Supplement Your Faith

Is it enough ‘just’ to believe? Why does the Church always ask me to ‘do more’? Why can’t it be enough that I believe in Jesus and was baptized? All the focus on attending church services, fasting, saying my prayers, reading the bible, and the sacraments. When is enough, enough?

SIMON PETER, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promise, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall.

2^nd Peter 1.1-10

Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16.16) This sounds to me like belief is all we need to be saved. In a way, it is. In another way it is not. Saint Peter isn’t saying belief isn’t enough. He is saying that our belief is strengthened when we add to it.

Faith is the foundation upon which we add virtue, knowledge, self-control, and steadfastness. Without faith, these are all just ‘works. Anyone can be virtuous. Anyone can have knowledge. Anyone can show self-control. Faith gives our works purpose and works give our faith strength.

Great Lent is just around the corner, and we will all be encouraged to ‘do more’ than last year. We will be tempted to track our works on a checklist rather than our hearts. Go ahead and make a plan, but not without the foundation of faith.

Along the way, during your daily prayers, ask yourself how your works that day strengthen your faith. If they do not, pause and ask God to inspire your faith. It may be that your ‘skipped’ a step. St Peter’s encouragement is a process. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control and steadfastness.

The tools of the Church are designed to assist us in the process. It’s why we say, “Fasting without prayer is a diet.” Works strengthen our faith, not replace it.