Growth is one of the simplest concepts in life, yet it can be one of the hardest to sustain. We celebrate growth in children, in gardens, in businesses—but when it comes to spiritual growth, we often overlook how essential it is. In 2 Peter 3:18, Scripture gives one of the clearest commands in all the Bible: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” It’s a command Peter repeats at both the beginning and the end of his letter because it’s a truth every believer needs to hear again and again. Spiritual growth is not optional. It’s not seasonal. It’s not something you “catch up on later.” It’s a continual, lifelong process.
Peter’s message reminds us that salvation is just the beginning of the Christian journey. The moment you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, God did a miracle—He forgave you, redeemed you, and made you His child. But He did not save you so that you could stay the same. He saved you to transform you. Grace is not only the doorway into salvation; it is the power by which we grow day by day. Yet too often, believers settle into routines and slowly become spiritually stagnant. The Bible becomes a chore. Worship becomes familiar. Church becomes predictable. We still show up, but our hearts grow cold. Jesus warned of people who honored God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him, and that warning still resonates today.
Peter’s call to “grow in grace” is a wake-up call to believers who may be drifting. Growth is ongoing. It is active. It is intentional. The command in the original language carries the sense of “keep on growing”—not just once, not just when you feel like it, but continually. Whether you’ve been saved for five years or fifty, the Christian life is never meant to plateau. We grow because we haven’t “arrived” yet. When we compare ourselves to others, we might feel confident—but when we compare ourselves to Christ, we quickly realize how much we still need His grace to shape us.
1. The Context of Growth
Spiritual growth begins with grace. We are saved by grace, and we continue to grow by that same grace. As Ephesians 2:8–9 reminds us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith… not of works.” God’s grace is undeserved, unearned, unlimited kindness poured into the life of a believer. Peter’s challenge is not just to receive grace but to continue in it. Once you’ve been set apart by God—sanctified—you are meant to walk a path shaped by His Word, His purposes, and His presence.
Growth involves listening when God speaks, responding when God moves, and allowing Him to shape every area of life. Church becomes more than a gathering; prayer becomes more than a ritual; Scripture becomes more than information—it becomes transformation. But when believers lose their spiritual “temperature,” everything begins to dull. The fire fades. The routines take over. Christians grow cold when they stop giving attention to growth.
2. The Command to Grow
The instruction to “grow in grace” is not passive—it is a command. Growth is not automatic just because you attend church, listen to sermons, or carry a Bible. It requires deliberate obedience and consistent pursuit. The Christian life is compared to being born again, and just as physical birth is followed by physical growth, spiritual birth should result in spiritual growth. Peter emphasizes that this growth must continue every day, every year—“present, active, imperative.”
This growth protects believers from being “led away” by false teaching, distractions, or spiritual apathy (as Peter warns in verse 17). Many Christians stop growing because they feel they have arrived, or because they compare themselves to others instead of Christ. But growth requires humility—the humility to recognize that God still has work to do in you, the humility to respond when He convicts you, and the humility to obey even when it’s uncomfortable.
3. The Challenge of Growth
Growth is challenging because complacency is easy. It is possible to look good outwardly while drifting inwardly. You can fool people, but you cannot fool God. He “seeth not as man seeth” because “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Growth requires honesty before God—honesty about your struggles, your attitudes, and your willingness to change.
And growth often requires humility in action. There is the example of a teenager who was convicted to apologize to someone he had wronged. That simple act of obedience became a powerful testimony that convicted an adult believer. Growth isn’t measured by perfection but by responsiveness—how quickly you obey when God nudges your heart. Too many believers resist that voice, saying “no” when they know they should repent, forgive, serve, or surrender. But the grace that saves us is the grace that empowers us to do what we could never do alone.
Conclusion
Peter ends his letter with a simple but life-changing command: keep growing. Don’t settle. Don’t stagnate. Don’t let the embers of your faith cool because of complacency. God saved you for a purpose, and His grace is still working in you. Growth is not a chapter—it is a lifelong calling.
Reflection Question:Are you growing in grace today, or have you allowed your heart to grow cold? Where is God calling you to take your next step of growth?
