Category: Christian Living

To faith and virtue, the Christian must add knowledge.  Knowledge is already present in the characteristic of faith for “faith comes by hearing the word of God,” Romans 10:17.  Yet the basic knowledge that leads to faith must grow.

To grow in Christ, one must have knowledge of the word of God.  God gave us commands through His Son and the apostles.  The commands of God are to shape our lives in holiness so that as He is holy, we can be holy.  God did not give commands arbitrarily; there are reasons why God legislated as He did.  We must trust in the wisdom of God and do all that He commands.  However, we must first know the commands, and that comes through study.

The word of God also teaches us by the example of godly men and women.  Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we can study the lives of men and women who served God in difficult situations, often standing against those who claimed to be God’s people.  We are urged to “walk as Jesus walked,” 1 John 2:6.  How can we know how Jesus lived if we do not read the gospels?  Many of us who desire to live like Christ do not study how He acted, how He answered His critics, His love, His anger, His doctrine, and His sacrifice.  The more we learn about Christ, the more we will want to do what He did.

As we learn more of the gospel, we are able to use that knowledge in handling situations in life.  Through knowledge, we can gain wisdom.  Knowledge is the understanding of the facts; wisdom is the ability to use those facts in daily life.  The spiritually mature have “exercised” that knowledge in daily life, Hebrews 5:14.  The mature Christian knows how the word of God works because he has exercised it in his life.  I can read a cookbook and learn how to bake a delicious cake, but until I step into the kitchen and actually make the cake, I really cannot know how to bake a cake.  I may know what the word of God teaches, but until I use it in my life, especially in difficult circumstances, I will not know how the word really works.

Sometimes we view knowledge as a goal.  We feel that once we know enough, we will be good Christians.  However, some very knowledgeable Christians have gotten themselves into trouble because they did not exercise the word in wisdom.

Paul wrote, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”  We should not pursue knowledge as the end goal.  We should realize that knowledge is just a means towards the ultimate end of being complete in Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The Scripture is able to equip us fully, that is, we have everything we need for living our lives before God.  The word of God simply arms me for conflicts with Satan and provides nourishment to help me as I journey to become complete in Christ.  Knowledge is not the destination; it is a road map.  God will not allow me into heaven because I was able to pass a test on my knowledge of the Bible, but He will judge me by how I lived the Bible.

 In the previous post we studied faith, the basic theme of our life that we enhance with all of the characteristics of 2 Peter 1:5-11.  Each characteristic supports and enhances the other and, when taken together, will prevent us from stumbling.  We will spend our lives nurturing these traits but we will enrich our lives by the effort.

To our faith, we must add virtue.  Other translations read “moral excellence” and “goodness.”  Our faith demands commitment to the high moral ideals taught and exemplified by Jesus.  In 1 Peter 1:16, Peter records God’s words, “Be holy for I am holy.”  God has called us to live holy lives in an unholy world.  We are to be lights in the world by reflecting in our lives the greatest light of all, Jesus.

We do not attain moral excellence on our own; the word of God teaches us how to live righteously.  The church in Corinth existed in the midst of an extremely wicked city.  According to a saying of the time, if one were to act like a Corinthian it meant he was very immoral.  Yet, even in this wicked city, men and women changed their lives to become like Christ. Consider 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:  

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

The Corinthians were involved in many kinds of immorality but the gospel changed them.  If you read both epistles to the Corinthians you realize that they had many spiritual problems to resolve, yet they were growing towards perfection in Christ.  We may have little or much to do in adding moral excellence to our lives but it is an essential trait of the Christian.

This trait not only emphasizes the high moral standard we must embody but the courage to maintain that standard though persecuted.  In the Roman times in which Peter penned this letter, the valiant soldier who stood his ground and fought courageously exemplified virtue.  The Christian is a battle against the forces of evil and must stand courageous in the face of the enemy, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.  Our courage must reflect the power and strength we receive from our faith, Ephesians 6:10.  We often sing, “On every hand the foe we find drawn up in dread array.  Let tents of ease be left behind and onward to the fray…the earth shall tremble ‘neath our tread, and echo with our shout.”  Do you have this courage?

In 1 Peter 4:1-4, Peter shows that our moral excellence will cause some conflict with our associations in the world.  Some people do not want to stand out for their moral convictions in a world that considers morals something to be determined on a case-by-case basis.  They may rationalize decisions instead of following God’s high standard.  In so doing they become weaker and morally inept.

We must have moral courage.  The courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who faced a fiery furnace rather than bow to the idol of Nebuchadnezzar.  The courage of Daniel who faced what seemed to be a certain death in the lion’s den rather than disobey God.  The courage of David who, indignant at the blasphemy of Goliath, ran to meet the giant in battle.  The courage of countless others who suffered persecution, torture, and death because they would not deny the Lord.  Great faith needs great courage.

The apostle Peter was an expert on spiritual growth. While Jesus was living, Peter was a very zealous disciple. He was brave enough to walk on the sea towards Jesus. He confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God when many forsook the Savior. Yet Peter sometimes said the wrong thing and had a problem with pride. However, as he grew in Christ, he became more humble and was a guiding force in the early church. We, like Peter, must grow in Christ a step at a time.

In 2 Peter 1:5-11, Peter provided some guidelines for strong spiritual growth. Over the next couple of weeks, we will examine this passage in detail. If we integrate these principles into our lives, we “will never stumble” and we will assure ourselves of salvation.

The word that links these characteristics of a Christian life is “add.” The word does not connote the idea of stacking the characteristics on faith. Instead, think of an orchestra in which a few instruments play a particular theme and other instruments join in and, though playing variations of the theme, blend into a harmonious masterpiece. As we grow in Christ, we will continue to add these characteristics to our lives and each will support and enhance the other.

The theme of our growth is faith. Faith meanders through each characteristic that we add. Faith teaches us about traits we must add through the word of God (Romans 10:17). We will not know moral courage unless we know the high moral standard established in the word of God and the strength we must have in living it. Of course, knowledge comes from the word of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” and the Bible reveals God’s will to man. The Bible teaches us, both by command and example, the need for self-control and a persevering spirit. The Scriptures teach us to be like God in our thoughts, our lives, and in our love towards others. If we do not know God’s word, we cannot adequately add these characteristics and make them grow.

Faith also motivates us to uphold these characteristics in our lives when others ridicule them or minimize their importance. When you embody a higher moral code and desire to be godly, you will be at odds with the world of people who do not follow God’s will. Enemies may shun, mock, or persecute you. It takes great faith and trust to do the right thing when your colleagues, fellow students, neighbors, and family think your are crazy (1 Peter 4:4). However, trust in God will allow you to endure any suffering knowing you are pleasing God and will be judged faithful by Him.

Faith provides the motivation to continually improve your life and become like Jesus. By faith, you can see what you can become. By faith, you can see yourself becoming more like Christ. Faith cannot be dead but must be a catalyst for growth. If I can learn about Jesus, and hear the Scripture say, “walk as He walked,” then I must learn all that I can about how to accomplish this. We show our faith by our works by first allowing it to work in our lives to change us and transform us into something greater than what we were.

As we study the characteristics we must add to our faith, I believe it is obvious that as our faith grows stronger, these characteristics are improved and refined in our lives. If our faith grows weak, our moral courage, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love will be poor imitations of what they ought to be.

Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

I hated waiting for something that I really wanted when I was young. You can have ice cream AFTER you eat your peas. School will be out in a few weeks for summer, Winter holiday,  or Spring Break. You can play with your friends after you do your chores. You can’t open that present until your birthday or Christmas.  On and on it went. Wait for this…wait for that. It seemed like my childhood was strung together with having to wait for something I really wanted to have or do. As I got older, things didn’t change.

When we really want something but we can’t have it now, it often makes our hearts sick. We think about what we want, count the days or minutes until the waiting will be over, and maybe even whine until the desire is fulfilled. This is actually good for us (well, not the whining). Waiting for what we desire and longing for it helps us to appreciate it when the waiting is over. If we have to work to earn money to get what we desire, we value it more because of the sacrifice.

There are many good things in life that we need to wait for, some that we have to wait for. If we do not, we miss out on being able to truly enjoy the fulfilled desire. Sometimes we will settle for cheap substitutes that make us wish we would have waited for what we really wanted.

In relationships, some people settle for committing fornication with its empty pleasure and unsatisfying relationships instead of listening to God and waiting to share the physical side of love with the one they have dedicated their life to in marriage. Even married people will sometimes settle for an unsatisfying marriage instead of working to make their relationship the best it can be.

Some people will settle for the materialism of this world and the passing pleasures of sin instead of storing up their treasures in heaven and using the material things of this world to glorify God. Yes it can make the heart sick to hope for heaven and the peace it affords, but that hope can help us enjoy our life on this earth and endure any suffering our faith requires until we get to heaven.

When your desire is fulfilled, enjoy and savor it. Too many people are miserable because they keep hoping for something else and never enjoy what they have.