Last week I found that there is a common process and a common theme throughout the Bible. The process is found in II Peter 1.

“5) Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6) and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7) and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8) The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5-8).

One problem that I have had with scripture (not that its scripture that needs to change; it’s my understanding) is that scripture seems to be too complex to make much sense. Let me explain before you call the pastor. When leading people to Christ, we use 5 or 6 different scriptures in the Bible but none that we use are together. We use most out of the book of Romans but we use one scripture out of multiple chapters. This always seemed to be confusing to me. So when you ask me what does God want with my life, well, there seems to be 40 million scriptures on how you should behave.

Verse 5 states that we are to add moral excellence to our Faith. Therefore before we can have true moral excellence we must first have faith. This list continues to add knowledge (of God) to our moral excellence which means that we must first have moral excellence before we gain more knowledge of God.

So here is the pattern that I have found to be consistent throughout all of scripture. Every scripture that I have found seems to be placed within this pattern of a believer. This is God’s plan to mold me into the servant that he wants me to be.

1. Faith leads to moral excellence.
2. Moral excellence leads to knowing God better.
3. Knowing God better leads to self control.
4. Self control leads to endurance.
5. Endurance leads to godliness.
6. Godliness leads to love.

In the next few weeks I would like to better explain what I believe each step.