7 Qualities of Christian Character We Should Be Cultivating

When God called us to a life of faith in His Son Jesus, it wasn’t just so that we could avoid hell and be allowed to spend eternity in heaven after this life. Certainly the greatest benefit we receive from God’s mercy and grace is that we will spend eternity in His presence and that eternity will be void of the brokenness of the world. But if that were the only object of salvation then God would sweep us up into the heavens right after our baptism. Peter affirms the truth of our calling in his second letter.

2 Peter 1:3-4
 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Until He calls us home we live in this world and we have work to do. If we are to be the light of Christ to the rest of the dying world then we must “become partakers of the divine nature” and escape the “corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” So in 2 Peter we are given seven qualities that our faith must be nurturing as we grow into the likeness of Christ.

Peter instructs us to make every effort to supplement our faith with the following seven characteristics.

First we have virtue. The word used here speaks of goodness and moral excellence. To the Greek philosophers it meant the fulfillment of something, such as a plot of ground giving forth a bounty of the crops it was plowed and seeded to provide. Like that field we are supposed to fulfill the purpose God put us here for and to demonstrate excellence in it.

Secondly we are to supplement our virtue with knowledge. This type of knowledge isn’t speaking of facts and figures but of understanding and discernment. It is the ability to know how to rightly live life and to counsel each other as we live for Jesus.

The third characteristic would be self-control. This is mastery over self and is also described as temperance. Who of us wouldn’t have made better choices had we self-control, had we mastery over our feelings and emotions? How often have we let anger control our reactions and left a trail of collateral damage in our wake? Discipline is the result of self-control and it will carry us far in the betterment of our lives and those around us.

Next we see steadfastness as an important attribute for the Christian. To be steadfast is to be patient and able to stand even when people and situations seek to take us off the path. To be steadfast is to be a person who endures and perseveres. This is a huge key to success.

The fifth characteristic we need to nurture is godliness. Another word for this is piety and somehow we Christians let the world convince us this is a bad thing. It’s not. Pride in our piety is a problem. But possessing qualities of godliness has to be what we long for. We are to be like Christ and Christ was sinless. We might not quite attain the perfection of Christ until He comes back for us, but that cannot be our excuse to not seek continual growth towards holiness.

Number six is brotherly affection and this is what the church should be about. We must love each other if we are going to say we love Christ. According to 1 John 5:1-2 it is a test of our salvation experience as it says that “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” If you do not love the brethren then you do not love God.

Number seven is much like six for it is another type of love. This love is called agape love and it is exactly how God loves us. This love is unconditional and it is the kind of love that requires complete denial of self. Agape love is the kind of love that loves the unlovable.

So there they are, seven characteristics of a true Christian. None of us have most of these down yet but we must be in constant partnership with the Holy Spirit in striving to grow into these each and every day. We cannot grow into these alone. We need the Holy Spirit. Yet the Holy Spirit will not force you to grow in these areas. We must humble ourselves and admit we need His help then we must through the power of God’s Word, strive to make these real in our life. Peter instructs us in verse 5 of 2 Peter 1 to “make every effort to supplement our faith” with these attributes.

Hear God’s Word from Peter.

2 Peter 1:8-9
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Peter leaves us with another command.

2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

And why?

2 Peter 1:11
 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We need to grow in our faith. Encourage and exhort each other with these words.

God will bless all who put His Words into effect.

How to be restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established in the true hope of Christ.

Finishing up my reading of 1 Peter this morning I wanted to share the admonitions he gives us to follow. First of we are to be humble. Though Peter begins with a direction to the young men, he goes on to extend this command to us all.

1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Humility is sorely lacking in us Christians today. The world teaches us just the opposite and modern psychology follows right along. We live in the me, me, me world, but if we are to be Disciples of Christ we must humble ourselves. Peter is clear about what God’s position is on pride; He opposes the prideful. I don’t know about you but I do not desire any opposition from God. I long for and need His grace. I want to be humble because God gives grace to the humble.

But in our flesh we want to be important. The truth of the Christian life is that in this world we are not to be important but we are to be God’s light and we are to consider others as more important than ourselves as Philippians 2:3 commands us. If we live a life of humility here, there will be a great reward in due time. That due time may very well be in eternity. When Christ came to the earth as a man He modeled this for us. He had to endure the shame and the pain of the cross before He ascended into the glory of His rightful place at the father’s right hand. Who are we to expect differently?

1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Next Peter speaks a word that we all need to follow.

1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Sometimes in the midst of all our troubles in this life we get anxious. But God cares for us. Jesus preached the greatest sermon ever that explains just how much God cares for us. Read Matthew 6:25-34. Do you believe the words of Jesus? If you do then do what He says in verse 33 and “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He cares for you. He went to the cross and suffered and died for you. Trust in Him.

Next Peter warns us to be self-controlled and alert.

1 Peter 5:8
 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Notice that we have to actively participate in this life. We need self-control. I’m not very good at that. How about you? Self-control is one the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. So we must humble ourselves and pray always that we be filled with the Spirit. We must confess our weakness so that we can live in the strength God provides through the Spirit who lives inside all believers.

We have an enemy and He is a formidable one. But He who lives in us is greater. So we must resist the devil.

1 Peter 5:9
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

We are in this together as the Body of Christ. We have the power through the Holy Spirit to stand against the enemy. So we must remain firm in our faith. We need to encourage each other in our days on this earth. This is what church is. It is God’s people bearing each other’s burdens.

But clearly we live as Christians in a time of war; spiritual war. Ephesians chapter 6 explains. This life will be a life filled with battles. But Jesus has already won the war. We just need to stand firm in our faith as we mop up the final resistance of the enemy until Christ returns. There is sure hope in His return. Peter reminds us.

1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Suffering is part of our Christian life. But in the end God will complete in us what He began. Suffering is how we grow to be like Christ.

So when times get hard offer Him your complete praise. Trust in Him that He will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Pray. Read His Word every day making its hope and its truth the foundation upon which you stand. God is in control. You can believe that.

1 Peter 5:11
To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Humble yourself and let God have the reins. It’s His dominion, forever and ever.

Amen.

Trusting Your Shepherd So That You Do Not Want

I just started reading a book written in 1953 by a man named Charles L. Allen, who was a Methodist minister. It is called God’s Psychiatry and it is a look at how God’s Word is the medicine we need for what ails our minds and our souls. It begins by prescribing the 23^rd Psalm as a medicine for worry and anxiety. Most of us suffer in one way or another in this area.

Think about the beginning of the 23^rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

We say we trust Jesus to be our savior and we put our entire future in eternity in His hands, yet we worry and fret over things in this life. The Bible is full of promises to those who are under the lordship of Jesus. Take careful note of the first words of this Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd.

Few of us today understand the work of a shepherd. A shepherd watches over the sheep and he provides for every need they have. Without the shepherd the sheep would perish. There are many dangers for the sheep. They need water. They need food. They need protection from the wolf. Without a shepherd the sheep will wander away from all the life sustaining aspects of their existence. But the shepherd keeps them safe and fed.

So if the Lord is your shepherd you do not need to worry over anything that threatens you. You can say with surety “I shall not want.” Jesus not only promises to provide everything we need, He even tells us that God knows what we need even before we ask in Matthew 6:8 saying, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

The problem with us in being able to let this promise remove our anxiety and worry is that we fail to understand the words “I shall not want?

We think it means we get whatever we desire to have in our lives. That is not what the verse means. The Hebrew word used here in verse one means to lack or be in need of. So to paraphrase the verse it really says The Lord is my shepherd so I will never lack what I need to live out my life. The ramifications of this are radical. This means when cancer strikes we can trust God. We still have what we need. It means when our job is shipped to a foreign country we can trust God. We still have what we need. It means when a loved one dies we can trust God. We still have what we need. We shall not want.

It means since God is in control of my life as my shepherd and He has allowed something in my life I don’t like to happen it is because He says I need it. Romans 8:28 explains this by saying, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” All things. Not some, not many, but all things. God does not cause evil to happen but He allows it and He uses it according to His purposes. You may not understand His purposes but you can trust Him in them. If we trust God then there really is no reason to fret and worry.

The question we must ask ourselves is this; do we really trust God? Is our faith what we say it is? The psalmist is clear. The Lord IS my shepherd. Because He is then I have everything thing I need and I can trust that if I simply follow Him He will lead me to safety and He will provide what I need when I need it.

This truth does not supersede our need to pray and to petition God. Scripture is clear on prayer. God’s wants us to come to Him and ask. The Bible teaches us to ask and tells us God is our Father who wants to give us good things. We are instructed in the Bible to be persistent in prayer. But we must develop a deep relationship with God through prayer that leads us to a place where we hear from Him and we are able to discern His voice when He says no. The way to have that type of relationship is to read His Word, ask the Holy Spirit to be your teacher, and then spend time alone with God in prayer. Then we will better know God’s will and begin to allow it to become our will.

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Make this verse real in your life. Believe it. To want something that God does not want us to have is to covet and sometimes becomes idolatrous. He knows what we need and He promises to provide it. Sometimes we simply need the strength to bear up under the storms we are in. That strength comes from God.

The Lord is my shepherd. This is important. It is important because we need a shepherd. We tend to wander off on our own. Jesus will not let His sheep get lost or be harmed. Being harmed and suffering some pain is not the same thing to the Christian. Suffering is part of being a Christian. It will draw you closer to God or you will move away from Him.

Listen to the parable Jesus tells.

Luke 15:4-7
"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Maybe you’ve wandered away from your shepherd and sought your own path. If so, stop right now and call out for your shepherd. Then wait on Him. He is going to come get you and carry you on His shoulders. He will give you everything you are in want of. He knows what you need. But the path to your needs may require travel through difficult territory. Your Shepherd will lead you to safety. We will see that in the rest of the psalm.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.

Is He your shepherd? Then relax. You shall not want.

Following the Path of Christ in Suffering

I’ve always said that being a Christian is hard and this morning’s lesson in 1 Peter is one that proves that point. I say that because I just don’t see many of us living out the truth of the section of scripture I studied this morning. Certainly I cannot say I have submitted to its truth yet. As many of you read this, my guess is that there will be a tendency to discount the lesson or to try and change the message. The words from Peter are clear and they are repeated in other readings of scripture. So as I am so often heard saying, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Personally I take every word of the Bible seriously and I am praying this morning that as a disciple of Christ I will begin to apply these words into my Christian walk.

Holiness, again, is at the forefront of Peter’s writing. Glorifying God is the goal of our lives.

1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

First of all we need to come to grips with the fact that as Christians this is not our home, heaven is. We are just passing through. Yes we live in America but being American is not the most important driver of our behavior. We are blessed to live here. Things in America are much easier than in most places throughout the world. But our first allegiance is to God. So when those in the world hate us because we are American our reactions must be honorable. They need to see “good” deeds out of us so that when the day of visitation from God comes for them they will see His glory. We are ambassadors of Christ. They are watching us. They are reading what we say about them and about others on social media. Hating someone does not glorify God.

Next Peter speaks about authority and how we as Christians are to respond to it.

1 Peter 2:13-17
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Again I remind you that Peter is not preaching some new idea about those in authority over us. This is clear Biblical teaching supported by Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The Bible has many stories about God’s people living this out. In those stories we find men who didn’t follow authority when it violated God’s law, but go through those stories and you find respectful reactions when they had to break civil law. Look at Daniel and see how he dealt with the king’s dietary law that violated his conscience. Peter and the others were ordered to stop preaching in the name of Jesus by the authorities. They didn’t stop preaching but they remained respectful in their opposition to the leaders. They also were willing to accept the consequences of breaking the law. Paul was always respectful when facing legal trouble for standing up for truth. You see these men trusted God to be their protector. They were willing to suffer for the cause and they did. They even died for their faith. They didn’t die by going down in some gun battle; they died in complete submission to the authorities. This goes against our American way. We are fighters and rebels. But this is where we fall back on who we are. In this we must not act as Americans but act as Christians. Our pride is what gets in the way here.

Peter wraps up chapter two with a comparison of a slave and his owner. He uses this analogy so that we get the point. The point is this; we must be willing to suffer for Christ. And the suffering he is talking about is not suffering that comes when we deserve it; it is suffering that is unjust and unfair.

1 Peter 2:18-25
 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.  For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.  For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Did you read that? Carefully? Here is the point; “if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

We are called by God to suffer unjustly. Why? Because the greatest witness to the world is to show them Christ and how He suffered for our sins. He took the complete penalty for what we do. We are to follow in His steps. Then means if we have an unsaved spouse we suffer in that relationship so that they might see Christ in us. We suffer at work so that bosses and co-workers might see Christ. We suffer on the highways and in stores and wherever we go so that the unsaved world will see Christ.

This is not the teaching of modern psychology nor do we hear much about it in church. But it is the teaching of the Bible. Many who read this are going to argue. I’m not interested in that. The Bible is clear. Your flesh and your mind will rebel against this. Rather than argue with me here I suggest you pick up your Bible and read it from cover to cover. This is what it teaches. This is what Jesus lived. This is what the apostles lived. This is how both died. My prayer for myself is that someday I can live this type of obedient life.

Yes, I know you won’t like this message. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The Bible is clear and I’m not going to argue with it. I’m not going to try and spin its truth. As usual I leave you with a scripture. It’s about death. The Christian faith is actually a paradox. Death brings life. But as I asked, rather than argue with me just read your Bible. As a matter of fact rather than agree with me you should just read your Bible. Listen to God not man.

Philippians 2:5-8
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

God bless each of you.