Everything We Need

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. - 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Here Peter tells us that we have been given the power to live a godly life. Maybe we're not sanctified all at once (I'm certainly not) but we are being sanctified.

This means that we don't have an excuse to live in sin:

"We were trying to stay pure before marriage. Oh well."
"I keep losing the battle against <insert various sins here>"
"It's just so hard."

Maybe we have sinned in the past. I'm not going to say that's okay, but we do have a roadmap in the Bible of what to do: Repent and confess.

But just because we've sinned in the past is no excuse for sinning in the present.
Just because the grace of God washes over all of our sins is no excuse for sinning in the present.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? - Romans 6:1-2 (NIV)

We're not victims of our choices. We make our own choices. And we have been given everything we need to make godly choices.

I'm doing something this week which is hard. But I have the ability to do it, through Christ. I shouldn't complain that it's too hard and that it's not fair - after all, I chose it. And if I didn't complete it, then it wouldn't be that the idea failed - it would be that I failed. I didn't use what God has given me in order to live a godly life.

In summary:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. - 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

He has given us everything we need. Use it.

S.D.G.