Build Up the Foundation

“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.” —Isaiah 28:16

When Peter says in 2 Peter 1:5 that we are to “supplement” our faith, he’s essentially saying that we need to sustain it and build it up. We need to generously support it with other Christian graces.

Pastor and author Warren Wiersbe said that Peter “is not suggesting that we ‘add’ these virtues the way we add beads to a string. Rather, each virtue helps us develop the next one. They are like the sections of a telescope: one leads into the other.”¹

As you build your faith, expand that into virtue. Then grow that into knowledge, then self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.

It’s like picturing a house built on the foundation of faith. That faith, which you received from God, is the starting point. It’s what undergirds the whole structure of your Christian life.

¹1 Warren W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Victor Books: Wheaton, IL, 1992) 757.