Add to Your Faith: Virtue, Knowledge, Love

Devotional

Day 1: Faith Needs a Team of Friends to Thrive

A lone faith grows weak, but faith surrounded by virtue, knowledge, and perseverance becomes unshakable. These qualities aren’t achievements to climb but companions to embrace. Like dominoes, each trait empowers the next, creating momentum in spiritual growth. Without them, faith becomes barren, shortsighted, and forgetful of God’s grace. Cultivating these friends ensures fruitfulness and clarity on the journey. Their presence guards against lukewarm stagnation, keeping faith alive and purposeful. [41:05]

“Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”
(2 Peter 1:5-7, ESV)

Reflection: Which “friend” (virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc.) does your faith most need to invite closer this week? How can you intentionally create space for that quality to grow?

Day 2: Lavish Your Faith Like a Choir Master

Faith isn’t meant to whisper—it’s designed to crescendo. Just as a choir master directs volume and harmony, believers must actively tune their spiritual lives. This means rejecting half-hearted efforts and investing boldly in practices that amplify God’s nature. Lukewarm faith irritates God, but passionate pursuit ignites multiplication. When we “turn up” our diligence, God multiplies grace, peace, and purpose beyond measure. [56:10]

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
(Romans 12:11, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your faith become quiet or routine? What one bold adjustment could restore its fervency and volume this month?

Day 3: Growth Requires Shaking Off Poisonous Bites

Spiritual progress demands shaking off setbacks like Paul dismissed the viper’s bite. Trials will come—offenses, failures, attacks—but carrying their venom paralyzes growth. Resilience comes not from avoiding pain but from refusing to let it define you. Every challenge becomes fuel when surrendered to Christ’s refining fire. Steady, drama-free perseverance marks mature faith. [01:07:51]

“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. He shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.”
(Acts 28:3-5, ESV)

Reflection: What “bite” from your past still weighs you down? What would it look like to shake it into God’s fire today?

Day 4: Upgrading Your Faith’s Operating System

Stagnant faith runs on outdated software—Egypt’s slave mentality instead of kingdom freedom. Growth demands deleting old patterns of fear, pride, and self-reliance. Like updating a phone, believers must regularly install God’s truth to avoid glitches. This isn’t self-improvement but surrender to Christ’s transformative power. New wine needs new wineskins. [01:00:18]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
(Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What outdated “program” (habit, mindset, or fear) is hindering your faith’s functionality? What truth from Scripture can replace it?

Day 5: The Multiply Effect of Daily Additions

Small, consistent investments in faith compound miraculously. Adding prayer minutes, Scripture verses, or acts of kindness seems insignificant—until God multiplies them. Like the boy’s loaves, our “little” becomes abundance in Christ’s hands. Diligence in the daily reshapes destinies and unlocks eternal impact. [48:16]

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty.”
(Isaiah 55:10-11, ESV)

Reflection: What “two fish and five loaves” (time, skill, or resource) can you place in Jesus’ hands today? How might He multiply it for others?

Sermon Summary

Peter names what faith needs if it is going to finish strong. The text refuses a ladder-of-achievement mindset and instead lays out a Spirit-formed flow, like the Beatitudes, where “virtue to knowledge to self-control to perseverance to godliness to brotherly kindness to love” work like dominoes, each empowering the next. The promise attached is weighty: if “these things” are present and abounding, the believer will not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus, and will not stumble; if absent, the believer lives shortsighted and forgetful of cleansing. God’s economy is clear: as faith adds, God multiplies. Grace and peace are multiplied, but the multiplying meets the believer’s adding.

The passage calls for diligence, not drift. Grace gives the gift, but Peter orders a response of effort. The measure of faith has been equally dealt to all; outcomes differ because of what is added. Faith must be exercised, or tests will outlast it. Growth itself becomes protection against lukewarmness; movement forward keeps spiritual temperature from settling into the middle. The inner posture that opens this road is humility. “Humility is the Lord’s way forward,” so God leads and teaches the humble, and opposes the proud. From that low place, the life of faith faces what intimidates it, runs toward its Goliath, and, when bit by vipers on Malta, shakes it off into the fire rather than letting the poison into the system. Christian maturity, then, is steady, persistent, consistent progress with no drama.

“These things” function like friends faith must recruit. Virtue brings moral excellence and a Holy Spirit energy that “looks alive,” shaping choices, appetites, and witness. Knowledge makes truth understood and applied in ordinary places so Sunday reaches Wednesday. Self-control crucifies the flesh daily and refuses slavery to old dictates. Perseverance supplies staying power through seasons, where pain builds resilience and obedience outlasts opposition. Godliness centers devotion on pleasing the Lord from the heart more than stacking accomplishments. Brotherly kindness puts others first in one-another life, refusing a self-focused spirituality. Love, the capstone, is agape, covenantal and self-giving, choosing the good when it costs, loyal and long. Peter finally asks, since everything else dissolves, what kind of people should believers be in holy conduct? The answer points right back to “these things,” abounding, so that entrance into the everlasting kingdom is abundant and the journey is fruitful rather than blind.

Key Takeaways

1. Add so God multiplies grace God meets faithful adding with divine multiplying. When diligence builds virtue, knowledge, and the rest into daily life, grace and peace find bigger containers to fill. Refusing to add often short-circuits what God is willing to multiply. Adding becomes the on-ramp to supernatural supply. [47:54]
2. Your faith needs real friends Faith riding solo gets isolated and thin. Virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love are the team that guards against barrenness and stumbling. Recruiting them is not cosmetic but structural, like framing a house so the roof can hold. Strong companionship keeps faith both fruitful and clear-eyed. [41:05]
3. Humility is the way forward God teaches the humble and resists the proud, so growth starts low and stays low. Humility releases more grace, makes correction livable, and keeps giftedness from becoming an idol. The low road is not self-loathing but yieldedness that gives God room to re-order the soul. Glory sits safely on a bowed head. [62:11]
4. Face Goliath, then shake it off Breakthrough rarely comes by avoidance. Faith runs toward what taunts it, confronts what paralyzes the heart, and then refuses the venom of the aftermath to lodge in the system. Courage meets conflict, and consecration clears the poison in the fire of God’s presence. [64:57]
5. Practice staying power through pain Endurance is formed, not wished into being, and pain is often the gym where it grows. Perseverance holds faith when circumstances oppose it and keeps obedience when it costs. Over time, the soul learns to remain through winters and harvests without abandoning Christ. Staying power turns seasons into testimonies. [86:41]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:53] - Series conclusion and setup
[38:29] - Add to your faith
[41:05] - Your faith needs friends
[47:29] - Add so God multiplies
[48:54] - Formation, not a ladder
[51:46] - Grace plus diligence
[55:22] - Lavishly supply your faith
[60:41] - Humility is the way forward
[63:36] - Face Goliath, learn through trials
[67:02] - Shake it off into the fire
[69:36] - Equal measure of faith
[72:59] - Exercise faith for testing
[78:45] - The seven friends embodied
[94:53] - Gospel appeal and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)
5 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.

Observation Questions

According to 2 Peter 1:5-8, what specific qualities are believers instructed to "add" to their faith, and in what order?
What two outcomes are promised for those who actively cultivate these qualities (v. 8)? What warning is given to those who neglect them (v. 9)?
The sermon emphasized that humility is "the Lord’s way forward" ([01:02:11]). How does James 4:6 ("God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble") reinforce this idea?
What analogy did the sermon use to describe how God multiplies grace when we "add" to our faith ([47:54])?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Peter list these qualities (virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc.) in a specific sequence? How do they build on one another like "dominoes" ([49:14])?
The sermon stated, "Humility releases more grace, makes correction livable, and keeps giftedness from becoming an idol" ([01:02:11]). How does pride hinder spiritual growth, and why is humility essential for receiving God’s guidance?
What does it mean to "shake off" trials "into the fire" like Paul did with the viper ([01:07:02])? How does this contrast with letting challenges poison our hearts?
The passage warns against being "shortsighted" (v. 9). How might a lack of perseverance or brotherly kindness contribute to spiritual blindness?

Application Questions

Which of the seven qualities in 2 Peter 1:5-7 (virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc.) do you feel most compelled to intentionally develop this month? What practical step could you take to "add" it to your daily life?
The sermon warned that "faith riding solo gets isolated and thin" ([41:05]). How could you intentionally "recruit" one of these "friends" (like perseverance or brotherly kindness) in a current struggle or relationship?
When facing a "Goliath" (a fear, sin, or trial), what would it look like to "run toward it" in faith rather than avoid it ([01:04:57])? Share a specific area where you need courage to confront something intimidating.
The sermon described endurance as "formed, not wished into being" through pain ([01:26:41]). What difficult season or recurring challenge could God be using to build your perseverance? How might you reframe your perspective on it?
How does the call to "lavishly supply" your faith ([55:22]) challenge your current priorities? What distractions or "venom" do you need to "shake off" to make space for growth?
Brotherly kindness requires putting others first. Is there a relationship in your life where you’ve prioritized self-protection over self-giving love? What small act of kindness could disrupt that pattern this week?

Sermon Clips

28s

“You wanna grow? It's tough. It's tough. Does it feel vulnerable? Does it feel like you're losing stuff? All the time. Does it feel challenging? All the time. It's a little scary at times? All the time. Well, I'm gonna trust you again, God. Okay. I'm gonna and look. But what if what if they I know. Isn't that scary? Where you lose control of your life and you actually give it to God and say, it's a little maybe some of you in this room, it's a little scary being. That's humility. I'm uncomfortable.”

27s

“You said, gosh, preacher, I thought this thing was by grace. Oh, it is. It's all by grace. But what you've been given is by faith. You have to respond with faith. Right. And listen. If you don't put any effort into god and knowing god, grace of god won't change us by grace. By grace. By grace. By grace, you've been given, but you've been given faith that's gonna require some kind of effort. I don't know about a Christianity that doesn't put any effort into it.”

33s

“You, by the spirit, have the ability to lead your lead yourself well and tell your flesh, no. No. I'm not gonna be controlled by you. No. I'm gonna walk in the spirit, and that's the place of breakthrough. Oh, God delivers us all that we all need deliverance. Deliverance. Deliverance. Deliverance. But at some point, you gotta learn self control. just a wise thing. You can actually walk away from that temptation.”

38s

“Growth and transformation requires a couple of things. Number one, church believers, the first thing that growth requires is humility. Thanks, Tommy. I was hoping someone would not like I need their approval because all scripture says is but but you'll never grow without humility. I've said for years, pride is the cover up. Humility is the power up. You wanna follow God, you gotta go low. And guess what? Stay low. You just go low.”

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