By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises.
Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
The more you grow like this the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
So dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance in to the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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With this challenge, my ultimate goal is to grow. I want to deepen my relationship with my Jesus. God has given me everything I need to walk with him, to strive for holy life. There is no way to live this out perfectly because I am sinful, but I have the power to overcome. Walking with me daily the Holy Spirit supplies me with consistent power to make right decisions, cast out the enemy, and remind me of God's present and future promises.
"And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises"
God is. God was. God will always be. He doesn't have a birthday, he doesn't have limitations, he isn't human. God is everything that is good, holy, powerful, etc. This God, the creator that intricately knit you together has promises for you, great and precious promises. If you submit, and choose him. These promises include wiping your slate clean. Clear of every indiscretion, stronghold, sin pattern, and filth that fills our lives. Gone. (Now this comes with work and continuos seeking, it isn't easy but remember, we have power in the Holy Spirit.) He sent his son to die for you. God promises life. And not just life on Earth, but eternal life with him forever. 1 Peter 1:23 says "For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God."
Accepting Jesus' sacrifice and knowing these great and precious promises, there should be a spark in us to live as God asks us too. It's the least we can do in return for the grace he shows us by his own accord. Faith isn't enough. Faith is extremely important, but it can't be all we have/do. Faith must be more than belief in certain facts, it must result in action. There must be growth in our character and moral discipline.
As listed above, faith's actions include seeking to know God better, developing discipline and perseverance, following God's will, and loving the people around you. Not all of these things come automatically, and you can't have one without the other. They all work together, and should grow together as we continue in our walks with Jesus. Something some commentary in my bible said, that I really liked was this, "God empowers and enables us, but he also gives us the responsibility to learn and to grow." You can't expect all these things to just happen. You have to seek God, seek truth, strive to put your faith into action, and work hard to deepen your love.
If you fail to grow or seek, it's like forgetting the cleansing you received because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Almost like saying it didn't happen. When I think of all the times that I was complacent, going through the "Christian motions", and living a less than mediocre Christian life, it hurts to think that I basically told Jesus what he did for me didn't matter to me enough to strive for a Holy existence. Ouch.
The passage ends with a charge to those who claim Christ. "Work hard to prove that you are among God's called and chosen...." With a creator who sent his son to atone for our filth, the least we can do is aim to live by his word.
I'll end with another passage and a quote from the commentary in the NLT Life application study bible:
James 2:14-17---14 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup-where does that get you?17 Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
"Our faith must go beyond what we believe; it must become a dynamic part of all we do. Our salvation isn't dependent on good deeds, but it results in good deeds."
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