Give All Diligence to Self-control
- David Osteen
- Jan 31, 2023
- 2 min read
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”
II Peter 1:5-7
II Peter 1:5-7 was one of the verses of scripture that my Dad knew by heart and would share often. He would often quote it in prayers and it is one of several verses that all who knew him knew how much he loved and respected. I’m glad it was impressed upon my heart and mind through him. It is one of the most foundational scriptures of faithful graceful living in the Bible. Those who desire heaven desire to know and live these verses. (II Peter 1:8-11)
The three progressive words in this list of virtues “knowledge”, “self-control”, and “perseverance” are key.
Knowledge - Self-control without knowledge is useless. Knowledge gives us an understanding of right and wrong. Knowledge gives us discernment in the choices we need to make. Knowledge teaches us what desire, passion, lust, and sin are, and shows us the need to conquer and tame them with self-control. It shows us how to do that!
Self-control - Knowledge without self-control is just as useless. And from the experience of everyone old enough to read this right now, you know that knowledge is much easier to come by than self-control. Knowledge is science. Self-control is applied science. Much harder. 🙂 And yet, as you look at self-control in the Bible (as we have all month long) you see why it’s impossible to be a follower of Jesus without it and why is core to the teaching of the gospel. (Acts 24:25)
Perseverance - If knowledge is the key and self-control is the starter then perseverance is the fuel. Without it, you don’t get very far. It’s easy to possess self-control for a second. For a minute. For maybe even a few hours. But days, weeks, months, and years are much more of a challenge. It’s easy to have self-control when everyone is being nice and everything is going well, the test of the integrity of one’s knowledge and self-control comes during those troubling, difficult, challenging, tempting, and/or trying times. That’s why they are called “trials”.
These are the steps to godliness.
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18) Grow in the application of that knowledge unto self-control day in and day out. Give all diligence to it! Grow in your perseverance of self-control so as to honor God and His grace and His gospel! “To Him [be] the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (II Peter 3:18)
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