“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge…” 2 Peter 1:5

As we begin to practically work out our salvation, the starting point is normally separation from past sinful ways. While we supply the diligence, God provides the motivation. We may have “escaped the corruption that is in the world by its lust,” but we still live smack dab in it. In past lives, many may have been mired in wickedness and decadence. So Peter starts with “moral excellence,” and he goes into detail in his first letter about this (1 Peter 4:1-5). It seems from observation only, that true converts immediately are driven to rid themselves of the immoral. As Peter puts it, a new Christ follower applying diligence to his faith begins to turn down offers that he would have reveled in previously, and his friends are shocked. With the daylight created by holy living, there is more time in the word, and consequently more knowledge is gained, and more questionable areas that need change arise. Thus, moral excellence leads to knowledge, and knowledge the need for more moral excellence.