You need to add virtue to your faith

by Matthew

2 Peter 1:3
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

James 2:14-20
14 ¶ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 ¶ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

A common interpretation of James 2:14-20 holds that James is distingushing between true and false faith. The argument goes that if one has true faith, then one will do works. It is impossible, on this view, to have faith without that faith resulting in works.

If that were so, we might ask why the apostle Peter needed to write the words:

add to your faith virtue

According to Strong's concordance, virtue is:

a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action
virtue, moral goodness
any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity

Does that sound at all like something that might include works? I think so.

Yet faith does not come with virtue automatically; one must add virtue to one's faith. Otherwise, one's faith is dead. Without works, faith is useless in the Christian life.

Let's not have faith alone, but let us add virtue to our faith.