bible says further that without faith it is impossible to please God,so you can be all good and God will not be pleased with you because your morality is not based on the foundation of the God given faith,that we receive through Jesus Christ.
The word of God stands for what is good and right,and never what is bad.The bible in 1st John 1:5; teaches us that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
Morality teaches us to live the right life,you don’t have to be a chritian to live a life of morals,before I became a born again christian I was brought up in a home with the right sense of morals,and I was taught to tell the truth all the time,taught that stealing was wrong,and to always stand for the truth.
Though being morally alright does not guarantee you eternity and a right stand with God, but its essential for a successful life.The law is essential and it teaches us morality,in the old testament they had the ten commandment,that was a guide on how they lived their lives and all of the laws we have in this world today are built out of the ten commandments.
The God given faith empowers us to live the right life without struggle,that’s why we need the God kind of faith to be successful in our walk with God and in this life.
Add to your faith virtue,God wants us to live right at all times,he wants us to be an example to the world,such that when they look at us we are a clear description of what God desires.
We no longer walk by the law but by grace and grace is powered by love,where we are not forced to do anything but because of our love for God we do what is right toward God and toward man,to live a successful life we need to work at always doing what is right,no matter the circumstance.
Tell the truthg no matter the cost,stand for what is right at all times even when it doesn’t favor us,that’s what we are talking about.
Today the moral standards in the world has dropped,things that we did not allow are now accepted all in the name of civilization,any pattern of life that is against the purpose of Gods word is totally not accepted.You can not lower our standards because of civilisation.
Morality teaches us to stand for what is right at all times,so God says add to your faith virtue,stand for what is right,don’t compromise your moral standards all in the name of “God will understand”.
The bible says when you add virtue to your faith and all the others mentioned you will not be barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our lord Jesus Christ.
How can we prove our calling when we lower on our standards,standards at work place,standards for writing examination,right now people cheat to pass exams,pay money to get lecturers to give us grades we don’t deserve,we can not overemphasize corruption in our various countries and the lowered standards in politics.
So many have sold their birthright for just a morsel of bread.The disciples were called christians first in antioch because they were christ like,they stood for christ and lived the life.
We need to raise the moral standards,those of us that are christians have been called to show the world how to live the right life and by how lifes others will conme to the knowlkedge of christ,we need to show the world the great gain in living the right life and standing for what is right.People do wrong because they believe that been good or standing for the right brings us under oppression and slow results,but the truth is when we don’t compromise we cause God to quickly come to our rescue.
The bible calls us the light of the world and the salt of the earth,without us how will the world know the right life,we are Gods representatives here on earth,his ambassadors.
Paul in philipians 4:8 tells us further that “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things”
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