5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is how the life of a Believer should progress. When we claim to be a Christian our lives cannot stay the same. There must be change in conduct and attitude. We have to move from evil to goodness, ignorance to knowledge, out of control to self-control, laziness to perseverance, godlessness to godliness, strife to brotherly kindness, and hatred to love. We cannot stay the same. Some would like us to believe that you can continue to stay in a lifestyle clearly identified in Scripture as sinful and at the same time remain a Believer. We can’t remain a thief. We can remain a rapist. We can’t remain a gossip. We can’t continue to practice homosexual acts. We can’t ignore the needs of the poor. God calls us to a higher level of accountability and action. Notice that the list above is made up primarily of inward things. When the inward is being influence by the Spirit of God, then we will be effective and productive in our Christian walk. If these inward qualities are not increasing, then we risk being stagnant or even worse, a hindrance to the work of God.
The Arnold Journey 