The Quest for Character Pt. 2

The Progress of Faith

"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,
to virtue knowledge,
to knowledge self-control,
to self-control perseverance,
to perseverance godliness,
to godliness brotherly kindness,
and to brotherly kindness love.

For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

~ 2 Peter 1:5-8


FAITH

"...faith is the starting point of the Christian life, as well as the foundation of true character."

"...faith in Christ is the necessary underpinning for every other virtue of godly character."

"His death pays in full the penalty of our sin, and His life provides all the righteousness we need for a perfect standing before the judgment throne of God."



VIRTUE

" ...faith is the one essential quality without which it is impossible to please god, while 'good works' never earn us any merit with God."

"So while we understand and stress that faith in Christ alone is the sole instrument by which we lay hold of forgiveness and full justification, we are not to imagine that true godly character consists in faith by itself apart from other virtues."

"Virtue doesn't come naturally. It isn't something that happens to passive people. It requires diligence."

"...a catalog of qualities that define the multifaceted concept of 'virtue': truth, nobility, justice, purity, beauty, and everything good. That would cover everything honorable-from good manners and hospitality in our dealings with others, to righteous thoughts and contentment in the privacy of our own minds."



KNOWLEDGE

" Now, it's true that knowledge apart from love tends to make a person arrogant. But sinful self-centeredness- not knowledge, per se- is the evil behind that kind of pride."

"There is certainly no inherent value or virtue in ignorance. Ignorance is the currency of fools."

"Innocence, on the other hand, is indeed a virtue."

"In the common perception, 'spirituality' is suppose to be a state of pseudo consciousness where the intellect is disengaged and the feelings rule. That is not a biblical perspective."



SELF-CONTROL

"Life isn't a fun-run...it's a real competition, where you have to run to win. The prize is an eternal reward."

"Self-control involves the mind. If your thought life is not under control, evil thinking will quickly erode character, rob you of spiritual victory, and eventually ruin your life. 'As he thinks in his heart, so is he'."



PERSEVERANCE

"... our perseverance, although guaranteed by God in the ultimate sense, nonetheless involves our participation."

"Jesus made perseverance the test of true discipleship."



GODLINESS

"It speaks of conduct, belief, and speech that is harmonious with the character of God and honoring to Him."

"Godliness describes the nature of one's vertical relationship with God."

"... there is a difference between reverence and godly fear. Occasionally you'll hear someone suggest that the proper fear of God is merely a kind of quiet reverence, or a sacred awe- not really anything as unsettling as fear. In fact, terror at the thought of God's righteousness is actually a necessary aspect of true reverence and holy awe. But there's a positive side to godliness also. It involves not only a genuine fear of God, but also a deep passion for Him. Authentic godliness is inseparable from the fear of God."



BROTHERLY KINDNESS

"...love for other Christians is such a natural expression of true saving faith that the apostle John cites it as one of the main evidences of an authentic conversion."

"...'brotherly kindness' is a very broad concept, and it includes the kindness we are to show to our non-Christian neighbors, too."

"Jesus' point was that whoever comes across your path is your neighbor, and you ought to show brotherly kindness to that person when the opportunity arises.



LOVE

"All the virtues are infused with and empowered by love, and that is exactly how faith works."

"...knowledge together with love makes a powerful recipe for wisdom."

"Love is not a separate quality, distinct from the other virtues...rather, it's best to think of love as a perfect expression of all of them combined."




Still to come:
"The Fruits of the Spirit"!