John Mulligan opens 2 Peter 1:5–9 with a serious question: are we growing in Christ, or have we become content simply attending? Peter’s list — goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love — is not a set of nice religious sentiments. These qualities are the difference between a faith that is productive and a faith that has become impaired.

Baptism is not the finish line. Being cleansed from sin means being called into a new life, and that new life is meant to grow “in increasing measure.” Church attendance, singing, giving, and years in the pew do not automatically produce character. The question is whether the life of Christ is actually taking shape in us.

Growth is expected in ordinary work; Peter says it is expected in Christ as well. If these qualities are present and increasing, they keep us from being ineffective and unproductive. If they are missing, Peter is blunt: we are nearsighted, blind, and forgetful of the cleansing we received. To stop growing is not a harmless pause — it is spiritual danger.

A person who is not growing does not simply stay in place. 2 Peter 2 warns of those who escape the corruption of the world only to become entangled in it again — like a dog returning to its vomit, or a washed sow returning to the mud. Inactivity becomes the first step backward.

God has plenty of churchgoing somebodies. He is calling for new creations — people who keep becoming more faithful, more self-controlled, more loving, more patient, and more useful in His hands. Be a new creation every day, a blessing to the world around you and to the God who sent His Son to die for you.