Faith Supplements – Part 1

These are just a few vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements I had hanging around in my kitchen cabinet (Vitamin E, B-Complex, St. John’s Wort, Calcium, and Magnesium, if you were wondering!), all to be taken as supplements to a healthy diet and lifestyle. They are to be added to what I should already be doing! I must admit that I do not lead the healthiest of lifestyles, and neither do I take all of these. I think I’m still rebelling against having to take a bunch of supplements every day as the young daughter of a health conscious mother.

Did you know we are to supplement our faith? Not with physical tablets and capsules, but in the way we live. Peter tells us, “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)

“In View of” What?

What is “all this” talking about? The verses preceding tell us by what means we are to supplement our faith: “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (verses 3-4)

God is on our side! He wants us to rise above the ways of the world and live a life that is pleasing to Him, and He will help us do it! One of the ways He has given us to do this is through his promises. How many of his promises are you familiar with? If you need a refresher, visit Bible Study Tools for a list of over 50 of them!

“Make Every Effort”

In other words, it’s not all on God. You have a responsibility to grow in the way you live for God. If you have come to know Him, and now have faith in Him, that’s just the beginning!

In my next post, we’ll begin examining these faith supplements.