Derek begins this theme by expounding on four characteristics of the Christian life that span all age groups: loyalty, friendship, commitment and a desire to succeed. He begins with loyalty, considered as faith. Friendship is next; friends become close personal relationships. Closely related to friendship is commitment, a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Tomorrow we look at the fourth characteristic: the desire to succeed.

We are on a journey – our Progress to Perfection – so we will never fall. The last stage of this journey is love. Just as God so loved the world, so we are to reflect His love to others – both inside and outside the family of Christ. Can we reach this objective? If we continue to steadfastly pursue these seven upward steps, we can.

Derek points out that the Scripture most commonly refers to fellow believers as being brothers—members of the same spiritual family—the members of Christ’s family. God uses our fellow believers to bring change to our lives.

In the previous two days messages, we talked about self-control and perseverance. These two steps go hand-in-hand. Today, we move on to look at Step 5: which is godliness. We can describe godliness in this way: that life would be meaningless if there was no God or someone’s life who reminds you of the existence of God. Listen now as Derek brings this teaching to light.

Perseverance is one of the least attractive steps in our progress to perfection. Without self-control, the previous step in this progression, we cannot attain perseverance. Satan applies pressure to some area of our lives not yet under God’s full control. But endurance produces proven character. Learn how this is accomplished.

Today we are going to find out that after we take the steps of excellence and knowledge, we can now move on to “self-control.” This topic really addresses the areas with which we all struggle: our physical appetites, thoughts and words. But press on and listen as Derek explains how this can be accomplished.

The type of knowledge Derek is speaking about today is not primarily the study of many books and secular education. Instead, it is a knowledge of God’s will—spiritual knowledge and insight. It causes us to be able to distinguish between what is good and what is evil.

Peter tells us to pay attention: he says we should make every effort to add goodness to our lives. This trait is not just referring to moral goodness, but to excellence in all that we do. It is a way to make faith work in every aspect of your life—whether you are a teacher, a housewife or a young person.

Today, Derek begins looking at the seven successive steps outlined by the apostle Peter that can take us from our starting point of faith to our goal of perfection. It’s good that Derek breaks it down for us. We aren’t required to take one vast leap!

In today’s message, Derek brings out further teaching from the writings of Paul. There is nothing haphazard or accidental in Paul’s life. And we see that perfection encompasses two aspects: full maturity as well as a freedom from flaws. Derek uses the example of an apple to bring out these truths.