Train yourself to do what's right!

THIS FACT IS SET out more clearly in some passages than others. Second Peter 1:3-11 is one of the clearest. Here, starting from the bedrock of “God’s divine power, that has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness”—stop now and think about how much “everything” leaves out—the writer proceeds to point to the “precious and magnificent promises” of God that make it possible for us to “become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through excessive desire or lust” (verses 3-4, PAR). And how is this escape to come about? By putting forth your very best efforts—“applying all diligence,” a good translation says—to add to your faith, your confidence in Christ, moral excellence or virtue. That is, train yourself to simply do what is good and right. Obviously, this is something we are to do, which will not be done for us. And then, in your virtue, add on knowledge or understanding. That is, come to know why the good and right you do is good and right. Operate from insight into the realities of it all. And then, in your insight, add on self-control. That is, develop the capacity to carry out your intentions and not be thrown off by any turn of events. And then, in your self-control, add on perseverance (endurance, patience). This is the capacity to stick with the course, to stay with it over the long haul, regardless of how you may feel. And then, in your perseverance add on godliness. Perhaps we can best think of this as depth and thoroughness of all the preceding attainments of grace. God is characterized by his inexhaustible resources of goodness. And then, in your godliness add on the kindness and gentleness of care which one sees among siblings and true friends. The word here is “philadelphia.” That is, extend family feeling and action to those in your community. Just think of what that would mean to this wounded world. But it is possible to do this superhuman thing only through the goodness and strength of godliness. And then, in your brotherly kindness add on agape love. This is the kind of love that characterizes God himself, and is spelled out in heart-rending detail on the cross of Jesus and in 1 Corinthians 13. It goes far beyond philadelphia and into the very heart of God. We are not just to love as family, but as he loved us (John 13:34). Agape love is always presented, in the biblical descriptions of the children of light, as the ultimate move, which completes and solidifies all of the other gains in spiritual progression (see Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:14; Ephesians 4:15-16; Colossians 3:14; 1 John 4:16; and so on). Peter concludes his great progression by telling us that, if we do what he here says, we will “never stumble” and that “entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Peter 1:10-11, emphasis added).

NOW, WHAT IS THE mistake most commonly made by believers and others today, as they approach these glowing passages about the children of light? Simply this: They do not understand the presupposition of inner transformation into Christlikeness that accompanies all the passages. They assume that we are supposed to “do” all the glowing things mentioned in such passages without loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In fact, they think we must do them while our heart, soul, mind, and strength are still strongly inclined in the opposite direction, against God. And of course their despair is totally justified. What they are thinking would be completely impossible. 
pp. 222-223 SOURCE