But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 2 Peter 1:5
In verses 3 and 4, Peter summarizes what Christ has done
What we have gained.
Because of that, he says,
Give all diligence, make every effort
To add to your faith,
To build on its foundation,
(Not as a requirement, but as a response.)
Add Virtue.
The Greek is arete.
It is moral superiority.
But not the sanctimonious kind.
It is excellence in meeting the standards God has set.
It is Christ-likeness in our daily lives,
In every situation that we face.
It is our speech. It is our decisions.
It is our responses to good and bad.
It is our thoughts. It is purity.
It is uncompromising.
It is a high standard, requiring hard work, no doubt.
But it is a Holy Spirit thing.
He enables us to do it.
We yield to Him instead of our own nature.
It is countercultural.
Culture has moral relativism, situation ethics,
Following the heart, looking out for number one.
Peter says, “You have Christ. Act like it!”
The first block is moral excellence.
The first block is Virtue.