As Christians, growing spiritually is non-negotiable.  We have been given an apostolic directive to grow.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

The word “grow” is a present tense verb, active in voice and in the imperative mood.  This tells us that it is an ongoing command.  Peter is basically saying that we must keep on growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.  Being spiritually stagnant is not acceptable for the child of God.  In commanding us to grow at the end of this epistle, Peter is simply repeating the exhortation with which he began it.

2 Peter 1:5–9 (NKJV)
⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

Peter is describing spiritual growth here.  As we add these qualities to our faith, we increase in strength and the ability to fight off the devil.  Peter went on to write, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10).

Notice how Peter instructs us to add to our faith.  We are to do it with all diligence.  Strong’s Greek Dictionary tells us that to do something with diligence is to do it with haste and earnest care.  When we do something diligently, we are not doing it haphazardly.  Instead, we are doing it with a fixed purpose.  This is the only way we will grow in grace and knowledge—by doing it on purpose.

What does it mean to grow in grace and knowledge?  To grow in knowledge is obvious enough, but what about growing in grace?  The word grace refers to God’s unmerited favor.  Sometimes, however, the term grace is used more generally to denote the overall blessings of Christ.  When Barnabas went down to Antioch to investigate the reception of the gospel by Hellenists, the Bible says, “When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord…” (Acts 11:23).

Barnabas saw that their conversion was genuine by their faithfulness.  To grow in grace is to continue to cultivate the qualities that Peter referred to in chapter one, and to remain faithful to the Lord.  That growing in grace includes living faithfully is further evidenced by the words of Paul in Titus 2.

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV)
¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,¹²training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Why is this growth important?  The context of 2 Peter 3 reveals this to us.  Peter had just written about the coming of Christ and the end of this age (vers. 8-13).  Since we know the time is coming when the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, we should live lives of holiness and godliness as we wait (ver. 11) so that we might be found by Him without spot or blemish (ver. 14).  How do we do this?  By growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

Are you growing in grace and knowledge?  God has given us all the tools we need to do so (2 Peter 1:3).  It is our job to make sure that we diligently do it.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.