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2. God’s Expectations for Our Spiritual Growth

3. How does the spiritual growth journey begin?  By being born of water and the Spirit  Baptism into Christ  John 3:1-5  A new convert is a spiritual babe who is instructed to grow  1 Peter 2:1-2 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”

4. How do we continue to grow spiritually?  By developing a spiritual appetite  Matthew 5:6  By exercising our hearts and minds with the scriptures  Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

5. How can we accurately measure our spiritual growth?  Observing all things that Jesus commanded  Matthew 28:18-20  All things provided that pertain to life and godliness  2 Peter 1:3  Scriptures are from God, not from man  2 Tim 3:16  2 Peter 1:16-21  2 Peter 3:15-16  Christ is the judge  Romans 14:10

6. Peter’s Teaching on Spiritual Growth  2 Peter 1:5-11  Continually add to our faith ALL of these:  Virtue  Knowledge  Self-control  Perseverance  Godliness  Brotherly kindness (love)  Love

7. Add Virtue  The determination to do right (devout)  Example through the virtuous woman  Proverbs 31:10-31  Descriptions of her character – valuable, trusted, good, worker, provides food for family, smart, strong, compassionate, honorable, wise, kind, trains children right, loved by family, fears God

8. Add Knowledge  Knowledge of the word of God tells us what is right and wrong  Truth from God – not emotion  Romans 10:1-3  God wants us to have it so He gave it to us  1 Timothy 2:3-4  Revealed to us from the Apostles through the Holy Spirit  Ephesians 3:1-5  We obtain it through diligent study of God’s word  2 Tim 2:15  Acts 17:11

9. Add Self-control  Controlling ourselves as God directs (battle of flesh vs. spirit)  Focus on spiritual things  Romans 8:5  Prevent sin by putting off evil desires  James 1:13-15  Control the use of the body  1 Cor. 6:18-20  Control our anger  James 1:19-20  Control our tongue  Col 3:8

10. Add Perseverance  Endurance, patience; remaining steadfast to the Lord  Produced by tribulations  Romans 5:3  Paul as our example  2 Cor. 11:24-26  2 Timothy 4:6-8  Life, persecutions, and hardships are temporary  James 4:14

11. Add Godliness  Adhering to the will of God; choosing godly behavior – righteousness  Godly sorrow  2 Cor. 7:10  Godly instruction  1 Timothy 1:4  Godly fear  Hebrews 11:7  Reasonable service  Romans 12:1-3

12. Add Brotherly Kindness (Love)  Tender affection toward our brethren in Christ  Jesus emphasizes this  John 13:35  Greet one another  Romans 16:16  Serve one another  Galatians 5:13  Forgive one another  Ephesians 4:32  Confess faults and pray for one another  James 5:16  Show hospitality to one another  1 Peter 4:9

13. Add Love  Devotion to God, Christ and our fellow man  Love God first then love others  Mark 12:28-34  Romans 13:9  Without hypocrisy  Romans 12:9  Without it we are nothing  I Corinthians 13:2  Shown in the home – fathers, mothers, children  Ephesians 6:1-4  Ephesians 5:22-33  Motivate each other to stir up love and good works  Hebrews 10:23-25

14. Are we growing or are we rotting?  Are we diligently adding to our faith:  Virtue  Knowledge  Self-control  Perseverance  Godliness  Brotherly kindness (love)  Love

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